Trip Report : Buenos Aires & Iguazu
 

Posting this again because the first time I wasn't in the "Latin America" forum...Thanks to Scarlett for pointing that out!

I just returned home from a week in Argentina, and I thought I'd post about our trip while it's still fresh in my mind. In fact, I can still taste the malbec!

My husband and I arrived on a Friday night at a Kempinski Hotel in the Recoleta neighborhood. The hotel itself left a lot to be desired. For the first 2 nights the door to our room opened into the lobby, which was also where the elevator & breakfast area are located. Needless to say it was quite noisy, but after we changed rooms the situation improved. The only major problem we had was when the hotel failed to give us the 5am wake up call we requested! Miraculously I happened to wake up around that time and checked my watch....otherwise we would have missed our flight to Iguazu!

Even with our less than ideal accommodations, we were very happy to be in the Recoleta neighborhood. The Saturday market located outside the cemetary was full of great shopping, and I was happy to find that the vendors were not as aggressive as I expected.

The Recoleta Cemetary was an incredible sight, we visited twice and still feel that we could have spent more time wandering the
aisles. That night we had dinner at La Caballeriza in the Puerto Madero, and it was good...not great, but good. I was left wondering if we should have gone to the more expensive & more touristy Cabana Las Lilas instead, which was right next door.

Sunday we visited the San Telmo Market, then wandered up to Plaza de Mayo, past Avenida 9 de Julio, and finally made it to a late lunch at El Cuartito. You'll come across that name in the B.A. guide books, and for good reason. It was absolutely the best pizza I've had since visiting Italy! We went back a second time during our trip, and it was well worth it.

Monday we took a trip to the Don Silvano Ranch, which was arranged by our hotel. It was all very gimmick-y, but overall a good time. We rode horses (for about 15 minutes), watched a dance show, ate FOUR COURSES of meat, and were then treated to a gaucho show. A full day, and a fun one. That night we simply had drinks outside at La Biela, because we certainly didn't need dinner!

Tuesday we took a self-guided walking tour through Palermo. We saw the Evita Museum, Botanical Gardens, Japonese Gardens, and tried to go to the MALBA but found out it's closed on Tuesdays. Oops! That night we saw the Tango Madero show, and while the dancing was impressive the overall experience wasn't so great. We bought tickets in advance for dinner & the show, but once we arrived we were constantly solicited to buy more....upgraded seats, pictures with the dancers, higher priced bottles of wine, a DVD of the show....etc. It got to be somewhat annoying since the tickets weren't exactly a bargain to begin with!

Wednesday we arrived in Iguazu at 10am and checked into the Sheraton. It was well worth the price considering the location and amenities. We had a "jungle view" room but were offered a key to the roof of the building anytime we wanted to go. It was an incredible view & no one else was taking advantage of it! We spent all day walking the upper & lower trails, constantly in awe of the falls, then settled in at the poolside bar & relaxed.

Thursday we travelled back to BA and spent our last two days visiting everything we wanted to see again, and doing our souvenir shopping.

An amazing trip, but there's still so much I want to see in Argentina....we hardly scratched the surface. My husband and I started planning our next trip as soon as we arrived. The people are kind, the food is wonderful, and the city is full of life. I can't wait to go back!

And again I will say that this was a great Trip Report.
Thank you for taking the time to post it again too...you will no doubt help a lot of people planning their trips to BA and Iguazu.

gwasley - Thanks for posting such a nice report - I'm so glad to read that you had a great time. Every trip report I read makes me more and more excited about my upcoming trip! Appreciate it! - M

Hello, gwasley. We will be in Buenos Aires within 3 weeks!
We like self-guided walking tours and would like info about your walking tour in Palermo. Do you have a link to it? Thanks much.

Hi MnJ,

Our Palermo walking tour was not from a book or website, all we had was a map and a general idea of what we wanted to see that day. The street maps available at most hotels should be all you need because the path we took is a pretty natural progression for the area.

We started with breakfast at the Evita museum, wandered up through the botanical gardens, then down the main street that runs beside the zoo, then hit the Japanese Gardens, and finally ended at the MALBA. It's a long walk, but a nice one. Just be sure it's not a Tuesday, the MALBA is closed that day.

I hope that helps!

~Gillian