trip report on Bariloche, Mendoza, Iguazu, BA
Apr 2nd, 2006 | 03:53 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 417
Likes: 0
trip report on Bariloche, Mendoza, Iguazu, BA
First, my many thanks to all previous posters, who gave me such an education of preparing for this trip.
A summary of our travel to Bariloche, Mendoza, Iguazu and Buenos Aires March 2006
Bariloche sits on the shore of a huge, beautiful lake. Design Suites Hotel is beautiful with large rooms with sitting area, whirlpool tub with a view and even a terrace. It is just of the town, but a cab ride is less than $2 and you can also use the hotel shuttle when going downtown. Like most of Argentina, good meat abounds, especially at Boliche, we like the location past the hotel. Also ate at Boliche’s small pasta restaurant downtown.
Tours are sold by various agencies in town, but note that they are all selling tours run by one operator and price will be the same. They route of 7 lakes surprisingly does not include boat rides, you ride a bus for an all day trip. Halfway, it stops for lunch at a small town, and I have to admit by that point we were bored. To our surprise, the return trip had views of huge mountains and rock formations that were more interesting than the 7 lakes. We wanted to take a boat excursion, but it’s very limited. The trip to Port Bless is part boat, part road trip and 2 different agencies in town told us not to go because road conditions are so poor there are hours of delays. So we were in the lake district and never were on the water. 2 great activities are to go to Cerro Catedral and ride the ski lift to the top for an incredible view, and also go to Cerro Campanario, a totally different view to see the lake, the town, etc.
Mendoza was wonderful. We stayed at the Hyatt. Prior to the trip, I reserved a car and driver through the hotel and had them reserve tours of the wineries plus our lunches at wineries. A full day of car and driver is about $100 for the day. Concierge, Natalie, was just great. Trust me, you don’t want to drive to the wineries yourself, as they are difficult to find and road signs are hard to locate. Dinner at Malmans 1888 is wonderful and not to be missed. For $118 for 4 we had a wonderful dinner with wine and tip included in a great setting. Lunch at a winery, with just their basic wine will run you about $20 per person and must be reserved in advance. I think a couple of days of this is more than enough, and really 2 in a day is good unless you are really into the wines. As to specific wineries: we visited Nieto Senetiner and Catena Zapata the first day, with lunch at the first winery. I’ll never forget standing at the top of the steel tank and watching the wine being re-cycled in the tank.
On our second day, we visited Vina el Cerno winery, which was a very special treat because it’s small and they still do much of the bottling process by hand. I didn’t care for Zuccardi’s tour–too big, but lunch made the experience worthwhile. We finished at La Rural.
We spent 2 nights in Iguazu, staying at the Sheraton. A lot was being remodeled in the hotel, which is needed. Still, it is so worthwhile to stay at that hotel, the only one inside the park. We never bothered going into the town for meals, as we read several reviews that they were mediocre at best. Sheraton’s food is jsutOK, but the ability to come back to the hotel during the day is well worth it. We walked both circuits, twice, took the boat ride under the falls which totally drench you but are great fun, and took the ecological tour which is very interesting. Wear shorts as it's warm and you will get wet on the boat tour under the falls.
In Buenos Aires we toured the usual highlights. We stayed at a very small hotel called BOBO, which was very nice, but best for people like us who have visited the city before, as it’s not by the bigger tourist attractions. It’s in Palermo, which is a good area and has a lot of boutique shops. The hotel only has 7 rooms and a good restaurant. On week-ends, the noise from the restaurant can carry to the rooms on the first (our second) floor. The highlight of our days in Buenos Aires was the afternoon milonga at the Confeteria Ideal, where for a couple of dollars we watched dancers of various ages dance the tango. We’ve seen the big tango shows, we just wanted a bit of every day dancing. We had a wonderful dinner at Piegari, across the street from the 4 seasons. Half the price of a fine restaurant in the U.S.
I recomend you use Rough Guide to Argentina as your guide. We had 3 books among 4 of us, and it’s the most detailed.
As to flights within Argentina, there ae 2 choices now, Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN. I found the fares on the web, but when I called the airline they found me an even cheaper fare than posted, so it pays to check both. In each case, we had to fly back to Buenos Aires to depart to our next destination, as no flights connect the cities we visited otherwise.
I cannot say enough about the politeness of everyone we met. Every cab driver, every hotel employee and sales person made us feel like we were appreciated.
A summary of our travel to Bariloche, Mendoza, Iguazu and Buenos Aires March 2006
Bariloche sits on the shore of a huge, beautiful lake. Design Suites Hotel is beautiful with large rooms with sitting area, whirlpool tub with a view and even a terrace. It is just of the town, but a cab ride is less than $2 and you can also use the hotel shuttle when going downtown. Like most of Argentina, good meat abounds, especially at Boliche, we like the location past the hotel. Also ate at Boliche’s small pasta restaurant downtown.
Tours are sold by various agencies in town, but note that they are all selling tours run by one operator and price will be the same. They route of 7 lakes surprisingly does not include boat rides, you ride a bus for an all day trip. Halfway, it stops for lunch at a small town, and I have to admit by that point we were bored. To our surprise, the return trip had views of huge mountains and rock formations that were more interesting than the 7 lakes. We wanted to take a boat excursion, but it’s very limited. The trip to Port Bless is part boat, part road trip and 2 different agencies in town told us not to go because road conditions are so poor there are hours of delays. So we were in the lake district and never were on the water. 2 great activities are to go to Cerro Catedral and ride the ski lift to the top for an incredible view, and also go to Cerro Campanario, a totally different view to see the lake, the town, etc.
Mendoza was wonderful. We stayed at the Hyatt. Prior to the trip, I reserved a car and driver through the hotel and had them reserve tours of the wineries plus our lunches at wineries. A full day of car and driver is about $100 for the day. Concierge, Natalie, was just great. Trust me, you don’t want to drive to the wineries yourself, as they are difficult to find and road signs are hard to locate. Dinner at Malmans 1888 is wonderful and not to be missed. For $118 for 4 we had a wonderful dinner with wine and tip included in a great setting. Lunch at a winery, with just their basic wine will run you about $20 per person and must be reserved in advance. I think a couple of days of this is more than enough, and really 2 in a day is good unless you are really into the wines. As to specific wineries: we visited Nieto Senetiner and Catena Zapata the first day, with lunch at the first winery. I’ll never forget standing at the top of the steel tank and watching the wine being re-cycled in the tank.
On our second day, we visited Vina el Cerno winery, which was a very special treat because it’s small and they still do much of the bottling process by hand. I didn’t care for Zuccardi’s tour–too big, but lunch made the experience worthwhile. We finished at La Rural.
We spent 2 nights in Iguazu, staying at the Sheraton. A lot was being remodeled in the hotel, which is needed. Still, it is so worthwhile to stay at that hotel, the only one inside the park. We never bothered going into the town for meals, as we read several reviews that they were mediocre at best. Sheraton’s food is jsutOK, but the ability to come back to the hotel during the day is well worth it. We walked both circuits, twice, took the boat ride under the falls which totally drench you but are great fun, and took the ecological tour which is very interesting. Wear shorts as it's warm and you will get wet on the boat tour under the falls.
In Buenos Aires we toured the usual highlights. We stayed at a very small hotel called BOBO, which was very nice, but best for people like us who have visited the city before, as it’s not by the bigger tourist attractions. It’s in Palermo, which is a good area and has a lot of boutique shops. The hotel only has 7 rooms and a good restaurant. On week-ends, the noise from the restaurant can carry to the rooms on the first (our second) floor. The highlight of our days in Buenos Aires was the afternoon milonga at the Confeteria Ideal, where for a couple of dollars we watched dancers of various ages dance the tango. We’ve seen the big tango shows, we just wanted a bit of every day dancing. We had a wonderful dinner at Piegari, across the street from the 4 seasons. Half the price of a fine restaurant in the U.S.
I recomend you use Rough Guide to Argentina as your guide. We had 3 books among 4 of us, and it’s the most detailed.
As to flights within Argentina, there ae 2 choices now, Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN. I found the fares on the web, but when I called the airline they found me an even cheaper fare than posted, so it pays to check both. In each case, we had to fly back to Buenos Aires to depart to our next destination, as no flights connect the cities we visited otherwise.
I cannot say enough about the politeness of everyone we met. Every cab driver, every hotel employee and sales person made us feel like we were appreciated.
Apr 2nd, 2006 | 05:46 PM
#3
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,055
Likes: 0
Thanks for a great report! Isn't it great how you can live like a king in Argentina for very little money? I agree with you that one can only visit so many wineries. I think some people go to Mendoza and never experience the town itself... it's a great little town with a lot to offer. I also agree with your assessment of Iguazu... the falls are breathtaking, so it's all about the location, not the hotel room. BA is such a great city... you can visit many times and never experience it all. I'm glad you had a great trip and thanks for sharing!
Apr 5th, 2006 | 04:37 AM
#5
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
Apr 5th, 2006 | 05:11 AM
#6
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,799
Likes: 0
AV is taling about the tripadvisor.com travel board. There are several boards that offer advice for travelers to Argentna--Lonely Planet, Frommers, Trip Advisor, and, of course, Fodors. The Lonely Planet board appeals more to backpackers lower budget travelers, the rest all offer good advice for the rest.
Trending Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Suzanna
Mexico & Central America
10
Aug 24th, 2008 08:31 PM
