What tour company did you use for Argentina?
 

What tour company did you use for Argentina and what did you like/dislike about the experience? Backgroud: 50-ish couple who typically travels independently and/or arranges tours in country; arrange most over the web; physically active (but probably not going to climb huge mountains - although hiking a few hours is great); like culture, nature, museums, food, wine, beer (whatever is local), everything actually.
Plan: About 2 to 2 1/2 weeks to include BA (perhaps daytrip to Uruguay), Iguazu Falls, Patagonia area. Thinking 1/2 or 2/3 of time there would be in/around Patagonia. As an option, could arrange BA and Falls on our own and then meet a tour group for Patagonia.
Any/all information greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I traveled with a friend and spent our time in the Bariloche area and Buenos Aires. All of my travel arrangements were made by Cintia Stella of WOW! Argentina and she did a great job. She managed to handle a complete reschedule of my connecting flights from the USA to Bariloche without me even contacting her when my USA Delta flight got delayed significantly, had the revised tickets waiting for me at the airport and generally made the trip quite pleasant. I was charged a $100 fee to book with her, but that was deducted from the cost of my trip which was quite reasonable. I did a trip report My Argentine Adventure if you are interested. Since there are so many exceptionally well qualified posters on this site, I offer my experiences just as an example. I do not think a tour group is at all necessary in Argentina based on your self description.
Have a marvelous time. It is a gorgeous country.

If I were interested in using a Tour company, I would use Cintia too, based not only on cmcfongs recommendation but on many here and on other travel boards.

But if you are used to traveling in other countries, I don't really think you need a tour guide for BA..and you can book the trips yourself.

Iguazu Falls is easy to book, the day trip to Colonia..you might like a day on an Estancia.

The first thing you have to do is find a hotel in Buenos Aires that will suit you..price wise etc. Hotels and airfare are the two areas where you will not find great bargains here.

There are 100 museums in Buenos Aires..it is a huge city with many good restaurants, Tango, parks and architecture..you will not want to miss any of it..but you don't need a guide here.

If I were booking to go to Iguazu, I would stay at the Sheraton for one night..

When do you want to come here?

Thanks for the info, cmcfong and Scarlett. We will most likely travel about this time next year; perhaps even Feb. or March. Just doing a little pre-planning.
What's the best (reliability, price,etc.) airline to use within Argentina?
Thanks again.

In my experience, which is limited, LAN is excellent.

We spent 13 days in Argentina and used Exploration Journeys (www.explorationjourneys.com) and were very, very pleased with their service. We like to travel independently and only went on a group tour for trekking on the Perito Merino glacier (that is not available on an independent basis). We found their prices to be reasonable and the service excellent. They arranged wonderful english speaking guides and made all of our intercountry flight arrangements (five cities).

I would use them again.

We went with Pilar at Argentina Escapes and were happy we did. Our personal profile is amazingly similar to yours, but with just a few more semesters. :-) Thanks for the reminder. This weekend I will post about our 3+ week Argentina/Chile holiday. Regardless, you will have a wonderful time!

One more vote for Cintia Stella at WOW! Argentina. On our way back from Iguaz&uacute; Falls, our plane was unexpectedly delayed for several hours. In fact, there was a real possibility we might not get back to Buenos Aires that evening (where we had hotel reservations that were probably non-cancellable) and a remise due to pick us up at the <u>original scheduled</u> time.

I called Cintia at her 24/7 emergency number from the Aerolineas desk and she told me that she was already aware of the delay and that she would take care of all existing reservations and have a car &amp; driver meet us at the airport whenever we got in. Had we been forced to remain in Puerto Iguaz&uacute; overnight, I'm sure she would have made local hotel arrangements for us there. In other words, she was on top of everything and assured us that she would take care of everything. Needless to say, this was a <b>huge</b> relief for us. As luck would have it, our plane did depart that evening (3 hours late) and we were met at the BA airport by her driver and returned to our hotel.

This single episode convinced me of the value of a <b>good</b> travel agent.

Read about Isabel in this thread:

Trip Report - BA/Iguazu/Mendoza Highlights

We returned this morning 2 1/2 week trip. 4 nights in Buenos Aires, (stayed in the Recolleta district), 3 nights in Bariloche, 3 nights in Calafate region to see the glaciers and the balance in Torres Del Paine NP in Chile. We did not use any tour agents which meant we spent time figuring out how to get here and there but it is all something you can do on your own, the Torres Del Paine region is incredible if you like to hike and view the scenery. We are approaching 60, and our daughter was with us. Found we did better doing it in person rather than using the internet for bookings. We tend to stay in clean but cheap and did OK. The glacier trips are expensive but worth it. March would be a great time to visit since the crowds are down and the weather good. LAN is great but does not have the number of flights Aerolinas Argentinas has. One more thing, Argentina is a cash society. Most of the hotels we stayed at either did not want credit cards or offered 10% for cash. Restaurants wanted cash. People are very warm and helpful. Adios

My experiences in Argentina have also convinced me that a good travel agent is very useful in this country.
Did not use Cintia as they do not do apartments.
Isabel was terrific for us and I would use her again.
I travel a fair amount outside the US to Europe and Asia and never use a travel agent so it is pretty good praise for me to recommend Isabel.
What stands out for me is the conviction that Isabel does what is best for me/you and not necessarily for her with standard kickbacks that are quite common in the travel industry. If you want an apartment she will tell you about the location or scout it out for you if she is not sure. If you can get a hotel with points or can get abetter deal via internet she will tell you. Invaluable if your flights are changed or canceled on you for any reason as she will find an alternative for you. I think she has a mole in Aerolineas. Lastly, she is always available to you by email or telephone. She is more like your mother while you are in Argentina as she keeps track on how you are doing. I do not think you can do better.

mjs:

It is so rewarding to know that tourists could visit all the places they wanted even though the Airline companies do not always behave the way they should.
Things sometimes complicate but there is always a way to tackle difficulties.

Mjs I am glad you could do everything you planned and I thank you again for your words.

milla.

My husband and I used WOW Argentina and we highly recommend this company. Never have I seen a travel agency so responsive and with such knowledgeable travel consultants. Everywhere we checked, we always found WOW Argentina come recommended by lots of travelers. When we learnt they have so many repeat customers with zero advertising, my husband and I knew we had chosen the right company.
Our trip was planned by Romina and we were met by both Romina and Cintia Stella at the hotel. Despite we had always been in touch with Romina, Cintia Stella was fully aware of our itinerary and they both gave us piles of information and tips.
We are already planning to return to Argentina in November and we are excited to see what WOW Argentina will plan for us this time.

Congratulations, dundrinu and thank you for choosing our country to spend your honeymoon!

Should we expect a more complete trip report from you?

Thank you.

I never get tired to praise WOW Argentina. I go often to Argentina +Uruguay I know well both destinations however it has been always wonderful to relax and let them take care of us.
On one had I always find reassuring that they are a duly registered Argentinean travel agency which is important to me, and on top once you hired them they are with you all the way,24x7.....

Doesn't WOW charge customers $100 upfront to do an itinerary? This fee goes towards the total sum of your trip however if you decide not to travel with them you forfeit the $100. There are many good travel agents that have been recommended on this forum for Argentina that do no charge this fee however WOW gets good reviews with an ocassional bad review. Posters have written about them for years. They tend to only want to book pretty high end and expensive hotels if I recall. Know your budget before contacting them I would say.

Agree with MJS above! Isabel is the best agent ever!! she knows everything and she was always on top of us while in Argentina!!! She was the biggest help to us for our entire trip and I recommend ALL my friends to use her ... u do not need to use a big tour company - Isabel knows everyone and can help plan anything!

kywood1955:

Here is another vote for Argentina Escapes.

We used Mercedes who arranged a two months trip from southern Chile into Argentina.

We had a great experience and are booking once more for this winter with Mercedes, this time with our daughter and her partner as well.

No doubt you will find Argentina interesting, adventurist, scenic, great food, music and dance. Yes, and wonderful leather quality with fantastic prices.

I can not think of a single reason not to go.

Woodie

travelme, In my experience WOW charges a $100 refundable fee ONLY when you are asking for a full custom made itinerary. I think it makes sense and in Europe and in the US some agencies charge a no refundable fee for similar itineraries.
I imagine it is only because some people would ask question after question requesting custom made solutions here and there and then with all in hand change agencies or go on their own.
I have found out that WOW is extremely fair often refunding hotel pre paid stays if something unexpected has happened to their clients.

I am with georgewoodie
Pilar at Argentina Escapes has been a real pleasure to deal with. GREAT customer service and very resonable pricing. And some of the best tours in Mendoza I've seen from any of them.