Giovanna

I've read a number of posts on several travel boards about using TAs in BsAs and how well it worked out, both in terms of plans as well as costs. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has done this recently and how it worked out for them, as well as suggestions for TAs to contact. Thanks (muchas gracias)!

dona

There are many different travel agents discussed on this board. You might try searching with the words "Travel Agents" to read what has been posted previously. We used Cintia at Wow!Argentina http://www.wowargentina.com.ar/. You may contact her at
[email protected]. We were pleased with their services. Cintia was extremely competent, professional and a pleasure to work with. We made many changes over the months that we planned our trip and she quickly made all the changes requested and provided any information that we needed. In terms of prices she is able to book some things for less, but we were able to match or get better prices for some hotels. In one case we were not happy with the estancia where she had reserved us for 2 nights. We left a night early and Cintia refunded our money without any trouble. I have rarely used a travel agent, but had read so many positive posts on Cinita that I decided to try her for our trip to Argentina. It worked out fine. When we worked with her it was just her and her husband so service is very personalized.

Giovanna

Thank you Dona. I did read those posts I could find here and Cintia's name came up several times. I even found a thread that she participated in. Also found Paola at ArgentinaGo and Maria at Argentina Escapes. Guess when I have some dates I will email all of them and see what I come up with. Apparently all are established agencies and good, trustworthy agents. We haven't used a TA for years either, but after reading some of these posts thought it might be the way to go for this trip.

You said you planned your own hotel. May I ask where you stayed? We want to stay in Recoleta and the Hotel Plaza Francia looks good to us. Any info on it?

Did you go to Iguassu Falls? We hope to spend most of our time in BsAs with an overnight there and perhaps a day trip to Colonia.

Again thank you and look forward to your response to the above.

dona

Ah so you've read the TA wars! We stayed at Malabia House in Palmero Viejo and LoiSuites in Recoleta. Cinita booked LoiSuites for us and we booked Malabia House directly over the Internet. We met some folks staying at the Hotel Plaza Francia and they liked it. Yes, we went to Iguazu Falls--loved it! Spent 2 nights at the Sheraton. Cinita arranged the air to and from Iguazu Falls and we booked the Sheraton on their website where we could get a better rate thru a promotion. Argentian is wonderful-hope u enjoy your trip.

Giovanna

Thanks again Dona for your additional comments. Hoping this trip works out for us. We've never been to South America and I have long wanted to visit Buenos Aires in particular. The more research I do, the more interested I become.

The worst of it seems to be getting there, both in terms of routing and cost. We would be flying from SFO and I think the ideal for us would be non-stop to Miami, with a plane change there and then non-stop to BsAs. Assume Cintia arranged your air, correct? Would be interested in what airlines you used. Don't know much about either Air Argentina/LAN, but both seem to be coming up when I search for air.

Sarah891198

Veronica from Alojargentina assisted me and I highly recommend her mostly because of the way in wich she handled my case. She did not just drag a standard package into me but actually took the time to create one for me since I the time I had to spend on each place and the places I wanted to visit did not fit into any particular pack. I was also able to clarify all my concerns regarding clothing, services offered by each hotel, best tours in each city. Well actually the best tours for me since I don't like all kinds of trips.

I was very happy after my trip and had peace of mind all along knowing Veronica was handling everything and I had to but to relax and enjoy.

Her email is [email protected]

Recoleta is the best area to stay in Buenos Aires since it is close to all attractions, you have made a wise choice on that. You have many restaurants and stores nearby too and the streets are beautiful.

Good luck on your trip.

Giovanna

Thank you Sarah for your thoughts and comments. I appreciate your suggesting a travel agent. I have the names of 3-4 now and certainly should be able to find the right one for us.

hellagirl

Hola!

I also used Veronica from aloja but only for tours Argentina, I was referred to her by Lucila in the same agency from whom I rented an apartment. I didn’t have her book a hotel in Buenos Aires for me, only the trips. I went to Iguasu, Patagonia and thoroughly toured Buenos Aires and its whereabouts.

She was pretty patient in explaining and recommending places for me to visit. The prices were very good, not the best one among the agents I consulted but at the end of the day, it was the attention Veronica gave me what convinced me to take her offer. I had no problems (what of course does not imply you should have one with another agent, they must all be responsible but have each a differentiated value)

If you have any spare time in Buenos Aires visit a ranch, you won’t regret it. It is a classic Buenos Aires day trip: an Argentine barbecue or “asado”, a horse-back riding trip, folk music, gaucho demonstrations (very interesting!).

If you do go to Colonia, take a boat trip so you can also see Tigre and the Delta which are gorgeous.

Hasta Luego!

connette

dona - what estancia were you unhappy with please?

dona

Giovanna - We didn't use a TA for our air to BA. We were fortunate in that we had miles on UA so we used them. Airfare is very expensive. I have seen many packages in travel magazines (esp Budget Travel) that offer attractive deals for air and hotel in BA.
Connette- Estancia Santa Rita was the estancia we didn't particularly like. We had been to LaBamba (http://www.la-bamba.com.ar/) for 2 nights and thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Estancia Santa Rita (http://www.santa-rita.com.ar/) seemed like a big American resort to us, but the real problem was it was VERY hot (December) and they had no screens on the windows. Our room got a lot of direct afternoon sun, was on the second floor and was really stifling hot. We had to keep the windows open so we had lots of bugs and many bites making it even worse. Food was just so so. That said, it was very crowded and Cinita had said other clients had gone and liked it. She had actually recommended it to us. La Bamba we booked ourselves and had read about in the NY TImes.

Giovanna

Thought I would post a note of follow-up regarding my quest for a TA in BsAs. I e-mailed Cintia at WOWArgentina on 9/21 and got a reply on 9/26. She offered to plan our entire trip (would not book the Hotel Plaza Francia which I told her was our choice), noting that Nov/Dec is a busy time and things are filling up fast. Wasn't able to put us in Sheraton at Iguassu, but perhaps could get us a room outside the park. As noted, she would plan our entire trip and required $100.00 in advance, which would be applied to our trip. I assume if we decided not to book the trip she planned we would be out the US$100.00.

I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, just thought I would post my findings. However, we are not willing to gamble a hundred bucks hoping we like the trip she plans for us enough to book it.

avrooster

I don't know Cintia, who mostly gets good reviews here, and don't expect to get to know her, because I have my own travel agent, but I feel answering mail 3 working days later is not too bad (for Argentina) and I also feel it is not totally unreasonable to ask for a minimum fee "which would be applied to our trip" for planning the itinerary.

Giovanna

AVRooster- I was not complaining about the time it took for a response, merely stating what occurred. Additionally, I agree that a fee for trip preparation is not unreasonable, but did feel $US100 was a little steep. We haven't used travel agents for years, so frankly don't know what the current trends are in this regard.

I tried to make it clear I was not posting as a complaint, or in any way insinuating Cintia is not a good TA. I merely felt a follow-up was in order and so I posted what happened.

OneWanderingJew

I used Cintia as well on the recommendation of another poster about 3 yrs ago. Without any doubt, if I were to go back to BsAs, I would use her again. Everything was as promised and she's a fantastic person. I have never gotten such personalized service anywhere and in fact, I keep in touch with her to this day. She is honest and principaled. I would not worry about the $100 fee. She will earn it and more.

nice2no

Giovanna, we are budget travelers. WE found it very difficult to do independent traveling in Argentina. I posted my experience. You may find it useful.

In this board, type the keyword "budget travel" to search.

Good luck.

mmd

We have just returned from a week in Argentina and a week in Panama. I used Wow Travel because other people in this post had recommended. Cintia's husband, Matias met us at the airport and transferred us to the Marriott hotel. It was so easy and worth every penny. The next day he gave us a full city tour which allowed us to get acclimated. We were traveling with two children ages 5 and 9 and Cintia really worked hard and helped me in planning my itinerary for the week. We were on our own for much of the time but Cintia recommended for us to see the Senor Tango show which she coordinated and we loved, and a gaucho show which was a lot of fun. If I were to go again I would definately use WOW.

leah6

Hello,
Just browsing and found your question. My husband I used Cintia. Matio picked us up at the airport and gave us a tour. John was interested in yacht clubs. Matio faxed us this information the next day. I found the planning very easy with Cintia. They provided a spinal folder of very useful information. We did not have the $100.00 fee but I think this protects her from people using her services and then booking on there own. I, too, would contact Cintia for further travel plans and would not mind the fee that is applied to reservations.

By the way, we stayed at the Sheriton and thought it was so so. The pool was not inviting and the receptist was rude. We went to dinner at the Iguazzu Gambling Hotel and Resort. It looked nice (multi-teered pool and great dining room) but was a pretty good distance. We met someone who stayed in a nearby hotel and found it ok.

We also liked the leather jackets that were made in a day or two close to the Marriott by Florida Street. (mario...) A friend who travels alot told us about this location. An Asian women helped us and we were quite pleased. Enjoying the jackets to this day.

nice2no

leah6, could tell me in more detail about the place you got the leather jacket? Our daughter-in-law was mentioning about Argentinean leather jacket. We are to visit BsAs this November. We should get one for her.

Do you have Mario's business card, tel number or address?

I would appreciate the info.

drdawggy

About leather: another option is to jump in a cab and go to the leather district, Scalabrini Ortiz and Murrillo. There are probably 50 or 60 leather shops and factories up and down Murrilo and side streets. Many of the stores you will find on Florida also have a store on Murrillo, with prices 20 to 30 % lower than on the tourist-oriented Florida street.....Murrillo 666 is one good option.. There are many others. ask for "promociones" or sales.....

Graziella5b

Hi, I have used Cintia (WOW) more than once and no fee was applied then so I wrote to her asking what was going on.
She explain to me that the $100 fee is totally refunded from the final payment. Why is she asking for this
fee to be returned later?
She explained to me that tons of people write asking all kind of advice and information and then go on their own .Obviously to provide personalized information takes a lot of time . She also explained that if someone wants a simple routine reservation , let us say, if someone wants to go to Iguazu and needs a ticket and hotel she would not ask for the fee. It seemed to me it is more than FAIR.
Giovana I understand your concern but because I know WOW and have read so many postings of happy customers I would advice anyone to advance the returnable fee - Here in the States many travel agencies charge fees and most of the time they are not refundable.Things have changed ...