Argentina and car rental
 

Last night my husband decided we needed a vacation and would love to go to Argentina in late September for 3-4 weeks. We have never been to SA and this post is very helpful. I am just surprised that that very few people rent a car? Not a good idea?

Also, is ‘super cama’ a generic name?

We rented a car from Hertz in Bariloche and used it to tour the lake region. No problems with rental or driving.

Not sure why you are say few people rent cars in Argentina? There are rental offices all over the both local and international and it seemed a pretty popular way to go. We rented to drive around Salta and the northwest for a week and loved it. We also hired a car in San Martin de Los Andes and drove around that area and then down through the seven lakes to Bariloche (pretty awful roads for about 1/3 of the way. . Apparently only about 30% of teh roads are paved, the rest are sand, gravel or mud. probably not a great idea if you are a nervous driver or passenger or driver but we didn't experience any particular problems, in fact we really enjoyed having a car mainly beacause of the additional freedom it provided an we certainly saw a lot of places we would otherwise have missed.

Cama is Spanish for bed and full cama refers to a seat which reclines fully flat. Semi reclines to about 120 degrees. Super Cama may refer to the new "Executive" type cabins which are a step higher and mentioned somewhere in another post on this forum.

Having tried both semi and full, I would definitely suggest going full cama for any long or overnight trips.

Yes, renting a car and driving around Argentina is great. Here are some road trip articles my wife wrote that might give you some ideas.
http://www.tenfootsquare.com/traveli...ate-argentina/
http://argentinastravel.com/3650/roa...ta-and-beyond/
http://argentinastravel.com/3662/roa...andean-giants/
http://argentinastravel.com/2675/arg...rip-patagonia/
Suerte!

An excursion from the city of Mendoza to the Argentine/Chilean border offers the chance to see one of the most beautiful places on the planet and traveling by car allows the opportunity to stop and smell the roses.
___

Thank you..this is what I was looking for and will read all the articles. I was thinking renting a car in BA and driving to San Martin Los Andes-Mendosa-Salta-BA-- or something like that(about 5.5K km. Oops). The Google map does not want to tell how to drive from BA to Iguazu. May be we'll do bus/drive or fly/drive. I think we may stay four weeks. What is blooming in October?

Crellston.. am ok with driving on bad roads. I just close my eyes and hope for the best.

Try:

http://www.ruta0.com/rutas_argentina...tipoq=1&tipo=1

Have a great time driving around our country.

Avrooster,

you came to the rescue, again. The car rental companies should have some kind of an auto-map, no? More I read more overwhelmed I get.. I am really getting rusty.

I have NOT traveled anywhere for years. And, that makes me insecure. What if we fly to Mendoza thru Santiago = and rent a car, explore and then take a bus to BA.. This would eliminate one 14 hour bus trip. Does this make any sense to you?

I love to see BA but really do not need to shop. I also feel uncomfy with the mustard or oil on my back. Is it really that bad? Let me explain, I was hit in Paris by a group of gypsies and did not enjoy it all that much. You have also mentioned something abut not getting into taxis at the airport unless you can pay in advance.. I am sorry, if I am not making any sense, am trying to learn as much as I can in a few minutes. Don’t have much time to plan this trip. I just want to go. And, I know I will love your country.

Puffinx:

About your: "What if we fly to Mendoza thru Santiago = and rent a car, explore and then take a bus to BA.. This would eliminate one 14 hour bus trip. Does this make any sense to you?", I feel I cannot really give you an answer, because it is a matter of taste and budget. Crellston is THE authority on this kind of thing, because they have done it recently. Personally, I would prefer to fly and drive.

Don't let the mustard on your back trick turn you away. I started a thread titled Buenos Aires: our downtown area during weekends. http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...g-weekends.cfm

In that thread, my advice is: "All you need to do, if this trick is tried on you, is not to allow anyone to get near you and yell "Ladrones" or "Policia" at the top of your lungs.

I have never heard of any violence associated with this trick, so that should be more than enough."

When leaving both our local and international airports, I suggest only taking transportation which can be prepaid in some kind of official-looking booth.

Have a great time in our country.

I would say that renting a car is perfectly possible its just a matter of personal preference... and since buses are so comfortable and frequent and domestic flights have suddenly become much cheaper and obviously save a LOT of time its kind of allowed for 3 decent options! In Buenos Aires I'd recommend you take public transport as cars tend to cross lanes and just go wherever they fit..! But yeh as a way of getting around Argentina its a fun option! Just dont underestimate the distances!!

Three points: 1) you need a permit to drive into Chile from Argentina; 2) you are better off flying from BA to Iguazu; flying from Santiago is more expensive than flying from BA. We are returning to Argentina in Oct. We are flying to Iguzau from BA and back. Then on to Mendoza.

We had planned to drive to Santiago from Mendoza stopping at all the interesting places along the way through the Andes. However, Alamo rent-a-car emailed that we needed a permit to take the car into Chile and you needed to get it 4 days in advance. Also the posada that I booked said there were delays at the border. We are still planning to do the drive but may stop at the border.

The airfares from BA are cheaper than from Santiago. The fare from BA to Mendoza is $USD 240 rt and the fare is the same BA Iguazu. I would do Iguazu by plane fly to Salta or Mendoza and rent a car. I bought a road map at Borders and the roads in many parts from the areas you want to visit are good.

Re: maps. We were not given maps by either Hertz or Budget Rent a Car in either Argentina or Chile, four different car rentals. We only had huge maps of each country with us. I advise that you order some local ones before you leave;I plan to do that next time.

Sandiej,

Now I am confused..why are you returning from Iguazu to BA? Sorry, I mean could you not fly BA- Iguazu-Mendoza? Or BA-Igazu-Salta? I guess you are picking up a car in Mendoza and returning it in Mendoza? Are you also going to Patagonia?

Happy Trvlr, thanks for the auto-map tip. I do get lost. Uff, this is not as easy as I thought it would be. May be AAA may have some maps?

Try an online travel/map store.

If you allow me i would say "Take the bus from Santiago to Mendoza" A nice ride of 6 hours. They are not the best buses but it is a nice ride for "peanuts"

Rental companies provide maps to everybody and give instructions to the people so there are no problems whatsoever. Renting a car in Mendoza is a good idea, many wineries to visit and distances are not always short. It helps you driving your own car and is much cheaper than the private excursions to visit several wineries on the same day.

Puffinx
You cannot drive Buenos Aires-Iguazu-Mendoza but you can
fly Buenos aires-Iguazu-Salta.

milla

<<<<<

We are not flying Iguazu-Mendoza because it is cheaper and faster to fly Iguazu-BA-Mendoza, and there are no direct flights from Iguazu to Mendoza. It requires a rt ticket BA-Iguazu and another ticket BA-Mendoza. If you plan on flying in Argentina or Chile fly Lan. Last year we flew both Lan and Aerolina Argentina and my husband begged to only book Lan this year. Lan has newer planes, yes, they are Airbus, but at least the planes are not MD-83. Also the service is far superior.

Milla,

Great idea. Will reverse it and take the bus from Mendoza to Santiago and fly out of Santiago. That will work. Thank you.

Sandiej,

Thanks for the flying tip.

Yes, then flying Iguazu-Salta would make sense. From Salta 'somehow' to Mendoza.. perhaps via Cordoba?

Puffinx,

Just 2 small points to add to the above:

1. No one drives in BsAs, but it is a great way to visit other parts of Arg.

2. I am familiar with those gypsy schemes in Paris (I am now well protected, I am alert and not inclined to be 'nice')& Rome; BsAs is no more dangerous than any other major city.

There are very good threads, with excellent suggestions for alertness and safety on this and other Fora (TA). I think it is worth the time to review them, and then to relax and enjoy your visit to this wonderful country.

~MarnieWDC

I meant few TOURISTS drive in BsAs (and for good reason). I sound like "no one visits here anymore, it's too crowded" :-) ~M