Argentina in January (fingers crossed)!
 

Hello once again!

I am back with the thought of revisiting our visit to Argentina in mid January after postponing it back in 2015. This time around we are not restricted to two weeks and can add a third week. We still want to start in Buenos Aires and head ( at some point) to Salta and stay in that area to visit all the neighboring towns and villages. I had thought to include El Calafate and El Chalten, however, while we do like to do considerable walking we are not seasoned hikers. I think we will pass on Mendoza and Iguazu this trip and perhaps include Bariloche.

Questions: Can you help suggest an itinerary for BA, Salta, El Calafate, El Chalten and Bariloche?

Should we even go to El Calafate/El Chalten if we won't be able to go on very strenuous hikes?

Are we making a huge mistake by NOT going to Iguazu Falls?

Thanks for your help /suggestions once again!

As to the Falls, I love Falls so have been enthralled by Victoria Falls, Niagara Falls and smaller ones here and there...but Iguacu/Iguazu are the most spectacular, IMO. Still, unless you are a Falls lover, or if you have been to the others, you would do well to follow your plan above.

In my opinion, the area around BsAs and the Northwest (NOA/Salta) areas are the most important to get a feel for Argentina and to enjoy the beauty and culture of the country. A 5-7 day visit to the NOA would be excellent - check out the TRs of Crellston and Yestravel on that wonderful area for ideas.

Bariloche is a lovely, lake area for driving and walking.

I have not visited El Calefate/El Chalten, so look forward to reading the resonses you get from others.

Starting to formulate a plan for 21-23 days that will include the following:

5 days in Buenos Aires
7 days in Northwest ( Salta, Cafayate, Cachi, Purmamarca, Tilcara, Humahuca)
2 days in Iguazu Falls
4 days in El Calafate and El Chalten
3 days in Bariloche

We would be flying in from NYC leaving around Jan. 10th and returning home at the end of January/ beginning of Feb.

How would you plan this itinerary? Not really interested in taking long bus rides.
What might/ should I cut out in this itinerary?

Thanks!

We are right now in Cafayate and regret leaving El Calafate.

Patagonia was magic. Salta is imo ugly and the région south is ok but just that : ok.

Cachi yesterday. Tomorrow back to Salta. Today Cafayate. We have been to atlas. dades gorges. Estérel. West US parks and honestlywhilstvthecregion here us nice for us it doesn't match El Calafate. El Cheltenham was magic. We walked 8 hours to see the Laguna des très and will never regret it. We wish we had allocated more days there

5 days in Buenos Aires is way too much. We did 2 days and it was already too much.
BA is nice but frankly doesn't compare to European cities. If you have been to Firenze or. Or. bA is just ok.
No more.

You don't say what it is that you'd like to do on your trip, but if it were me, I would spend more time in Calafate and especially Chalten.
You can fly between Bariloche and Calafate without having to back track to BsAs. so those two should be visited one after the other.
Bariloche was very pretty on the lakeshore, but the town did not impress us. We far preferred San Martin de los Andes.
Perhaps if you shared your interests, enjoyments etc we could be of better service.

My wife and I will be celebrating our anniversary and my birthday in late January. We are always looking for interesting cities/countries to do this and at the same time to get away from the NY area due to the weather.

One interest is to plan a 3 week trip to Argentina ( first visit) starting at the middle of January into the first week of February. Since we are no longer beach people we are concerned about the very hot weather at that time. Is this a real concern?

Will it be too hot to travel to areas like Buenos Aires, Salta, Iguazo Falls, El Calafate? Can you help us plan an itinerary?

We are a very active Senior couple interested in culture, music, photography, hiking, wine, street art and meeting the locals.



Thanks!

I have been working on an itinerary that would involve the following flights and airfares:

JFK- Buenos Aires $2,331
BA- Salta $656
BA - El Calafate $1110
BA - Bariloche $636

Am I missing something or is this typical of the airfare within Argentina during the month of January?

Seems expensive compared to what we paid for salta - BA flights. I had a quick look on Kayak for random date in January and was getting fares maybe 30-40% lower than those.

I did notice that when I was booking our Argentine flights last year that they did vary considerably from day to day.

I recall tha there is some sort of airpass available when you book from outside the country when booking you international flight. That maybe be worth investigating. Also, I used the Aerolinas call centre and they were surprisingly helpful even though I booked with Expedia.

I paid 800 € CDG rio
The 250 $ Rio Buenos Aires.

Aabeyond: Your "By the way"s on each thread is looking like an advertisement. Just sayin'

BTW, it IS an ad. Just sayin´.

Hello everybody;
Regarding weather in the NW of Argentina, It is warm, but still bearable. 7 days in the whole area is a good amount of time. You will love the NW. It has all you want to see.
Warm regards,
Flints