Flying Internally in Argentina
 

Hi All-

I am planning a ten day trip to Argentina with my husband for this November; we plan on going to Buenes Aires, The Falls and Mendoza. We were thinking of going from Buenes Aires to Mendoza to the falls and back to Buenes Aires , but were wondering if it would make sense to instead go from Buenes Aires to the Falls and back to BA for a day then go to Mendoza and back.
We were also wondering if it is good to work with a local travel agent? I called one of the numbers listed in Fodors and left a message but was wondering if anyone had any other recommendations for contacting people who are in the US and could help.

Thanks!
Laura

I suggest you research Isabel, an independent local travel agent.

You can do by typing her name in the search feature of TA's Argentina forum: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...Argentina.html

Have a great time in our country.

I think either way works. It just depends how you would like to end your trip. I would probably do Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and then the Falls. Mendoza is very beautiful and there is tons of stuff to do in the area. Iguazu is spectacular, but you don't really need more than a day or two there to see the falls and the park. Of course, the more days the better, but you can get a nice feel for the area in just a couple of days.

Certainly u can use a TA if u like, but u really can plan it all on your own. Unless u can get a direct flight from IF to Mendoza (or vice versa) without going thru BA, I agree, it doesn't really matter which way u do it. I think 2 days at the Falls would work. I only saw the ARG side, but many recommend seeing the Brazilian side also. To do that, u need to get a Visa to enter Brazil which is why we skipped. IF is spectacular.

US Agent in Bay Area..Eugenio Ovalle at Altatours (www.altatours.com.) He is a Chilean and specializes in South America, Spain and Portugal.

I'm using Altatours for portions of our trip to Chile. He is based in California and works with various companies in SA. Eugenio is nice to deal with and it's been fine. The only objection I have is the way he charges. Rather than give individual rates for various portions of the trip, he puts it all together in a package with one total price. No way to know if one could get a better rate then he does. He did give a 10% discount for paying cash. Also and this may not be an issue in ARG, he doesn't work with the discount airline, Sky Airline in Chile. Sky's fares are half that of LAN which he does work with. I ended up booking the airlines on my own which is ironic given that the reason I started with a TA was to have them do the air.

We spent almost two weeks in Argentina this past May and Isabel of Buenos Aires tours was the absolute best. She is based in Bs As, speaks perfect English, is all about customer service and is just and all around great person. She made all of our internal flight arrangements ( Bs As to the Falls, then to Salta, then to Mendoza) and she checked on us (in the best sense of being checked on!!) every step of our journey. She also made many of our hotel reservations and was just an all around fabulous person to work with. If you search here on Fodors for her name I'm sure you will get many other positive recommendations. We loved Argentina--have a great ime.

Isabel's email is [email protected]

You can book it all online yourselves. We have arranged two trips online. I would suggest you fly Lan rather than Aerolinas Argentina. Also all travels originates from BA. You cannot fly from Iguzau to Mendoza w/o going through BA. We flew to Iguazua, back to BA to fly to Mendoza. It was amusing because we were on the same plane with the same flight crew.

You can arrange for a package tour once you arrive at the Falls. We did not stay at the Sheraton in falls and were glad we did not stay because you are isolated. We stayed at Los Troncos, a small inn with Sophia and her husband, and could walk to town.

We loved Mendoza and plan to go back April 2011. We stayed at a small boutique hotel withn in walking distance of restaurants. We rented a car drove to the Chilean border besides visitng the wineries. All hotels will book winery day trips.

Bottom line you can organize it yourself. And yes, you can do it all in 10 days. Don't forget the hydrofoil to Uraguay!

MY husband and I are doing the same trip late OCtober but only for 8 days!. I have been doing it all myself with the help of this forum. Unfortunately all flights do go through BA. WHere are you thinking of staying in all these places? As of now we have a Falls view room at Sheraton in Iguazzu (great rate) and the Park Hyatt Mendoza

We used Isabel and would do so again. Flying internally in Argentina is somewhat unreliable and flight cancellations or changes are common. Good to have someone on the ground who will monitor these things for you and take care of things that need to be taken care of as they arise.
Greetings to Avrooster!

Hi, mjs!

When should we expect you back in our wonderful country?

mjs: I noticed you never answered my question in reply to your report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...enos-aires.cfm

my husband and son just returned from BA. They were there for a trade show and on their last day they decided to see some of the sites mentioned in the tour books. They had a nice breakfast and then were mugged by two older teenagers on bikes. They jerked their backpacks off their backs and shoved their hands down in their pockets and stole everything. They kept putting one hand in their jackets to suggest they had guns. They did not see any but weren't taking any chances. As this was going on residents walked by and just ignored it all. Friends that lived there say the crime has gotten so bad that many people have moved outside the city. Be very careful! As i said the areas they were going to were listed in the Eye Witness travel book as the top places to see in the city.

islandgirl355: I'm sorry about what happened to your husband and son, but I have lived in BA and its suburbs for "only" 69 years and I have never been mugged or had anything stolen from me.

Since I have never even heard of the "Eye Witness travel book", would you mind telling us more about exactly where and under what circumstances this happened to them?

It was 10:30 in the morning and they were in the La Boca area on Necochea Street. They were walking along and two guys on bikes came up. One blocked them from the front and threw down the bike started yelling in Spanish and acting like he had a weapon, the other threw down his bike behind them and started doing the same. My husband immediately handed over his money clip with all of his money from his front pocket. That wasn't enough for them, they jerked their back packs off their backs and started going through their pant pockets to make sure they got it all. People who were not tourist walked right by as it was going on and did nothing. They were staying at the Marriott and were warned that they should be careful of pick pockets and beggers on Florida Street.

Sorry to hear of your husband's and son's experiences in BA, it must have been frightening. However, having spent a month in BA I really don't feel it it is any less safe than any other major city in the world and indeed it felt a lot safer than many I have visited. Sadly, occurences of this type continue to increase all around the world. Handing over their money and not putting up a fight was exactly the right thing to do to avoid injury or worse. The thing to do in any city when sightseeing is try not to look too much like a tourist, don't carry backpacks unless absolutely necessary, don't carry too much cash and leave any valuables at home.

Thank you, islandgirl355.

Crellston has already said just about what I would have said.

I can only point out that La Boca is not a safe area at all, particularly as soon as you leave "Caminito" street.

I am sorry... All I cna say...
Flintstones

I did not realize that some are accusing avrooster of taking money from tourists. It was certainly not the case with us. Very much enjoyed our evening together. Afraid that my travel budget has been slashed as I have two daughters in College. Will probably limit our trips abroad to where they spend their junior year abroad.

who accused avooster of taking money from tourist?