We are trying to create an itinerary that balances city and countryside, not much driving (no more than 2 hours a day/by driver) and appeals to our interests (city life, museums, restaurants, nightlife, scenic beauty, beautiful beaches, laid back charming towns, indigenous culture.) We have already been to Ecuador (cities, countryside, Amazon islands, Galagapos), Peru, Bolivia, Chile. We've eliminated Mendoza and Bariloche because of the crowds and the driving and Patagonia because DH isn't interested. We've decided to save Salvador de Bahia and the rest of Brazil for a separate trip.
We will be traveling high season (because its easiest time to leave work), so we'll want to go December 16 to Jan 2-5. I've read that the beaches get jammed just after Christmas, yet we like to end a trip with a beach stay. We've selected the following places and would appreciate feedback:
Fly in to Buenos Aires (American BC frequent flyer)
6 nights in BA
2 nights at an estancia outside BA-- we're waffling on this
ferry to Montevideo for day
2 nights in Colonia de Sacramento - do we need driver to get there?
fly Montevideo to Iguazu Falls 2 nights
we also want to spent 2 days in Paraty and 3 days in Angra dos Reis -- Do we fly Iguazu to Rio and drive to these places from Rio or ????
We'll depart for the states from Rio but have concerns about safety there. Hmm, if we did see a bit of Rio we could then end with beach at Angra dos Reis, yes?
If you think we need more or less time in a place, please give your opinion.
Muchicimas gracias
Robbie

I wouldn't spend two nights in Colonia. The historical centre is a pleasant enough, fairly touristy place with a few small but not terribly inspiring museums.

Why don't you spend the time in Montevideo, particularly if you are interested in museums, go and see the Garcia Torres museum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C...es_Garc%C3%ADa

Florianopolis www.nexussurf.com my fav in Brazil

42 perfect beaches MV area for Uruguay

Iguazu Falls view room at the Sheraton my fav

Fly Iguazu Rio bus is a long grungy drudge.

Never rent a car find driver/guides cheaper

from $50 per half day.

Have fun,

Don't skip Rio, a gorgeous city with great food. We spent a week there, used reasonable caution, and didn't feel at all unsafe.

1. Beaches north of Punta del Este are great. We stayed in LaBarra which has great beaches (La Posta del Congrejo)
2. La Huella restaurant in Jose Ignacio. Great food on the beach. Anthony Bourdain went there to eat
3. Visit Punta Diablo (about 2 hour drive from LaBarra)
4. Montevideo is very interesting especially the Central Market we ate at "Viejo del Mar".
5. 2 days in Colonia is adequate. Stay at the Plaza Mayor B&B which is right in the old part of the city. We liked a pizza place called "Bodeguita" which is about 200 meters from the hotel.
6. In Brazil I would visit Buzios. Very interesting place with beautiful beaches.

I haven't been to Brazil yet (I'm actually planning a trip right now) but I have been to Argentina and Uruguay and can comment on that part of your trip. I really enjoyed Colonial del Sacremento and think it's worth including. We relaxed, enjoyed the cute town, and found it to be a pleasant detour while in BA. We wound up splurging and staying at the Carmelo Four Seasons for a few days for the "splurge" part of the trip, and it was incredible and there was a great estancia nearby where we had our dinners and we did canoeing down the river and took cooking classes and explored the town. And I also loved visiting an estancia outside of BA and highly recommend that too. (We actually visited the estancia as a day trip from BA) and if you're short time you could give that a try too, although we left wishing we could spend the night to enjoy the experience longer. As for Buenos Aires, it looks like you'll need more time for Rio so I think you can cut out a day or two. We LOVED Buenos Aires, but you can certainly enjoy the city in 4 days, which will allocate more time to Rio (you'll want at least 2 days there). I'm actually researching Paraty and Angra now and it looks like your allocation is appropriate (but you can add/cut a day or so depending on how much you like the beach and if you're needy elsewhere in the trip). As for getting there, you can fly into Sao Paulo or Rio and then drive. Angra is two hours from Rio and Paraty is half way between both cities. Where is your final flight home out of? That will of course influence your routing. Hope this helps.

Take a bus to from Angra. Don't rent a car. Cheaper and a lot less bother.

All your input is very helpful. We have a choice of return cities. As of now, the best option seems to be Rio. Our itinerary is morphing, of course. While Colonia looked interesting, I'm inclined toward Susan7s view. We have been to many, many small colonial towns in Mexico (like San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas) and decided it didn't warrant the drive. We also nixed the estancias. DH doesn't ride horses any more and had enough of farms in his youth. (Should have mentioned I'm 65 and DH is 73 so we like our pace leisurely.) Gulliver443, I'd never pass up a great $ Seasons, so I looked it up. Their website shows no availability at Xmas but that could be further researched. Once you spend the 1/2 day getting there and back, it is mostly a place to indulge in the beauty of the countryside?
So now, it looks like 6 days BA, 2 days Montevideo, 2 days Iguazu Falls, fly to Rio for 3 1/2 days then I'm considering Buzios for our beach stay. We like to end trips with a few days at the beach unwinding. Buzios seems the closest place with splurge hotels and a two hour drive from Rio. Then after resting up at the beach, drive to Rio and fly home to LA. How does that sound? More hotel recs welcome.
Gracias

robbie- here is a link to our blog & photos of our time in Montevideo and Colonia. I preferred Colonia but that is just my subjective view and there is certainly a lot more on Montevideo to keep your interest:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...8420/tpod.html


http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...7680/tpod.html

Thanks Crellston, your blog gave me a good feel for both places. Now though, it turns out its harder to get my air on BC with f miles than Alaska originally protrayed.

crellston, I enjoyed your blogs and sent them over to DH as we plan our 2012 visit to Uruguay. As always, your TRs and Blog are a big help - and interesting. My best to you and to DW.

~Marnie

Marnie: does crellston´s blog suggest trying the egg-only salad at Fervor?

Glad you enjoyed the blog Marnie and thanks for your good wishes.

i'm sure i told you but we liked mendoza more than we liked BA... and we did like BA...

Some comments on Rio:
If you stay in Ipanema or Leblon, you can experience both the city and a fantastic beach in Rio. I know there's a Marriott beachfront in Ipanema. I'd recommend an afternoon for seeing Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) or Corcovado/Cristo Redemptor. (If I had to pick one, I'd do Sugarloaf.)

Paraty is a colonial town and you need to take a boat to the island beaches to swim.

I see the NW is not in your plans, so maybe your should consider Salt aand Jujuy provinces for the next time. And you will not have to make mistakes in getting salads as Crellston did! (LOL!) because the flavours in the NW are probably much more varied and interesting than the food elsewhere!!!
Just make your research about the NW and I am confident you will choose it.
Flintstones