Hello,
We are 4 people in our mid-late 20s visiting Buenos Aires and want to travel to Salta before May 25 for about a week. We are thinking that flying out is best as it saves time to just get there. We are interested in experiencing the culture and seeing artisanal crafts, nature, trekking, horseback riding, salt flats and other types of outdoor activities. Can someone please recommend a jumping off point? Must see places as well as hotel recommendations? We are spanish speaking so that shouldn't be an issue. We are also comfortable renting a car if it is a good option. We are willing to spend money when worth it, but economical options to be highly considered please.

thanks so much for your help!

A week is just abot the perfect amount of time to explore this region. The best way to get around is to rent a car. We have now done this trip twice and used Hertz who proved to be amongst the least expensive and have the best insurance cover. With four of you I would not go for the smallest car but upgrade to a mid range car, partly because of the additional comfort but mainly because of the additional power as cars can suffer as much as people with a lack of power at altitude,

Here is a link to our blog of a few years ago which combined the northern and southern circuits over a period of a week

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...ai/1/tpod.html entries 75-81 cover the trip

A more recent and shorter trip last year covering just Cachi and Cafayate is at http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...3537/tpod.html

It is easy enough to find accommodation as you arrive in each place ( at least it was in August and November when we travelled). We paid around 30 USD on average for a decent double, en suite room last year. I hesitate to recommend specific places as things do change but in Cafayate we stayed in Hostal La Penable in the corner of the main plaza which was very nice and in Cachi we stayed at Don Arturo as small, basic but very welcoming hospedaje.

Flying will be the quickest option but expensive. We used buses exclusively when travelling around Argentina but it will take around 20 hours from BA to salta. Not as bad as it sounds as the trip will be overnight and, if you go Ejecutivo class yup will get extremely comfortable, Lie flat beds, halfway decent food and maybe even wine. By the time you factor in transit times to and from airports, delays etc. It will take longer by bus but the difference is not as great as it first seems and it is around 1/3 of the cost of flying.

As for must see places, there are so many - Cachi, Cafayate, Purmarca, Chicoana, Huamahaca, Tilcara, Salineras Grande. The drives in between these places are also spectacular so allow plenty of time to stop off along the way.

Thanks so much for your response. Your are right. Flights are so expensive! So we aré actually considering taking a bus to save some cash. We ca just add a couple of extra days to our trip. Can you recommend a bus? I would prefer to splurge a bit and be comfortable and clean. Where does the bus usually take you to?

Will definitely look into renting a car to drive through all the places. Are there any must sees in your opinion? Or places that aren't worth seeing in comparison to others?

Will look at your link. Thanks so much!

Andesmar are one of the biggest and (IMO) best bus companies in Argentina. We have spent a total of around 4 months in the country and always used them whenever possible. Do book Ejecutivo / First/ Suite class if possible the extra comfort is well worth the additional fare on long journeys. It is similar to Firts or Business class on a good airline. The bus will take you directly from BA into Salta bus station which is close to the centre of town. Take an iPad or something to read! ,

All the places I mentioned above are definitely worth seeing. The salt flats are very impressive ( but no so much if you have been or are going to Uyuni in. Bolivia!) Cafayate is a great place to sample the wonderful wine they produce in the region. Tilcara is good for artesania products and handcrafts and hiking. We enjoyed Chicoana for its horses but that was probably not worth the effort in retrospect. Leaving the Salineras Grande we had a couple of options on which way to leave. We chose San Antonio de las Cobres. Big mistake!! It is a very long drive at altitude and when we got there we soon realised that it was a complete dump so we carried on driving which made for a very long day.

Here's a little trick I learned a while back about using miles. If anyone in your group happens to be an American Airlines frequent flier, then you can buy miles on AA.com through their system to use on LAN. I did this for my month in Argentina last year and flew everywhere for a fraction of the cost. While I also considered renting a car locally I ended up hiring a guide (Angie, whom Crellston can tell you all about) who was worth her weight in pure gold. It might be worth looking into a mix of flight, bus and car to mix it up. Just a suggestion! Crellston has been there far more than I- and I travel solo. So take that into consideration.

Thanks so much for both of your help and suggestion! There is so much info out there that it can be a bit confusing. I am in the mix of either busing or flying- wherever I can find a best deal really. Aside from how we will get there, which I am going to figure out today as I make a few calls to figure out pricing, is there a recommended driving route if I do decide to go with the car rental instead of the guide (will look into Angie, thanks!)
Crellston, when you say you chose San Antonio, did you take 40 south from San Antonio? or just cross it to get onto 51?
Jhubbel- amazing tip on the miles... Will look into is as we just flew AA here and have accumulated lots of them!

This is the itinerary we have mapped out.

1. Arrive at Salta (spend the night if it's late arrival or leave same day if arrive early)

2. Drive to Purmamarca. Stay in Purmamarca a couple of days and use as our jumping off point to drive to Humahuaca, Tilarca & Salinas Grandes. Should Humahuaca and Tilarca have a full day in each? or can do both in 1 day? Trying to figure out how many days to dedicate to Purmamarca, Humahuaca and Tilarca. I figure Salinas Grandes is good for a drive by on the way to or from somewhere. Shouldn't be there more than an hour tops right?

My question is, do we drive through Salinas Grandes on the way to Cachi or do Salinas Grandes and head back to Purmamarca and take 9 towards Salta and cut back to Cachi?
Some confusion if we should avoid driving south on 40 from Salinas Grandes straight through to Cachi (Passing San Antonio, or take 51 when we pass San Antonio in direction towards Salta and then cross back via Cuesta del Obispo to Cachi?

3. From Purmamarca to Cachi
4. Cachi 1 or 2 nights?
5. Cachi-Cafayate
6. Cafayate 1 or 2 nights
7. Cafayate - Salta and fly or bus out either that evening or next day.

Thanks so much for your help. Really appreciated!!

maddamman; I was having a look to your itinerary and pls let me do some corrections...
Do you have 7 days?
So, please, make a good use of that wonderful time...
Day 1; Salta - Purmamarca, you can go thorugh Tumbaya and have a look of the nice church and the clay monument in its square... That very day, after checking in at a hotel in Purmamarca, about 4;30 pm. drive to Salt Flats. That is the best time for pics! You will be back for dinner... DO not even think about driving to San Antonio de Los Cobres,... it is not really worth that loop. It´s a long way and altittude is an issue.
Day 2; Purmamarca after a walk around Los Colorados...( do no miss that walk) drive to Uquia - Humahuaca (just to have a
look) and get back to have lunch in TIlcara.( you can eat at Yacon (My favorite) or at"A la Paila" in front of the main square... or "El Patio" as a Option B & C...Back to Salta.
Day 3; Salta - Cachi
Day 4; Cachi - Cafayate visiting COlomé...
Day 5; Visiting wineries and goat cheese tasting in Cafayate.
Visiting Pachamama Museum in Amaicha.
Day 6; Cafayate - Salta
Day 7 take a time for the town and relax
Renting a car give you some privacy, but at the end one of you misses part of the wonderful sceneries. And between four people a private service is much more affordable.
Remember that many people who rented car (you cnasee that in the forums) had at lasst to pay more. Not always the economical is the best.
Have a wonderful time in the NW.
Warm regards,
Angie/Flintstones

maddamman: JIC you don't realize it, the answer above is from Angie, the guide TOP poster jhubbel recommends.

Her e-mail is: [email protected]

This is jhubbel's trip report, starring Angie:

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...omment-8211032

Have a great time in my country.

Thank you for all of your help! Avrooster, the forum has been a great read! Thanks for sharing!

Angie, I have a little more than 7 days- more on 9 to 10 days. Thanks for clarifying the driving route- good to know. It's all starting to come together and make sense now.

I'd like to know your thought on what places are worth spending more than 1 night- and if you have any hotel recommendations. I am looking into doing a horseback riding tour, what is the best place? It would be nice to do a full day or half day where they take you sight seeing and a lunch and/snack. Also am looking forward to some artisanal shopping and good food! Recommendations are welcome. We don't drink alcohol, so we might steer clear of the wineries and wine tasting- anything else to keep us busy in Cafayate? We are looking for sight seeing, trekking, riding, eating, shopping and relaxing out away from the city.

Thank you very much~!!

Artesanal shopping is all over the place. But the most variety is probably to be found in. Salta city. Tilcara also haves an active artisan scene.

In Salta we stayed at Hostal Salta por Siempre. Very nice staff and decent rooms but we decided to move after a couple of nights as it was just too noisy ( partying until the early hours). We usually stay at Casa Hernandez in San Lorenzo about 20 mins out of Salta ( no problem if you have a car). We have returned there several times and love it. The best place we have stayed in Argentina.

San Lorenzo also one of the best restaurant we tried in Argentina - Parrila la Tosca. Well worth a visit. The Parrila was the best I have ever had ( and there have been a few!). They serve it freshly grilled piece by piece rather than in a big pile which is usually the case.

The main reason for visiting Cafayatevis usually the bodge gas but if wine is not of interest you could spend a couple of hours visiting the goat farm. There is also a pretty good tourist kiosk in the main square who were really helpful and can fix you up with horse riding etc.. The town is also jam packed with good restaurants. I can't recall the names of many of the places but it does pay to get off the main square to some of the smaller places.

"Tilcara also haves"! "the bodge gas"!

Blame it on those fancy modern computers.

Just kidding! The temptation was irresistible! LOL!

I knew I could rely on you to correct Apple's autocorrect Avrooster. I am surprised you didn't also comment on my spelling of Cafayate as "Cafayatevis" !!!

I'll make no exceptions, next time! LOL!!!

Thanks for all of your feedback and sense of humor . Some last minute changes to the trio, turns out will just be 2 of us. Upon waiting for the actualization of the miles we purchased to fly via LAN there seems to be a limited number of flights for our desired date, this Saturday May 10 until May 19/20. We might end up going via airline if there are tickets from Monday May 12 through May 21 or 22. Really hoping the flight situation works out.
But I really want a backup plan. If we take a bus I really want to splurge and make sure it's the most comfortable I can get. I have been scoping out plataforma10 and a few blogs, but cannot get her what is the best or at least top 3 to travel with. How much time in advance do you think is necessary to book a car and hotels? Can I do as I arrive? Or is it so trendy now that I must reserve online?

Thanks so much.

You are very welcome Maddaaman.

Probably best to book your first nights accomodation in Salta advance. That way you will at least know where you you are going after a long journey. Elsewhere on the "loop" we just found somewhere on arrival and had no problems. In fact, it was nice to just have a look at a couple of places and pick the one we liked best.

As far as bus companies are concerned, as mentioned previously, we found Andesmar to be the best company in terms of service and comfort. Plataforma is a good site as is http://www.omnilineas.com/

Cama Suite and Cama Ejecutivo are the highest classes but the name do vary between companies. You will almost certainly get a seat on the day but if you want the top classes book ASAP.

Cars can usually be booked on arrival but what we did was to book online with Avis just to make sure we had a car ( no credit card or deposit required). We then cancelled as we got a better deal with Hertz.

Flintstones (Angie): if, as seems to be the case, maddamman decides to rent a car, which outfit would you suggest renting it from?

I know top poster crellston had a good experience with Hertz, but which firm do YOU recommend?

Yes, unfortunately I have read quite a few horror stories about renting cars in Argentina.

Have a great time in our country, maddamman.

Renting is always a surprise, but I would rent at Localiza, it is not as cheap as Noa or eurocar...(both with horrible reviews at all forums) and not as expensive as Hertz.
About Hotels... If you need any suggestion about them... pls do not ehsitate in making questions.
Warm regards,
Flintstones.

Thank you, Angie!

You´re welcome!
Maddamman, you can add a night in Cafayate and visit Amaicha with more time... more if you like the place.
If you rent a car, remember it is good to have a garage included in the price of your hotel. I highly recommend Killa but if it is out of your budget, pls consider Asembal, only one block from main square.To have your car covered will give you an extra confidence.
regards,
Flintstones.

Thank you all again! Almost locked in with my trip!
Can anyone recommend how much pesos to bring with me? We are paying for everything cash and need to estimate how much to bring with us.

Also, we arrive on a Sunday, is that an issue with car rental places?

thanks again!