Hello! My husband, 13-year old daughter, and I will be going to Argentina for two weeks in early July. We plan to spend the bulk of the trip, up to 10 days, in the Northwest/Salta area. We will have a rental car. I’ve been reading postings on this and other forums and am happily researching itineraries. I have a few questions I haven’t seen discussed in previous posts so I’d love your advice.

• We’ll be in the Northwest on Independence Day (July 9). Any advice on what town might be the most interesting that day? Will stores/restaurants be open on July 9?
• How about Sundays in that area? Do we have to plan around things being closed?
• How is cellular coverage? Can we rely on our phones for driving navigation in the Salta - Humahuaca, Salinas Grandes, Cafayate, Cachi loops? Or better to get a rental with GPS? Or is it even necessary?
• Any suggestions for nice but not super expensive estancias in the area, or hotels that sort of approximate the experience of an estancia (relaxing, old world charm, pretty setting, horses)?
• And, from my 13 year old: Do you think any of the hotel outdoor pools will be open in July?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

We have done those circuits a couple of times and loved it. One of our favourite parts of South America.

- of the town’s you are likely to visit, I would have thought that either Salta or Cafayate would have the most going on on July 9. It may be worth checking to see if there are any rodeos happening in Chicoana on that day.

- Sundays are likely to be quiet with most shops closed in most places. They also seemed to strictly observe siesta times every day of the week when we were there!

- we didn’t use our cell phones at all but I doubt they would work anywhere other than the main towns. You will be driving in some very remote areas! We managed fine without a gps and just used a map from the tourist office in Salta. It was a struggle in some places as there were not always road signs to point the way! A GPS might be a good idea or just download google maps for the area and use it offline with the phones GPS.

- we didn’t really stay in any estancias and stuck mostly to places in the towns and village. There was one place called Finca la Paya about 10km outside of Cachi on the road to Molinos - I don’t know about horses but I do remember loads of goats! In Molinos itself was the Hacienda de Molinos a stunning old colonial house conversed to a hotel. We didn’t stay but had lunch there. I would definitely take a look at that. It is opposite one of the most beautiful churches we have seen in South America.

- I think you may struggle to find pools open in July. We usually stay at Casa Hernandez in San Lorenzo and their pool is open year round I think. Too cold for me though as I recall!

I am in the process of transferring entries from our old defunct blog to our new blog on our time in the region which will habpve more detail and a lot of photos. I will try to remember to post a link here when done. You may find some of it helpful.

Thank you very much! I appreciate the information and would love to see your blog. Deb

You are welcome. I posted the link to our updated blog here NW Argentina Roadtrip