Tenative Itinerary: BA and Salta
 

Here is a breif itinerary. If you are not familiar with my other posts, my BF and I are going to SA from the midwest area of the US. We are late 20's. I have recieved a lot of great comments on my postings thus far, so please, keep them coming! We have been doing a lot of research, but as you can see, we are still somewhat "lost" in what we are doing.


July 7
Arrive in BA. We are staying at the Garden House Factory Hostel in San Telmo.

July 8-10
Cemetary, eat, shop. Sightsee. I like to shop, and I would like to come back home with some clothes as well as gifts, and other great items--any recommendations for affordable shopping?

July 11-13
We were planning on going to Iguazu. Not sure if we are going to still go because the bus is 18 hours to get there and time is of the essence. Instead, we would like to go to an Estancia for a day (we were planning on Estancia de Dos Hermanos), and also spending some time doing something adventurous...any ideas?

July 15
Fly from BA to Salta. We are thinking of staying at Casa Hernandez which is a little out of Salta, but is supposed to have nice accommodations. We will rent a car.

July 16
Bum around Salta. I would like some more ideas of where to eat (inexpensive and yummy) and stuff to do.

July 17
Go to Cafayete. Possibly stay the night? We need some ideas on what to do here, places to go, and opinions on whether we should spend the night or go back to Salta.

July 18
Salta. Go to the Acay mountains and possibly hike. Anyone have any better ideas?

July 19
Back to BA.

July 20
Last night in BA. We would like to end with a "Bang"--maybe stay at a nice place or go to an excellent resturant. Hmm..any ideas?

July 21
Back to the US

One day you can do a day trip to Tigre/ the Delta - there you can do trekking on amazing untouched islands, eat well, bike ride, canoe...all that...i cant think of the website at the moment but send me a message and ill have his info ready ! its a great trip...very "alternative"

I think Iguazu is a must see. If time is of the essence, why not fly? It's not all that expensive (if you talk to the right people) and it is one of the natural wonders of the world!

As for estancias, if you really want a good 1-day experience, I'd suggest santa susana's. I wrote about it in my last trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...trip-to-ba.cfm

Cheers! and let me know if you have any other questions.

-S.

In Salta don't miss Balcare St for great music and lots of restaurants from which to choose. Right in town is Dona Salta which had very good food. We tended to eat a variety of empanadas alot in the NW and they were cheap and delicious.

I would definitely stay overnight in Cafayate. Its a really nice little town. U can do hiking/walking, wine tasting and just wandering. what do u enjoy doing?

IF are truly specatacular and if u can possibly see them, I wouldn't miss them. If you eliminate them u would seem to have a few extra days that u could use to explore the NW. Tilcara is a fun town and Purmaraca is nice for a look around with the hills of 7 colors very scenic. Since u will be driving u can really explore a bit.

I have a very long TR on the NW, click on my name and look under trip reports. We have a section on Salta and Cafayate area.

Enjoy your trip.

i just came back last month from BA...it is a fantastic place...iguazu is fantastic but if time and money are a problem, then i would drop it...its just a huge waterfall and getting there and staying there are quite expensive... ok ok, i know its world class but given the situation....

the overnite buses would save you money and are quite comfortable and about 1/3 the price of flying...mendoza is an interesting place and we liked it better than BA...

Thank you for all the comments. Where are the cheap tickets to IF? I looked online and I could not find any for less than 200 USD per person...too expensive for us!

I will look into staying overnight in Cayfayete, any suggestions of places to stay?

Tigre/Delta--I do not know where that is. Is that a day trip from Salta or BA? How do you get there? I will do some more research on this topic...

Excited,
kaross

Tigre/Delta is a day trip from BA. There have been TR and posts on the logistics of getting there.

In Cafayate we stayed at Hotel Killa which is fabulous. Check it out and see if its in your price range.

I see you are considering Casa Hernandez in San Lorenzo. We stay there beofore and after our drive around the NW and loved it. It really is a great choice, rery comfortable accomodation and easy access by bus or car into Salta. Alex and Reijke are great hosts and are a mine of information about the region.

Tigre was a good day out from BA and the easiest waqy to get there is by train along the coast from the main BA station. Boar trips can easily booked upon arrival.

other great day trips are lujan, tigre, colonia, san isidro and montevideo!

Hola Kaross

Concerning your question about the restaurant(s)in Salta: there are many nice restaurants in Salta. One of our favorites is La Casona del Molino. This is a place where the Salteños like to hang out. It is an old mansion, just outside the center, with live music in every room. Very very nice and good food for good price.
Also in San Lorenzo there are a considerate number of nice restaurants,a small hike is possible in beautiful nature, horseriding trips.... Bienvenido!


Thanks again CyC !!

Big Saludos
Alex y Rijkje

Hi Kaross! I can tell you some things about BA,
There are many places to go shopping! I love shopping too so I can tell you some spots, but I'm sure you will find info in any guidebook: Let's start by areas:

City Center (what we call Microcentro):
-Galerías Pacífico (it's a mall)
-Florida Street: the pedestrian one, 10 blocks full of shops (Galerías Pacífico is located on this street)

Barrio Norte - Recoleta:
-Patio Bullrich (let's say the most luxurious mall)
-Santa Fe Avenue, a street full of shops
-the area around the Recoleta Cemetery: on saturdays and Sundays there is the Recoleta fair, you can buy artcrafts, handmade clothes & accessories.
-Buenos Aires Design: a place for furniture and stuff for your house (Hard Rock Café is located there)

Palermo:
-Alto Palermo (mall, you can take the subway line D)
-Paseo Alcorta (mall near the MALBA museum)
-Palermo Queens area: there are many outlets and shops with important sales. It's the area around 4700, Córdoba Avenue

*Abasto Shopping (in Abasto, you can take the subway but line B)
*A few weeks ago opened a new one called DOT BA, but I haven't gone there. It's said it's the biggest mall in BA
*San Telmo is the best place for antiques. On Sunday mornings there is a fair, San Pedro Telmo Fair, on Defensa Street

I think this covers all
On your last day in BA I would go to a tango show

I hope this info in useful! Have a nice trip!

And about Tigre/Delta, you can take the regular train (from Retiro to Tigre) or from Retiro to Maipú and then change to Tren de la Costa, which is a more touristy train.
In Tigre you can:
-take a catamaran
- go shopping to Puerto de Frutos market, full of handmade stuff. People go during weekends
-Parque de la Costa: Argentina's largest, most modern amusement park
-or just walk along the town looking at the architecture
It's a very nice way to spend the day

In the NW, you definitely have to get to Purmamarca and Tilcara! In Purmamarca, walk the trail that goes behind the town through the hills. Be sure you end up at the cemetery (and stop to smell the roses, literally, they smell differently there, and see the wonderful old tree outside the church, etc.). Just outside of Tilcara, are interesting ruins high on a plateau.

Personally, I think that you should stay in Salta city instead of the outskirts. That way, you can really enjoy the colorful and active street and night life.

If you do cut out Iguazu, then please consider adding at least a day to your NW itinerary!

I agree with skatedancer about staying in the city of Salta -- the nightlife is very vibrant and I wouldnt want to drive back to a hotel outside the city. There are many very nice hotels and B7B's to choose from in Salta.

In Tilcara there is a great drive or hike up to Devil's throat

Skatedancer would add more than one day to the NW,... I think, Kaross, you have a limited time for the NW, and I would probably think about this itinerary, but still a little tight if you will drive yourself...
let see. you arrive in the afternoon, for sure...
You have a walk in the town, see the church or the MAAM (a must!) and the main square... St Francisco Church... Eat some empanadas at DOÑA SALTA and maybe go to the hotel.
Jul 16, Salta Cafayate... one night AT LEAST! tasting?? Goat cheese factory... Not even think about driving back the same day...
Jul 17th driving back to Salta on the same road. some more stops.
Jul 18th, maybe SAlta - Purmamarca - Salinas grandes, overnight in Purmamarca and
Jul 19th Tilcara if you have time, but maybe very tight schedule.
Or better go to Purmamarca and the Salt Flats and Tilcara first on 16 and 17th and go to Cafayate at the end. Acay? To cold at this time of the year, also toooo high and if you are not used to hike, I would not recommend to even try!
With this schedule you have a huge area covered without being in a rush. Enjoy...
Flintstones.

you are all awesome. I cannot wait to post my trip report when I come back. The ideas are fabulous and I am taking all of your advice. Thank you for the shopping destinations as well as the NW intenerary.

Where would you stay if you went to Salta? We will defintly be spending a night in Cafayette; thanks for the advice...

I look forward to your post!

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

A little off the subject but can anyone advise me whether there is a good time of year to do both the NW Argentina and
Bariloche lake crossing to Chile?

Does anyone have a good travel agent in NW Argentina?

Pat

So what is the consensus on a guide versus no guide for this area? I have been chatting with Flinstone on touring the area with her - but $$$ is always an issue. We have travelled many places on our own, never with a a guide, and have driven in lots of countries. However, never in such a remote/rough terrain?

Pat (wanttogo):

September or October could be "a good time of year to do both the NW Argentina and Bariloche lake crossing to Chile". It will still be cold in our South, however.

See my answer below to not_enuf_vaca for a great guide in NW Argentina.

For a travel agent for all of Argentina, research "Isabel" in the same way suggested below for "Angie".

not_enuf_vaca:

While obviously "$$$ is always an issue", I don't think you would regret using Angie (Flintstones) as your guide in our NW.

Research the quality of her services by writing "Angie" in the TA Argentina forum's search feature: http://tinyurl.com/nw9f4

Have a great time in our country.