Trip Report:Family4travels to Argentina-BA, El Calafate, Iguazu
Apr 13th, 2009, 08:11 PM
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Trip Report:Family4travels to Argentina-BA, El Calafate, Iguazu
Returned ten days ago from our first trip to Argentina! We are a family of four (DS age 13 and DD age 16). We had soooo many people asking why we chose to go to Argentina I thought I would answer that here as well. When we were trying to decide where to go my DH said , “How about Argentina!” (he had been brining this up for awhile but I was really not interested in going anywhere in South America). However, after a trip last summer back to Europe when the euro was at its height we were all looking for someplace a bit cheaper that would also allow us to do some shopping without feeling like we were paying 1.5x more than we would need to in the states. So, I headed to the bookstore to check out Argentina. As soon as I started reading about Patagonia and how you could go “minitrekking” on an ice glacier I was hooked!! I’m always looking for some sort of unique thing we can do while traveling (riding camels in Morocco or elephants in Thailand) – it always makes for a great experience/adventure and an awesome Christmas pic. Then I started reading on fodors about how everyone loved BA and soon I was booking plane tickets there!!
Our basic itinerary was a total of 8 nights in BA (broken up at beginning and end of trip), 3 nights El Calafate and 1 night in Iguazu.
Buenos Aires:
Our overall impressions of BA were that the food was fabulous, the people really nice and the shopping fantastic. We had a wonderful time there but DH and I agreed we wouldn’t rate it above any European city we had been to. DH described it as “shabby chic”!!
We stayed in the Palermo Soho neighborhood and really loved it. Had a great feel to it and tons of excellent restaurants and the best shopping in town. We weren’t planning on not using the subway, but we ended up either walking or taking taxis everywhere. Taxis are really inexpensive, particularly with 4 of us. Sometimes we had the hotel or restaurant call one, but we often hailed them on the street and never had any problems with them. Just note that if you have someone call a taxi for you then the minimum cost is 8 pesos. We learned this the hard way when the fare came to 6.50 so DH handed him 7 pesos as he got out of the car. The driver started yelling at him. I went and retrieved the hostess in the restaurant to help interpret and she explained that if you call the taxi it is a minimum of 8 pesos – ahhhh!!! Lesson learned. Also, note that the driving is absolutely crazy in BA. Those white stripes to delineate the lanes are apparently merely a suggestion and keep in mind the pedestrian NEVER has the right of way!!!
Hotel: MIRAVIDA SOHO
We stayed at the Miravida Soho for all 8 nights. This place really is as wonderful as everyone reports. James has put together a wonderful small boutique hotel, and his staff is extremely helpful and charming. Always willing to make reservations/phone calls for you – one evening Nadia even located where we could find some medicine my DH needed. Our first two nights we had two of the courtyard rooms. They are not large but equipped with everything you would need and a small balcony onto the quiet courtyard and really quite cozy. It was really nice that rooms also came equipped with plug adapters. The next 3 nights and upon our return visit we stayed in the suite. Excellent for a family of 4 (if kids can share a bed and you can all share a bathroom). There are two rooms one with a king size bed and one with a sofa sleep. Both rooms are quite large and we were very pleased to stay there (and saved us money from renting the two rooms!!)
A hot breakfast is served off a limited but nice menu. Basically you have 4 choices: French toast with bacon, poached eggs and spinach with bacon, scrambled eggs with bacon or yogurt with fruit and granola. Everything was yummy (and yes, you can ask for French toast and eggs – we did), and the bacon was like no bacon we have had at home – delicious!! If you were staying for more than 4-5 days the choices might feel really limited, but since our 8 day stay was broken up we were really happy with it. The girl who worked the breakfast room was so sweet and knew our drink orders by the 2nd morning. The wine bar is a nice place to hang out before or after dinner and particularly nice for my husband to try wines since I don’t drink. Hotel was in walking distance to tons of restaurants and shopping in Palermo Soho.
BIKE TOURS:
We did two bike tours with www.urbanbiking.com. They had been recommended by someone here on fodors and also the company that the Miravida Soho recommended. We first did their BA tour of the south. I had booked a private tour for us – which turned out to be a REALLY good thing. I was sure that the website said all tours started at 10am, but that morning before heading down to breakfast I looked at my receipt and it said starting time was 9am and it was 8:45am and we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and some of us were still getting ready. I had the hotel call them immediately and they said “try to come as soon as you can, but they would wait”. We arrived about 9:50am and there was Santiago patiently waiting for us. This was a fabulous way to spend a morning and early afternoon and a great way to see different parts of the city.
We first biked down to Puerto Madero – very calm, pretty and quiet. From there we rode to the ecological reserve (it was one of Argentinas many holidays so there were a ton of joggers there), and stopped for our first tastes of mate and alfohars(sp?) Next we rode past the Boca Juniors stadium and then on to La Boca. I know a lot of people say it is super touristy but it was interesting to see and learn the history of this area. From there we rode through San Telmo and then to Plaza de Mayo where they were preparing for demonstrations that day due to the holiday. Back to Plaza San Martin where we began around 2pm (so if you start when you should at 9am you’d be back around 1pm). Santiago was a great guide and he gave us a lot of history along the way and was happy to answer any questions. The riding to Puerto Madero, reserve, and La Boca was great as not a lot of traffic. It can be tight riding from from San Telmo-Plaza de Mayo-Plaza San Martin with the traffic, but I never felt in danger. I just wouldn’t go with really young kids.
More later....
Our basic itinerary was a total of 8 nights in BA (broken up at beginning and end of trip), 3 nights El Calafate and 1 night in Iguazu.
Buenos Aires:
Our overall impressions of BA were that the food was fabulous, the people really nice and the shopping fantastic. We had a wonderful time there but DH and I agreed we wouldn’t rate it above any European city we had been to. DH described it as “shabby chic”!!
We stayed in the Palermo Soho neighborhood and really loved it. Had a great feel to it and tons of excellent restaurants and the best shopping in town. We weren’t planning on not using the subway, but we ended up either walking or taking taxis everywhere. Taxis are really inexpensive, particularly with 4 of us. Sometimes we had the hotel or restaurant call one, but we often hailed them on the street and never had any problems with them. Just note that if you have someone call a taxi for you then the minimum cost is 8 pesos. We learned this the hard way when the fare came to 6.50 so DH handed him 7 pesos as he got out of the car. The driver started yelling at him. I went and retrieved the hostess in the restaurant to help interpret and she explained that if you call the taxi it is a minimum of 8 pesos – ahhhh!!! Lesson learned. Also, note that the driving is absolutely crazy in BA. Those white stripes to delineate the lanes are apparently merely a suggestion and keep in mind the pedestrian NEVER has the right of way!!!
Hotel: MIRAVIDA SOHO
We stayed at the Miravida Soho for all 8 nights. This place really is as wonderful as everyone reports. James has put together a wonderful small boutique hotel, and his staff is extremely helpful and charming. Always willing to make reservations/phone calls for you – one evening Nadia even located where we could find some medicine my DH needed. Our first two nights we had two of the courtyard rooms. They are not large but equipped with everything you would need and a small balcony onto the quiet courtyard and really quite cozy. It was really nice that rooms also came equipped with plug adapters. The next 3 nights and upon our return visit we stayed in the suite. Excellent for a family of 4 (if kids can share a bed and you can all share a bathroom). There are two rooms one with a king size bed and one with a sofa sleep. Both rooms are quite large and we were very pleased to stay there (and saved us money from renting the two rooms!!)
A hot breakfast is served off a limited but nice menu. Basically you have 4 choices: French toast with bacon, poached eggs and spinach with bacon, scrambled eggs with bacon or yogurt with fruit and granola. Everything was yummy (and yes, you can ask for French toast and eggs – we did), and the bacon was like no bacon we have had at home – delicious!! If you were staying for more than 4-5 days the choices might feel really limited, but since our 8 day stay was broken up we were really happy with it. The girl who worked the breakfast room was so sweet and knew our drink orders by the 2nd morning. The wine bar is a nice place to hang out before or after dinner and particularly nice for my husband to try wines since I don’t drink. Hotel was in walking distance to tons of restaurants and shopping in Palermo Soho.
BIKE TOURS:
We did two bike tours with www.urbanbiking.com. They had been recommended by someone here on fodors and also the company that the Miravida Soho recommended. We first did their BA tour of the south. I had booked a private tour for us – which turned out to be a REALLY good thing. I was sure that the website said all tours started at 10am, but that morning before heading down to breakfast I looked at my receipt and it said starting time was 9am and it was 8:45am and we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and some of us were still getting ready. I had the hotel call them immediately and they said “try to come as soon as you can, but they would wait”. We arrived about 9:50am and there was Santiago patiently waiting for us. This was a fabulous way to spend a morning and early afternoon and a great way to see different parts of the city.
We first biked down to Puerto Madero – very calm, pretty and quiet. From there we rode to the ecological reserve (it was one of Argentinas many holidays so there were a ton of joggers there), and stopped for our first tastes of mate and alfohars(sp?) Next we rode past the Boca Juniors stadium and then on to La Boca. I know a lot of people say it is super touristy but it was interesting to see and learn the history of this area. From there we rode through San Telmo and then to Plaza de Mayo where they were preparing for demonstrations that day due to the holiday. Back to Plaza San Martin where we began around 2pm (so if you start when you should at 9am you’d be back around 1pm). Santiago was a great guide and he gave us a lot of history along the way and was happy to answer any questions. The riding to Puerto Madero, reserve, and La Boca was great as not a lot of traffic. It can be tight riding from from San Telmo-Plaza de Mayo-Plaza San Martin with the traffic, but I never felt in danger. I just wouldn’t go with really young kids.
More later....
Apr 14th, 2009, 03:10 PM
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Thank you for a great report, jgg!
I didn't know about the minimum rate for a radio taxi you call.
I checked and you are absolutely right, but the radio taxi companies don't exactly emphasize it. It may even be illegal, but who's going to complain about one peso?
Looking forward to your next chapter.
I didn't know about the minimum rate for a radio taxi you call.
I checked and you are absolutely right, but the radio taxi companies don't exactly emphasize it. It may even be illegal, but who's going to complain about one peso?
Looking forward to your next chapter.
Apr 15th, 2009, 01:45 PM
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football - we did bring cash and exchanged it at the Banco Nacional in the airport. But after that we used credit cards for most meals and also got cash from the ATMS. We were always able to get out 500 pesos with no problems.
avrooster - never thought about the legality of the whole thing - but your right not worth worrying about one peso
avrooster - never thought about the legality of the whole thing - but your right not worth worrying about one peso
Apr 15th, 2009, 01:53 PM
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Our second bike tour was to the Tigre Delta, which also included kayaking. I have to admit I originally thought we would be taking the train all the way to Tigre and then biking around there and then doing some kayaking. But we actually got on the train with our bikes and got off about ¼ of the way there and biked the rest of the way. We biked through some beautiful neighborhoods with big homes and beautiful overhanging trees provided just the perfect amount of shade. Very interesting how in these neighborhoods on each street corner there was a little structure – looked like an outhouse but with windows. And inside each one was a security guard.
We also made a quick stop at an ecological reserve that was right on the river and gave a stunning view looking back at BA. We biked on stopping in San Ysidro (the oldest town in the greater BA area). It was beautiful with cobblestoned streets, trees and nice homes. We enjoyed a break with mate and alfahors. Then off for another straight hour of biking. We did have a minor injury when DH’s bike pedial hit the top of a bump and he had a bloody gash. However, our guide Javier had a proper first aid kit and was able to clean the wound and get it properly bandaged.
At one point we did bike through the town of San Fernando which was a bit rough with the narrow streets and big buses. We arrived at Tigre about 2pm and stopped for lunch with the sandwiches Javier had brought for us. He offered to let us walk around but we were ready to head to the kayaking.
We biked over to one of the many rowing clubs. DD and I shared a 3-man kayak with Javier and DS and DH shared a 2-man kayak and then there was another guide in a 1-man kayak. If you are not a strong kayaker you might want to be sure you are in a kayak with a guide. Javier was able to row us with only minimal help from the two of us. While DS & DH had a harder time. Let’s just say they were pretty tired by the end. It was very peaceful and quiet and we were able to go down some canals that the larger boats and catamarans can’t . After the kayaking we headed back to the city on the train. We arrived back about 6:20pm.
RESTAURANTS:
First off, we didn’t have a bad meal in BA (actually in all of Argentina!!). Every place we ate was quite good and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Below is a list of all the places we ate, with comments if warranted. Starred places were particularly good.
*Bar Uriate (1572 Uriarte, Palermo Soho) – we had a great lunch and dinner here. Nice hip design and great food. Just 4-5 blocks up from Miravida Soho
*La Cabrera (JA Cabrera 5099/corner of Thames, Palermo Soho) – I must say with all the hype around this place I really wasn’t expecting that much BUT I have to admit that it did not disappoint and it really is as good as everyone says!! We had an 8:30 reservation. I think you can arrive a bit earlier as many were already seated when we arrived. There will already be a line forming – if you have a reservation just go to the front of the line and tell them and they will seat you. We were actually seated in La Cabrera North just ½ block up the street. Due to great advice from James at our hotel we ordered the ½ order of chorizo for appetizer and one order of the ojo de bife for all four of us. We also shared a caprese salad. It was the perfect amount of food for the 4 of us to share. The chorizo was fabulous and the steak excellent. The caprese was good, but we have had better. The little sides were great, each one a new surprise. DS fell in love with their applesauce. The lollipop tree was a fun surprise at the end.
El Trapiche (Paraguay 5599, Palermo Hollywood)– This place was good, but we learned our lesson -do not have parilla at lunch – just too heavy, at least for us. Also, the menu just had so many options ( it was about 20 pages). Sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming. We all thought DS’s ribs were the best dish any of us had there.
Azema Exotic Bistro (Angel Carranza 1875, Palermo Hollywood) – This was recommended as a place to go if you are tired of steak, and that was true. We all enjoyed meals of duck or fish. The appetizers were particularly interesting.
*La Cupertina (Cabrera 5296/corner GodoyCruz, Palermo Soho) – well it only took us 3 times to finally get in here as every time we would go it would be closed. Just keep in mind they are closed on Sundays for lunch and all day Mondays, and they close at 3:30pm for lunch. We arrived about 3 pm and they almost didn’t want to serve us, but we sort of begged (as best we could – no English spoken here). We were only able to order empenadas, which was no problem as that was what we wanted. We tried all the different kinds that they had and they were all fabulous but our top votes went to the chicken and the ham and cheese. We went back here 2 more times after that (with more time) so we could also have their tamales and incredible stews. But really and truly they also have the best desserts!! I love rice pudding and they had the best rice pudding I have ever had, also an incredible crème caramel (better than anything we had in Barcelona). This is a casual inexpensive place run by very sweet people. Enjoy!
Bar 6 (Armenia 1676, Palermo Soho) – we had a nice lunch here one afternoon. The special salad was wonderful – filled with tons of yummy veggies!
La Parolaccia (Alicia Moreau de Justo 1160, Puerto Madero) – after being at Puerto Madero on our bikes we really wanted to go there for dinner and were in the mood for Italian, so headed here. My honest review would be good but not great and a bit more expensive than other places we had been eating. But the beef carpaccio was excellent!
Don Julios (Guatamela 4691, Palermo Soho) – we enjoyed a GTG with a fellow fodorite and her hubby here. We had a wonderful evening and the food was great, although we were still in the La Cabrera mode of ordering food and we had to keep ordering more food as the portions are not as large!!
*Social Paraiso( 5182 Honduras, Palermo Soho) – another great restaurant located close to Miravida Soho. Everyone truly enjoyed their meal here. The green salad was the best we had in Argentina. I had an excellent cheese ravioli in tomato basil sauce (sauce was fabulous), DH had Patagonian lamb 2 ways, DD had a wonderful pork dish and DS had salmon cooked 2 ways.
*Oviedo (Beruti 2602, Recoleta/Barrio Norte) – everything I read about this place said it was a great seafood restaurant but expensive (by Argentine standards) – this was all true. It is a very traditional restaurant with waiters in black vests and bow ties. The food was fantastic. We ordered an appetizer of Peruvian ceviche which was out of this world and my risotto with shrimp was fantastic.
*La Vineira de Gualterio Bolivar (Bolivar 864, San Telmo) – we went here for my birthday dinner. This restaurant only serves a 9 course tasting menu. We really enjoy tasting menus so I thought this would be a great place to celebrate, plus it was our last night in BA. The dinner was fabulous, all courses were great except for one course that included rabbit – it was a bit dry. They do not serve a wine flight but just bring you a new glass of wine when you are ready and pair it with what you will be eating. My DH ordered espresso after dinner and they even brought him 3 espressos to taste. My favorite dish was an egg dish with toasts (I know doesn’t sound that interesting but it was fabulous!) and the three dessert tastings were incredible and just perfect after a long meal.
We also made a quick stop at an ecological reserve that was right on the river and gave a stunning view looking back at BA. We biked on stopping in San Ysidro (the oldest town in the greater BA area). It was beautiful with cobblestoned streets, trees and nice homes. We enjoyed a break with mate and alfahors. Then off for another straight hour of biking. We did have a minor injury when DH’s bike pedial hit the top of a bump and he had a bloody gash. However, our guide Javier had a proper first aid kit and was able to clean the wound and get it properly bandaged.
At one point we did bike through the town of San Fernando which was a bit rough with the narrow streets and big buses. We arrived at Tigre about 2pm and stopped for lunch with the sandwiches Javier had brought for us. He offered to let us walk around but we were ready to head to the kayaking.
We biked over to one of the many rowing clubs. DD and I shared a 3-man kayak with Javier and DS and DH shared a 2-man kayak and then there was another guide in a 1-man kayak. If you are not a strong kayaker you might want to be sure you are in a kayak with a guide. Javier was able to row us with only minimal help from the two of us. While DS & DH had a harder time. Let’s just say they were pretty tired by the end. It was very peaceful and quiet and we were able to go down some canals that the larger boats and catamarans can’t . After the kayaking we headed back to the city on the train. We arrived back about 6:20pm.
RESTAURANTS:
First off, we didn’t have a bad meal in BA (actually in all of Argentina!!). Every place we ate was quite good and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Below is a list of all the places we ate, with comments if warranted. Starred places were particularly good.
*Bar Uriate (1572 Uriarte, Palermo Soho) – we had a great lunch and dinner here. Nice hip design and great food. Just 4-5 blocks up from Miravida Soho
*La Cabrera (JA Cabrera 5099/corner of Thames, Palermo Soho) – I must say with all the hype around this place I really wasn’t expecting that much BUT I have to admit that it did not disappoint and it really is as good as everyone says!! We had an 8:30 reservation. I think you can arrive a bit earlier as many were already seated when we arrived. There will already be a line forming – if you have a reservation just go to the front of the line and tell them and they will seat you. We were actually seated in La Cabrera North just ½ block up the street. Due to great advice from James at our hotel we ordered the ½ order of chorizo for appetizer and one order of the ojo de bife for all four of us. We also shared a caprese salad. It was the perfect amount of food for the 4 of us to share. The chorizo was fabulous and the steak excellent. The caprese was good, but we have had better. The little sides were great, each one a new surprise. DS fell in love with their applesauce. The lollipop tree was a fun surprise at the end.
El Trapiche (Paraguay 5599, Palermo Hollywood)– This place was good, but we learned our lesson -do not have parilla at lunch – just too heavy, at least for us. Also, the menu just had so many options ( it was about 20 pages). Sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming. We all thought DS’s ribs were the best dish any of us had there.
Azema Exotic Bistro (Angel Carranza 1875, Palermo Hollywood) – This was recommended as a place to go if you are tired of steak, and that was true. We all enjoyed meals of duck or fish. The appetizers were particularly interesting.
*La Cupertina (Cabrera 5296/corner GodoyCruz, Palermo Soho) – well it only took us 3 times to finally get in here as every time we would go it would be closed. Just keep in mind they are closed on Sundays for lunch and all day Mondays, and they close at 3:30pm for lunch. We arrived about 3 pm and they almost didn’t want to serve us, but we sort of begged (as best we could – no English spoken here). We were only able to order empenadas, which was no problem as that was what we wanted. We tried all the different kinds that they had and they were all fabulous but our top votes went to the chicken and the ham and cheese. We went back here 2 more times after that (with more time) so we could also have their tamales and incredible stews. But really and truly they also have the best desserts!! I love rice pudding and they had the best rice pudding I have ever had, also an incredible crème caramel (better than anything we had in Barcelona). This is a casual inexpensive place run by very sweet people. Enjoy!
Bar 6 (Armenia 1676, Palermo Soho) – we had a nice lunch here one afternoon. The special salad was wonderful – filled with tons of yummy veggies!
La Parolaccia (Alicia Moreau de Justo 1160, Puerto Madero) – after being at Puerto Madero on our bikes we really wanted to go there for dinner and were in the mood for Italian, so headed here. My honest review would be good but not great and a bit more expensive than other places we had been eating. But the beef carpaccio was excellent!
Don Julios (Guatamela 4691, Palermo Soho) – we enjoyed a GTG with a fellow fodorite and her hubby here. We had a wonderful evening and the food was great, although we were still in the La Cabrera mode of ordering food and we had to keep ordering more food as the portions are not as large!!
*Social Paraiso( 5182 Honduras, Palermo Soho) – another great restaurant located close to Miravida Soho. Everyone truly enjoyed their meal here. The green salad was the best we had in Argentina. I had an excellent cheese ravioli in tomato basil sauce (sauce was fabulous), DH had Patagonian lamb 2 ways, DD had a wonderful pork dish and DS had salmon cooked 2 ways.
*Oviedo (Beruti 2602, Recoleta/Barrio Norte) – everything I read about this place said it was a great seafood restaurant but expensive (by Argentine standards) – this was all true. It is a very traditional restaurant with waiters in black vests and bow ties. The food was fantastic. We ordered an appetizer of Peruvian ceviche which was out of this world and my risotto with shrimp was fantastic.
*La Vineira de Gualterio Bolivar (Bolivar 864, San Telmo) – we went here for my birthday dinner. This restaurant only serves a 9 course tasting menu. We really enjoy tasting menus so I thought this would be a great place to celebrate, plus it was our last night in BA. The dinner was fabulous, all courses were great except for one course that included rabbit – it was a bit dry. They do not serve a wine flight but just bring you a new glass of wine when you are ready and pair it with what you will be eating. My DH ordered espresso after dinner and they even brought him 3 espressos to taste. My favorite dish was an egg dish with toasts (I know doesn’t sound that interesting but it was fabulous!) and the three dessert tastings were incredible and just perfect after a long meal.
Apr 15th, 2009, 03:46 PM
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jgg: As I read this great chapter, I'm waiting at home for dinner to be ready. You make me want to head out to one of those wonderful restaurants you went to! Just kidding. My DW is a terrific cook!
Apr 16th, 2009, 04:14 AM
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We had our last dinner in BA at La Vineira also, the egg dish was our favorite too, it was a poached egg in pastry with a truffle sauce. I thought all nine courses were out of this world! I had a hard time adjusting to cooking when we got home after all those fabulous meals....
I think we were in AR around the same time but travelled in a different order, anyway looking forward hearing about the rest of your trip
I think we were in AR around the same time but travelled in a different order, anyway looking forward hearing about the rest of your trip
Apr 18th, 2009, 06:16 PM
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Thanks for your comments and patience! Here is the next installment.
SHOPPING: DD and I love to shop and BA was fabulous for this. We particularly enjoyed shopping in Palermo Soho. There are tons of fun, stylish boutiques there for men and women. We had a great time exploring down all the streets. DD was looking for a prom dress so we were shopping with a purpose and found all the people working there to be extremely nice and helpful. Most of the boutiques will just sell stuff from one local (Argentinian) designer so you know you are getting something you won’t find readily someplace else. Keep in mind though that the season maybe different. All the new stuff they had in was all for the fall – lots of boots, coats, etc. and of course we are heading into the summer, but we were also able to find a few summer sales.
We also walked down Calle Florida, but frankly weren’t that impressed.
Galleria Pacifico: beautiful mall but with a lot of highend stores and a lot of stores that you can find in Europe and some in the states.
Patio Bullrich: Another really nice mall with a mix of highend stores and some other local boutiques (some that also had locations in Palermo Soho).
Alto Palermo: Largest mall, more middle of the road stores, particularly good for teens. The day we were there was (one of the many) national holidays and it was PACKED!! You would have thought it was a few days before Christmas!! They did have a ton of stores and a good way for us to spend a rainy morning
Recoleta Feria: Cool artisan fair with quite a number of stalls. It was fun to look at the stuff and the kids did buy a few things, but I didn’t find anything I just fell in love with, but again all the stall owners were extremely nice and it was amazing how many languages some of them spoke!!
San Telmo Feria: We only made it here for a short time, and as everyone says it is mostly antiques for sale – but it is just a great place to be on Sunday afternoon as there are so many people out and about and they block off the main street for pedestrians only. The day we went here was the day we arrived so a little tired, but really fun to see the city so vibrant!!
LAUNDRY - there are a lot of laundries around the city and they will do your laundry for 10 pesos a bag!!! It was a steal – drop it off in the morning and it will be done in the afternoon!!
We had a great time in BA but were anxious to move onto our next destination – El Calafate!!
EL CALAFATE: First off we really enjoyed El Calafate. So many people on the internet say it is not much of a town, and yes it is a small town, but we found it very enjoyable and there were plenty of restaurants and interesting shops. I wouldn’t plan a whole day just to spend there, but we arrived in El Calafate in the early afternoon had a nice lunch and enjoyed walking around the town, before heading back to the inn for a rest.
MIYAZATO INN: I deliberated for a long time on where to stay in El Calafate. I really wanted to be within walking distance of the town, but also wanted one of the more modern hotels with a view of the lake. Unfortunately, that seemed nearly impossible to find as well as so many of the more modern places always seemed to have mixed reviews on TA. I decided to go with Miyazato Inn the #1 place on TA, knowing it would be more of a small simpler place but within walking distance of the town and consistently positive ratings on TA. The place is quite simple and I would describe more like a B&B then an inn. However, the rooms were a good size and the owners are the nicest people and will do anything for you. Our first day we did the All –Glaciers boat tour and we had asked for 4 box lunches but they only delivered 3. Once we realized the mistake they immediately called, but it was delivered after we had already been picked up by the bus. Jorge met the bus at the last hotel pickup and handed us the lunch. The inn included breakfast which was some delicious croissants and ham and cheese. It is just a 5-10 min. walk to the main street of town.
In retrospect I think I would have preferred to stay in one of the bigger hotels, just to have a bigger lobby and more space to sit and enjoy the view. But for the price Miyazato is a great place and I would recommend it!!
SHOPPING: DD and I love to shop and BA was fabulous for this. We particularly enjoyed shopping in Palermo Soho. There are tons of fun, stylish boutiques there for men and women. We had a great time exploring down all the streets. DD was looking for a prom dress so we were shopping with a purpose and found all the people working there to be extremely nice and helpful. Most of the boutiques will just sell stuff from one local (Argentinian) designer so you know you are getting something you won’t find readily someplace else. Keep in mind though that the season maybe different. All the new stuff they had in was all for the fall – lots of boots, coats, etc. and of course we are heading into the summer, but we were also able to find a few summer sales.
We also walked down Calle Florida, but frankly weren’t that impressed.
Galleria Pacifico: beautiful mall but with a lot of highend stores and a lot of stores that you can find in Europe and some in the states.
Patio Bullrich: Another really nice mall with a mix of highend stores and some other local boutiques (some that also had locations in Palermo Soho).
Alto Palermo: Largest mall, more middle of the road stores, particularly good for teens. The day we were there was (one of the many) national holidays and it was PACKED!! You would have thought it was a few days before Christmas!! They did have a ton of stores and a good way for us to spend a rainy morning
Recoleta Feria: Cool artisan fair with quite a number of stalls. It was fun to look at the stuff and the kids did buy a few things, but I didn’t find anything I just fell in love with, but again all the stall owners were extremely nice and it was amazing how many languages some of them spoke!!
San Telmo Feria: We only made it here for a short time, and as everyone says it is mostly antiques for sale – but it is just a great place to be on Sunday afternoon as there are so many people out and about and they block off the main street for pedestrians only. The day we went here was the day we arrived so a little tired, but really fun to see the city so vibrant!!
LAUNDRY - there are a lot of laundries around the city and they will do your laundry for 10 pesos a bag!!! It was a steal – drop it off in the morning and it will be done in the afternoon!!
We had a great time in BA but were anxious to move onto our next destination – El Calafate!!
EL CALAFATE: First off we really enjoyed El Calafate. So many people on the internet say it is not much of a town, and yes it is a small town, but we found it very enjoyable and there were plenty of restaurants and interesting shops. I wouldn’t plan a whole day just to spend there, but we arrived in El Calafate in the early afternoon had a nice lunch and enjoyed walking around the town, before heading back to the inn for a rest.
MIYAZATO INN: I deliberated for a long time on where to stay in El Calafate. I really wanted to be within walking distance of the town, but also wanted one of the more modern hotels with a view of the lake. Unfortunately, that seemed nearly impossible to find as well as so many of the more modern places always seemed to have mixed reviews on TA. I decided to go with Miyazato Inn the #1 place on TA, knowing it would be more of a small simpler place but within walking distance of the town and consistently positive ratings on TA. The place is quite simple and I would describe more like a B&B then an inn. However, the rooms were a good size and the owners are the nicest people and will do anything for you. Our first day we did the All –Glaciers boat tour and we had asked for 4 box lunches but they only delivered 3. Once we realized the mistake they immediately called, but it was delivered after we had already been picked up by the bus. Jorge met the bus at the last hotel pickup and handed us the lunch. The inn included breakfast which was some delicious croissants and ham and cheese. It is just a 5-10 min. walk to the main street of town.
In retrospect I think I would have preferred to stay in one of the bigger hotels, just to have a bigger lobby and more space to sit and enjoy the view. But for the price Miyazato is a great place and I would recommend it!!
May 5th, 2009, 10:55 AM
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Fun4all4 - thanks for the comments AND for reminding me that I need to get this done!! I was breaking the rules of not planning my next trip before I finished the trip report of the first one!!
Here goes:
GLACIER EXCURSIONS:
We did both the All Glaciers boat tour and the mini-trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier. We took people’s advice and did the boat tour the first day and the mini-trekking the next.
ALL GLACIERS BOAT TOUR:
We took the advice of other fodorites and booked seats in the Salon VIP portion of the boat for an additional 110 pesos/person – definitely worth it – more details later. The bus was set to pick us up at 7:15am – keep in mind they generally run late. We ordered the 4 box lunches which the Miyazato orders but doesn’t actually make themselves. We didn’t think they were all that good and the next morning organized our own lunches at the bakery up the street.
We drove for about an hour to Punta Banderas, paid the 60 pesos/person (kids were free) entrance fee to the National Park and got on the boat. It is a very nice large boat and the Salon/VIP section is at the very front of the boat with the Capt. of the ship. There are 16 very wide and comfortable seats along with an attendant just for us who gets us drinks, etc. We were also served alfohars, small sandwiches and bonbons.
The whole boat ride was just amazing. We saw Spegazzini, Upsala and Oneilli Bay. After Spegazzini you could have a drink with Spegazzini ice. At Oneilli Bay you can get off the boat to have lunch at a small shelter as well as walk to the other side of the lake. That was an amazing site with all the icebergs on the lake. It had been pouring rain most of the day, we got lucky that it wasn’t raining when we were walking around but was pretty overcast and mucky. We got back on the boat, and on our return trip an iceberg had just broken off and completely turned over – it was an incredible color blue!!
We arrived back at our hotel by 5:30pm. Due to the weather we decided we wanted proper waterproof hiking boots and rainpaints for the minitrekking the next day. We were able to rent everything at a store in town – 4 prs. Of boots, 3 rainpaints and 1 rain jackets for about $70USD.
PERITO MORENO MINITREKKING:
Bus was set to pick us up at 8:30am (didn’t come until about 8:50am), but this did give us time to get to Don Luis bakery in the morning for some sandwiches for our lunch today– they open at 7am. The bus takes you to the the dock in front of the face of the glacier. The boat ride to the other side was about 30min. From there we got off and walked up to two shelters like small cabins with bathrooms. Here you could use the facilities and drop off your lunches and anything else you didn’t not want to carry on the trekking.
Here are guides meet us and divided us into an English speaking group and a Spanish speaking group. We had about 22 ppl in the engl. Speaking group. We walked through a trail in the forest for about 15 min. before arriving at the location where you put on the crampons. There you sit on wooden benches while they wrap metal crampons on your shoes. We got really lucky as it wasn’t raining, but had some light snow – the first of the season!!
From there we trekked for about 1.5 hours. This was just a truly incredible and amazing experience. It was definitely easier to walk up then down! We had several opportunities to stop and take pictures. Often DS got to be the first one on the trail and leading the group as the guides helped others through the more difficult spots. At the end of the trek they break off ice and served glacier water and whiskey along with alfohars.
As we were heading off the ice an entire camera crew was coming on along with a model heading for a camera shoot. She was having a tough time walking in high heel wedge boots with the crampons on – I don’t know why they didn’t have her change her shoes until they got to the exact locale!!
We arrived back at the huts and had about 1.5 hours to eat lunch and walk around – unfortunately it was cold and windy so most people stayed in the huts. I was REALLY glad we had rented the boots and rainpaints. Even though it didn’t end up raining the rainpaints really cut down on the wind and made our day much more enjoyable.
At 3:15 we got back on the bus. We were all quite tired and I think most everyone on the bus was expecting to head back to El Calafate, but there was one more stop to get out on the balconies and see close to the face of the glacier. As tired as we were – this was truly one of the most spectacular sites I have seen!! This was the best location to really see how massive the glacier is – how far back it goes – as far as the eye could see!
Back on the bus and we were back at our hotel about 6:30pm. Now just the day before I had spoken with a woman who had just done the minitrekking and she did the exact opposite order that we did – balconies, lunch than trekking so I guess they can do things either way.
EL CALAFATE RESTAURANTS:
CASIMIRA PARILLA & GRILL (Avda. Del Libertador 933) – This is right on the main street through town. We had a fabulous dinner here – top 3 of the trip. We ordered 2 ojo de bife to share, fried calamari, salsiccia, potato fritas and sweet potato fritas. The food was excellent, but expensive by Argentine standards. It was crowded, I suggest having your hotel make you a reservation.
CASMIRA BIAGI (just half a block down from Dasimira Parilla towards the airport) – we ate lunch here the day we arrived and dinner a few days later. This place was good and had a fairly varied menu. Not as good as it’s sister restaurant Casimira Parilla but still excellent.
EL PUESTO – (Governador Moyano & Ave. 9 deJulio)
A cute little parilla down one of the side streets and close to the Miyazato Inn, before you reach the center of town. Not the best parilla we had, but quite good, though not sure that was actually mozzerella they used in the caprese salad (although it said it was) and the sautéed peaches in the dessert appeared to be canned.
Here goes:
GLACIER EXCURSIONS:
We did both the All Glaciers boat tour and the mini-trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier. We took people’s advice and did the boat tour the first day and the mini-trekking the next.
ALL GLACIERS BOAT TOUR:
We took the advice of other fodorites and booked seats in the Salon VIP portion of the boat for an additional 110 pesos/person – definitely worth it – more details later. The bus was set to pick us up at 7:15am – keep in mind they generally run late. We ordered the 4 box lunches which the Miyazato orders but doesn’t actually make themselves. We didn’t think they were all that good and the next morning organized our own lunches at the bakery up the street.
We drove for about an hour to Punta Banderas, paid the 60 pesos/person (kids were free) entrance fee to the National Park and got on the boat. It is a very nice large boat and the Salon/VIP section is at the very front of the boat with the Capt. of the ship. There are 16 very wide and comfortable seats along with an attendant just for us who gets us drinks, etc. We were also served alfohars, small sandwiches and bonbons.
The whole boat ride was just amazing. We saw Spegazzini, Upsala and Oneilli Bay. After Spegazzini you could have a drink with Spegazzini ice. At Oneilli Bay you can get off the boat to have lunch at a small shelter as well as walk to the other side of the lake. That was an amazing site with all the icebergs on the lake. It had been pouring rain most of the day, we got lucky that it wasn’t raining when we were walking around but was pretty overcast and mucky. We got back on the boat, and on our return trip an iceberg had just broken off and completely turned over – it was an incredible color blue!!
We arrived back at our hotel by 5:30pm. Due to the weather we decided we wanted proper waterproof hiking boots and rainpaints for the minitrekking the next day. We were able to rent everything at a store in town – 4 prs. Of boots, 3 rainpaints and 1 rain jackets for about $70USD.
PERITO MORENO MINITREKKING:
Bus was set to pick us up at 8:30am (didn’t come until about 8:50am), but this did give us time to get to Don Luis bakery in the morning for some sandwiches for our lunch today– they open at 7am. The bus takes you to the the dock in front of the face of the glacier. The boat ride to the other side was about 30min. From there we got off and walked up to two shelters like small cabins with bathrooms. Here you could use the facilities and drop off your lunches and anything else you didn’t not want to carry on the trekking.
Here are guides meet us and divided us into an English speaking group and a Spanish speaking group. We had about 22 ppl in the engl. Speaking group. We walked through a trail in the forest for about 15 min. before arriving at the location where you put on the crampons. There you sit on wooden benches while they wrap metal crampons on your shoes. We got really lucky as it wasn’t raining, but had some light snow – the first of the season!!
From there we trekked for about 1.5 hours. This was just a truly incredible and amazing experience. It was definitely easier to walk up then down! We had several opportunities to stop and take pictures. Often DS got to be the first one on the trail and leading the group as the guides helped others through the more difficult spots. At the end of the trek they break off ice and served glacier water and whiskey along with alfohars.
As we were heading off the ice an entire camera crew was coming on along with a model heading for a camera shoot. She was having a tough time walking in high heel wedge boots with the crampons on – I don’t know why they didn’t have her change her shoes until they got to the exact locale!!
We arrived back at the huts and had about 1.5 hours to eat lunch and walk around – unfortunately it was cold and windy so most people stayed in the huts. I was REALLY glad we had rented the boots and rainpaints. Even though it didn’t end up raining the rainpaints really cut down on the wind and made our day much more enjoyable.
At 3:15 we got back on the bus. We were all quite tired and I think most everyone on the bus was expecting to head back to El Calafate, but there was one more stop to get out on the balconies and see close to the face of the glacier. As tired as we were – this was truly one of the most spectacular sites I have seen!! This was the best location to really see how massive the glacier is – how far back it goes – as far as the eye could see!
Back on the bus and we were back at our hotel about 6:30pm. Now just the day before I had spoken with a woman who had just done the minitrekking and she did the exact opposite order that we did – balconies, lunch than trekking so I guess they can do things either way.
EL CALAFATE RESTAURANTS:
CASIMIRA PARILLA & GRILL (Avda. Del Libertador 933) – This is right on the main street through town. We had a fabulous dinner here – top 3 of the trip. We ordered 2 ojo de bife to share, fried calamari, salsiccia, potato fritas and sweet potato fritas. The food was excellent, but expensive by Argentine standards. It was crowded, I suggest having your hotel make you a reservation.
CASMIRA BIAGI (just half a block down from Dasimira Parilla towards the airport) – we ate lunch here the day we arrived and dinner a few days later. This place was good and had a fairly varied menu. Not as good as it’s sister restaurant Casimira Parilla but still excellent.
EL PUESTO – (Governador Moyano & Ave. 9 deJulio)
A cute little parilla down one of the side streets and close to the Miyazato Inn, before you reach the center of town. Not the best parilla we had, but quite good, though not sure that was actually mozzerella they used in the caprese salad (although it said it was) and the sautéed peaches in the dessert appeared to be canned.
May 5th, 2009, 11:05 AM
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Again, thanks for the memories, we also upgraded to the VIP section on the All Glaciers tour, it was well worth it. The only thing we missed was Oneilli Bay, there were too many ice bergs for the boat to safely pass, so they brought us back to the Perito Moreno (which we had seen the day before from the balconies, which was a truly awesome way to see the glaciers).
May 5th, 2009, 11:20 AM
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The last installment!!
IGUAZU FALLS –
We were originally supposed to fly from El Calafate to BA then catch the last flight from BA to Iguazu and arrive about 9pm in Iguazu spend two nights there and then head back to BA. About a month before we left LAN changed the El Calafate –BA flight later so we would miss the connection to Iguazu. So we ended up spending the one night in BA then flying to Iguazu the next morning at 9am, this meant we would only be spending one night there. I was a bit worried that wouldn’t be enough time, but it really turned out to be okay. We weren’t planning on doing the Brazil side anyway due to the visa costs and there being 4 of us, and we found plenty of time to do what we wanted to.
SHERATON -
We stayed at the Sheraton, which I would highly recommend, particularly if you are only there for a short time. It is just a quick walk to the place to pick up the jeep/boat and we really appreciated not having to always drive back into town. I know people say it is a bit long on the tooth, which is true (particularly the exterior - looks a bit Soviet), but the rooms were a nice size, and our rooms appeared to be recently renovated, it has a nice large lobby, and we thought the pool area was nice. Definitely, expensive (esp. since we had our 2 kids so had to get two rooms) and not as nice as the expense, but I think ultimately it was worth it! The breakfast buffet that comes with the room was quite extensive with a lot of choices. We ate lunch there on our arrival day which was quite good.
GRAN AVENTURA
- Our flight left BA at 9:15am and arrived in Iguazu at 11am. We had plenty of time to sign up at the desk in the Sheraton for the Gran Aventura at 1:45pm and have a leisurely lunch. The Gran Aventura only takes about 1 hour - 1hour 15 min. It would take more if you wanted to stop at St. Martin's Island, but we headed back to the Sheraton (since we were drenched!!) and relaxed by the pool until time to get ready for dinner. The Gran Aventura includes the jungle jeep ride and the boat ride to the falls. The jungle ride was not that fascinating – if time and money are a real concern then I would skip it, but I did find the commentary of the jungle interesting. Everything is said in Spanish and then repeated in English.
After the jeep ride you are dropped off and walk down quite a few steps to the bottom where you pick up the raft tour. Now, why with all the reading I did on Fodors no one every mentioned that it is best to just wear your bathing suit for this excursion, I don’t know. But, now I am telling you wear your bathing suit – you won’t just get a little wet, you won’t just get soaked, you will get DRENCHED!!!! It was great fun, and the highlight of the trip for DS – he wanted to go on it again immediately!!
The next day our flight didn't leave until 4:30pm so we had plenty of time to do the train and catwalks out to Devil's Throat. The only problem was we were hot and sweaty after that walk but had to check out of our rooms at 11am so weren't able to freshen up. The walk out to the catwalk was longer than I was expecting but the view is spectacular – please, please watch the movie “The Mission” before coming here!!
EL QUINCHO RESTAURANT -
For our one dinner we took a taxi into Puerto Iguazu for dinner at El Quincho where we had a fabulous steak and rib dinner. It was a lively place with live music – I’m glad we took the time to go into town. The taxi was 70 pesos there, 130 for both ways – the driver will wait for you. Our taxi driver spoke a little English and was very excited to point out places of interest as he drove us.
So, despite our concerns of potentially not having enough time, in the end we felt it was more than adequate.
After Iguazu we headed back BA for our two last nights. Overall, this was a fabulous trip – Patagonia definitely being the highlight. We hope to return someday and spend time in Tierra del Fuego and Bariloche as well as a few city days in Buenos Aires.
IGUAZU FALLS –
We were originally supposed to fly from El Calafate to BA then catch the last flight from BA to Iguazu and arrive about 9pm in Iguazu spend two nights there and then head back to BA. About a month before we left LAN changed the El Calafate –BA flight later so we would miss the connection to Iguazu. So we ended up spending the one night in BA then flying to Iguazu the next morning at 9am, this meant we would only be spending one night there. I was a bit worried that wouldn’t be enough time, but it really turned out to be okay. We weren’t planning on doing the Brazil side anyway due to the visa costs and there being 4 of us, and we found plenty of time to do what we wanted to.
SHERATON -
We stayed at the Sheraton, which I would highly recommend, particularly if you are only there for a short time. It is just a quick walk to the place to pick up the jeep/boat and we really appreciated not having to always drive back into town. I know people say it is a bit long on the tooth, which is true (particularly the exterior - looks a bit Soviet), but the rooms were a nice size, and our rooms appeared to be recently renovated, it has a nice large lobby, and we thought the pool area was nice. Definitely, expensive (esp. since we had our 2 kids so had to get two rooms) and not as nice as the expense, but I think ultimately it was worth it! The breakfast buffet that comes with the room was quite extensive with a lot of choices. We ate lunch there on our arrival day which was quite good.
GRAN AVENTURA
- Our flight left BA at 9:15am and arrived in Iguazu at 11am. We had plenty of time to sign up at the desk in the Sheraton for the Gran Aventura at 1:45pm and have a leisurely lunch. The Gran Aventura only takes about 1 hour - 1hour 15 min. It would take more if you wanted to stop at St. Martin's Island, but we headed back to the Sheraton (since we were drenched!!) and relaxed by the pool until time to get ready for dinner. The Gran Aventura includes the jungle jeep ride and the boat ride to the falls. The jungle ride was not that fascinating – if time and money are a real concern then I would skip it, but I did find the commentary of the jungle interesting. Everything is said in Spanish and then repeated in English.
After the jeep ride you are dropped off and walk down quite a few steps to the bottom where you pick up the raft tour. Now, why with all the reading I did on Fodors no one every mentioned that it is best to just wear your bathing suit for this excursion, I don’t know. But, now I am telling you wear your bathing suit – you won’t just get a little wet, you won’t just get soaked, you will get DRENCHED!!!! It was great fun, and the highlight of the trip for DS – he wanted to go on it again immediately!!
The next day our flight didn't leave until 4:30pm so we had plenty of time to do the train and catwalks out to Devil's Throat. The only problem was we were hot and sweaty after that walk but had to check out of our rooms at 11am so weren't able to freshen up. The walk out to the catwalk was longer than I was expecting but the view is spectacular – please, please watch the movie “The Mission” before coming here!!
EL QUINCHO RESTAURANT -
For our one dinner we took a taxi into Puerto Iguazu for dinner at El Quincho where we had a fabulous steak and rib dinner. It was a lively place with live music – I’m glad we took the time to go into town. The taxi was 70 pesos there, 130 for both ways – the driver will wait for you. Our taxi driver spoke a little English and was very excited to point out places of interest as he drove us.
So, despite our concerns of potentially not having enough time, in the end we felt it was more than adequate.
After Iguazu we headed back BA for our two last nights. Overall, this was a fabulous trip – Patagonia definitely being the highlight. We hope to return someday and spend time in Tierra del Fuego and Bariloche as well as a few city days in Buenos Aires.
Mar 3rd, 2010, 09:44 PM
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The mini-trekking was with Hielo y aventura (I believe they are the only ones who do it) and the boat tour with Fernandez Campbell. It is sometimes best to try to have a local agent book these for you.
