Argentina travel tips

I've searched and I was surprised to find nothing on this!

I'm planning on going to Argentina for three weeks later this year - likely to be September, October or November.

No one I know has ever been down there (apart from a friend's Dad who was in the Royal Marines - and he's not too fond of the locals), and rather than rely totally on Lonely Planet (which I haven't yet purchased) was after some tips of people who've been there.

I really want to see Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Tiero del Fuego, and I think there are some cool glaciers.

So, essentially I'm after when best to go out of the three months above, any towns, villages, natural wonders, cool bars, hotels etc that are worth visiting. And any other tips.

Ta

I would suggest going in November as the summer will be starting then.
Buenos Aires is the coolest city in the world FACT!
You could spend three weeks there.
You have to go to San Telmo on a sunday and if you like steak then you can not beat the restaurant Desnivel which is in San Telmo on Defensa.
I could go on all day about things to do in Bs As but if you want some contacts down there I have plenty of friends who could show you around.

Izagu falls are great and you should allow 2 days for that trip.
If you enjoy wine then Mendoza is great

probably depends on if you will be primarily around Buenos or down near Terra del F - its quite a long country

Starting in BA for I reckon three days then heading south and for the last few days flying back up North to the falls and leaving from BA.

Having said that I came up with that plan in the last 30 secs so very much open to change!

I was in Argentina and Parguay this time last year - Beunos Aires is an amazing city and well worth a visit - chaotic, dirty and smelly (on the walk to La Boca especially – the smell from the slaughter houses). Fantastic people and the food as long as your not Vegetarian after 4 days we also went to the Zoo to escape the noise and mayhem but don't let that put you off – that’s part off the attraction.

Iguza falls is definitely worth seeing as is the Hydro electric plant – we stayed on the Paraguayan side in Cuidad Del Esta which I wouldn’t recommend as it’s not the safest place in the world – lots of better Hostels etc on the Argentinean side. You’ll need a full day for the waterfalls and a towel and change of clothes if you want to do any of the boat rides – well worth it but you get soaked.;-)

I would also recommend Posada’s (the Jesuit town) in Argentina – but Paraguay is fantastic not on the Gringo trail at all.

You should buy the Lonely Planet guide for the area just don’t think for a minute that all of the entries are correct- I speak from experience.

just for interest you should read 'between extremes' by brian keenan and john mccarthy.

you may remember the names as they were journalists held prisoner in the lebanon for four years (at the time of terry waite). to keep each other going they would describe an imaginary journey across the andes and patagonia down to tierra del fuego. some time after being released, they went and did it. it gives a wonderful insight into the land from an incredible perspective and even if it is essentially chile, a lot of the high andean landscape and culture is very similar i believe.

Some good Argentina travel stuff and lots of photos here from Barry & Tom of Ihana.

Moreno Glacier - get up close in a boat, then walk on it.

Iquazu is a must. Try and stay at the Sheraton (books out in advance, so plan ahead)--the hotel needs a facelift, but the view can't be beat. The hotel is actually in the national park there. On full moon, they give special midnight tours. Awesome.

From BA, you can take a high speed ferry to Colonia in Uruguay (takes 1.5 hours)--also a very great place to go.

Have fun--can't wait to go back.

San Ignacio for the Jesuit ruins of San Ignacio Mini, it's on the way to Puerto Iguazu anyways, take the overnight bus from BA, from Retiro. There's a wee Pension run by 2 Sudetendeutsche who emigrated in 1937, lovely people, very helpful. If you can find the local headmaster he's very helpful indeed, put us in contact with a local artist and horseman who took us on a trek into the jungle. Sweet.

do you still need some tips on where to go and etc?
I think they are right about Buenos Aires (where i am actually from): you should definetly stay there for a week or more. it is a biiiig city with a bunch of things to do. Buenos Aires no duerme (Buenos Aires doesnt sleep) ;-)
La Boca is the "italian" neibourhood (speeling??), where the inmigrants settled. there you should not miss Caminito neither La Bombonera (the football club-stadium where Maradona played).
close to La Boca is San Telmo, another nei...hood (you know what i mean ;-) this is part of the old colonial city. as somebody else pointed out, you should go to Plaza Dorrego on Sundays while this flea market is running. you could go to a traditional bar there called El Balcon, i dont remember the address, but it is just in one corner infront of the "Platz" (plaza).
Recoleta is another MUST in Buenos Aires. Saturdays or Sundays are better since there is this huge Fair (Feria de Recoleta), artisans (spelling??? hand made stuff by super cool people, some of them are "hippies"). it is also nice just to stay around, sitting on the grass and listening to some music and drinking mate (but i guess you wont have mate and/or you wont like it either ;-)
Puerto Madero is a "chic" area. Nice (usualy expensive) restaurants, nice for a walk by the river (it's kind of a renovated dock).
actually all the places i mentioned above are not so far one from the other, but you will prolly like to take a bus. taxis are cheap (for European standards), that's another posibility.
Palermo is the "fashion" neib...hood. lots of cool places: bars, restaurants, shops (mainly from designers: clothes, art work, shoes, decoration, etc). Palermo is divided into different areas and you want to go to what it's called Palermo Soho (design area) and Palermo Hollywood (restaurants and bars). the name its because there are quite a few tv/radio companies around and therefore it is usualy full of actors and "celebrities".
well, you also have the "downtown", with historic and old buildings, nice pubs and afterwork bars and all that stuff that usualy i try to avoid.
Around BsAs there are also some places to go (better on weekends): Tigre (a small city by the river with a nice market area: speciality: flowers, fruits and straw (not sure if the name is correct) furniture and other stuff), Mataderos: only for the Feria (fair), the Tren de la Costa (the Coast Train or sth like that), for a ride around the river, that could be nice since there are plenty of places to stop by for coffees or beers or whatever you would like to).
then, Iguazu, nice place to go, but it would be TOO hot between November-February (at least for what i consider TOO hot). it is a wonderfull place to go though. in your way you should stop at Ruinas de San Ignacio (jesuitic (?) ruins). at the falls they offer different day trips through the forest, i.e.
Patagonia (my FAVORITE place in the world)...this should be a trip by itself. no way you can go all around Argentina in JUST 3 weeks. anyway, Tierra del Fuego is an island and you might prefer to take a plane from BsAs to Ushuaia ((the southermost city in the world plus an AMAZING SUPER INCREDIBLE PLACE, with super big mountains and the sea all there at the same time in the same place. it is a melancholic city though VERY nice). a bus from BsAs to Ushuaia can take more than 40 hours. forget about trains. (the same is valid for BsAs-Iguazu).
the other posibility is to go to Bariloche from BsAs (around 16 hours by bus), do the "camino de los 7 lagos" (the road of the 7 lakes). if so, dont miss Villa la Angostura and Villa Traful (Traful is a super tiny town by a beautiful lake and it's just AMAZING). from Bariloche proly you can take a plane to Ushuaia or Rio Gallegos (from there you can take a bus and ferry to Ushuaia). that's also cool, since to cross you might have to go via Chile (Punta Arenas is the last city on that side). if so, you might like going to Torres del Paine to do some hiking.

between Bariloche and Ushuaia there are LOTS of other places to go. Depends if you want to stay by the Andes or by the see (west or east). if you stick to the Andes, then, dont miss El Chalten and Cerro Fitz Roy (El chalten is a small town that lays by the gorgeous Fitz Roy which is one of the most beautiful mountains you can climb). southern from here, the Moreno Glacier, just GREAT. go in summer and DO NOT stay in any hostel in Calafate (the closes town/city). Free camping is THE BEST! there are 2 campings (one free, the other one cheap, where you can go to take showers and shop for goodies). the free one is about 9km from the Glaciar (the otherone is 1km closer). sleeping there is incredible. you can hear the big pieces of ice falling down to the lake :-)

there are LOTS of other places i didnt mention, but since you just said Iguazu, BsAs and Tierra del fuego...
Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja are also very nice places to go (by the andes but more centre (same latitude than BsAs, maybe). Cordoba, in the middle of the country, it is also a nice region to go. and i should not forget the northwest (NOA:noroeste argentino): Jujuy and Salta in the border with Bolivia. super nice. the whole area is called La Puna. there is this train that rides super high called Tren de las Nubes (The Clouds' train or sth like that) but it is not open all year round. so you should check before.

many other places to go. i am so sorry you just have 3 weeks ;-)

have fun and bring some "asado" (try the "achuras" when ever you order a "parrillada completa" (full barbacue)

B

all tips most welcome. flights are now booked - going mid sept for three weeks. Means I miss Oktoberfest but there's always next year!
have bought lonely planet etc but yet to read them so no doubt will have more q's soon.
thanks all

Can I borrow your LP when you're done

trip in the planning jeeves?

'course...assuming it makes it back in one piece!

thanks all for the advice. BA is a go, as is patagonia (Calafete, Chalten, Bariloche). might miss iguazu because of the lack of time in such a huge country.

will be sure to eat shed loads of massive steaks, drink loads of red wine, attempt to get to an Oktoberfest too.

No drunken jaunts in minibuses though!!!

oh oh!
have fun!
you will love it! ;-)

Aye, Elf. Flight is booked

Ta, Lassie. Forgot you were going to Argentina until the bus incident. All hints and tips welcome too!

Back from this trip and though many evenings post 10pm are blurred (Argentinian wine is exceptional) I thought I'd post my thoughts and tips (in no particular order)

1. Argentina is huge - monster. As such bus rides are long and tedious, though generally cheap and comfortable - first class has flat bed seats similar to BA club world, and the 'cama' class has like the old-skool airline business class seats. This is the value option. We used Andesmar which is dead comfortable.
2. It's so huge I'd say fly, but book in advance. Aerolineas Argentinas are a bunch of rip off merchants who are out to screw the tourists. If you are not resident in Argentina then you get charged like three times the amount locals get charged. Leg room is very limited (like 28inch). Nasty, nasty airline - they deserve to go under. There are other cheap airlines there but according to people we met at hostels they are extremely unreliable and when they over book, foreigners are automatically ditched.
3. The people are great - friendly, helpful. And the girls are hot.
4. It's cheap - 500g tenderloin cooked perfectly in a relatively expensive restaurant is about 35 pesos (€8.50), and I had plenty of these!!! Pizza is rubbish in Argentina. Ice cream there is wonderful - better than anything I've had in Italy or Munich (including that place on Turkenstr.)
5. Wine is great. Go to Mendoza (which is a great place with loads of outdoorsy stuff to do), go to an outfit called vines of mendoza (vines of mendoza)and get them to organise a driver for the day - 150pesos for the driver (ours was called Ariel and spoke excellent english and was knowledgable about loads of things in Aregentina), 5 vineyard tours for free (including wine). Make sure you stop at a vineyard called "Ruca Malen" and have their 5 course lunch, with 5 wines to match the food (65pesos). In the andean foothills and quite stunning views, assuming you can see by then!
6. Buenos Aires is a wicked city. Loved it. Palermo Viejo is cool for going out, as is Puerto Madera (the renovated dock area). Excellent bars include "Opera Bay" and "Million". "Asia de Cuba" is a cool club. There's also a microbrewery opposite Recoleta Cemetary which did 'Oktoberfest style' beer - made up for me missing the real thing!
7. El Calafete is good for the Perito Moreno Glacier, nothing else. 2 days max.
8. El Chalten is good for a couple of days walking, no more.
9. Tigne makes a good couple of days break from BA.
10. Probably the most important thing is plan well. We had the idea of rocking up and winging it, this meant that although we had ideas of what we wanted to see we had to pick and choose on the spot and I think we could have done it better. I think for a three week trip it's best to choose say 3 places/things to see, plus a few days in Buenos Aires and do these rather than try everything. You lose days travelling if on a bus.
11. Don'r worry if you can't speak a word of Spanish, coz despite few people speaking much english one can get by with comedy amateur dramatics.

I will definitely go back as the three things I want to do but missed out this time are Iguazu, Peninsula Valdes and Bariloche.

Highly recommend Argentina for hols, it's great!

Jeeves - still haven't unpacked, but am pretty sure I brought my lonely planet back. will try and make it to curry night next week and bring it along

Ooh reading this has got me even more excited
I've already got internal flights booked, so I got that bit right.

No hurry Lassie, I don't go for another 6 weeks.

@jeeves
How long are you gonna stay there??

i agree Aerolineas Argentinas is crap (long story, they are "emptying the company") and they charge 3 times more to foreingers (prices were equal when we have 1peso:1 dollar, but now is 1peso:3 dollars, thus, it is not really that they are charging more to you, but less to us ;-)

i am super glad you had a nice time and that you found nice people there. buenos aires is wonderful so the wine and the meat! (by the way, we DO have super good pizza, but i bet you didnt go to Los inmortales or to Güerrin, in Corrientes Street). but thats ok, it it would have been everything 100% wonderful, nobody would believe it ;-)

(another option to go from BsAs to patagonia might be the train but i am not sure if its working these days. it takes sth like 17hs one way, so not much of a difference with a bus)

just post some good pics here! pls!! =)

Trains don't seem to run outside the Buenos Aires suburbs unfortunately, and the bus to Calafate takes like 30hrs or something.

Forgot to add that Cafe Tortoni is cool for a bit of old style relaxation, and that the tulip sculpture that opens and closes at night is stunning too (both in BsAs)

Quilmes (pronounced Kill-mez, not Quill-mmmmms as we did until the last night) beer is the one most easily found. It 'tastes' a bit like Coors Light.

Due to major issues with digital photography equipment (I left it at that wedding in Italy) no pictures will be posted. (I was using a kodak disposable for the three weeks!)

Clepto I'll be there for 3 weeks

right, to the suburbs you have them for sure. but also to go to the sea (though they are not great trains and also not great beaches to go to). but we used to have this train to Bariloche (patagonia) some time ago and they said they will reopen the line (this was sth like 2 years ago thus, i thought it was running! sorry to hear they didnt) :-(

and sorry about your camera (sp. because now i cannot see nice pics from home :-(

Argentina is fantastic...make sure you try the steak, they have the most amazing beef ever there!!! Have you ever thouhgt about going with an overland travel company??? That way you get to see everything. admitidly, you have to rough it out on occasions, camping and stuff. I went on the gaucho tour with Dragoman. As well as seeing the south of chile, you get to see Bariloche where you can go skiing (although beware the kilkenny pub there, my freinds drink got spiked) then we went to Puerto Natales and did whale watching, then to buenos aires, where I would reccomend the market and tango dancing in the street on sundays in san telmo (dont go to the shows you have to pay for...an absolute rip off geared to the tourist) also you can see the pink house (once home of eva peron) and the graveyard where she is buried. We also visited Cordoba that was basically a club stop, then we spent some time with gauchos and did a two day horseride with the gauchos in the beautiful argentine countryside and pampas. Then we went to Iguazu falls on the argentine and brazilian side, then off to rio de janeiro. Basically this is quite expensive, but it is well worth it because it is all organised for you and you get to do so many amazing things..it takes four and a half weeks and you also get to see the beautiful south of chile. There are other tours which take you to see the glaciers, like i said it can be expensive, but then again you could easily spend that doing it by yourself anyway...hope this info helps.

San Ignacio Mini is also worth visiting, it's like a weird mix of Guarani craftsmanship and Spanish baroque architecture, built by the Jesuits. There's a wee place with chalets run by a couple who left the Sudetenland in the late 1930s and they're incredibly friendly. If you can track down the local schoolmaster, he can put you straight onto a lot of helpful locals, who can rent you horses and take you to visit some of the Guarani settlements in the jungle. VERY friendly and open-hearted people, but most speak just Spanish. You can take the overnight bus from Buenos Aires there, semi- or coche cama, good value for money. It's on the way to Iguazu too, so you can include it in a journey up through Argentina from BA, taking in Rosario (birthplace of Che Guevara), Posadas and then on to Puerto Iguazu. Visit the falls and its better to stay on the Argentinian side as Foz and Ciudad del Este are quite dodgy, lot of drug-running there.

Piccies from San Ignacio Mini

I have a quick question for those of you who have been to Argentina in the past few years.

I am going there tomorrow for a month. I was planning on getting money by withdrawing funds from my German bnak account via an ATM (which is what I usually do when I am in the States, works fine.)

But an acquaintance told me thats a really bad idea, there are practically no ATMs around, and they are unreliable. She thinks I should get traveler's checks. But I really don't want to do that if the ATM thing will work.

I will be in Buenos Aires for most of the trip, so I am not expecting to find ATMs in the jungle or anything.

If anyone can give me advice quick-like, I would be most appreciative. Thanks in advance.

I've been back for two months and even given Lassie his LP back but still haven't reported back to this thread...


True, and don't miss the cemetary either!


If by "to cross" you mean the Straits of Magellan, then yes, it's easiest via Chile. And do take in Torres del Paine. Please!
And I'd also agree that three weeks are not enough for Patagonia alone. Next trip to Argentina in the distant planning stage...


Tell me about it. Simply awful. Old planes, crap food, crap service on the ground and in the air. Shoddy time-keeping.


I only just read this, but I went there too. A nice alternative to the touristy tango bars, even if it is full of tourists!


Don't believe your acquaintance. The ATM thing works. They are available and in every town and I never had problems using my German EC (Maestro) card.

Posted in haste to give Leeza an answer. I'll think about pics some other time.

did a wee search and voila, look what i find! argentina is also in the mentally planning stages for my big holiday this year. time frame same as Lassie, late Sept. for 3-4 weeks. a former roommate now lives in Buenos Aires and she already knows I'm coming! and of course who knows if i ever get back there, so i do plan to focus on 2-3 things, but i would like to see the entire country (same in peru and thailand - used inland flights).

general q's:
- did y'all (Lassie & Jeeves), travel alone?
- how much money did you plan for your trip?
- which route did you fly there? i've seen nonstops from FRA, which add a couple hundred €'s to the price, but it is such a long way, direct might be cool.
i've flown to peru, so i know the flight is probably the most expensive part of the trip, so i'm not gonna even worry about price.
- @ Jeeves - how long were you there?
- my friend, who lives in BA, said the airlines have tight baggage restrictions. any issues there?
- could y'all speak spanish? mine is piss poor, but i plan to freshen up this summer (hence why i'm not going in april as originally planned).

- did y'all (Lassie & Jeeves), travel alone?
Yes and no. I joined an organised tour for most of it but slipped off to do and see the things I wanted too pretty frequently. Great fun.

- how much money did you plan for your trip?
I really can't remember, but since I was camping the major expense was the flights.

- which route did you fly there? i've seen nonstops from FRA, which add a couple hundred €'s to the price, but it is such a long way, direct might be cool.
Don't go my way. I flew Munich-London-Madrid-BA

- @ Jeeves - how long were you there?
3 weeks. Twice as long would have been nice.

- my friend, who lives in BA, said the airlines have tight baggage restrictions. any issues there?
No, except that on one internal flight my luggage arrived four hours later than I did.

- could y'all speak spanish? mine is piss poor, but i plan to freshen up this summer (hence why i'm not going in april as originally planned).
Yes, my Spanish was good enough to go shopping, eating, riding, hiking etc.

was it a tour you picked there or ahead of time? i have no qualms about traveling on my own, but this'll be the first time since Eurorail that I was off on holiday alone for that long. Except for BA, I'll be all by my lonesome. *sniff sniff*

- travel alone?
Went on my own but kept making friends with people, with whom I'd travel on with, some for short periods, others for months. Generally, Argentina is a safe country for solo travellers, I didn't hear any horror stories, only about travelling in Paraguay, Brasil and Colombia. And they were terrifying.

- how much money did you plan for your trip?
I went for longer and Argentina was a big stop-off in nearly 6 months in South America, but for almost three months, mostly in BA, living well, I spent close enough to €1k on everything, transport, eating, entertainment, accommodation, internal flights.

- which route did you fly there? i've seen nonstops from FRA, which add a couple hundred €'s to the price, but it is such a long way, direct might be cool.
Munich - Manchester - Madrid - Buenos Aires with BA and AA, paid just over 500 Sterling at the time (2005).
There were crazy cheap flights from Madrid to Buenos Aires with Air Madrid, but they were grounded by Spanish aviation authorities in 2006, due to concerns over flightworthiness.

- my friend, who lives in BA, said the airlines have tight baggage restrictions. any issues there?
I don't recall them being tight, if anything AA were quite lax in this respect. And as pointed out elsewhere, quite lax about many things.

- could y'all speak spanish? mine is piss poor, but i plan to freshen up this summer (hence why i'm not going in april as originally planned).
Not a word, but I took Spanish lessons while there. Then I met a German girl who was fluent and that narrowed my possibilities for learning with hands and feet. Outside of BA, English won't get you very far.

I also think there is no problem in traveling alone. I did this a couple of times. What I definetely wouldnt do is to hitchhike (spelling?) alone. Except from that, I would say it is safe. Buenos Aires is fairly safe if you are not show off how much money you have (not wearing jewlery is recommended). I wouldnt walk in unknown places at night, specially when alone (includes waiting for a bus, I would rather take a cab which are safe and cheap).

money for the trip? no idea about prices of hotels. Food is cheaper than in Germany (even though prices increased a lot in the last couple of years).

Route? there is direct flights from Frankfurt. I usualy get fligths through Madrid (from Munich). Aerolineas Argentinas does not fly to Germany any longer. You can try Iberia (far cheaper than Lufthansa). But if you want to find a cheap one, TAM (munich-fran/pariskfurt-sao paulo-bs as).

Baggage? Usually 1 suitcase of up to 32 kg. Flying with TAM: 2 of 23kg.

language? well, I am not sure. But i guess that in touristic areas most of the people speak english.

Punchbear - nice pics

[quote name='Punchbear' date='Jan 22 2007, 2:48 pm' post='823698']
San Ignacio Mini is also worth visiting,... Visit the falls and its better to stay on the Argentinian side as Foz and Ciudad del Este are quite dodgy, lot of drug-running there.

We where in Argentina and Paraguay in 2005 and agree that San Igancio is well worth visiting but compared to the Jesuit sites in Paraguay very touristy - we stayed in Encarancion (spelling) across from Posadas and took the bus over.

Iguazu is a must see and take a boat trip when you get there - fantastic but very wet fun (if you get the chance you should also go to the Dam/ PowerStation)- we stayed in CDE and had no problems even at nights (we watched the Champion League final with the Taxi drivers on the street) just get used to the sight of armed guards at all the shops.

BA was more expensive than anywhere else in Argentina or Paraguay but still peanuts compared to prices in Europe.

We only stayed a week in BA and where glad to leave as the pace was a bit hectic - we went to the Zoo to escape One day (if you go the Zoo look out for the lama with a hair lip)

Flights: we flew with Lufthansa from Munich via Frankfurt and Sao Paolo to BA - its a very long flight especially when you have a stop over in Sao Paolo and cant get out of the plan and they start cleaning the plane around you.

I would recommend Argentina and Paraguay to anyone - Spanish is useful and opens doors (my Wife speaks some Spanish – I can order Beer and Milanese)

Do NOT miss Iguazu!! It's a World must-see, not just Argentina. Take at least two days and see both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides.

general q's:
- did y'all (Lassie & Jeeves), travel alone?
no, was with a mate
- how much money did you plan for your trip?
can't remember. though I think I spent less than I thought I would
- which route did you fly there? i've seen nonstops from FRA, which add a couple hundred €'s to the price, but it is such a long way, direct might be cool.
I flew Munich - london - BA with BA
- my friend, who lives in BA, said the airlines have tight baggage restrictions. any issues there?
We each had an 80l rucksack, plus day sack with no issues
- could y'all speak spanish? mine is piss poor, but i plan to freshen up this summer (hence why i'm not going in april as originally planned).
Don't speak any spanish. I ordered a pizza with huevo thinking it was ham - I don't like egg. Otherwise smiling, waving arms and speaking english slowly and loudly seemed to work - like when you deal with the police here.

have fun - it's a great place.

flight is booked. direct Frankfurt to Buenos Aires for 1020 Euros with Lufthansa. Iberia, with one stop in Madrid, was 970 Euros. I started looking in March and tried again yesterday. Flight prices went down 200 Euros for that direct flight so I scooped it up.

Since it will be early spring, I'll probably stay in northern Argentina. I'm only gonna go for 3 weeks since (1) I don't think I'll make it until then without a little time off and (2) I wanna go home for Christmas as well. unbelievable - I get 30 days of paid vacation and it's not nearly enough!

Cheers, enjoyed taking them.


I went into Ciudad del Este on foot from Brasil, crossed the Puente de Amistad, and just ambled into Paraguay. Nobody stopped me for my passport, I actually went back and asked for a Paraguayan stamp in it. The guy looked at me like I'd turned seven shades of mentalist. First shop I went into on that dust track that the bridge road suddenly morphs into, there was a tiny old man sitting on a stool by the front door, with an FN FAL over his knee. Next shop, another shrunken old man with a large weapon sitting in his lap, dwarfing him, this time a pump action shotgun. And so on up the hill to crossroads without a traffic light. Most of the shops were run by either Palestinians or Lebanese. Although I'd heard that the price of consumer electronics in CED was supposed to be ridiculously cheap, the opposite proved true, with most traders looking for prices slightly below European prices. They saw us coming alright.
I wanted to travel on through the Gran Chaco into Bolivia, see the German enclaves in Filadelfia, but they closed the borders when Bolivia went mental, farmers blockaded La Paz and the borders, and president Mesa resigned. I got an email from someone I'd met travelling who was in La Paz at the time, saying that the streets are full of angry people with shotguns and sticks of dynamite and pitchforks, they're not allowed to leave the hostel and it'd be a really bad idea to come any further west. When I got back over the border to Foz de Iguazu, the bus passed an armoured column of the Brasilian army, marching along the border, a couple of thousand strong. Interesting times.

So that nipped that one in the bud.


Despite its dodgy reputation (which it didn't lick up off the stones), traffic lights are turned off at night, to help prevent car-jacking at junctions, ATMs shut down at 8pm to deter robberies (only the ATMs at the airport remain open, but the same applies in Rio de Janeiro too) and the downright bleak industrial ugliness of a lot of what I saw of the city, Sao Paolo has a really vibrant club scene and cultural life.

My vacation is looming now I'm finding it difficult to strike off my list anything! I've decided for northern Argentina: BA, Cordoba, Mendoza, Salta, Iguazu - but the distances between some of the sites are tremendous. Has anyone had experience with inland flights or have any recommendations? I'm not sure if a 24+ hr bus ride is in the cards, but I'd really hate to leave any of those stops out.

Elfenstar:

Do check my posting in the South American travel thread for some tips.
http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index...t&p=1170789

I booked my internal flights and some hotels through Mayra. She is well recommended on the thorntree forum of Lonely Planet. Read the latest on that forum.

Though I didn't travel by long distance buses in Argentina, I heard good comments about the bus from BA to Iguazu from other tourists. If time is an issue, I would strongly recommend that you take the flight option.
I travelled by long distance buses in Chile, Bolivia & Peru. Some of them were a bit rough.
Have fun!

I took inland flights with Aerolineas Argentinas. The easiest and obvioust thing to do. They did manage to get my luggage onto a different flight from me once, but at least that flight ended up in the same place as me just a few hours later. Otherwise they were fine for getting from A to B.

I'd second that, took an overnighter to Puerto Iguazu from BA, very comfortable, good service and good value.
There's an overnighter from BA to Mendoza, leaving Retiro, also cheap as chips, takes 14 hours. You could perhaps bus it up from there to Cordoba, takes around 10 hours. Onwards to Salta is an epic 13-hour journey by bus, it'll be through the Andes which may be impassable at some points, due to snow, so you're better off getting a flight from Cordoba to Salta. Iirc, there was a bus from Salta to Ascuncion in Paraguay, with an onward connection to Ciudad del Este/Foz do Iguacu in Brasil, but the distance to travel is quite significant and Paraguayan roads aren't the Mae West and as an US American you'll be paying the retaliatory visa price to get into Brasil. There's a 14 hour bus to Resistencia from Salta, and a connecting bus to Puerto Iguazu, that takes 11 hours. Better then to fly from there to Iguazu, and bus back down to BA (Expreso Tigre Iguazu were good), taking in San Ignacio Mini, Posadas, Santa Fe/Parana and Ernestos birthplace, Rosario.

Less than 2 weeks to go! Woo-hoo! I have decided to narrow my trip to BA, Cordoba (where I will visit friends in both cities), Iguazu and Salta, probably forgoing Mendoza altogether. Not quite yet sure how to travel: BA-Iguazu- Salta-Cordoba-BA or BA-Corboda-Salta-Iguazu-BA. The distance between Salta and Iguazu is horrendous, so I'm probably gonna do a oneway flight. Even if I break it up, it'll be a 24 hr bus ride. Maybe great for soul-searching, but I don't know just yet.

Question for y'all, have any of y'all done any rafting in Argentina? More than likely I will spend a whole week in Salta hiking, biking, rafting, maybe canyoning, taking it easy. I like sport on holiday so this is really important & relaxing for me. I got a quote from Salta Rafting and I was pretty floored how expensive it is. Prices were in $, but still, rafting for 2 hours (transport + bbq) was 120€. Canyoning was 160€.

Anyone have any tips in this regard?

Can anyone recommend any books about Argentina or South America, something I can read while on holiday? Someone mentioned a book about surveying the Andes, but I'm not sure if I'm mixing up facts and fiction.

I've been looking at inter-Argentinean flights and are they really that expensive? Aerolineas Argentina quoted me 407 Euros to fly from Salta to Iguazu. That's outrageous. Yes, I expected to pay more as a foreigner, but woah, that takes the cake. Seems like they are the only airlines to fly that route too. I get a bit of a savings if I say I am a resident of the US, not Germany.

Any suggestions?

hey y'all. back from 3 weeks argentina. was a great, fabulous time.

my stations were BA-Cordoba-Tucuman-Tafi del Valle-Salta-Puerto Iguazu (half day stop in San Ignacio)-BA. all traversed via bus. my trip was not rushed, i had plenty of time, did a lot, rested a lot and could have easily added in mendoza and thereby shortened salta, which i stayed in for a week. if you don't need to fly, don't. i quite enjoyed the bus rides. however, it was too cold for my taste for the south. that trip will have to be in the Argentinian summer.

weather was mixed in BA, but the rest was warm. salta dry, iguazu & BA humid. i got by easily on 30 Euro a day although I wasn't counting my pesos. disadvantage, off-season so lots of hikes/treks (long trips) were not offered or were canceled. advantages, off-season so no stress about booking a bus or place to stay. more local tourists than anything.