Argentina

kraggy

Hi folks,

Tried posting about this in other threads but to no avail so have had to start my own one.

Basically, heading to S. America in April/May and was contemplating flying into B.Aires and up to Bolivia via Iguazu Falls and then home from Lima after seeing M.Picchu.

Bolivia is my main priority but would like to see other places as going for 2 months.

My question is: which parts of Argentina would you recommend? is the route from B.A up to Iguazu Falls via Uruguay nice or is the Cordoba side nicer?

If anyone can advise as to what parts of Argentina are a must i'd be very grateful.

Also, since might be going via Paraguay, any thoughts on what that's like?

Thanks,

K.

p.s. What's the climate like in April -June? I know it varies from counry to country (esp. Bolivia)...

Afuera

Interesting Route. The falls at Iguazu are certainly worth the effort although the scenery around Cordoba is pretty impressive too. Unfortunately with only 2 months you are not going to be able to see it all though, so you will have to make some hard choices. I personally found the southern part of Argentina to be the most impressive... it has glaciers and nature reserves where you can go whale watching etc. But it would be hard to fit that in with your itinerary.

You need to check out the visa situation for Paraguay. The last time I checked, if you are Irish, you need to sort out a visa before heading off travelling. Since I was not in the position to do that, the route I took avoided Paraguay, so I can not offer any advice on what is worth checking out there. Anyone I met that had travelled through there said that there was not much going on anyway.

I think the climate varies more by altitude rather than country by country in South America. You will be heading into winter and are sure to encounter some high zones in Bolivia and Peru in particualr; definately make sure you have a coat with you (or pick up a cheap one when you get there). The northern parts of Bolivia, around the Amazonia area, will be quite tropical if you get sick of the cold though.

kraggy

Thanks for that Afuera.

jonny68

Argentina is definitely on my list of places to go.;)

jackbhoy

I went in opposite direction i.e. from Iguazu down through Uruguay (Salto, Montevideo & Colonia) and over to BA.
Iguazu is amazing and defintely worth going out of your way to see. Make sure you see it from both Argentinian and Brazilian sides as two very different experiences. Even though its kind of expensive (about €30/40) I'd really recommend doing the power boat ride that goes right up under the falls, its scary but great buzz.

I loved Uruguay, the food/drink/people are really cool and its just a nice friendly and laid back place but didnt make it as far as Cordoba so cant offer advice on which is better.

I visited Paraguay briefly and by briefly I mean 2 hours so I wouldnt feel qualified to give advice on whether its worth visiting or not!

kraggy

Thanks for that Jack.

How long would it take to leisurely bus it from Iguazu to B. Aires, stopping off in Uruguay for a bit of chilling out or is that the way you did it?

thanks

kraggy

Also,

Has anyone been to Patagonia and the Glaciers down south? or to Mendoza?

would you recommend?

thanks a million!

jackbhoy

kraggy wrote:

Thanks for that Jack.

How long would it take to leisurely bus it from Iguazu to B. Aires, stopping off in Uruguay for a bit of chilling out or is that the way you did it?

thanks

The route we took was:
- Iguazu to Salto (Uruguay), that was overnight bus think about 11/12 hours
- Salto to Montevieo (took about 4ish hours on bus)
- Montevideo to Colonia (couple of hours journey)
- Colonia to BA (about 3 hours on slow/cheap ferry).

Spent about 3/4 days in each place which was probably about enough, Salto has some nice hot springs and mud bath type places where you can relax and get massage etc for bugger all. Montevideo has nice bars and amazing paprillas (kind of bbq places)where you can get great quality steaks the size of a small child for €5 or less, Colonia I think mentioned before has nice small old town and is great change of pace from BA.

one more tip, the overnight buses are really comfortable (have almost fully reclining seats a la first class on any flight), you even get food and wine on board and a waiter to look after all your needs. They are very good value as well (especially as you save on accomodation for night), only suggestion i'd make is dont book a seat near the front where you can see out front window as some of the driving can be a bit hairy.

kraggy

Cool. thanks for that Jack. really helpful.

tell me, where were you coming from before Iguazu? What countries would you recommend?

jackbhoy

Because of financial and time restrictions I only visited Brazil, Argentina & Uruguay (dont count 2 hours in Paraguay!)
We travelled down from Rio via Ilhe Grande, Paraty, & Sao Paulo before getting to Iguazu.
Rio is a really amazing city and the views from top of Corcavado and Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf) are some of best I've ever seen, if you do make it that far its worth going up the sugarloaf after dark as you'll have barely any tourists and a great view of the city and floodlight beaches etc.
Ilhe Grande is a small island about (if i remember correctly) a 4 hour bus trip then 2 hour boat ride from Rio. It is a really relaxed, laid back spot and is home to Lopes mendes beach (famous as one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil), its a nice change of pace from Rios packed beaches as you can find little strips that are practically deserted.Paraty is kind of similar to Colonia i mentionded previously in that its a small relaxed town with loads of UNESCO protected buildings.

If you cant make all places I mentioned then the ones not to miss are the obvious ones of Rio, Iguazu and BA but I think its worth the effort to take in Ilhe Grande and at least one stop in Uruguay.

kraggy

Cool. don't think i'll be going into Brazil though. was thinking along the lines of flying into B.A., up through Uruguay to I. Falls, through Paraguay into Bolivia and out of Peru spending most of the time in Bolivia.

Now curious about southern Argentina though. Patagonia and the glaciers etc. haven't ruled out going into Chile and up that way to Bolivia either.

decisions decisions!

thanks for the info jack.

Keedowah

I am doing a similar journey starting the 18th of March this year - cant wait.

I start off at Rio for a few days and then i go to Ilha Grande. Tell me - whats the accomodation situation like there? Do i need to book? Then head in the direction of Iguazu falls - then south to BA. Travel around Argentina for a few weeks - then head to Bolivia, Peru and Chile - i'll be spending 3 months in S A in total.

jackbhoy

Keedowah wrote:

I start off at Rio for a few days and then i go to Ilha Grande. Tell me - whats the accomodation situation like there? Do i need to book?

We didnt book ahead and found place with no hassle. Cant remember the name of the place we stayed but it was individual cabins/chalets in really quiet area just a few mins walk from town. Passed by a HI hostel in middle of town too and it looked pretty decent. I also seen locals renting out rooms for next to nothing so I wouldnt be too worried about booking ahead, just turn up and have a look around. If worst comes to worst you are surrounded by very nice beaches that you could sleep on for the night!

PunyHuman

I spent a few days in Paraguay in 2005. Can't really say anything positive about the place except that some parts of Asuncion seem to be just as they might have been a hundred years ago. Pretty sad and shabby place in my opinion, with not much going on. People seem to be very poor and there's a lot of prostitution. I never felt really unsafe but then again I didn't stray far from the centre of town.

Ciudad del Este looked so unappealing from the bus that I didn't get off and went straight on to Asuncion without getting an entrance stamp, which was later to cause me some hassle and cost me $50.

Escaped from Paraguay on an $80 flight to BsAs which took off into the eye of a storm. I've rarely been so terrified in my life.

kraggy

Puny, thanks for that.

Noticed from other threads that you've been around. what route did you do in s. america and what parts would you consider must-dos?

Also, who did you get that flight with as i've looked into cheap airlines in s.america and can't seem to find any.

thanks.

k.

Popeleo

In 2004 I used an airline called Southern Winds, but I couldn't find their website. So for anyone who ever flew with them, here's why according to Wikipedia:

By 2004, Southern Winds was a leading commercial carrier in the troubled Argentinean aviation industry. That September, however, airport police in Madrid discovered 60 kilograms of cocaine packed in four unaccompanied suitcases aboard an arriving Southern Winds flight. The resulting scandal cost the airline its government subsidy, and ultimately resulted in the carrier's collapse.


I presume Aerolineas are still charging foreigners way more than locals. Splitters.

PunyHuman

I went from Easter Island > Santiago > Mendoza > Cordoba > BsAs > Colonia del Sacramento > Montevideo > BsAs > Iguazu > Asuncion > BsAs > Rio. All this took about two months.

I'd definitely recommend Buenos Aires and Iguazu, and Easter Island if your budget can stretch to it. In my opinion Santiago was good and Cordoba/Mendoza were only OK, compared with the capital.

I escaped from Paraguay on a TAM Mercosur flight. Just rocked in to Asuncion airport and booked it for the same day; nothing planned in advance. The plane was half empty but it was getting on for winter (May) at the time.

kraggy

thanks guys.

just tried to price flights on tam's website there but it's not working and if i recall correctly it was like that a few weeks ago too.

interesting route puny. would you recommend northern argentina in general?

now thinking of patagonia but haven't got any feedback from anyone yet. seeing as my main priority is Bolivia, i'm trying to figure out if it's worth going all the way down there before going back up to bolivia (as i'll prob fly into B.A from Europe).

seems no one from Boards has been to Patagonia (though i doubt it!).

littlesurfer

hey good choice of route, i did that myself last year and really enjoyed it. i went from buenos aires west to chile and it was amazing....I also did it in two months but felt that going south in argentina was a waste of time...(when you only have two months) I really wouldn't bypass chile it's absolutely amazing and a good entry point to la Paz in bolivia. But as for argentina itelf definately go to iguaza but dont go further south than b. aires!!!

kraggy

hey surfer,

what routed did you go exactly? how did you take in I. Falls if you went over Chile direction? did you do a full circle back to B.A.? Thanks!

allin-king

I notice a couple of you said you travelled for two months around SA, this is exactly what I will be doing in six weeks and was wondering how much money you would recommend bringing? Thanks

PunyHuman

That really depends on the countries you visit and the style in which you travel. I spent about two thousand in two months, but then I was staying in nice hotels and eating steak every night

allin-king

Thanks for the reply,

My plan was to fly to Rio (from sydney, doing the 1 year thing) and spend 5 days there, then work our way to Sao Paolo-Iguazu falls-Buenos Aires-Bolivia and hopefully back through Brazil to do the amazon. What do you think of this plan? What would you change / add? Let me know if you can as I'm sort of shooting in the dark!!

P.S. Is there any vaccinations I might need on entering SA?