Argentina or New Zealand?

curiousgeorge19

Hi folks, heading off with one other buddy at the end of the year.
Have time booked off work, just need to figure out where to go to.
Criteria, baking hot weather, nice scenery, lots to do, and a decent amount of fellow
European/America/Aussie travellers etc.
Two options appear to be New Zealand and Argentina.
What are the pros and cons of each?
Any sample Argentinian/New Zealand itineries floating around?
Is Argentina much cheaper?
Any links to threads about each country?

LFC5Times

Was in Argentina last Summer went to Buenos Aires and Mendoza(up beside the Andes Mountains)

Very cheap Argentina - great food espeically beef, you could have a 3 course meal in an extremely posh restaurant for no more than 20 euro
Nicest steaks ever.

Lovely people never seen any trouble/violence

Not much to do in Buenos Aires after a few days but you could travel around to different places like Menodza etc

Glowing

Hmmm tough one!

I was in NZ for 2 months last year - we travelled there hoping to like it enough to possibly emigrate but its much too quiet for me!

Its a stunning country, you can't get over the sheer unspoilt scenery, snow capped mountains, ice blue lakes. There is a great variety of adrenaline sports to do, and all reasonably priced. The hostels in NZ are among the best I've ever come across! If you're looking for cracking nightlife then you'll probably be dissapointed, although get friendly with a few Kiwis and i'm sure they'd show you a good time, they've a great sense of humour and are a lot like the Irish in many ways!

Regarding the weather, i was there in winter so can't comment. Would imagine that Argentina would be more reliable in that respect.

Let us know what you choose!!!

Edit: You never said how long you were going for?!

curiousgeorge19

Glowing
Going from middle of November to second last week in December, looking at prices and the like at the moment. From what I can make out the weather will be bloody good in both places.
However the impression I get is that travelling in New Zealand, may not involve meeting too many other travellers under the age of 30.
Ah, maybe I should consider Australia instead?
And again, where can I get itinaries?

Glowing

No way - don't go to Australia above NZ or Argentina (although I haven't been yet!)

We met loads of people in NZ, the hostels were bursting, and that was in Winter. You'll meet a very different set of travellers in Oz, they tend to be a lot younger and on a gap year - we found travellers to be slightly older in NZ but that was a good thing - less drunken ****es to deal with to be honest.

If it sounds like NZ is not your thing, then I'd definately go to Argentina over Oz - it'd be a LOT cheaper too.

PunyHuman

I'd second a lot of what has already been said. It's a difficult decision, but I'd definitely go back to NZ or Argentina over Australia.

Both countries are beautiful, but I'd say Argentina is more exotic. It's also much cheaper than New Zealand. There's much more to do in NZ during the day. On the other hand, there's far more to do in Argentina at night.

So it depends on what you want. If you like extreme sports and ease of movement, go to NZ. If you're looking for a bit more of a challenge and - dare I say it - a more intense and memorable travel experience, go to Argentina.

In fact I definitely recommend Argentina. One idea would be to base yourself in the fantastic Buenos Aires and take a few trips - south to the Pampas or Patagonia, west to Cordoba or Mendoza (I found these places a little boring, but then I was on my own), north to Uruguay and Iguazu (unmissable) and then stop off in Rio for a few days on the way back.

kraggy

Puny and/or others:

What are the must sees/do's in Argentina besides Iguazu and B.Aires?

I don't really like the sound of wine country, so what other places would be recommended?

Salto? Cordoba?

Anyone know how long it would take to get to Patagonia from B.Aires by bus?

And if you can fly, what airline and how much?

thanks!

PunyHuman

Have you got a guidebook? All this stuff is in the guidebook. You should be able to borrow one from your local library.

The Pampas is supposed to be great, where you can ride around like gauchos and camp in gullies and eat jerky and sing songs and all that. Also there are supposed to be some great beaches down the south coast I believe. And Salto is supposed to be amazing but it's a long way north... sounds like someone's got a case of the supposedta's. I never went to any of these places.

It would take several days to bus it to Patagonia. I'd fly if I were you, should cost about $100 each way on Aerolineas Argentinas or TAM or whoever else.

g-punkteffekt

I'm in NZ now. Living here is fine but I would definitely go to Argie if you're just travelling. It'd be a lot more interesting I would imagine. Once you see the mountains and green fields here etc. it's pretty boring. A mate of mine was in Argie and it sounds amazing, great nightlife, cheap enough, interesting people, hot chicks etc. NZ is boring really, nightlife is a joke, even in the cities, makes you realise how lively Ireland is. I still love it here though.

jonny68

Both countries are on my list to go places for sure, especially Argentina, ive heard some amazing things about Argentina.:)

rubberduckey

Been to both in the last 12 months and both countries are great to travel around.

I would slightly prefer Argentina, you can get relatively cheap flights to Mendoza, Patagonia etc.

Amazing country with great people.

http://www.estanciacristina.com/ingles/secciones/el_lugar/lago_argentino.html

kraggy

What would people recommend to see in Argentina besides B.Aires and Iguazu Falls?

I have a Lonely Planet but they don't give much of an opinion on where to go as such.

I'll be coming down from Iguazu to B.A and have about 2.5 weeks in the country altogether.

Also, what route would people recommend from Iguazu to B.Aires? Through Uruguay perhaps?

Any help would be great, going in a couple of weeks!

thanks,

k.

curiousgeorge19

Some very helpful posts there folks, thanks. Yes got the guide to Argentina and another one for round the world etc.
Definitely going to Argentina/South America from middle of November till just after New Years.
In the best part of six weeks how many countries could I do? How much of that time would you recommend to spend in Argentina?
Any company who organise backpack tours there, and what is the likelihood I’ll meet fellow travellers along the way?
Best mate pulled out there, but I’m determined to go solo..probably a bit mad but what the hell..
Also itinaries would be great too..if you don’t mind?

folkface

Hey,

What the best way to get to Argentina Flight wise / airline from Dublin?
How much does it cost?

irish_bob

mmm , interesting debate here , to visit argentina or new zealand , the 2 countries are not actually that far appart you know and its not much further to travel to newzealand via south america than it is via the tradtional route of asia
ive actually been to both countries , all be it almost 7 yrs appart, 1st things 1st , argentina is a poor country while new zeland is a modern 1st world country , while there is wealth akin to milan or other european cities in argentina, poverty is the dominant feature
another thing about argentina is hardly anyone speaks english and personally i would find it difficult to stay in a non english speaking country for very long
argentina is cheaper but new zealand considering its a rich 1st world country is still extremely cheap and less than half the price of ireland
newzealanders are among the friendliest in the world , argentinians are in my experience not as friendly as thier spanish cousins but then again they,ve been through such a tumultous time recently with thier economy collapsing, you can hardly blame them , argentian is about 5 times the size of newzealand and is not near as well geared towards tourish as nz
besides i cannot think of a country on earth with more beautifull spectacular scenerey than nz , all this in a country the size of california or japan
i enjoyed argentina but would definatly choose nz
however if you number one priority when travelling is how beautifull the women are , then argentian has to be the choice , the women there are gorgous where as kiwi women are no better than irish women in the looks dept

Meathlass

kraggy wrote:

What would people recommend to see in Argentina besides B.Aires and Iguazu Falls?

I have a Lonely Planet but they don't give much of an opinion on where to go as such.

I'll be coming down from Iguazu to B.A and have about 2.5 weeks in the country altogether.

Also, what route would people recommend from Iguazu to B.Aires? Through Uruguay perhaps?

Any help would be great, going in a couple of weeks!

thanks,

k.

From Igazu to Buenos Aires I would stop off in Posades and go to the Jesuit ruins, don't bother with Uruguay. There are about 30 buses a day on that route, lots of backpackers. Definately learn some Spanish, even a tiny bit will help so much.I would do Igazu (3 days), Posades and Buenos Aires (4 days), Depends what you're into from here in. Mendoza is good for wine and adventure sports (you could spend 3 days in this area, Salta also another option). Further south you have Puerto Madyn , lots of wildlife, you could do 2 separate day trips to see penguins, whales and seals, depending on season. Usuhia is not really interesting so not worth going that far south but the Puerto Moreno glcaier is amazing and well worth the long trip to get to. There are huge tracks of the country that have no bus links or make you backtrack on your self so if you can afford the flights go for it, especially if you're going for such a short time. Unfortunately I couldn't so one of my abiding memories of South America is long bus trips! Barlioche in the northwest is a great small town for adventure sports, skiing and choclate!

Meathlass

curiousgeorge19 wrote:

Some very helpful posts there folks, thanks. Yes got the guide to Argentina and another one for round the world etc.
Definitely going to Argentina/South America from middle of November till just after New Years.
In the best part of six weeks how many countries could I do? How much of that time would you recommend to spend in Argentina?
Any company who organise backpack tours there, and what is the likelihood I’ll meet fellow travellers along the way?
Best mate pulled out there, but I’m determined to go solo..probably a bit mad but what the hell..
Also itinaries would be great too..if you don’t mind?

6 weeks is such a small amount of time. Do not underestimate the distances in South America. Where are you flying into and out of? This is important in determining an itinary. You'll meet lots of backpackers in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil. Not so many in Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia. If you're flying into and out of BA I would recommend either Brazil and Argentina or Argentina and Chile (Hiking in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia was one of the best parts of south america for me) If you can afford it, you could spend 3 weeks in argentina and chile, fly from Santiago to Lima, do Peru and Bolivia and then return back to Buenos Aires through the salt flats in Boliva, salta and back to BA. This would be expensive (because of flight from santiago to lima) and hectic though but peru/boliva have a completely different vibe to the more westernised arg/chile. You'll have no problem going solo, I spent nearly a year there and loved it. You'll meet plenty of people. message me if you want more info.