Argentina - advice/tips?

FledNanders

Hi,
Heading to Argentina at the end of the month for a month. Have a few days booked in BA, and then pretty much a blank canvas....

Any places that are must-see/highly recommended?

Anything welcome, cheers!

Meathlass

Unfortunately you're going in Winter so I'm not sure what Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego will be like as I was there in Summer. Ushuaia is worth going to for a few days as is El Calafate to see the glacier. You probably won't be able to trek in any of the parks as the weather will be too bad. Along the Andes in Barlioche and San Martin are great oppertunities for outdoor sports but it could be dead this time of the year. Check to see if the recent volcano in Chile has affected these parts. Salta in the northwest is nice and Mendoza is ok to hang out for a few days, not much to do though. I would skip Cordoba. BA could easily account for a week. You can take the ferry to Colonia (old style town 'Medieval' town, like walking through a museum) or to Montevideo (pleasant for a day or two). Don't miss the Jesuit ruins at San Ignacio Mini which are on the way to Igazu Falls. I would recommend going across to the Brazilian side to see them from there too. If you had time you could go up to Rio as well. There's no problem in crossing the borders. As an Irish citizen you don't need to pay visas or charges.

james1234

Meathlass has most of it covered.

This time of year your best bet is head north of BA if the weather gets to you. But if you're into skiing you could get in a trip or two if you decide to head to the Andes (Bariloche for example). Travel by bus is cheap and very comfortable (you won't believe how much till you experience it), and saves on overnight hotels, as most places worth seeing will be an overnight trip. Flying isn't really cheap at all.

Spent the guts of a year there recently so to get an idea of what to expect check out my blog: http://blogs.bootsnall.com/JamesM/category/argentina By the way the all posts are bilingual, Spanish 1st half/English 2nd half. Also it seems some pictures are messed up...working on that with the hosts.

You travelling alone?
Also a bit of Spanish will go a long way!

Naked Lepper

i want to go to argentina at the end of the year around late nov or early december
none of my mates are interested but id probs go on my own - i have three weeks left that i can take off work

can anyone reccommend some places to visit, igazu falls is a defo... can fly to BA return thru madrid for around a grand or so but not sure what it would be like upon arrival for a solo traveller with three weeks on their hands.... any experiences would be greatly appreciated

Meathlass

Naked Lepper wrote: »

i want to go to argentina at the end of the year around late nov or early december
none of my mates are interested but id probs go on my own - i have three weeks left that i can take off work

can anyone reccommend some places to visit, igazu falls is a defo... can fly to BA return thru madrid for around a grand or so but not sure what it would be like upon arrival for a solo traveller with three weeks on their hands.... any experiences would be greatly appreciated

I was on my own as well, no problem meeting people, lots of Irish people around too. Hostels usually organise stuff as well. Early December is a perfect time to go, it's just before the holiday season so it shouldn't be too busy.

Hrududu

i want to go to argentina at the end of the year around late nov or early december
none of my mates are interested but id probs go on my own - i have three weeks left that i can take off work

I'm exactly the same. Nobody else is interested in going so I will probably head off on my own.

Can anyone let me know what the place is like for a girl travelling alone?

Meathlass

Hrududu wrote: »

I'm exactly the same. Nobody else is interested in going so I will probably head off on my own.

Can anyone let me know what the place is like for a girl travelling alone?

Argentina is probably the best country for women travelling on their own in South America (mind you by the time I got there I was immune to the hissing and whistling). I got mistaken several times for a local so you won't stand out as much as in the Andean countries. It's very safe for travelling in, you'll have no problems. Just take the same precautions that you'd take at home.

Aurora Borealis

I went on my own as well and though I felt trepidatious at first it didn't take long to get into the swing of it!

Places to take in include;

Buenos Aires, for definite. I'd live there in a heartbeat. An amazing beat to the city with fantastic restaurants, super cool pubs and porteños are by far the most beautiful people I've seen to date. Females do get a lot of attention there but once you say back off they do so it's not really a problem or indeed if you're looking it could be quite a plus. I wasn't at the time.
Just walk everywhere and take in the atmosphere. Ricoleta is great, as is Palermo, San Telmo and La Boca, though the latter is almost theme park like at this stage but worth a goo.

Salta, beautiful plaza, fun bars, some cool architecture and a really nice.
relaxed pace of life. I went quad biking from there too which I absolutely adored. Ridiculously fun and was doing wheelies within ten minutes.

Iquazu, Liked the little village itself even though there's not a whole lot there but the falls quite literally took my breathe away and are something I still think of often.

I didn't make it to Mendoza but heard really nice things about it and it is a must apparently if you like wine.

Argentina is a vast and very beautiful country with a very interesting mix of European and South American culture. I'd advise getting a guidebook and reading up on it beforehand because your options are endless.

Espero que usted se disfrute mucho!

A.B.

Glowing

I can sum up Argentina in one word: STEAK!!!!!

Edit: I also agree with everything Aurora Borealis said- Iguazu was stunning, really mind blowing stuff. Mendoza is well worth the trip and the 6 hour bus trip from there over the Andes to Santiago was really beautiful.

oil painting

hey,me and my friend(two girlies) have booked argentina for the 27th july till sept 8th we are now having second thoughts because if the weather and are thinking of going in november... any ideas if this would make our holiday better,or would we have just as good a time in august....

Aurora Borealis

I went around that time last year and had a blast. Granted didn't get a huge amount of sun but it didn't impede on the fun factor at all!
It would definitely be hotter in November but it's not a sun holiday type adventure anyway so I wouldn't let the weather put you off.

shrapnel222

not to be missed also are the quebradas (canyons) between Salta and cafayate, and cafayate is one of the most chilled out places also. also the salt flats north west of salta are a must. Another "MUST DO" in salta is to go and visit the incan mummy. An impeccably preserved mummy of a girl sacrificed over 500 years ago. The history and the mummy itself are bone chilling as are all the other mummies there. Just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end again.

also another vote here el calafate and the glaciers. Pretty awesome!!!!

check out http://flickr.com/photos/shrapnel1/sets/72157604447452053/ for some of my shots taken over there

Aurora Borealis

shrapnel222 wrote: »

not to be missed also are the quebradas (canyons) between Salta and cafayate, and cafayate is one of the most chilled out places also. also the salt flats north west of salta are a must. Another "MUST DO" in salta is to go and visit the incan mummy. An impeccably preserved mummy of a girl sacrificed over 500 years ago. The history and the mummy itself are bone chilling as are all the other mummies there. Just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end again.

also another vote here el calafate and the glaciers. Pretty awesome!!!!

check out http://flickr.com/photos/shrapnel1/sets/72157604447452053/ for some of my shots taken over there

Yeah the mummy is freaky isn't it. Cachi, outside of Salta's pretty chilled too but not much there really. The National cactus Park is deadly too. But I do have a soft spot for the spiny feckers...

shrapnel222

Aurora Borealis wrote: »

Yeah the mummy is freaky isn't it. Cachi, outside of Salta's pretty chilled too but not much there really. The National cactus Park is deadly too. But I do have a soft spot for the spiny feckers...

the mummy was amazing, i kept thinking she was going to open her eyes any time and jump out, ring style!!! i hadn't thought about her till posting yesterday, and tell you what, strong feelings flooded back. i think she does change people. their whole story is pretty intense.

we never made it to cachi, we tried but lots of rain meant our little rentacar was having problems crossing knee deep water. we were all pretty hung over also so headed straight for cafayate. as for the cactis, same here, love the feckers, and they're everywhere!!!! my wife had a mishap with one, when i was taking a picture of her near this huge cactus, and she was standing on a little wall next to it. she lost her balance and grabbed the first thing next to her to regain it, DOH!!!!! a few needle pricks nicely embedded as a souvenir!

Aurora Borealis

Just checked out some of your pics on that link. They're fantastic. Thanks, you've brought back some great memories. Nice to think of on a rather grey and cloudy morning.

shrapnel222

Aurora Borealis wrote: »

Just checked out some of your pics on that link. They're fantastic. Thanks, you've brought back some great memories. Nice to think of on a rather grey and cloudy morning.

happy to oblige. thanks!!

oil painting

thanks guys great advice...well this is our itinerary ....

- Buenos Aires
- Penninsula Valdes (whale watching)
- Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego (End of the earth- Patagonia)
- Mendoza- wine regions and ranch
- Salta- Traditional mountain towns, supposedly beautiful
- From Salta to San Pedron de Atacama or Calama in Chile for the Atacama Dessert (If we want to or can splash out possibly staying in www.tierraatacama.com Adventure Spa)
- Iguazu Falls
- Back to Buenos Aires
- Ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo Uruguay and from Montevideo to Puta del Este and onto Punto del Diablo taking in small beach beach towns along the way
- Back to Buenos Aires before we leave

Meathlass

oil painting wrote: »

thanks guys great advice...well this is our itinerary ....

- Buenos Aires
- Penninsula Valdes (whale watching)
- Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego (End of the earth- Patagonia)
- Mendoza- wine regions and ranch
- Salta- Traditional mountain towns, supposedly beautiful
- From Salta to San Pedron de Atacama or Calama in Chile for the Atacama Dessert (If we want to or can splash out possibly staying in www.tierraatacama.com Adventure Spa)
- Iguazu Falls
- Back to Buenos Aires
- Ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo Uruguay and from Montevideo to Puta del Este and onto Punto del Diablo taking in small beach beach towns along the way
- Back to Buenos Aires before we leave

Can't remember when you said you were going but make sure the whales will still be around, while here you can see penguins and go on a traditional British tea to a Welsh village, quite surreal watching all the Argentinians gasping at the little cottages - looked like home to me! From Ushuaia to Mendoza you should take in El Calafate (glacier) and maybe some of the smaller 'alpine' towns eg.Barlioche or San Martin. I would skip the Chile bit; Atacama isn't that special and not worth the trip imho. Go to San Ignacio Mini on way to Igazu (17thc Jesuit ruins). I would only spend a day or so in Montevideo (didn't impress me that much), didnt' make it to the coast of Uruguay but Diablo is suposed to be very laid back.

preddy

Hey how far are all these places to Buenos Aires?
salta
Penninsula Valdes etc

I only have 5 days there in mid Sept before we head to Peru looking for the major things to see without having to take a day out travelling...

Oh oh and any ideas for Cheap hotels or good Hostels in Buenos Aries?

Meathlass

preddy wrote: »

Hey how far are all these places to Buenos Aires?
salta
Penninsula Valdes etc

I only have 5 days there in mid Sept before we head to Peru looking for the major things to see without having to take a day out travelling...

Oh oh and any ideas for Cheap hotels or good Hostels in Buenos Aries?

Ready to stand corrected here as I did a different route but I think Salta is about 24 hours from BA and Penisula Valdes is about 12 hours. With only 5 days I would just stay in BA. If you're there on a Sunday be sure to go to the markets in San Telmo.

nottooxabi

awesome photos schrapnel222.. i'm going myself in jan 09.. cant wait...

Jethrog

I'm heading off to Argentina at the end of the week, really looking forward to it. Some great stuff on this thread. Thanks guys.

Tadhg17

Some great tips on this thread, nice photos there shrapnel. looking to go to Argentina next year, what time of year is best to travel through Argentina?

Meathlass

Tadhg17 wrote: »

Some great tips on this thread, nice photos there shrapnel. looking to go to Argentina next year, what time of year is best to travel through Argentina?

Well Argentina is a huge country so it depends on what area you're going to. But if you're looking to see as much of the country as possible I'd recommend the summer season ie.December and January, the weather is nice and hot in Beunos Aires and the north and mild enough in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego that you can get down there and not worry about roads being blocked or parks being closed. The only downside is that it is the local summer holidays and backpacker peak season so in some places if you don't book in advance you can be waiting for days to get out of a town - ie. I booked the 6am bus out of Ushuaia (only one a day I think) 10 days in advace and there were only 5 seats left. In our summer you won't be able to go far south or you'll risk getting snowed in in places.

oil painting

hi myself and my friend have re booked our holiday to argentina for 27th oct - 17th dec,we are super excited and would like any advice on internal flights if anyone has any about best value and most flexible flight passes in Argentina it would be great,

we want to book the internal flights soon,we are really looking for them from north to south/sun to snow,we have heard that the trip down from B.A is very long,and might be worth getting a flight back,also we understand that most of the flights have to fly back through B.A,like if we wanted to fly from ushuaia to bariloche we have to fly through B.A. any advice greatly appreciated xx

fons trompenaar

flights in argentina aren't so predictible but apparently they're getting better;

http://www.theargentinepost.com/2008/07/airlines-improve-on-time-record-in.html

I remember getting a flight with LADE, the military airline, from bariloche to el calafate and they cancelled the flight giving no reason, it was only when we got the local tv crew out they managed to find us a plane.

I'd add el chalten to the above list for places to visit for some of the most amazing scenery in argentina.