Help planning visit to Argentina from Dec-Jan
December 19, 2011 2:34 PM Subscribe
Traveling to Argentina from 12/27/11 - 01/14/12 with my wife. Want to see and experience as much as we can on a relatively modest budget. What are some essential things to keep in mind and good places to stay? We begin and end in Buenos Aires.
What we've got in mind is a circuit takes us from Buenos Aires to Mendoza to Bariloche to El Calafate. I'm not sure if we're moving along in that order, exactly, but those seem like must-visits. Any thoughts, shards of wisdom, or specific recommendations on lodging and transportation?
And what about New Year's? Where's the best place to share a celebratory drink with good people?
What we've got in mind is a circuit takes us from Buenos Aires to Mendoza to Bariloche to El Calafate. I'm not sure if we're moving along in that order, exactly, but those seem like must-visits. Any thoughts, shards of wisdom, or specific recommendations on lodging and transportation?
And what about New Year's? Where's the best place to share a celebratory drink with good people?
First warning: we still have troubles with flight travel due to (two as of now) active volcanoes on the Patagonian Andes. Make sure to always keep an eye on the news and the airline websites for latest information regarding this. There's also some kind of syndicalist fight between pro and anti government factions in the local airline personnel unions, so also keep an eye for news about sudden strikes or reduced schedules for personal service at the airports.
Second warning: we tend to go lemming crazy with holiday travel around those dates here. Make sure to buy your flight or bus tickets with enough anticipation if you don't want some ugly surprises. Waiting too late may mean you get stranded for lack of seats, particularly on the most popular places.
Third warning: due to a new rule of our government, buying dollars (say you are leaving the country and still have a nice stack of the local bills to change back) requires you to ask authorization to the local tax agency before the actual buy. There's a lot of complaints about this so they might come up with some better way before you get here, but don't count on it. Few places accept cash dollars here due to widespread falsification, so you need to plan your exchange back and forth from pesos with some care, I'm afraid.
Take those things into account and I'm sure you'll have a great time. I'm afraid I can't help with more specific suggestions on places and lodging, it's been many years since I have been able to vacation around here.
posted by Iosephus at 4:10 PM on December 19, 2011
Second warning: we tend to go lemming crazy with holiday travel around those dates here. Make sure to buy your flight or bus tickets with enough anticipation if you don't want some ugly surprises. Waiting too late may mean you get stranded for lack of seats, particularly on the most popular places.
Third warning: due to a new rule of our government, buying dollars (say you are leaving the country and still have a nice stack of the local bills to change back) requires you to ask authorization to the local tax agency before the actual buy. There's a lot of complaints about this so they might come up with some better way before you get here, but don't count on it. Few places accept cash dollars here due to widespread falsification, so you need to plan your exchange back and forth from pesos with some care, I'm afraid.
Take those things into account and I'm sure you'll have a great time. I'm afraid I can't help with more specific suggestions on places and lodging, it's been many years since I have been able to vacation around here.
posted by Iosephus at 4:10 PM on December 19, 2011
Really it all depends on what you are looking for. Mendoza is obviously great for wine tasting and bodegas. Bariloche is all about hiking and outdoors activities (the little town of El Bolson 2 hours south is highly recommended) and El Calafate has very little beyond a daytrip to the glacier, which is amazing - cold, but amazing. A couple of hours from El Calafate is the village of El Chaltén which is worth a few days of your time if you're into your hiking as it's the base for hikes around Fitzroy.
If hiking is your thing then there's plenty in Patagonia to keep you going, however an alternative route, which would be a bit more "South American" (if there is such a thing) would be the North of Argentina. Iguazu Falls will blow your mind and are a must-see but there are also the Esteros del Iberá, the 2nd largest wetlands in the world which are still pretty much off the tourist radar, plus Salta and the altiplano up towards the Bolivia border and into the Atacama desert in Chile which is truly other-worldly.
I live in Buenos Aires, where I run a daily tour, and have travelled all over and have plenty of specific lodging recommendations when you've decided on an itinerary - feel free to memail me.
posted by jontyjago at 5:52 PM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
If hiking is your thing then there's plenty in Patagonia to keep you going, however an alternative route, which would be a bit more "South American" (if there is such a thing) would be the North of Argentina. Iguazu Falls will blow your mind and are a must-see but there are also the Esteros del Iberá, the 2nd largest wetlands in the world which are still pretty much off the tourist radar, plus Salta and the altiplano up towards the Bolivia border and into the Atacama desert in Chile which is truly other-worldly.
I live in Buenos Aires, where I run a daily tour, and have travelled all over and have plenty of specific lodging recommendations when you've decided on an itinerary - feel free to memail me.
posted by jontyjago at 5:52 PM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
When I was there 4 years ago, many stores, at least small independent ones, would give you a huge discount if you pay in U.S. dollars. This may have changed since then.
I enjoyed the Home Hotel in Bs.As., but it might be a bit high for your price range.
Folks there usually don't go to dinner until 9 or 10 pm at the earliest. If you want to get a table at a trendy restaurant but don't have a reservation, try seeing if they will "lend" you a table from about 6 to 8-ish.
posted by matildaben at 5:57 PM on December 19, 2011
I enjoyed the Home Hotel in Bs.As., but it might be a bit high for your price range.
Folks there usually don't go to dinner until 9 or 10 pm at the earliest. If you want to get a table at a trendy restaurant but don't have a reservation, try seeing if they will "lend" you a table from about 6 to 8-ish.
posted by matildaben at 5:57 PM on December 19, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, all for your insights. I'd love to know a bit more about how to get around, as we've heard that some of the airports are under renovation. If possible, perhaps some advice, too, on the bus system--how best to make reservations and some of the differences in classes.
posted by ronv at 1:51 PM on December 20, 2011
posted by ronv at 1:51 PM on December 20, 2011
Not too sure about the airports, I think the two in Buenos Aires (Ezeiza and Aeroparque) were done for now with expansions and renovations, no idea about the provincial ones.
As for buses (colectivos or omnibus as they are called here) the ones serving long distance routes come in increasingly more comfortable (and accordingly pricier) service classes. Confusingly, the names of the classes vary according to the transport company. The best service is usually called "suite" or "cama suite", for what I've seen, which in some cases gives you a completely (180 degrees) reclinable seat. Some services use the names "semicama" or "ejecutivo" for seats that are about 130 or 140 degrees reclinable, still pretty comfortable. The "común" on the other hand is the basic one. The better services also almost without exception include simple meals and drinks, and show movies in public screens (not little ones like in modern airliners, however). I think buying a ticket from abroad is still not possible, but feel free to give it a try, the main site for online bus tickets here is Plataforma 10. I'm unaware of any companies offering reservations on bus tickets, you either buy or not. Once in Buenos Aires (or anywhere else for that matter), you have many places selling bus tickets, just ask for directions (not only ticket counters or travel agencies themselves, sometimes you can buy tickets in phone/internet places and even supermarkets).
A shameful thing about bus terminals (and most of our airports) is that they consider the transiting passengers as free game for price fleecing: food, drinks and even the small shops in terminals will charge you twice or more compared to what you pay anywhere else in the same city. Plan accordingly! Also, don't get on any taxis (or the similar service called "remises") that aren't offered in the official stands or little offices that they sometimes have in the terminals. There's a good amount of unscrupulous pseudo-taxidrivers that will not hesitate to overcharge obscenely to the unknowing tourist. In Buenos Aires, a company that is a bit more expensive but that I've always enjoyed their professionalism and no issues about shady behavior is Tienda Leon, they deal with both airports there.
For moving around Buenos Aires, the "subterraneo" ("subte") is probably your most simple and comfortable option (regular buses are many times horribly crowded and take forever to get from one place to another since they wind back and forth a lot on the way - and crowded public transportation is a magnet for our abundant pickpockets, another thing to consider).
posted by Iosephus at 6:29 PM on December 20, 2011
As for buses (colectivos or omnibus as they are called here) the ones serving long distance routes come in increasingly more comfortable (and accordingly pricier) service classes. Confusingly, the names of the classes vary according to the transport company. The best service is usually called "suite" or "cama suite", for what I've seen, which in some cases gives you a completely (180 degrees) reclinable seat. Some services use the names "semicama" or "ejecutivo" for seats that are about 130 or 140 degrees reclinable, still pretty comfortable. The "común" on the other hand is the basic one. The better services also almost without exception include simple meals and drinks, and show movies in public screens (not little ones like in modern airliners, however). I think buying a ticket from abroad is still not possible, but feel free to give it a try, the main site for online bus tickets here is Plataforma 10. I'm unaware of any companies offering reservations on bus tickets, you either buy or not. Once in Buenos Aires (or anywhere else for that matter), you have many places selling bus tickets, just ask for directions (not only ticket counters or travel agencies themselves, sometimes you can buy tickets in phone/internet places and even supermarkets).
A shameful thing about bus terminals (and most of our airports) is that they consider the transiting passengers as free game for price fleecing: food, drinks and even the small shops in terminals will charge you twice or more compared to what you pay anywhere else in the same city. Plan accordingly! Also, don't get on any taxis (or the similar service called "remises") that aren't offered in the official stands or little offices that they sometimes have in the terminals. There's a good amount of unscrupulous pseudo-taxidrivers that will not hesitate to overcharge obscenely to the unknowing tourist. In Buenos Aires, a company that is a bit more expensive but that I've always enjoyed their professionalism and no issues about shady behavior is Tienda Leon, they deal with both airports there.
For moving around Buenos Aires, the "subterraneo" ("subte") is probably your most simple and comfortable option (regular buses are many times horribly crowded and take forever to get from one place to another since they wind back and forth a lot on the way - and crowded public transportation is a magnet for our abundant pickpockets, another thing to consider).
posted by Iosephus at 6:29 PM on December 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Danf at 3:50 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]