Argentina

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dfw75201

250+ Posts
How hard would it be and how many days would I need to see B.A., see Iguazu, and spend a few relaxing days in Mendoza (or somewhere in wine country)? Is that too much for one trip? From what I can tell, this would involve interior flights as there are not really good options for trains or buses.

I don't need to spend a lot of time in B.A. I am sure it is great, but cities don't do as much for me nowadays and I'd rather spend time seeing a cool thing in nature or just relaxing in an interesting place. I have starwood points and this place looks pretty good for the wine country part of the trip:

patios de cafayate
 
Ive been to Bariloche, Mendoza, and BA. If you are not going to Bariloche for skiing I dont recall there being all that much to do there. Mendoza was pretty cool, Id spend no more than 2-3 days tehre though. I think if i was wanting to do more outdoors stuff, Id look into heading further south in Argentina. My dad says its the most beautiful country hes ever seen. Not sure all of the places hes referring to though.
 
You do NOT need more than 2 days for Iguazu. My friend and I did it in one day and we got a late start. We didn't go on one of the boats that takes you under the waterfall (to get drenched), but we definitely didn't feel like we "missed out".
If you are staying in the Hilton (?) inside the park, then really you just need one day. Get in the night before. Have dinner. Spend a day in the park or looking at the falls from your poolside deckchair, and then maybe take a cab into town that night.

The town is pretty small and somewhat forgettable, but if you're there, then why not. Foz do Iquacu (the Brazilian town) is actually doable without a visa, or paying a cab driver US$50/head. Again, it is forgettable, unless you want do buy over the counter drugs that you need a prescription for in the States. (They have a kazillion pharmacies in that town.)

Buenos Aires is doable in 2-3 days. If you don't like cities, then there are a few things to check off your list and then you can move on. Suggestion- Be in Buenos Aires for the weekend. The San Telmo market is the quintessential Buenos Aire tourist experience, but it only happens on Sunday. You will also be obligated to see the Recoleta Cemetery, take a cab passed the Obelisk in the middle of Avenida de 9 de Julio, and... that's about it. Do NOT go to a "Tango Show". You can see all the Tango you need to see in the street in San Telmo or in the square at Defensa y Humberto Primo.

Mendoza... Haven't been. There is a store in town called VINES OF MENDOZA. The Link The owner (maybe "co-owner") is a guy named Michael Evans. He's American. And he's set up a place that caters to the international traveler.

You can taste wines there and then arrange taxi tours to visit the vineyards that interest you. Travelers on less of a budget think that VINES is amazing. Travelers on more of a budget think that it is touristy and overpriced. It probably is, but it cuts to the chase. You don't need to buy a ticket for a bus and then make 5 to 20 stops before you get to the place you want to go. I get the idea that Vines is a scaled down version of "Viansa" in Sonoma Valley. The Link If you go all the time, you would never stop at Viansa. But if you are only visiting once, it is a perfect place to start your trip and figure out what you want to do and see.

Mendoza also has amazing nature around it, so I would say this.

8 days/ 7 nights in Argentina (Unless you can stay more.)

Leave the USA on Thursday night. Arrive in Buenos Aires Friday AM. Massage at the hotel a little nap. Maybe you wake up and walk around Recoleta. You could even get the cemetery out of the way that first afternoon. Friday night you have dinner at a nice steak restaurant.

Saturday- See the Microcenter. (The nation's capitol building- Casa Rosada.) Plaza General San Martin (and that area of Reitro... NOT by the train tracks), and then maybe you take a cab to Palermo Viejo and see the more bohemian part of town with tons of NYC style boutique stores in formerly decaying buildings. (Take cabs like they are the only mode of transportation offered. They're CHEAP for visitors.) For lunch get some pizza... you will find yourself asking, "What's so great about this?" Saturday night you can try one of the new, hip/ecletic/sometimes ethnic reastaurants in Palermo Hollywood. (Pick up a TIME OUT BUENOS AIRES. It's got all you need to know.)

Sunday- Peel yourself out of bed (if you went to a boliche until 6am) or simply wake up and go for a walk. It is going to seem like "The Day After" in Buenos Aires on Sunday if you get up before 2:00pm and you're NOT (1) in San Telmo, (2) in front of the Recoleta Cemetery, or (3) near Plaza Serrano in Palermo Viejo. It just is. It's borderline creepy/depressing. Check out of your hotel, leave your bags, go to the San Telmo market, buy something you don't need, then pick up your stuff and head to the Aeroparque (Newberry) to fly to Puerto Iguazu.
Maybe spend Sunday night in town and Monday night at the hotel, see the park on Monday, and then fly out Tuesday morning.

Arrive in Mendoza Tuesday, get a feel for the place, visit the Information Center, visit Vines of Mendoza, plan your next three days.

Have fun in nature Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday.

Friday, fly back to Buenos Aires early in the day. You will be flying into a different airport than you will be flying out of, so you're going to have to deal with your bags. I don't have any advice for this. Maybe drop them off at the hotel you stayed in when you first arrived.

Buy something you don't need, but that seems typically Argentine now that you've spent a week in the country. Head to EZE airport that evening, fly back to the States. Arrive on Saturday morning. Take Saturday to catch up on sleep. Sunday to get back into the swing of things. And you are back to work on Monday.

suerte chico

PS- For an amazing, if not pricey, experience, look into spending a day or three at an estancia near Mendoza. This might extend your stay and change your budget, but it's a nice way to get a feel of what it would be like to be an uber-rich Argentine with a country retreat (farm/ranch/spa...).
 
There's a Longhorn blogger who lives in Argentina who recently posted some good info on Mendoza - check out his blog atThe Link (A Texan in Argentina). Great photographs.

If you're going to head to the Recoleta Cemetery, do it on a weekend when the market is going on around Plaza Francia. A more bohoish market than in San Telmo. It has more of a local feel, too.
 
Great information Napolean. And that blog is cool.

Do you know of anyone to get from Iguazu to Salta, other than flying back to B.A.?

And the latest LAN flight from B.A. to Iguazu on Sunday is at 13:00. I guess that if I have to leave then, there is not enough time to see the markets on Sunday.
 
1) Iguazu to Salta
It looks like you have to go back through Buenos Aires. Maybe a travel agent would know of another way via plane, but I don't know. I'm thinking everyone does it by BUS, but you don't want to do that.

Aerolinas Argentina has a 2:45pm flight to Iguazu, but that looks like that is their last flight of the day (because that plane comes back to Buenos Aires and spends the night in BA). Still not preferred.

Maybe you just move your whole trip up a day. Leave on Friday, arrive in BA on Saturday, then fly out Monday. (And after all that time I spent typing in the middle of the night. )

SALTA- What are you looking for in Salta? What do you hope to see? Do you want to get outside of the city?

I did a 10 day trip from BA north via bus and rented car (from Salta up). Rosario, Tucuman, Tafi de Valle, Cafayate, Salta, Pumamarca, las Salinas, Tilcara, Humahuaca, and then back to Salta to take Clarin Newspaper's propeller delivery plane back to Buenos Aires. (That was exciting. A little like ALMOST FAMOUS as we went through storm clouds on our decent into BA.
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)

Salta is nice, it has more "indios", and it is smaller than BA. (Well, everything is.) There is wine country to the south (Tafi de Valle) in an area that looks similar to Arizona/New Mexico/Utah. There are exposed sedimentary mountains to the north (Pumamarca & Tilcara to Humahuaca- in the Jujuy Province) as well as Salt Flats as you get close to the Bolivian border. But many of these things are a 3 to 5 hour trek from Salta.

It depends on how long you can stay. Two weeks vs. one week can open up many new possibilities.
 
I might be looking to do this trip around an expected Radiohead show... so thanks for all the advice here.
 
Nap- yes, TimeOut is a great British pub that has a weekly magazine in about 12 major cities around the world. For some of the Euro cities they even do a restaurant guide that possibly rivals Zagats.
 
Thanks for the nice comments about by blog.

As far as traveling between Salta and Mendoza or the Falls, I would try and take LAN and fly if time is tight.

Otherwise your best option is to take the bus. The buses have Executive or Coma class service where the seats fold down and make a bed. They are as nice as the seats in Business or First class on the plane.

Take the bus that leaves at 10:00pm and you will arrive mid morning the next day. Yes it takes over 12 hours sometimes. However, If your only choice is to fly on Aerolinas Argentina, your flight might be delayed longer than 12 hours. Strikes by the crews are common and the delays can be over two days.
 
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