Argentina

[jdoggUT]

The wife and myself are planning a 14 day trip to Argentina.. The proposed itinerary right now is to fly into Buenos Aires and spend a few days, then to El Cafate for a few days, Mendoza for a few days and finish off at Iguazu..

Does this sound too ambitious for 14 days, (13 nights)?

We were thinking 3 nights at each place and of course 4 in one, probably Buenos Aires since it wil be our Hub.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on hotels to stay or side trips to take or must sees, I'd love to hear them.

 

[TXHookem]

We swung in to Bariloche for a few days on one trip and really enjoyed it - beautiful scenery. Stayed at the Design Suites.

 

[Napoleon]

You're staying too long in Iguazu. I started to explain yesterday, but the computer I was typing on shat the bed.

Iguazu requires 1 1/2 days at the park to see it all. The town is just about nothing. And even illegally going to Brazil for the afternoon can be done the day you arrive. You will find that you are a little bored and wish you had an extra day somewhere else.

Suggestion:

Day 1:
-Get into Iguazu as early as possible and check in.
-Take a cab to the border with Brazil to "duy free shop".
-Get out of the cab, pay the driver, get your passport stamped.
-Catch a city bus that stops right there and ride over into Brazil. (NO ONE CARES!!)
-Walk around Foz do Iguacu for the afternoon and buy ANYTHING YOU WANT at the millions of pharmacies, because you don't need a prescription.
-Eat at a restaurant.
-Take the bus back over to Argentina.
-Maybe get off at the discount shoe shop on the left (in Argentina, but before the actual town) and buy some TEVA immitations for the coming two days.
-Eat dinner in Iguazu and get to bed early.

Day 2:
-Wake up ~early and hit the park. Do the Argentine side and either the boat ride or the Brazil side. (or both)
-Come back and take a nap.
-Eat dinner and walk around the town of Iguazu. (There's not much.)

Day 3:
-If you didn't do the Brazil side of the park or the boat ride, (or both), go back and do that.
-Come back early and shower in your room. (Get late checkout or something.)
-Fly out of town.

You really don't want to spend more than 2 nights in Iguazu. You might go to the Brazilian side of the park the first day, because maybe that's where the boats are accessed and it might be the longer of the two days.

I went with a friend and we woke up late on Day 2 and only did the Argentine side. We saw plenty. We had no desire to go back the next day and see Brazil and do the boat. So I don't have the photos that most people have of their time in the boats. Oh well. Darn.

I'll maybe comment on the other stuff later.

 

[kicksumass]

Napolean is right. You need max 2 days in Iguazu. I spent a day on the brazil side and that was more than enough. I've heard Argentina side is prettier so 2 days for both sides should be good.

 

[Napoleon]

If the Argentine side is "prettier", then you definitely don't need more than 1 1/2 days.It's cool. It's different. It is a total natural wonder...

But dude, it's not like you are discovering it for the first time. You will be there with literally THOUSANDS of tourist friends from all over the world. Imagine Disneyland/Six Flags meets Natural Wonder. How many days in a row do you need of Disneyworld/Six Flags if they only had 3 rides?

Spending an extra day hiking in Bariloche or just chilling on a deck looking out over the lake is much more my speed.

ESPECIALLY if you are with the one you love vs. hoping to find some Danish girls staying in your hostel who might want to go on the boat ride and get their t-shirt soaked.


And as for MENDOZA:

I always pimp The Vines of Mendoza. http://www.vinesofmendoza.com/

It is a great place to sample wines, get information on the region, arrange a driver to take you to various bodegas... And they cater to English speakers. (Locals & backpackers will think it's "overpriced", but tourists will love the price comparisons with Napa/Sonoma.)

Suerte with that.

 

[TXHookem]

...and Bariloche offers a lot of different outdoor activities. You could be there for a week and not get bored.

 

[jdoggUT]

Thanks for all the advice..

We are looking tonight at cutting Iguazu down to a day and a half or so.. with that being said, we are probably going to add a day to Patagonia.. As of now, we have only booked our AA flight to get us to Buenos Aires and have yet to book any transfers for once we arrive..

I think we are going to go with the LAN pass to travel between cities. As far as patagonia goes, we were planning on flying into El Calafate.. and working in some glacier trekking while there..

I do see that Bariloche seems to be a popular pick.. after checking a map, it seems a little further north on the map in Patagonia than where we were headed.... Anyone ever been all the way down to El Calafate? Is it worth it?

 

[Napoleon]

I've never been down to El Calafate, but several travelers I know have. They all have the same photos of them in front of the big glacier where it hits the water. (You can google it.)

One girl I know missed a chunk breaking off by about 5 minutes, but I think she heard the cracking. It doesn't happen that often, so she was kind of bummed about that.

I know that even in the summer, it is definitely cold at night, but I don't know what there is to do there. They go, they get their pictures taken across the water from the wall of ice. (I'm not sure if you can take a boat up close to the wall, but that would be cooler than a wall of water... at least to me.)

That's all I've got on that. I'm going to sleep. I'm beat.

 

[RunTex]

use Aerolinas Argentinas; they will have the most direct flights not stopping through Santiago.

I echo the others; if you can go to Bariloche.
If you really want to do the glaciers and southern Patagonia, look into the Chile side, a boat called the MV Australis. Inflation should curb some by December so enjoy the shopping while you can.