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Post by Bastet on Aug 28, 2015 21:35:37 GMT -5
We are thinking about possibly going to Argentina in November next year with friends. They were thinking about 2 weeks, we were thinking that's too short to see that waterfall in the north and Patagonia (especially as I was thinking of going over to the Chilean side).
This in early planning stage so I'm looking for personal travel advice, good stuff to know and what do you consider unmissable etc.
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Post by sophie on Aug 28, 2015 22:11:50 GMT -5
I did a trip to both Chile and Argentina with Tucan a couple of years ago. www.tucantravel.com/tour/overview/villarrica/bsu I chose to go with a tour company because the distances are rather great and car rentals don't allow taking a car between Chile and Argentina. I then spent a week in Buenos Aires. It was wonderful. The national parks in both countries are spectacular. |
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Post by tucano on Aug 28, 2015 23:59:16 GMT -5
Do you mean Iguazu? Not really in the north but absolutely worth a visit.
I fell in love wuth the far north-west - Quebrada de Humahuaca, Salinas Grandes. I'll post a photo link if you're interested.
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Post by lillielangtry on Aug 29, 2015 1:58:08 GMT -5
I went to Chilean Patagonia around the same time as Sophie - in fact we just missed each other, if I remember rightly! It was in November and it's a good time to go - the weather was quite good (for Patagonia!) and it's not the absolute high season. I stayed on the Chilean side but typically people do cross from Chile to Argentina and vice versa. I loved it.
I've also been to Buenos Aires - about ten years ago - and loved that too.
Worth bearing in mind that Chile is not cheap (nearly European prices for some things) and Argentina has currency restrictions, which I don't know the details of at the moment but worth checking.
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Post by Raised_By_Wolves on Aug 29, 2015 6:23:49 GMT -5
Both sides of Patagonia are wonderful. Keep in mind that both countries are big and distances from A to B can be massive. You could certainly fly if time is limited, but ideally pick one area and explore it.
November should be nice weather-wise. I was in Argentina in Dec and Jan and it was f***king boiling hot (up to mid 30C). Was in Chile the entire month of April, low season and weather was still nice in Patagonia.
Bus travel there is a good experience, especially in Argentina where the buses have seating classes. First class has big reclining seats, lots of leg room, toilet even (I didn't use it).
Vegetarians have far less good food options, but perhaps things have changed since.
I love both Chile and Argentina but if I had to choose one....
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Post by riverhorse on Aug 29, 2015 8:25:05 GMT -5
Look into whether a thing called a "Mercosur" pass still exists with Aerolineas Argentinas (Google is running to slow for me at the moment). You will definitely need to fly between places to maximise your time there. Iguazu Falls are absolutely awesome. Also, if you go down to Patagonia, I'd recommend staying in El Chalten - it's a PITA to get to from El Calafate but so worth it - it's the gateway to Fitzroy National Park which is just breathtaking. If you get a chance, go over to Mendoza as well - great wineries, lots of adventure, the gateway to Aconcagua which is the highest mountain in South America. And Bariloche is just beautiful too - reminded me very much of Queenstown NZ physically, but with weird Swiss-style architecture.
And where do I start with Buenos Aires??!?!! One of my favourite places in the world.
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Post by sprite on Aug 29, 2015 18:24:11 GMT -5
i'm posting here to remind me to post when i'm sober.
but yes, go.
big countyr. google 'blue dollar' to get your money sorted.
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Post by sprite on Aug 29, 2015 18:24:35 GMT -5
buy capybara gloves.
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Post by sprite on Aug 30, 2015 5:21:04 GMT -5
sober and caffinated.
november is the beginning of patagonia high season, so the weather is good, all the busses are running, but the numbers of tourists aren't as horrific as they will be soon.
i agree with RBW, it takes a long time to get anywhere, so choose a place. el chalten/el calafate, or bariloche and puerto madryn, or tierra del fuego, or buenos aires and surrounds (including , or mendoza and the northwest.
you can fly to the farthest point and bus back, or bus point to point.
night busses--usually a good deal. pay for the best seats available and take eyemask/ear plugs, but generally they are good, with decent meals. we had ONE time where i let rip because some passengers wanted to watch a movie at midnight and this particular bus didn't have a headphone system. then the fuckers all fell asleep.
we loved el chalten, so many day hikes and condors all the time. the town itself is very small but has a few good places to eat. wifi is pretty poor there, so it's not really worth chosing a place based on that. this is one of my regrets--we could have had a sweet little cottage for 300 pesos/night, but it had no wifi so we ended up in a hostel with bunkbeds (grr) at 120 pesos/night/person. take a good book or movies because it can be too windy to walk somedays.
there are several busses a day from el calafate, which has an airport. (we flew in from ushuaia)
puerto madryn is a small city with a lot of sealife to experience. depending on your budget, you can rent cycles and go out on a pier and hope for whale sightings, or join a group on a big boat, or pay more for a zodiac, or go snorkling, or go in a sort of submarine... the local museum is worth visiting before doing a boat tour.
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Post by lillielangtry on Aug 30, 2015 5:47:21 GMT -5
Argh, now I REALLY want to go to Patagonia again.
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Post by sprite on Aug 30, 2015 5:52:00 GMT -5
ditto.
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Post by sophie on Aug 30, 2015 9:09:27 GMT -5
Me as well....
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