# Family trip to Argentina



## DebBrown (Jan 28, 2011)

We've been talking about this for years and finally I think we will do it! (Funny note... when I search for South America, I find all my old posts looking for info.  LOL!)  While I'm not ruling out timeshares, I think we'd do better with shorter visits to different areas.  I need to plan a trip for next winter break, starting right after Christmas for 10-12 days.

Should I use a tour company to plan an itinerary, tours and ground transportation? Do you recommend any specific company? Or is this easy enough to do myself? We will likely include 3 destinations, BA, Iguazu Falls and one yet to be determined. BUT I'm still at the beginning and need to do alot more research.

Our group will include 5-8 people and a couple of us have passable Spanish. There are no small children - all adults except for one 13yo.

Deb


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## Numismatist (Jan 28, 2011)

Congrats on a fine destination.  BA will be fabulous at Christmas time, it was 95 degrees when I was there Christmas Day.  No tour needed in BA, not Iguazu (both highly worth doing).  Don't forget Tierra del Fuego area, where you would most likely want a tour operator.

It's a great Old World feeling country.  Depending on the time you have, I might also suggest Uruguay (Montevideo and Punta del Este) in particular.  There is an Aliscafos (hydroplane) that can take you across to Uruguay.

I'm not familiar with any timeshares; I would say that there are just too many fascinating hotels in BA to bother with timeshares.

Good Luck and post pix when you return!


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## DebBrown (Jan 29, 2011)

Thanks for the reply!  I don't think we will add in Patagonia.  It just seems too far.  But maybe the airfare isn't too much more than other areas?  I'll have to check.  I'm trying hard to keep the trip simple and relaxing - not a hectic race to see everything.

I did contact the agency WOWArgentina because it was highly recommended in the Fodors forums.  We'll see what they can offer.

If anyone else has any advice, recommendations, etc. I'd love to hear.

Deb


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## Corinne (Feb 7, 2011)

*Vaccines*

Hi Deb,

I forgot to mention this on my other post on this topic, but if you haven't already, look into what vaccinations you'll need for this trip, and when they should be done.  We neglected to do this until the last minute before our Peru trip, and almost left it too late.  Interestingly, my husband and I went to the same Infectious Disease office in our HMO, but saw different doctors.  His gave him one set of vaccines, mine gave me (and our daughter) a different set.    There is apparently quite a bit of room for interpretation of the CDC/US Health Dept recommendations, so be informed and prepared to advocate for yourself.  In the end I don't think my daughter and I got the appropriate vaccines.  On the other hand, we don't have to worry about Yellow Fever for the next decade or so. 

-Corinne


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## DebBrown (Feb 7, 2011)

Corrine,
Thanks for thinking of me!  There seems to be alot of details to take care of for this trip.

The only vaccine recommended is the Yellow Fever one and we all got that one in 2006 before going to Panama.  Everybody has also had their Hepatis A & B and Typhoid.

We've decided to visit Iguazu Falls and want to go to the Brazil side so everyone needs visas for that.  Nothing is cheap or simple.

We are flying into Buenos Aires 12/26.  (We leave Christmas Day around 5pm.)  We plan to spend most of a week there with side trips to Tigre and/or an estancia.  We'll also visit El Calafate in Patagonia to trek the glaciers, etc.  Then will end the trip at Iguazu Falls.  

Since we're crossing into Brazil, I'm trying to decide if we should just fly out of Sao Paulo or see Rio de Janiero.  I have to decide on our exit point to get frequent flyer tickets NOW.

Deb


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## Numismatist (Feb 7, 2011)

DebBrown said:


> Corrine,
> Thanks for thinking of me!  There seems to be alot of details to take care of for this trip.
> 
> The only vaccine recommended is the Yellow Fever one and we all got that one in 2006 before going to Panama.  Everybody has also had their Hepatis A & B and Typhoid.
> ...



A day in Rio can be a nice refreshing end to a great trip you have planned.  Think beaches!


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## GetawaysRus (Feb 19, 2011)

I'm here browsing for other (Galapagos) information, but I spotted this thread.  Sorry that I didn't see it sooner....

My wife and I (age: mid 50s) took a South American trip in Jan-Feb last year.  We spent 3 weeks, combining a 2 week cruise from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires followed by a 1 week land stay in Argentina (during the first week of February).

We were independent in Argentina.  We divided our time into: 5 days in Buenos Aires and 2 days in Iguazu Falls.

Igauzu: the falls are a MUST see.  Fabulously beautiful.  We flew up in the morning from the local BA airport (not the international airport) to Iguazu and spent one night at the Sheraton Iguazu (I had Starwood hotel points which I used to "pay" for the stay).  The Sheraton is inside the park and very convenient (it's a very short walk to the falls), but there are also plenty of hotels outside the park that you could use.  I thought that we budgeted our time in Iguazu correctly.  There is an upper trail and a lower trail to view the falls.  You will want to walk both - neither is strenuous.  We also took the train ride to the end stop and walked all the way out to view the falls.  If you are adventurous (my wife was not), you can also take a boat ride under the falls and get soaked.  We did not visit the Brazilian side (you'll need a Brazilian Visa).  We then caught the last flight back to Buenos Aires on the afternoon of our second day.  Meals: the Sheraton is pretty isolated, so we ate at the hotel - the food was good.  Transport: we took a taxi from the airport to the hotel.  We asked the hotel to call a taxi when we were ready to return to the airport.  And we took taxis to and from our BA hotel and the local BA airport.

One comment about flights within Argentina:  you are not in the USA.  Flights may cancel or be delayed.  I'd suggest reserving an early flight from BA to Iguazu.  If your flight is canceled, you don't want to get stuck going up there late in the day if you only have 2 days.  We flew up on LAN (and yes, they canceled our original flight - be sure to call and confirm a few days before your flight) and we flew back on Aerolineas.  I wasn't excited about either carrier, but those were the choices.

Buenos Aires: I'm a big Rick Steves fan, but there is no Rick Steves book for Argentina.  So I used Frommers Buenos Aires (I had the 2007 edition).  I do my homework, and studied the book to plan our time.  We like to walk, and the Frommers book (chapter 8) had several recommended walks that took us to most of the major sights.  We felt safe walking around on our own - the only area where I felt a twinge of unease was on the walk from Avenida de Mayo to Congreso (it's a bit run down after you pass Avenida 9 de Julio).  Be sure to visit Recoleta Cemetery (this wasn't on the recommended walks - we went there before walking Avenida Alvear).  Much of Buenos Aires was within walking distance of our hotel (the Marriott Plaza - I used Marriott points).  We also took the subway a few times (I'm originally from New York - the BA subway was easy to use) and used taxis to get to La Boca (touristy, IMHO).  We spent 5 days in Buenos Aires, which was quite adequate.  4 days might even be enough to get a good feel for the city if your time is tight.  (Paris is worth a week, and Rome is worth a week.  4-5 days is sufficient for BA.  But remember that we were only 2 people.  If your group is larger, you might need to budget your time differently than we did. Also, we didn't take any side trips.  So I think you'll be OK with the time you've allowed because you said you plan to visit an estancia and/or Tigre.)

Language: I speak a little Spanish (very basic).  You will need some Spanish to communicate with taxi drivers.  If someone speaks "passable" Spanish, you should be fine.

One comment about BA: Argentina has economic issues.  I am not trying to be political, but I did get the impression that the past policies of the Argentinian government did major damage to the Argentinian economy.  Buenos Aires is a grand but aging lady.  It must have been fabulously beautiful in the early to mid 1900s, rivaling Paris.  Today, unfortunately, some of the city's monuments and beautiful architecture are in decline.  It is a bit sad when beautiful things are not well taken care of.

If we had had more time in Argentina, I might have considered a stop in Mendoza.  I can't comment about Mendoza, but a number of people did tell me that it's a nice area to visit.  Bariloche is another possibility.

I can't help with Brazil - we've not visited there.


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## DebBrown (Feb 24, 2011)

Rus, I just saw YOUR post.  I guess neither of us are in this forum often enough.  Thank you much for the detailed info.

Since you had two partial days in Iguazu, how did you divide your time?  I'm just wondering if, for example, it took a half day to walk the upper and lower trails.

Luckily, we have three Spanish speakers in the group.  My daughter, however, can only talk about homework, etc.  She is a school teacher at a predominately Hispanic school.   The other two are quite fluent and I'm hoping won't have an issue with Argentinian spanish.  I can only handle the very basics.

Here's our itinerary:

12/26 - Arrive in Buenos Aires early in the day.  We are staying at a B&B where are family will take up most of the rooms.  It looks beautiful and the price is right.

12/26 - 1/1 BA with possible side trips.  I think I will plan a family meeting for Mother's Day to discuss options.

1/1 - fly to El Calafate, staying in 3br cabin.  We'll have two full days there.  I was afraid to cut it short and have a bad weather day.  What a disappointment that would be!  We'll likely do the mini-trekking a the glacier and one other tour.  My athletic children may do the big ice trek.

1/4 - fly to Iguazu via BA.  I figure this will be a total travel day.  Hopefully, we won't get cancellations during peak season.  

1/5-1/6 - Two days at Iguazu.  We will do both sides of the falls and enjoy a little pool time.

1/7 - fly home via Sao Paulo.  I think I will plan the Iguazu-SP flight early in the day because I definitely don't want to miss our evening flight.  If all goes smoothly, we will do a mini tour and dinner in SP.

Although I have hotel points, they go too fast when you need 3-4 rooms at pricey locations.  Instead, we are staying at cabins and B&Bs for about $300 night for everyone.

It has been totally crazy trying to get ff tickets to go home but I finally managed it.  I had to splurge and take business class seats.  I'm pretty sure no one will complain.  

Deb


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## GetawaysRus (Feb 25, 2011)

DebBrown said:


> Since you had two partial days in Iguazu, how did you divide your time?  I'm just wondering if, for example, it took a half day to walk the upper and lower trails.
> 
> Deb



Here is what I remember:

We planned to fly from BA to Igauza on an early morning flight.  I made reservations months ahead, but LAN canceled our flight. (They phoned our home , but we were already in South America.  I had my laptop, but they did not send an email.  I filed a formal complaint and they blew me off.)  So we lost a few hours sitting around the airport until we could catch the next flight.  We got up to Iguaza probably in the early afternoon and took a taxi from the Iguazu airport to our hotel.

Yes, we walked the upper and lower trails on that first day.  The afternoon was quite adequate for both circuits.

The next morning, we walked over to the park train.  I don't think we got there very early (breakfast at the Sheraton was pretty good, and we took our time), so we ran into a long line waiting for the train.  We rode the train to the final stop (it's a short ride).  You get off there and walk over to La Garganta del Diablo (bring an umbrella if you don't want to get wet).  Then back to the train stop (and wait again for the train), and finally back to the hotel to pack our stuff for the return flight to BA.  I think we had a 5 PM-ish flight back to BA on Aerolineas Argentina.  Aerolineas was all messed up - their computer system was down, check-in was disorganized, and the flight left late.

I do almost all of our vacation planning, so I always sweat it until I learn if my wife enjoys what I have planned or not.  Overall, I think we were both pleased with how I had budgeted our time in Iguazu and BA.  We were not at all rushed in Iguazu and we saw everything that interested us in BA.

Other things that we did not do in Iguazu, but you could consider:  (1) take one of the boat rides under the falls (and get soaked), (2) visiting/shopping in town (we're not big shoppers).

Regarding flights in Argentina: I learned that it's wise to call at least 48 hours ahead to confirm the flight.

Your itinerary looks pretty good to me.  It looks like you've got adequate time in case of unexpected delays or weather problems.

We also flew business class (USA to Santiago, Chile and then Buenos Aires to USA).  That's the reason I collect all those airline miles.


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## kasteer (Mar 30, 2011)

Argentina...

Your itinerary looks great.  You will have a great time.  

My wife is from Tucuman Argentina and we have traveled there many times.  My 9 yr old daughter has been there 5 times (6th time will be this summer).

I would have suggested Mendoza and Salta as other places to visit too.  Mendoza for the wine and Salta for being close to the Andies and for having the museum with the mummified children they found in the mountains a few years back.  Both are NICE places to experience.

Buenos Aires is amazing!   Make sure you take a few strolls along Florida Avenue.  They have street performers throughout the day that can be quite good.  Also, check out Ricoleta... Evita's gravesite is there and a big flea market amoung other things.  BA is very cool!

We took my parents to Iguazu Falls in 2008 (their first time in Argentina) and they LOVED it.  Also did a Tango show in Puerto Madera in BA... included transportation to the show from our hotel and dinner.  Was great food and a great show.  Also had a consierge that lived in New York a few years and spoke great English... took me to a Tango school one evening that gave free classes prior to opening the dance floor to an evening of dancing.   

I personally love it there.  People are great, culture is very cool.  Yes economy is wobbly, but people still make money and many live very comfortably.  (Wife's friends have houses in country clubs in Tucuman)  Just like any other place, be aware of your environment.  Would love to live there one day.

Make sure you try the empanadas... they're made differently almost every place you go and are always great.  I like mine with some lemon juice squeezed into them.  Also, make sure you eat at at least one Asado restaurant (Argentina grill)... Very YUM!  Wine can be bought in supermarkets for equivalent of about $3.. same wine you'd pay $12 and up for here in US.  Yes, I usually bring back a few bottles in luggage.

I also went paragliding in our 2008 visit!  Landed in a lemon orchrd... lol

Here's a link to only a few photos from 2008...
http://vekasten.shutterfly.com/argentina2008
(Salta, Iguazu Falls, BA, Tucuman...)


Eric


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## kasteer (Mar 30, 2011)

Oh yeah... one more thing on traveling in Argentina... don't expect it to always go as planned!

Parents flying from Iguazu to BA... fog in BA after taking off.  They were diverted to Cordoba for the night and then arrived in BA the next day.  They got to see Cordoba which they would otherwise not have seen (Its the 2nd biggest city there).

Parents flying from Tucuman to BA... Flight wasz delayed then canceled because of a South American Presidential summit arriving the next day.  Luckily the Venezuelan envoy POC was there and had his driver take my parents to the bus station and got them on an overnight bus trip to BA.  Bus served dinner and breakfast and the seats were so far apart they laid flat into beds.  Parents had a great experience they would not have had otherwise.

Me from Tucuman to BA... Fire suppresion equipment was broken so all flights into Tucuman were cancelled until it could be fixed.  Took a bus to next province and flew from there to BA.

Aerolineas Argentinas... Great service!  I prefer them to any US airline.

Travelling is sometimes a pain in Argentina, but it adds to the stories after the vacation...


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## DebBrown (Mar 30, 2011)

Eric,
Thanks so much for sharing your travel experiences with me.  I appreciate all the advice.  We did think of visiting other areas but didn't want to be rushed so had to make decisions.

Rus, I'm not sure if I saw your additional comments earlier.  Thanks again!

I've put aside my planning for awhile since the big pieces are all in place.  I still have to confirm our hotel in Iguazu.

Deb


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## CatLovers (Mar 31, 2011)

Deb, I spent three very pleasant weeks in Buenos Aires (and two days in Iguazu Falls) in July/August 2009.  I worked in the mornings with a client, and every afternoon I put on my walking boots and I explored every corner of BA on foot.  

One thing I found very useful and enjoyable were the downloadable mp3s of walking tours that you can get from the official tourism site for the city of BA.  Go to: http://www.bue.gov.ar/?lang=en.  I did all twelve!  

Now, even though the quality of the audio was fine, they weren't always that easy to figure out -- occasionally things got lost in the translation -- so sometimes I had to use my intuition to figure out what the audio guide was trying to say.  Plus, they were also accompanied by small maps (not always great), but it did help.

Anyway, you can decide whether this is something you want to do or not, I had the luxury of time which you may not have, but I wanted you to know about this site because they may have other information that can help you.

Enjoy BA, I loved it, and I would go back to visit in a heartbeat.  In fact, I am trying to talk my client to bring me back for a repeat visit at the end of this year (fingers crossed).


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## Patty (Apr 2, 2011)

This sounds like a great trip.  Getting your visa for Brazil is expensive and a big effort.  Do not wait until the last few months before the trip to start the paperwork.  You will  have to give the consulate your US passport for a minimum of two weeks so be sure you don't need it for another trip before you get it back.


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## DebBrown (Apr 2, 2011)

Cat, thanks for the info.  I will check out of the website.  I'm not sure the guide would work well for a party of 7 but I know I would use it if I were by myself.    I love audio books.

Patty, I was under the impression that I had to enter the country within 90 days of getting the visa so we were going to apply at the 3 month mark.  I'll check and make sure my info is correct.

Deb


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## Patty (Apr 2, 2011)

We had to get the visa for a 4 hour cruise stop in Brazil.  I printed forms on the internet, took them to Washington DC the next day to be told I had the wrong forms.  Forms had changed a month or so before but the Brazilian
website had not made the changes. People on the cruise from California who 
had to  get their visas from Los Angeles had a really hard time getting them and  some were paying about $500 for them.  You are right about the 90 days, just be aware they may take that long.


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## kasteer (Apr 4, 2011)

Brazilian passport... yep... about 400-500 bucks if I remember right.  Makes for an expensive day trip.

But the falls can be enjoyed just as well from the Argentinian side (the passport costs can be used for other fun activities).  My opinion...


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## DebBrown (Apr 6, 2011)

Actually the fee is $140.  There is a $20 fee if handled via mail.  We live in Chicago and the consulate here says a visa will take 3 days if requested in person.  Of course, I am not going to wait until the last minute.  I will apply 90 days in advance.

To offset the fee, I found airfare returning home to be about $400 cheaper from Sao Paolo than Buenos Aires.  Some of our tickets are frequent flyer freebies but I did buy two.

Deb


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## Patty (Apr 6, 2011)

Great news if they can do it in 3 days.  We drove to the consulate in D C and they required us leaving passports with them and coming back in two weeks to pick them up.  With the screwed up system there I wondered how they would be about to handle visas for the Olympics.  People deciding to attend at the last minute would not be able to get a visa.


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## eakhat (Apr 19, 2011)

Things may have changed, but when we were in Argentina ten years ago, we did not have to pay additional money to travel in Brazil.  We flew from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls, spent the first day on the Argentina side, spent the night on the Argentina side and spent the next day on the Brazil side.  Later in our trip, we flew from the Machu Picchu area in Peru to Rio.


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## wilma (Apr 20, 2011)

eakhat said:


> Things may have changed, but when we were in Argentina ten years ago, we did not have to pay additional money to travel in Brazil.  We flew from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls, spent the first day on the Argentina side, spent the night on the Argentina side and spent the next day on the Brazil side.  Later in our trip, we flew from the Machu Picchu area in Peru to Rio.



Things have changed, a visa is now required. I am in Argentina now and just spent 2 nights at Iguaza at the fun Sheraton. Taxi drivers told us a visa is required to enter the Brazil side but they knew some guards would take a bribe, they quoted $60-80 US dollars. Evidently it has gotten tougher since Dec to try and cross into Brazil. we found plenty to do on the Argentina side for our 3 days!


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## jackie (Apr 20, 2011)

We went to Argentina in August.  The Iguaza Falls are great.  We were told you could get a visa near the falls.  Hope you have great weather.  In August it was cold  but we still had a great time.


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## kasteer (May 10, 2011)

I am glad to hear so many people are visiting Argentina and enjoying Argentina.  I love it down there and go every couple years (my wife is from there).  I wish more people were able to go and find out what a great place it is... from the people, to the diverse country itself.  

I hope some of you are able to get away from the major tourist locations like Iguazu, B.A., etc... and see some of the other cities/towns/country.  For example. Mendoza is the wine region and is amazing.  Salta has a museum with the mummified Incan children found in the Andes a few years back.  Tafi del Valle (outside Tucuman) is amazing and Pumamarca is a great little town to visit.

Enjoy.
Eric


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