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Help with 4+ week itinerary Argentina, February 2009

Replies: 8 - Last Post: 21-Jan-2009 12:32 Last Post By: ourniamh

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Posted
19-Jan-2009 22:01
by: ourniamh

Posts: 41
Registered: 07/12/04

Help with 4+ week itinerary Argentina, February 2009

Hello everyone,

(I already posted this is the south america section by accident so if you're reading it for the second time in the argentina branch, apologies!)

Would you mind taking a look at our itinerary for Argentina? We're not planning on spending too much time in Patagonia as we're not that outdoorsey. We're more into music history, art etc.. so we're planning on spending more time up North.

We've opted to skip Puerto Madryn because the whale season isn't in February and I don't think there'll be penguins either? My boyfriend is a keen fly fisher so he wants to fish in Ushuaia so that's gotta be included.
Also, on the 22nd Feb', we'll be in Salta. Is there any carnival celebrations near here around this date as it won't suit to get back to Gualeguaychú for the 22nd.

Any suggestions much appreciated, thanks! We'll arrive on 6th Feb.

Day 1 Arrive Buenos Aires 6th
Day 2-6 Fly to Ushiaia - Fly Fish and see penguins
Day 6 Bus to El calafate
Day 7 - 8 Glacier
Day 9 Fly to BA
Day 10 stay in BA
Day 11 Bus to Iguazu
Day 12-14 Iguazu
Day 14 Bus to Salta at 21.30 arrive at corrientes at 6.44
Day 15 Day in corrientes leave at 19.30 to tucamen (http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=33099)
Day 16 Tucumán - maybe skip this or go see the inca ruins?
Day 17-19 Salta
Day 19 Mendoza/Night Bus
Day 20-22 Mendoza
Day 22-30 Buenos Aires and San Antonio de areco

Thanks!

Posted
19-Jan-2009 22:28
by: thopo

Posts: 85
Registered: 10/04/03

1

Hi,
your itinerary is doable. Not sure, if you can see penguins in Ushuaia. I saw them in Pta. Arenas and Pto. Madryn (beg. of January).
Once you are down there (Ushuaia, El Calafate), why not include Torres del Paine NP?
Pto. Madryn is worth a visit, even it's not wale season. There's the penguins and elephant seals (not sure, but think they're called like this).
What are you doing during daytime in Corrientes? You have travelled over night and probably prefer to stretch your legs rather than hang around and wait on the evening bus. I'd travel from Iguazu direct to Salta.
Do you have any plans for Mendoza? Otherwise spend more time in Salta and surrounding.
Thopo
some ideas about itineraries

http://thopo.byethost5.com/index.htm

Posted
19-Jan-2009 22:47
by: EsterosdelIbera

Posts: 10,116
Registered: 04/08/06

2

20-September-2008 post:

Question:

Has anyone recently taken the Flechabus direct bus from Salta to Puerto Iguazu?
Are there full sleeper seats on this bus? Or only partially reclining seats?

Reply 1:

Flechabus departs from Puerto Iguazu every day at 11:00 hours and arrives in Salta at 10:00 hours the following morning. It departs from Salta every day at 15:00 hours and arrives in Puerto Iguazu at 13:30 hours.The fare is $185.00/US$62.00.

Reply 2:

I did this route a few weeks ago. They are not full sleeper, but pretty good ie: you are not fully horizontal, but there is lots of leg room. I was told there was no food on the bus, but they did provide meals (of sorts). It is still probably better to have a bit of food of your own. No blankets either, so bring a fleece or something to keep warm. I was lucky enough to have a spare seat next to me the whole way which made it a whole lot more comfortable.It was not a full bus. It takes about 22 hours, which sounds far worse than it was. Bring a good book, as even if they play video's they are often hard to hear.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

Posted
19-Jan-2009 23:31
by: ourniamh

Posts: 41
Registered: 07/12/04

3

The reason we're skipping pta.Madryn is because we'd prefer to concentrate on the north but we could probably get it in if we go straight there from B.A when we land? Do you think it would be terrible to miss it.

Also, you'll all probably be horrified but would it be a total crime to skip iguazu? we could fly from el calafate to salta via BA.

Corrientes was just a stopover on the bus, or else we were going to go via tucamen. I think we'll just take the Flechabus bus direct! sounds like a good idea, thanks very much! we can get tucamen in on the way down if we still want.
No plans for Mendoza so we are flexible with the amount of days we spend in salta and around. I really like the look of that area!
Thanks so much for the helpful replies so far.

Posted
20-Jan-2009 00:27
by: nahuel

Posts: 6,596
Registered: 23/05/05

4

Skip Madryn. Except for the whales which won´t be there it is not a "must go place". The rest of the wildlife oo Madryn you can see around Ushuaia too (pinguins included till the end of march, mid abril). Also Ushuaia offers a lot of others activities and sights and the landscpae is amazing. Lots of history in and around Ushuaia too. I would skip Mendoza and spend more time around Salta. It is very worth to spend some time in the small villages like Purmamarca, Tilcara and Cafayate and explore the surroundings. Cachi, Iruya, Humahuaca, salinas Grandes, well there is a long list of very nice places and great scenery to see around there and there are very good wineries in Cafayate too.

Posted
20-Jan-2009 04:25
by: alan1972

Posts: 2,828
Registered: 05/07/03

5

I agree with nahuel about spending more time around Salta. With just 3 days in Salta you'll hardly see anything of the northwest, which I have found to be the most enjoyable part of Argentina to explore. You don't have to be outdoorsy to enjoy it, as the attraction is not just the landscape but the relationship between the landscape and the people who live there, and who lived there in the past.

While I enjoyed Mendoza I didn't find it as interesting as the Salta region - perhaps because I am not into wine. But even if wine is your motivation, as nahuel said, you can explore the Cafayate area in the northwest.

It's not a crime to skip Iguazu. Don't get me wrong, the waterfalls are absolutely wonderful, one of the most memorable single sights from my travels. But they are a little isolated from the other main attractions so they add quite a lot of travel time. So don't feel bad about leaving them out if it suits your interests an itinerary ... it will give you somewhere to visit on your next visit to Argentina ... and if you're anything like me, there will be a next visit!

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Posted
20-Jan-2009 08:21
by: jaloisio

Posts: 395
Registered: 13/11/02

6

2 days in El Calafate can be a very short time

More than one full day in Iguazu can be a waste of time

The best places to see penguins are: Punta Tombo, near Peninsula Valdez, millions of birds. Elephant seals, fur seals, orcas, many birds, terrestrial wildlife in Peninsula Valdez, but almost no more whales after Nov. Camarones, more to the south, has many thousands of penguins but you can see them better than in PT.

Almost nothing to do in Corrientes, same in Tucuman.

The best place for Carnival is Quebrada de Humahuaca, from Jujuy (90 km north of Salta) to the Bolivian border. Most interesting places are Purmamarca, Maimara, Tilcara, Humahuaca and La Quiaca. Don´t miss it. Carnival Sunday you can cross the border to Bolivia (just walk a few min from La Quiaca) and you can see in the afternoon and evening impressive parade with very colorful clothes and lively music. As it is at high altitude, can be very cold at night. The scenery from Jujuy all the way up is breathtaking.

See hundreds of photos in http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaloisio

Posted
21-Jan-2009 07:13
by: franiec

Posts: 7
Registered: 21/01/09

7

Hi. Is a nice trip the one you are planing. Definetely you do not need to go to Puerto Madryn as you will see penguins in Ushuaia. Also I recomend to stay more in Salta and Jujuy. The bus I took from Iguazu to Salta was with Andesmar company. Buses are exelent as well service. There is a daily service leaving the falls at 9 pm and arriving Tucuman next day at 6.30 pm. The sleeper bus is about U$ 60.- Tucuman is a very small city very important for Argenina history, so maybe you can spend the night there and the next morning continue to Salta, buses leaves quite frecuently. You need to buy this bus in advance cause there is only one dayli. I did it like this and it was perfect. In Ushuaia maybe you must take and excursion trough the Beagle Chanel to see pinguins. So you must do Ushuaia, Calafate, Iguazu, Salta and Jujuy, that souds perfect

If you need some help I can give you the name of my travel advisor. Maybe she can help you to find out some acommodations and book in advance to get cheaper prices.

Posted
21-Jan-2009 12:32
by: ourniamh

Posts: 41
Registered: 07/12/04

8

thanks all for those useful tips. we're doing patagonia in reverse now as flights were cheaper so from el calafate-ushuaia-BA. we plan on spending more time now in salta, perhaps skipping mendoza, and have decided we're gonna go to iguazu! Quebrada de Humahuaca sounds good for carnival. we've also extended our el calafate trip but by a day only because we don't wanna be too stuck for time in the north and my boyfriend will need time to catch us a giant trout in ushuaia!

thanks for all the advice on buses. looking forward to these overnighter ones as i've never been on a sleeper bus before! bring on the bingo!

if anyone know of cheap gilly's in ushuaia for fishing let us know because it's quite hard to get information on fishing down in ushuaia. a long shot but maybe somebody knows!

thanks again!

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