Salta

i'm really sorry to hear that. salta is such a great city with so much to offer... it's sad to hear someone taking advantage of travelers like that! i used movitrack last year for some time in salta and, while it is on the pricier side of things, i was absolutely thrilled with every aspect. we had great tour guides (i was in a group of 30 students studying in buenos aires on a trip to salta for 6 days), pleasant service, and just a ton of fun in general. we did the salinas grandes and quebrada with them in their open-topped vehicle, which was an experience i won't soon forget... so if anyone is looking for a good agency in salta, i'd recommend at least checking them out. again, pricey, but worth it if you have the money to splurge.

Adamm, can you tell me a bit more about your tour and the guide. DId thye look after everything, including hotel and transportation? or did they just look after the tour itself? What do you call pricey?

What is the salinas grandes and quebrada?

I'd love any information.

salinas grandes are the great salt flats. Quebradas are canyons or gorges. There are several popular ones in the Salta area. All very awesome.

Yes, we went through a few different quebradas - the specific one I was referring to was the Quebrada de Humahuaca, which was by far the most impressive to me. It's dotted with small town with a great indigenous feel (although some can be quite touristy, the settings are breathtaking). Here are some pictures from my trip: http://www.personal.psu.edu/aum141/BuenosAires/Salta/ (there are a lot of pics there, if you click into one you'll see the bigger version and thumbnails along the side, keep going down in the thumbnails and you can see more than just the thumbnails on the original page...)

My trip was all arranged through my study abroad program, and a lot of it was paid for through general fees that we paid without ever really being told they went towards the trip - so I'm not sure on the exact pricing, but I know for some of their day trips it can be as much as (or more...) than US$100, which is a lot for a day to me. We had 2 guides and tended to switch up which individual we were with. Both were young women (I'd guess 25-30?) who were born and raised in Salta, both were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, I believe they had both studied tourism or whatever the related field would be, and they both spoke excellent English (but were glad to speak Spanish with us when we wanted...) The website is http://www.movitrack.com.ar/ and they describe some of the tours they offer. I believe they also took care of our hotel reservations, but that may have been because we were a big group. In any case, they definitely will book hotels for you if you'd like. They met us at the airport in Salta and dropped us off there for our flight, but again, could have been because we were a big group. Highly recommended though, like I said before, even if it is just to splurge for a day trip. Take a look at their "vehicles" page and you'll see some of the things you can ride in - there's nothing like standing up on your seat with the wind hitting your face in their open-topped vehicle while driving through the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Sounds dangerous (and very well may be...) but it's absolutely incredible. On a side note through, I late took public transportation through the Quebrada de Humahuaca, and if you can get a seat on the top level of a bus in the front row, so you have the huge window right in front of you, you can see some spectacular views for a small percentage of the price. Plus, the bus will likely make frequent stops, so you can split it up in different little towns to see them that way. Any more questions, feel free to ask!

Adamm, thank you so much for the detailed answer and all the great information.
I appreciate it.
I agree, $100US is a lot of money for a day trip.
BUt it sounds like your tour was amazing.
I loved your pictures and now really want to see the area.
You have given me a good idea, to take public transportation and to get a seat at the front. It's a much cheaper option.

I've read that many people hire private guides , and this sounds great, but I'm sure, very expensive.
That's why I was wondering about small tour groups. It sounds like it would be more reasonable .

Thank you for offering to answer more questions, I'm sure I'll have more as the time gets nearer. I'm still not sure if we'll have time for this area. ...but it sounds great.

Hey, I just wanted to throw out a hostel recommendation in Salta. There are tons of hostels there, but I had a really great time staying at Inti Huasi (on Abraham Cornejo near the bus terminal--I remember this because I stayed there for a few weeks!). It's 15 pesos for dormitory, includes breakfast (made with love!), free internet, really good showers and super clean everything, a common room with cable TV, a pretty courtyard with flowers and lots of hummingbirds, rooftop with parrilla, etc. etc. It's also about 3 blocks from the bus terminal, which is nice when you're carrying a giant pack.

The best thing about the hostel is that the managers are super friendly and there is a real community vibe there. People at this hostel tend to extend their stay in Salta longer than they intended... Another nice thing is they don't make a big deal about kicking you out at 11 am if your bus leaves at midnight.

I absolutely loved my time in Salta, and the hostel played kind of a big role in that. I know people come to this forum and take the advice people give pretty seriously, so I hope other people can benefit from this recommendation :-)

Also, I don't really agree that 6 days is "too much" time for Salta...if you get bored in the city itself there is a whole BEAUTIFUL tourist circuit to Cafayate and Cachi. I have traveled through 5 countries on this trip, and the area around Salta is one of my favorite countrysides.

Have a good time!

We 100% agree. The Inti Huasi was one of our best hostels so far in Chile and Argentina. Lovely place. Go there.

And you can buy Coca leaves in the small shop just one block away. ;-)

Edited by: matzepeng