Suggestions for Argentina

It would help if you told us your interests. As you say Argentina is huge, so please give us some more details.

My sister is very interted in hiking and natural wonders. I also enjoy it but am also interested in the smaller, perhaps more traditional cities and towns.
as a point of reference, some of the things that we would definitely like to do include visiting the iguazu falls and mendoza. This will probably limit us to the north unless there are relatively cheap flights we could take.
thanks

You could set up a pretty cool trip I would think going between Mendoza and Iguazu... Maybe go Iguazu to Salta area and then down to Mendoza (or reverse). That way you'd hit a variety of the things the country has to offer, and the northwest (Salta and Jujuy) have amazing natural wonders and awesome colonial cities and places with great indigenous influence (Purmamarca, Tilcara, and Salta are 3 of my favorite towns in all of Argentina). I don't think you would need to fly any of it, though obviously that would save time. Also, make sure to save a few days for Buenos Aires!

The following are previous posts:

Aerolineas has prices for residents and non-residents. It also has different fares for travellers arriving in Argentina via Aerolineas and for travellers arriving in Argentina via any other international airline. There is no way to get around it as they ask for your papers when you check in. Unless you live in Argentina and have the right ID you will have to pay the non-resident price. This is why the web site says something about country of origin. So you need to be careful when you get quotes that they are for non-residents and also be clear whether the quote is in dollars or pesos.

Aerolineas Argentinas is the main carrier for domestic flights in Argentina. It has different fares for travellers arriving in Argentina via Aerolineas and for travellers arriving in Argentina via any other international airline.

Round-trip flights from Buenos Aires for travellers arriving in Argentina via Aerolineas Argentinas taxes included:

Iguazu --- 354.00 US$.
Salta ------ 422.00 US$.
Ushuaia --- 374.00 US$.
Calafate --- 357.00 US$.
Mendoza -- 374.00 US$.
Bariloche -- 482.00 US$.

One-way flights:
Ushuaia-Calafate ---- 133.00 US$.
Calafate-Bariloche ---- 264.00 US$.
Buenos Aires-Rio Gallegos -- 122.00 US$.

Round-trip fares from Buenos Aires for travellers not arriving in Argentina via Aerolineas:

Iguazu ----- 458.00 US$.
Mendoza --- 486.00 US$.
Calafate --- 464.00 US$.
Ushuaia --- 486.00 US$.
Trelew --- 422.00 US$.
Salta ----- 548.00 US$.
Bariloche -- 625.00 US$.

One-way fares:

Ushuaia-Calafate ---- 192.00 US$.
Calafate-Bariloche -- 343.00 US$.
Buenos Aires-Rio Gallegos -- 284.00 US$.

Aerolineas Argentinas´phone numbers around the world:

London: 0800-0969-747
Germany: 0800-1844-747
Australia: 9234-9000
Madrid: 900-955-747
USA: 1-800-333-0276
Argentina: 0810-222-8652

LAN Argentina return fares from Buenos Aires:

Iguazu ------- 238.00 US$.
Bariloche ---- 323.00 US$
Mendoza ----- 252.00 US$.
Comodoro Rivadavia --- 474.00 US$.
Cordoba ------- 184.00 US$.
Rio Gallegos -- 513.00 US$.
Calafate ------- 240.00 US$. (As of November-08-06)
Ushuaia --- 252.00 US$. (As of November-08-06)
One-way Calafate-Ushuaia ----- 90.00 US$. (As of November-08-06)

Buenos Aires - Salta.
Andes Airline.

Maria Laura Chibán
Andes Lineas Aereas
0810-12226337 extension 610
lchiban@andesonline.com

Round-trip fares

1) 256.00 US$.
2) 269.00 US$.
3) 283.00 US$.

www.andesonline.com

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

I personally think you should hit San Juan, north of Mendoza and go to Ischigualasto, I loved it!

Previous reports:

Normally, buses are the way to go. International flights in South America are expensive and trains are very few and far between, so most people on a longer trip use mainly buses. Especially in Argentina and Chile, these are excellent value for money ( think airline business class ) and go everywhere.

I would have to say that my 20-hour trip from Buenos Aires to Bariloche with the company Via Bariloche may have been the best night sleep I got in my entire 14-month trip in South America. I know they do the Buenos Aires to Iguazu route as well, I would recommend them 100%, it was true luxury for me, champagne, whiskey, wine, great food, movies and such, I loved it. They do provide pillows and a blanket, and the air con is strong, not Brazil strong, but strong enough that you will want the blanket for the night.

I travelled in South America last year and the bus company that we used all the time in Argentina because of their high standards was Andesmar. The seats were comfortable and you should go for "cama total" as yes, it is the closet you will get to lying almost flat! They like to entertain their passengers on longer journeys with good old Bingo...in Spanish of course so you get a Spanish lesson while travelling! They gave us food, blankets and pilllows.

I would opt for Crucero del Norte. We took their bus from Buenos Aires to Iguazu earlier this year ( 2006 ) and it was great. We used them on other routes and it was consistently good. If I remember right, their top service is called "cama suite" (seats and foot rest fold down to a bed). Different companies may have different names for this type of service (ie. cama suite, cama total, ejecutivo), so it is always best to confirm exactly what you are getting when buying your tickets. If you buy your tickets at Retiro bus station in Buenos Aires, the bus companies generally have photos showing their top of the line service.

* If you are booking at the Buenos Aires Bus terminal, there are a number of companies there offering executive service with full cama. We went both ways by Crucero del Norte with no problem but we could not advise if they were any better than the rest. Might I suggest you book one way with one and the return with another, that way you could advise us if one was better than the other. ( Just a hint, as the buses travel at night, try to avoid the very front seats as the glare of on-coming headlights can be annoying when trying to sleep).

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

I've got two suggestions for hiking: La Cumbrecita and the area around Cerro Aconcagua. A couple of towns very worthwhile visiting would be General Belgrano (amazing, totally german just like Bavaria) and Alta Gracia (Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Manuel de Falla).

It depends on how far you are traveling, but I think flying is the best way to maximize your time. It is relatively expensive (maybe 5 times the cost of a bus ticket), but it will give you more time to explore. You can take overnight buses which are fairly comfortable, but if you are someone that can't really sleep well on a bus, you'll just lose more time making up for missing sleep. It's the typical time versus money issue.

Alan

I know it might be inconvenient to get there, but if you enjoy hiking or appreciate nature at all, you have to try to see the Lake District and Patagonia. The national parks there (including Los Glaciares) are some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen, and a highlight of the whole country for me.