Welcome to another post of helping a reader travel! As I’ve mentioned before, I have not been to every destination (unfortunately), but do get questions from friends and other blog readers on all sort of travel destination questions. Thus far, we’ve been able to help other readers travel to Maui, The Greek Islands, and The Pacific Coast Highway.
So this weeks travel destination includes Argentina. I received the following email from reader David:
“My wife and I and some friends are heading down to Argentina in August. We used BA miles before they devalued to get down there in business on LAN and back in First on American. We’re flying into Mendoza and will be there for 3 days before heading to Buenos Aires. Our next thing on the schedule is to fly back from BA 6 days later. We’re planning on taking a day or two to head to Iguazu Falls, but really have no plans as of yet. We’d love some input on where to stay (have plenty of Starwood points, but also willing to stay in <gasp> non chain hotels, what to see, what to do, where to do it, and hidden gems.”
This sounds like an awesome vacation though! I must admit, I am quite jealous as Argentina is on my short bucket list of places to go. Another blogger, Points Miles & Martinis, however, has a great trip report of Buenos Aires, so I thought I’d share it with you to help your planning – Things to Do in Buenos Aires.
If you’ve been to Argentina before, let’s help out reader David by commenting below. Also, if you have any upcoming travel where you need some help, feel free to email me at dealswelike@gmail.com! Thanks!
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Will be there in late August for 4 nights. Staying at the Hilton. Looking forward to read more comments:-)
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Hi, I quite enjoy your blog -as well as the rest linked to Boarding Area; keep it up!!!
I live in Buenos Aires, and my advice to David would be to try the “Mansion algodon” a boutique hotel with a great location in Buenos aires, and another property in Mendoza, in a vineyard. My guess is that he’ll be able to negociate a package for both locations. Starwood also has a very nice property in Mendoza -Sheraton Mendoza; and three in Buenos Aires, also well located. For a more budget-conscious stay I Buenos Aires I would recommend Hotel Bel Air, beatiful location and normally very affordable 3 star cozy hotel.
Kind regards
Fernando
@Fernando – Thanks so much, I am sure this will be incredibly helpful!
Back in last December, I spent a few BA miles to fly to Argentina for Christmas and New Year holiday. Here’s my itinerary,
Dec 23, Miami-Buenos Aires (arrive on Dec 24), Stay at Haytt, very nice location. quiet and beautiful.
Dec 26, Buenos Aires – Ushuaia (4-hour flight), Ushuaia is the Southernmost Point of Argentina and “the official end of the world”. You could have a stamp of this word on your password if you visited its traveller’s center. No main chain hotel in Ushuaia, but a lot of friendly hostels. Walking with Penguin is my favorite experience there.
Dec 28, Ushuaia-El Calafate. You could visit a lot of glaciers not far from this small town. Also there’s amazing views from the mountain up. Mini hacking on the glacier is my favorite here. Also no main chain hotels but nice hostels.
Dec 31, El Calafate-Buenos Aires, celebrated the New Year’s Eve! Stay at Sheraton near Florida Avenue, which is one of the most well known landmarks in Buenos Aires.
Jan 3, Buenos Aires-Iguazu, two days there. The Iguazu Falls is pretty amazing.
Jan 5 Iguazu-Buenos Aires, stay again at Sheraton and have a rest before go back to US.
Jan 7 Buenos Aires-Miami in American First Suite. Nice ending.
I only purchased one round trip Buenos Aires-Iguazu-Buenos Aires since no award seats available.
Hope this would be helpful
Deals – thanks for posting this. I’m looking forward to getting your readers’ assistance!
Thanks for the recommendation Fernando. Anything in particular we should definitely not miss or not waste our time with in BA?
Thanks,
David
In BA the free admission and tour of the Presidential Palace- Casa Rosada, is very worthwhile. In Mendoza, be sure to plan a winery visit, we very much enjoyed our lunch and tour of the third largest winery in AR: Zuccardi. If you like hot springs, then there is one not far from the city at a resort: Las Termas of Cacheuta. Also, a drive up into the Andes on Rt. 7 is beautiful, this a desert like portion of the Andes, and if you venture far enough you can visit the National Park with the tallest peak in the Western Hemisphere: Aconcagua.
David, While in Buenos Aires I would say Teatro Colón (opera house) is a must, the recommendations above by “D” on Presidential Palace in BA; and winery in Mendoza are also very good; in both cities I would take a cititour for a more comprehensive view; Iguazu falls is definitely worth visiting (need two days at leat). Happy planning and if needing more tips you can contact me at fdiaz@dqfilms.com.ar
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If you’d rather an apartment-style for a hotel price, look at Piedras Suites in San Telmo, BA. Very reasonably price, great staff, in a more “urban” part of BA, but still close to the tourist attractions. The rooms are all two floors with a loft bedroom, full kitchen, and nice dining/living space. As for what to do, enjoy the steaks!!
My wife and I really enjoyed our stay at the Sheraton in Mendoza back in 2009. I posted a review with pictures on Flyertalk. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest/955034-review-sheraton-mendoza-argentina.html
I highly recommend either taking a wine tour or getting a private driver for the day. We used Marcello Villegas, an English speaking guide, for both airport transport and as our driver/tour guide for two days of winery tours. marcelo.villegas@hotmail.com
In Iguazu, stay at the Sheraton in the park. Great location, so-so property.
Thanks for all the recommendations, everyone. We’re really looking forward to the trip.
Besides steak – which I’m greatly looking forward to, are there any specific restaurants in any of the three cities that are particularly phenomenal?
David, If you want to eat steak or barbecue (asado) in general, you could go to “Estilo Criollo” near Plaza Serrano (palermo), or even better, “la brigada” in San Telmo.
You could go to “Astryd y Gaston”, it´s japanese-peruvian fusion cuisine, which is kind of hot right now.
If you´d like to try arabian-armenian food, “Sarkis” (palermo) is one of the best, and hindu food, in “tandoor” (also in Palermo) is great as well.
You could go to a nice brewery called “Buller” (recoleta) or “antares” (palermo)
All of this in Buenos Aires
You could also check ratings in guiaoleo.com (kind of a tripadvisor, but with restaurants)
Hope you have an awesome time here!
I just came back to the states after living in Buenos Aires for 3 months. Some of our favorite BA restaurants include:
Artemisia (2 locations, both great)
Social Paraiso
Kensho
Quimbombo
Also be sure to visit Museo Evita, El Ateneo book store,
and Frank’s Speakeasy.
If you have the time, also take the ferry across to Colonia, Uruguay. It’s about an hour ride, and a beautiful place to spend the day. It’s the oldest city in Uruguay, and lots of the buildings have a mix of Portugese and Spanish architecture. It’s also a little less expensive than BA….
Was in Buenos Aires in February and loved it. We stayed at the Alvear Palace Hotel which was spectacular. Park Hyatt was down the street and also looked incredible.
One of the highlights of our trip was doing a daytrip to learn how to play polo. I would highly recommend the company Polo Elite: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g312741-d1675387-r127298699-Polo_Elite-Buenos_Aires_Capital_Federal_District.html#REVIEWS
hi everyone!
i’m also considering a trip to argentina. i will definitely want to go to buenos aires, but have a couple of questions beyond that
1. id love to do some sort of eco tourism or rural tourism. ive found estancias (Ranches) that have activities like horseback riding- but what i’m really looking for is a farm that would let us pitch in and try some of the chores. any tips?
2. ive heard great things about mendoza, but is it a good pick if we aren’t that into wine?
3. we want to do a mix of city (BA) and nature. is there a particular area youd recommend, beyond the Falls?
thanks! we are trying to this trip on the cheap, so i’m trying to figure out the most cost efficient itinerary! i plan to use miles for the flight, and probably some SPG points, but would like to keep other costs low.
Used cash & points with SPG last time we were in Buenos Aires for the Park Tower, the hotel was fantastic with a great location. Also staying at the sheraton in Iguazu is definitely worth it. A day trip to Uruaguay is also a great option, you are not far from Punta del Este. Another great side trip is Puerto madryn, if it is time of year for the penguins, which are amazing