HELP! Argentina in 3 weeks??

Dear travellers,

I'm planning a trip to Argentina in March 2011, for 3 weeks ( that's all my boyfriend can get for now...) and would like your opinion re.the best places to go.

We'll arrive Bs As on the 6th March and basically we want to head down the country, all the way to Tierra del Fuego.

Our idea is spend 4 or 5 days in BA, go to some milongas ( we're tango dancers ) and from there go to Ushuaia, then El Calafate and Bariloche. If we still have time, maybe go to the Iguazy falls, and get back to BA for our flight back home on the 26th March.
Is this ok for 3 weeks? I believe we'll have to take some flights, as far as I know the road trips can take 30 hours or so...

We like trekking, adventure, nature so any recommendation is wellcome.
Where should we go that I didn't include on this plan?
Whats the best and worse on these places?

Also, is it cheaper to buy internal flights once in Argentina? or should I take it online right now?

We're used to travel and stay in low budget hostels. Are they easy to find in these places?

Looking forward for your recommendations

Thanks

Kay

Hi Kay,

3 weeks is plenty of time, but yes you will have to take internal flights.
Aerolinas Argentinas is the one i used - reliable. http://www.aerolineas.com.ar/arg/main.asp?idSitio=US&idPagina=1&idIdioma=en

In South America, if you cross country borders by air it gets expensive. So if you're only planning on staying within Argentina, then the flights should be cheap enough.
I would book in advance nonetheless, being a bit of a planner......

The places you mentioned are all great, and I'd go back in a second to all of them. Bariloche is stunning, hopefully there'll be some snow for you since i thought it looked beautiful white....

Personally, i wouldn't miss Puerto Madryn, on the east coast. There's a national park/reserve there called Peninsula Valdes, this is where you can view Southern Right Whales, manitees, dolphins, penguins, and sometimes Orca Whales. Teeming with life, well worth some time.

Hostels are easy, tourism seems to have been in place in Argentina for generations. Particular favourite of mine was Hostel 1004 in Bariloche, mostly for its views of the entire town, and great staff.

El calafate was the starting point for trips to Puerto Madryn glacier, and since you love trekking then its 3 hours by bus heading north to Fitz Roy (great mountain trek).
Also you're within touching distance of Chile's Torres del Paine National Park - but to enter and get the full experience you may need more time.

I hope you have a good time, planning it will be the most difficult part!
Huw

PS - Don't miss Iguazu Falls......breathtaking.

Thanks a lot for your reply Huw,

You're right, planning is not being easy... I which I could have some more time to travel...

Anyway, I think I won't have the time to go to Torres del Paine or Puerto Madryn, but I'll make sure I'll include the Iguazu Falls.

I checked the Aerolineas Argentinas website and they have an air-pass so will be easier to travel to the southern parts, as Ushuaia. I believe we'll do some bus trips also.

I was wondering, is there much to do in Ushuaia? or 1 day is more than enough?
Should we skip this one and go to another place instead?

Thanks

Iguacu Falls absolutely blew me away so don't miss that, as BowenH1 said. It's just stunning. I'd strongly recommend spending a day on the Brazilian side too as it offers a different perspective on the falls. You can do this independently or organise trips from Puerto Iguacu - 4 of us hired a driver to take us and our tour also included a short stop in Paraguay which was interesting.

The long-distance buses in Argentina are of a very high quality - fully reclining seats with blankets and pillows, a full dinner (including wine if you want it) and a screen in the back of every seat so you can watch movies etc. Pure luxury - I did the 18 hour trip down from Iguacu to BA on the bus and it was a breeze.

LAN Chile also do internal flights in Argentina and tend to be more reliable than Aerolineas.

Low-budget places are easy to find in Argentina. In BA we stayed at 2 places: Sandanzas hostel and Che Telmo guesthouse; I'd highly recommend both. In Puerto Iguacu we stayed at STOP hostel Iguacu which was also good.

Hi Bex76,

Thanks for the tip on the Stop hostel, it looks great! And The Sandanzas I saw their email before, it looks ok, also.

The buses seems to be confortable so probably we'll do this trip to the falls in one of them.

I believe we'll have a great time in Argentina

Do you think Ushuaia worth a visit? or is just a place to stamp on the passport?

Kay

Hi again Kay,

I went to Ushuaia and spend 4 days doing:

1. Beagle Channel boat trip (to the southernmost point in Argentina)
2. A day Husky dog sledding (learning the trade!)
3. Hiking (as much as one could in mid-August!) in Tierra del Fuego National Park

I really enjoyed my time there - the weather was incredibly mild for winter so i got out and did things.
I think i was very fortunate with this, i don't think it would be a good place to visit if you were stuck indoors.

If you have time, and the means to get out and explore, then I would go.

H

Quoting kaypoison

Hi Bex76,

Thanks for the tip on the Stop hostel, it looks great! And The Sandanzas I saw their email before, it looks ok, also.

The buses seems to be confortable so probably we'll do this trip to the falls in one of them.

I believe we'll have a great time in Argentina

Do you think Ushuaia worth a visit? or is just a place to stamp on the passport?

Kay

No worries. I didn't go down as far as Ushuaia - our trip was only for 2 weeks and we just took in BA, Iguacu and Rosario; that was enough in that time frame as the country is vast.

I'm sure you'll have a great time - I hope you like steak?! On that note, try El Desnivel restaurant in San Telmo, Buenos Aires - it's fantastic!

[ Edit: Edited on 18-Jan-2011, at 23:04 by bex76 ]

Thanks for all the tips, Bex and Bowen.

Yes, we do like steak and I'm pretty sure we'll eat it everyday

Bowen, I'm having a look on the trips you did, it sounds great to do the Husky sledding. I just don't know if we can do it in March... Are these trips too expensive? the boat trip must be a good idea also...
Just don't want to travel all the way down there to spend just 1 night and fly the next day again...

kay

Hi I am travelling for 3 month starting 27 March 2011 in Buenos Aires , going South to Patagonia and ending in Brazil anyone keen to join keep in touch ...