Hello! My girlfriends and I are planning a trip to Argentina in mid-January. We'll be there for a total of 9 days - arriving on a Friday morning and returning on a Saturday evening. We'd like some help w/our Itinerary.

We would like to visit BsAs, Mendoza, and Punta del Este. We have not made any hotel reservations yet. We were thinking about staying in BsAs first, then flying to Mendoza for a few days, and finally ending up in Punta Del Este. Does this make sense logistically? We don't want to waste too much time travelling.

1. We arrive in BsAs at about 7am. Will we have any trouble getting into our hotel in BsAs that early? Perhaps we should plan to go to Mendoza first?

2. Will BsAs be dead in Mid January? Is is best to be there on the weekend or during the week?

3. We'd like to stay in nicer hotel, but not too expensive. $100 a night would be great but we're willing to pay more if it is a nice place. Does anyone have any suggestions?

4. We'd like to go to PDE at the end however we're having a hard time finding hotel availability. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

Its going to be very tough to find a place in Punta at this point, especially since you want to go in January which is the highpoint of the season. You will have to be willing to pay super top $$$ to find a good place in Punta at this point, perhaps your only chance is to find space in an apartment, although renting a flat for less than 15 days in Punta is going to be tough.

Buenos Aires is not dead in January, although it is true that a lot of folks will be on vacation... suffice it so say that its not the busiest month of the year. This is good and bad, as you will have less trouble getting restaurant reservations.

As for Mendoza.... I suggest you work on your hotel reservations quickly.... check out a place called Lares de Chacra and also Postales del Plata.

Depending on your definition of nice, US$ 100 per night may be a little scarce for a hotel, although as Ive said it depends on your definition.... also, you are booking late and EZE is full of tourists even in January. I suggest you check out the EZE Q&A thread for more information on where to stay, plenty of tips there.

Is everything still open in BsAs in January or will it be limited?

Yes, everything is still open.

So we were able to book rooms for most of the trip! I had another question regarding restaurant reservations, especially in PDE. Since it will be so crowed, how do we go about making reservations beforehand? Are there any great restaurants we shouldn't miss in PDE? What about in BsAs or Mendoza? Thanks!

In Mendoza, dont miss out on La Bourgogne at Vistalba Carlos Pulenta. Also, try to get a meal in with Francis Malmann at 1884 (Escorihuela Gascon winery).

In Buenos Aires... you may want to check out Sucre and Gran Bar Danzon. The latter is more of a wine bar and has a good by the glass selection of wines.

We just got back from Argentina yesterday and we hand a wonderful trip! I completely fell in love with the country and I can't wait to go back! The details of our trip are below if anyone is interested.

We started our trip in Buenos Aires. Our hotel was in the Las Canitas area. The first night we had dinner at a restaurant calle Campobravo at the corner right near our hotel! That whole area was packed! We had to wait over an hour for a table, but it was well worth it. We had a great salad, steaks, potatoes, a bottle of wine, dessert, and coffee for only $45.00. It was a great start to our culinary adventure.

The next day we spent some time walking around the Palermo area! The shopping was really a girl's dream come true :) We found a great little chocolate shop called Tikal that had delicious Dulce de Leche which made a great souvenir for our friends at home. That evening we had another delicious dinner at a restaurant called La Cabrerea. Although a little touristy, it was a wonderful experience. The following day we spent at Recoletta cemetary and San Telmo. The music and dancing on the street was great! That afternoon we had brunch at Olsen (due to many recommendations). This was probably our least favorite meal of the trip. We must not have been there on the right day or something.

That evening we hopped on an Aerolineas flight to Mendoza which took about 1:40 to get there. The flight was a little delayed. It was really easy to catch a cab to our hotel, which was in the downtown area (and it was only US $5).

The first day in Mendoza was spent at the Familia Zuccardi winery. We tried to go to Vistalba Carlos Pulenta per Gaucho's reccomendation, but unfortunately they were closed on holiday while we were there. We still had a wonderful time! We got a tour of the Zuccardi winery and had a nice lunch where they served us wine and steak off the grill! It was truly delicious and the setting was just lovely. We each bought 6 bottles of wine which they packed up for us in boxes. Fortunately they all made it to Chicago in one piece! The following one and a half days were spent horseback riding, white water rafting, and paragliding! It was wonderful to spend time in the mountains!

Our last evening in Mendoza was spent at a phenomenal italian restaurant called Francesco's. That was one of the best meals we had on the whole trip!

After Mendoza, we flew to Punta del Este. We stayed at the Conrad resort and casino....mostly b/c we couldn't find anywhere else to stay. It was expensive...however we had fun getting pampered. A massage was only $38 which is probably expensive for South America, but very cheap for the US. We spent 3 days in PDE enjoying the sunshine and the scenery. The best meal we had was at a restaurant called il barreto...it was truly yummy.

Now that I have a taste of Argentina and Uruguay, I can't wait to go back. Everyone was very friendly, energetic, and very helpful! I learned a lot of spanish in 9 days and really wish I could've stayed another 3 months to learn more! Next time I'd like to rent an apartment in BsAs for a couple of weeks. All the traveling around was worth it, but a bit tiring!

Excellent report, thanks for sharing!! Glad you enjoyed your trip.

Just returned from BA last week....... FABULOUS!!

We especially loved the Palermo area -- a must on a Saturday, but not too early as locals don't seem to care about business before noon ;)

And by the way......... a taxi ride anywhere & everywhere costs $5.00!!

Just returned from BA last week....... FABULOUS!!

We especially loved the Palermo area -- a must on a Saturday, but not too early as locals don't seem to care about business before noon ;)

And by the way......... a taxi ride anywhere & everywhere costs $5.00!!

Glad you had a good time. Where did you stay?

GAUCHO 100K:

Actually, we arrived by cruise so really had very little time; just did the basics -- city tour & estancia (La Mimosa)

However, hope to see (and do) a lot more when we attend COW-DO 2007 :cool:

This is like the pleasure/pain principle. I wish I could leave today and return, so it's painful to read these wonderful reports.

Rita

GAUCHO 100K:

Actually, we arrived by cruise so really had very little time; just did the basics -- city tour & estancia (La Mimosa)

However, hope to see (and do) a lot more when we attend COW-DO 2007 :cool:

Great, hope to see you here with us!

Great, hope to see you here with us!

When and where is Cow-Do 2007?
please and thank you.
Rita

Let me dig up the link and get back to you on this Do. The date is in September 2007.

Cow Do III, below link to thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=627582