South America - OT: Where to go in Argentina & Brazil

Sorry for being OT but I need some help planning a trip to South America. I'll be flying BA to get there and back, just to keep it slightly on-topic.

Flying to EZE on the 15th of April. Returning from GIG on the 2nd of May.

The only requirement is to visit the Iguazu falls for a day. All the rest is pretty much unplanned. I don't mind driving. I also don't mind flying.

So, if anyone has suggestions and knows a bit of Argentina, Brazil and perhaps Uruguai, I'd like to hear from you. Hiddy, are you there? :D

My wife and I just came back from a 3 week trip to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. We definitely went to Iguazu falls. In Argentina we loved Patagonia. If you like to hike this is a perfect destination and the views are absolutely beautiful. So Torres del Paine is incredible. Perito Moreno is one of the most famous glaciers and it is great, you can trek on top of the glacier which we did and was great. In Uruguay we took a ferry to Colonia and sent a day there, it's an old colonial city.
We didn't have time to go to the salt flats but I think they are great. There are buses for go to these places but I would recommend flying otherwise you'll see maybe 20% and the rest you'll be in a bus.
Hope that helps a little.

Conrad

I too loved Patagonia and I can't praise it highly enough. In Brazil I spent a few days by the sea in Buzios, a couple of hours north of Rio, and that was phenomenally relaxing.

I am going back to that part of the world in a few weeks and I am going to explore Uruguay this time. I have heard great things about Jose Ignacio, though it may have pretty much shut up for the winter by the middle of April.

Thanks for the tips. Hiking is not really something I wanna do, so I am hoping there might be a more comfortable way to see Patagonia.

mario....Good advice so far about Argentina.

I would give the falls at least two full days...I don't see the point going all the way there just to rush the experience. Bariloche might be a better stop for you in Patagonia rather than go all the way down south if you're not really into scenery. Mendoza is the capital of the wine growing region so if you're into wine then head for there. Salta would also be worth seeing.
Montevideo and Colonia in Uruguay can easily be accessed from Buenos Aires....I would stay in Montevideo for a couple of days and take a trip to see Colonia from there.

I really thought the argentinian side of Iguazu falls was really beautiful, better than the brazilian side, but I guess you gotta see both. If you go to the falls, I'd put an extra-day to see the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, if you have the opportunity to see Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, these two urban environments are amazing and will give you a different sight on Brazil, in Uruguay, after my trip, I'd tell you to go to Montevideo and spend a couple days there, than go to Punta del Este, and save a day for going to the beach there, I have not been to Colonia but I guess it is a really nice place. =)

To see the Iguacu falls I strongly recommend staying in the Hotel das Cataratas on the Brazilian side. It's much closer to the falls that any other hotel - there's a decent hotel on the Argentinian side but it's still a bit of a trek to the falls and friends who've stayed there (including my work colleague sitting right next to me) have been disappointed. The Hotel das Cataratas really allows you to make the best of your time there. If, for example, you arrive mid-afternoon with just a couple of hours before sunset, you can still have a lovely walk along the best part of the Brazilian side. And you can see the falls from the terrace where you take breakfast. You do, as Hiddy says, need two days, because on the full day in the middle you'll want to go to the Argentinian side and spend the day in the park there. A car and driver for the day is very cheap and easy to organize.

Boring as the recomendation is, the number one thing to see in Brazil is unquestionably Rio de Janeiro. It's stunningly beautiful and you need to spend a few days there really. The place I go back to again and again, and where every Brazilian I know would choose to live, is Sao Paulo, but it's a city not a tourist sight. You get the most out of it if you know some people, or at least make friends quickly, but even so it's worth visiting for the restaurants alone. As for "sights", I'd put Olinda up there in third place, behind Iguacu but ahead of Salvador.

It's much closer to the falls that any other hotel - there's a decent hotel on the Argentinian side but it's still a bit of a trek to the falls and friends who've stayed there

Your colleague must be too used to sitting at a desk rather than exercising.The Sheraton is on the Argentine side and isn't that far away from the falls.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/pub/media/1152/she1152lo.34424_md.jpg

If wine is part of the tour, and you're passing through Mendoza, I'd have reckoned the must-see spots are O Fournier (ideally for a very long lunch) and Acheval Ferrer (ideally after you've seen some of the others, to help appreciate how differently they do things). There's a wine bar in town that does both tastings and helps with arrangements for visiting the establishments. If off the beaten path, we actually had rather a good time in Cafajate, which is a one-horse town in the best sense of the word, and very good for Torrontes.

For Wine lovers, there are actually three regions that are pertinent if you want to cover the wine country properly.... Mendoza (as noted above), but then there is also Salta, and Patagonia.

The above is a lot of ground to cover, but the good news is that even if you miss out a region (or cant go to any of them), you can still sample all the wines in Buenos Aires, as preparation for a future trip where you can devote more time chasing after the grape juice... :D

If wine is part of the tour, and you're passing through Mendoza, I'd have reckoned the must-see spots are O Fournier (ideally for a very long lunch) and Acheval Ferrer (ideally after you've seen some of the others, to help appreciate how differently they do things). There's a wine bar in town that does both tastings and helps with arrangements for visiting the establishments. If off the beaten path, we actually had rather a good time in Cafajate, which is a one-horse town in the best sense of the word, and very good for Torrontes.


Please note that Cafayate is in Salta.... this is a plane ride away from Mendoza. We are talking about two different provinces here.

Distances in Argentine wine country can be daunting.... even inside Mendoza, getting from one producer in Lujan de Cuyo to another in the Valle de Uco can be a 3-4 hour car drive. It pays to do homework before and figuring out what you want to visit and plan well ahead.... also, reservations are a must in 99% of all bodegas, unless you are ok with getting the cookie-cutter experience.

Just a thought ... both countries you're asking about, Argentina and Brazil, have their own forums here. You might check them for suggestions and post country-specific questions there.

Just a thought ... both countries you're asking about, Argentina and Brazil, have their own forums here. You might check them for suggestions and post country-specific questions there.

Amen !!! ^ It would be good to perhaps start individual threads in each forum with country specific questions.