Originally Posted by
pho9187
Marambio -- Thank you also for looking at my itinerary, and your suggestions about cars. Regarding the roads, were there big holes that would not be good for the Chevy Aveo that bhomburg drove? Please explain.
My concern was that you ended up renting either the cheapest car (usually a Chevrolet Corsa or a Chevrolet Classic) or a high-end car like a Mercedes, both types not being the most adequate for the kind of roads you'll be driving in. An Aveo seems good enough.
Originally Posted by
pho9187
Your suggestions about the itinerary intrigue me. Do you think we should cut out one night from Cafayate, thus staying there two nights instead of three (going to Quilmes in the morning, and wineries in the afternoon), and then one more night in Purmamarca? Please explain. It looks like it's about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Purmamarca to Quebrada de Humahuaca. So you would do that as a day trip from Purmamarca? We cannot extend our trip more nights in total, but I could possibly steal a night from Buenos Aires.
Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca Valley) is the whole region where Purmamarca is located, so you'll be in the Quebrada by being in Purmamarca. The Quebrada starts in a town called Volcán, just north of San Salvador de Jujuy, and finishes at Tres Cruces, north of Humahuaca. I think the Quebrada is very beautiful and is worth exploring for more than a day. By staying an extra night in Purmamarca you can also drive or take a tour to the Salinas Grandes and see the Puna, which is the huge, desert-like steppe surrounded by mountains that covers most Jujuy.
Cafayate is also very nice but two nights would be enough in my opinion. From Cafayate to Quilmes it's a very short drive and the ruins are quite small. You can do them in a morning and then have a wine tasting tour in Cafayate in the afternoon.
One last piece of advice from some who's driven across the Northwest many, many times.- Bear in mind that when driving in Salta and Jujuy you'll pass through many areas without any mobile phone coverage whatsoever and with little traffic. Even though most roads are in very good condition, make sure you have a spear tyre in the car and know how to change it. Also, you'll go through lots of mountain roads, so always add extra time when calculating your journey - 100km in Buenos Aires or Uruguay you can drive in an hour; 100km in Jujuy you'll possibly drive in two to thee hours because of the constant zig-zags in the road. Finally, since there aren't as many petrol stations in Salta or Jujuy as in Buenos Aires, make sure you always go full tank with fuel.