YVR Cockroach

Here is a Powerpoint doc about the Salta amd Jujuy region an Argentinean friend sent me after the trip.....

http://1drv.ms/1eJOLaF

Marambio

I tend to believe the hotel has been closed since 2007 or 2008. There was a big political/economic issue with the hotel operator (a guy from Tucumán), the provincial government and the Quilmes natives which involved the Quilmes blocking the access to the ruins for a few weeks. At the end of the day the provincial government, who officially owns the place, decided to shut the hotel down.

I was there in 2006 and remember we tried to have lunch at the hotel but the prices were absurd even for Buenos Aires standards. We ended up driving a few more kilometres to Amaicha del Valle and had some nice empanadas at the plaza for a third of the price.

Anyhow, it's a one hour drive from Cafayate to Quilmes and the road is in good condition. I've driven it during the night and as long as you don't make any crazy things you should be fine.

wcj1

The bus station in Colonia is very small. When you come off the buses and enter the terminal, there is a small tourist office right in front of you (useful for a street map) and then the luggage storage is like 2 doors down to the right, adjacent to the exit. You enter a small luggage office and the staff person takes your bags and gives you a ticket. Your bags are then stored in a different room through a doorway behind their desk. You pay on your return. It seemed safe and was fine. I did put a lock on my suitcase just because I had my laptop in it, since we were wandering around Colonia and I didn't want to lug it.

Getting to Colonia, we booked tickets on Turil, since you can book those online one month ahead. The tickets were a bit over US$11/each. Also, you can preselect seats, so we picked the seats behind the driver. For the ferry, we booked on Seacat, but ended up on a Buquebus ferry the day of, which I guess typically happens. We booked those ~2.5 months ahead (trying to get the cheapest price) and paid US$20/each via the Uruguayan Seacat website.

I will say that we found the bus ride from Montevideo to Colonia fairly uninteresting, as there wasn't much to see. We had set aside 3.5 hours for Colonia and were done wandering in about 2.5. The day was ok, but we did wonder if we should just gotten to Buenos Aires faster.

We did like Montevideo, although it is very different than Buenos Aires. If you really want to see the city, I would recommend more than 1/2 day as you have, since that is your arrival day and you might not sleep well on the plane. We did 1.5 days and were happy with that. (We also came in on the AA MIA-MVD flight).

We like museums and shopping, to give you some context. On our arrival 1/2 day we did the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, which was ok, and the Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo. The Espacio is a bit further out (we used city buses the whole time), so it might not be worth it if you are not interested in contemporary art.

The next day we explored the historic downtown with Museo del Gaucho y la Moneda (the Money part wasn't much, but the Gaucho part was very good), then taking a bus to the Mercado del Puerto. We then walked back from there to Museo de Arte Precolombino e Indígena (there was a very, very good Mexican exhibit while we were there, so I'm not sure what they permanent collection is like), the Catedral, and the Museo Historia Del Arte (ok as it was mostly reproductions). And it was interesting walking downtown on the pedestrian streets and going through plazas and such (we mostly walked West to East on Sarandi.)

We went to the Mercado del Puerto and the Mercado de la Abundancia and were underwhelmed as they were mostly food with no crafts really (maybe it was because we went midweek). We did go to two locations of an artisan store, Mercado de los Artesanos, one on the SE corner of Mercado del Puerto and a large location on Paraguay just north of Avenida 18 de Julio, and enjoyed both locations a lot.

Had 2 excellent lunches. One at El Tinkal, Dr. Emilio Frugoni 853, for chivitos, fries, and beer outside looking at the water. And the other at Estrecho (french-inspired) on Sarandi just west of the Catedral. Had dinner at the highly rated La Pulperia parrilla, but found that we liked the parrillas in Buenos Aires better, so I would not necessarily go out of the way for that.

Hope this is useful.

pho9187

wcj1: Thank you for further explaining about the Colonia luggage storage. I always lock my suitcase now, even in hotel rooms. Regarding Montevideo, we are going to add one more night, and take one off from Carmelo. Your interests in history and culture sound similar to mine, so I am going to use your itinerary as a blueprint.

YVR Cockroach: Thank your for your wonderful hotel list--I'm going to try to stay in these hotels, if the prices are reasonable. Your Salta hotel sounds especially nice. I was going to use my Starwood points for the Sheraton there, but that sounds so dull in comparison. Is that power point presentation for real? My son is right, people on Flyertalk are so smart and creative (I know it was your friend, but still--to even think of posting it, my goodness!).

Marambio: I will follow your suggestions about the Purmamarca area, and fix the itinerary accordingly. That sounds so very nice to take a day trip to the Salinas Grandes. Thanks again for going above and beyond in your help.

YVR Cockroach

The PowerPoint presentation is showing real pictures of the area. Wasn't done by my friend or myself but it is "genuine" in content.

pho9187

YVR Cockroach - Oh my goodness, "Is that for real?" is a Valley Girl/Los Angeles expression, meaning "Isn't that amazing!" I certainly wasn't doubting that a local or a creative tourist put that together. Whoever did it really captured the feel for the area, complete with music. Sorry about that, and thanks again for all your help.

fmkgb

Agree with your extra day in Montevideo. I absolutely love that city/area. I suggest staying in Punta Caretas rather than downtown.(20 minutes by bus) Hotels more modern with much much better internet and you will be staying in a wealthy local area. Many folks stay at the Sheraton which is attached to a good mall. I prefer the Accor Mercure which is 3 blocks away and across from the ramblas which is Great for a night walk, jog or run with the locals. lovely small affordable hotel with wonderful staff. Don't forget to try Uruguyan beef--many say better than Argentinian.

If you are looking for high styled quality ladies sweaters, knitwear or other clothing made in Uruguay visit Ana Livnis's boutique downtown. Very unusual. Might want to check her website to see if this is your style. I think she is a brilliant designer but it's not for everyone.