Some night clubs in BsAs are quiet more for reasons related to people escaping the city in the summer than even from the "bribe the fireman" checks. You will be able to find most bars and nightclubs open.

Edit: Nearly all bars are fine, but some nightclubs are still having issues, but that list is shrinking [even if it may involve a contribution to the proverbial "fireman's calendar" or cause of the day. ]

I'm in BA right now and as far as I know, ALL the bars are open...million, bar danzon--but danceclubs like Pacha and Opera Bay are still closed. Asia de Cuba's BAR is open, but the danceclub section is closed.

Alas, the dining experience here is phenomenal. Palermo Viejo has some great places like Lomo, Christophe, Central, Bobo Hotel, Bar Uriarte...The meat at Cabana Las Lilas melted in my mouth and the dinner at La Bourgorgne was unmatched when the head chef came out to our table and personally prepared my lomo dish via flamed cognac sauce.

For as much of a club lover as I am in Manhattan, the dining and bar scene here has compensated for lack of dance venues to get my groove on.

It's hard not to love Buenos Aires.

What did Asia da Cuba do to the dance floor section? [It's in the middle surrounded by the dining areas with the two bars on the top and bottom end.] Did they fill it in with tables or literally box it up and block people from standing in the middle or walking through?

Tequila is supposed to have reopened recently or is about to reopen soon.

Folks, Im now suggesting that all visitors to Argentina take down SW from your list of possible carriers. SW has started to have operational difficulties, as the oil companies have ceased to extend it credit for its jet fuel. This means that SW is having to advance pay their juice before filling up their birds... As the Argentine government has severed its ties (thereby cutting off all financial assistance and credit "backup"), things have gotten very tight for the company financially. Depending on who you listen to, the company appears to just have enough $$$ to survive for another 7-10 days.

The facts are that SW has had to cancel various flights yesterday and today, with most all being secondary routings. Still, this is a clear sign of distress and most analysts here are saying that their only chance for survival will be tied to the loads of its EZE-MAD flights, where they are operating a 767 and a 747 aircraft.

I will keep you guys posted....

Gaucho, Thanks for the timely and important update. What other carriers can/should we look at when planning Argentina domestic travel?

At this point, I would stick exclusively with Aerolineas Argentinas. Yes, their fares are more expensive.... but you will probably avoid some nasty headaches if things continue to go wrong for SW.

Oh man, heading to Argentina in two weeks and bought my tickets a week or two ago. I wonder if it's too late to buy travel insurance that covers for airline bankruptcy. Is there a formal bankruptcy system in Argentina, or do companies just cease operating? Are walk-up fares on Aerolineas pretty much the same as advance purchase fares?

Also, any idea how long it takes to cross from the Argentina side of Iguazu back to the Brazil side (customs, immigration, and all that)? Is it easy to go back and forth? Thinking about just staying on the Brazil side, but we are flying out from the Argentina side to Mendoza (hopefully!).

Gaucho, just want to say thanks for all of your information in this thread. It's helped a lot as I've lurked here planning my trip!

Im afraid Im not an expert on travel insurance. While there is a formal BK system here, Im not sure SW would be able to get protection from the courts that helped it to continue operations..... my guess is that if things get really tough for SW the oil companies will simply cut off all fuel deliveries than cannot be pre-paid, effectively grounding SW birds. It seems to me like a very long shot that SW could get some government back-up on the grounds that they are providing a "public service". Their image is so torn to threads that at this point the government wants to have nothing to do with them.

Perhaps travel insurance is a good way to go, also... have you checked with your credit card company? Maybe you can get them to reverse the charge if SW doesnt provide you the service you paid for.

In any event, can you tell me what segments you have already issued on SW tickets...? Like I said, until now the affected routes have been the secondary services, so maybe you will get lucky although its really hard to tell for sure at this point.

AR walk up fares will be higher than advanced bookings, but it will of course depend on the loads on the flights you are looking for. In any event, since you are a non-resident the fares you qualify for less likely to be heavily discounted, so in this sense your potential savings are also curtailed.

As for border crossings.... remember that if you are on a US passport you need a visa for Brazil (if you play by the book).... so things may not be as simple as you think. Im not too sure on the times needed to cross.

Sorry I cannot be of more assistance.

Yep, that was my first thought was that I might be able to reverse the charges if SW didn't actually deliver. But that would still leave me with the nasty task of paying walkup fares on Aerolineas. So I was thinking travel insurance might actually cover the alternative flight which would be nice. I'll definitely have to check it out.

Currently we have booked IGR-AEP-MDZ, and then a return MDZ-AEP. I believe these are fairly major routes so should have decent loads and hence less incentive to cancel, especially as we're going to be there during Holy Week (and during the grape harvest season).

Regarding Brazil, we're also stopping by Rio so we'll have Brazilian visas anyway.

Anyway, thanks for your help. I think I just needed reassurance more than anything. I had a brief moment of panic when I saw your post.

Thanks for keeping us informed!

Your routing is indeed good news, as those flights are -as you say- the most likely to have the best loads. Lets hope that SW can still generate enough cash flow to keep its jets refueled until this entire drug fiasco is further clarified. Right now, they are also fighting to retain the funding of the investor that arranged financing for the second 747 that they are supposed to take delivery later in the year.

Perhaps I misinformed you about Asia de Cuba. I am going by what the girl on the phone told me, and that was about 8 days ago. It's possible she didn't understand what I was asking, or that I didn't understand what she was saying.

Either way, last night here in BA, I took a cab out to Consta�era Sur (I hope I didn't massacre the spelling). JET which is a danceclub reopened its dance floor. And when the cabbie and I drove by PACHA, there was a huge group of about 100 people outside. I asked if PACHA was open yet (the cab driver heard it was) and a guy standing next to his car shrugged his shoulders in an "I'm not sure motion." I did go into JET for 20 pesos cover, and they did make a delicious drink, but I don't think enough people knew it was reopened yet.

You may not have misinformed me; I just haven't been there since the nightclub tragedy, so perhaps Asia da Cuba made some alternative arrangements. Perhaps Gaucho can tell us, or I'll just call and ask the (still current???) manager there if I have his card with me.

Costanera is very much correct; and Pacha often has a line of people by the gates (at the foot of the parking lot (away from the AEP airport side) that may make Pacha look like it's closed when it's really not (especially at certain hours of the night/morning).

As far as I know, Tequila is not considered a Dance Club so I would be surprised if they were not open. Ive pretty much retired from the clubbing scene... I think its been almost a year since I was last at Tequila...

Cant say about El Pacha.... its been over 4 years since I last stepped into that joint....

Tequila is not considered a dance club???!? [I guess the fact that they serve food may save them... but Asia da Cuba was not much different in terms of what happened as the hours passed and dinner wrapped up.]

What were those attractive persons doing dancing in front of our table at Tequila (before we invited them over) a few years back.

... maybe size matters?

Im referring to the permit issue. Since Tequila is in itself a bar/restaurant that at later hours converts into a club type setup since they remove the tables for people to dance, their permit is not strictly a Club/Disco....