lesenok

Actually, I did just that yesterday on my return from Iguazu to B.A. local and to B.A. international to catch my flight back to JFK. As discussed in depth by prspad about the bus service, I took the Manual Tienda Leon bus and paid 23 AR Pesos to go from the local to the int'l airport. The bus travels from AEP to a bus terminal near the Sheraton to pick additional passengers (10-15mins) and then goes to EZE. Total time is about 1 hr 20 min. But if you are in a hurry, you can hire a private remise costing about 56 AR pesos which will take bout 45 mins..

bobovespa

Thank you Gaucho100K for hosting this! We just returned from a wonderful week in BA. It was my first time in S. America and I have already planned a return to BA in a few months. Gaucho, I am sorry we did not get to meet you in person at your shop because we heard from mcpeg (my sister in law) that you were out of town.

Here are quick tips for others from our experience. The 6 of us rented a beautiful apartment in Retiro over the internet and were glad we did. It cost less than a hotel and was more spacious and had a kitchen, washer and internet. However, a couple of us with high standards stayed for a few days at NH Jousten for $US83 a night and they were very happy with it. We loved these restaurants: El Establo for steak off Calle Florida behind Harrods dept store, and also Piegari and Sorrentino next door to it in Recova (across from the Four Seasons). We loved the Palermo Viejo area for hip shopping. If you take the Tren de la Costa to Tigre be sure to stop at San Isidro (you can buy a ticket to hop on and off) ... there is a nice shopping area there with a great wine bar and good stores, upstairs especially.

We thought Cabana Las Lilas restaurant was overrated and expensive by BA standards. We ate at the Faena Hotel but did not stay there. The place is beautiful, the food was OK but the service was lousy and it was expensive. One of us had a wallet stolen in a shop so hold on tight. We got one fake $20 bill as change but otherwise the money situation was smooth and the cash machines worked. We also bought a pair of shoes and discovered in the box at home ... 2 right feet from different styled pairs, so check carefully before they wrap a package.

BA was great and the people were so nice (and great looking)! I preferred BA to London and Paris where I was the week before ... especially at 1/4 of the price. Have fun on your trip!

JVR

We just returned from two weeks in Argentina. This website was invaluable for planning.

I also recommend the apt. option. We used this website and stayed in this apt. which was in a great (Recoleta) location http://www.apartmentsba.com/system/p...hp?id_prod=164 It’s a nice way to feel a little less like a tourist & live in a real neighborhood and give you an excuse to shop in grocery stores & buy flowers at markets.

The food in Buenos Aires is fantastic & cheap for US citizens. Our favorite places were Oviedo, Il Materello, Milion, Paradiso Social, & Dominga. You can get more info on restaurants at this (Spanish) website http://guiaoleo.com.ar/ . Three restaurants that were recommended to us were disappointing. Sucre, Bar Gran Danzon, and Bar Uriarte seemed to be all about seeing and being seen. The interiors were impressive but service was inattentive. Coincidentally, these 3 restaurants share the same website so I assume they are jointly owned.

www.maporama.com is a good mapping website for locating addresses in Buenos Aires.

We used the Subte (subway) some, but cabs are so cheap and convenient they proved to be an easier option.

Safety was not an issue for us. There were a lot of cartoneros & trash pickers on the street which may be disconcerting for some travelers to see, but I never ran into a situation in any neighborhood that made me feel unsafe. That said, we were all male and you should always take normal precautions as you would in any unfamiliar city.

Along with the normal tourist sites I’d also recommend visiting the Buenos Aires Design Center in Recoleta. There are lots of interesting shops with unique items for the home.

I’d also highly recommend the tour of Teatro Colon. It takes you into every part of the theater. If you get a chance to see a concert or opera, do it. It’s one of the best theater venues in the world. Excellent main floor seats cost us about $16 US. Reservations can be made from the US, but by fax only. Dress up!

If you plan on purchasing wine to bring home, in addition to the aforementioned Terroir, I recommend Dionis at Esmeralda 705. Daniel was very helpful. FYI, the per person customs limit is 6 bottles per passenger.`

We shopped for some leather products and were pleased with Carpincho on Cordoba & Esmeralda, Lili on Carlos Pellegrini 461 & El Remanso on Esmeralda 1018

Colonia, Urugay makes for an excellent, easy day trip. The website for the ferry line was down for a few weeks but seems to be up now http://www.buquebus.com . Splurge for the 1 hour high speed ferry . The trip across the Rio de la Plata is relaxing but not particularly scenic.

If you have the time, I’d highly recommend a side trip to the glaciers near El Calafate and hiking in El Chalten. Juan at www.fueraderuta.com got us a good deal on 3 nights hotel/air/breakfast/2 glacier tours (through RumboSur) for about $450US each. Getting to El Chalten takes about 3 hours by bus from El Calafate, but the trails are great and the Andean scenery is jaw-dropping. I think you’d need a minimum of 3 days to see the glaciers and a few more days for hiking in El Chalten. Keep in mind the difference in seasons.

Some other financial tidbits:- airport taxes upon leaving the country were about $19US. You can pay with credit card. -Stamps (estampillas) were 4 pesos for postcards to US/Canada. -Be sure to carry small bills and change. Many taxis (remises) & stores had problems with any bill over 10 pesos.

Thanks again for all the great info we gleaned from this website prior to traveling.

John

lateacher

As we're trying to make gold elite on NW again this year, Copa's current $458 all in LAX-EZE is looking pretty tempting. The problem is that I'm severely limited on when/how long I can go. We can travel Jun 30-July 4 only. On Copa, we'll leave early (1:00 am) and get back late (11:45 pm), which really maximizes our time.

Should we go now, or is it better to wait until we have more time off???

-shane

GUWonder

If you are going to just visit Buenos Aires (the Federal Capital/city), then go now since that is plenty of time to enjoy; however, you'll be very tempted to return (and if you don't something seriously went wrong).

Gaucho100K

I agree 4 days is a good first trip that should be a good "teaser". Thanks for coming and I hope you have a great trip!!!

Canarsie

Are there any updates concerning Southern Winds airlines, particularly flights between Buenos Aires and Iguazu for later next month?

USAFAN

JVR:

Great post, I agree 100% .. nice links too ^

Regarding restaurants, one warning. Don't go to La Cabaña, Rodriguez Peña 1967. It's a tourist trap. Our food (lomo and baby beef) was lousy, the service was bad too ... spoiled our whole evening. This restaurant belongs to the Orient Express Comp.?? This restaurant was recommended in a newspaper

All other restaurants we visited are good or very good: Sorrento at Madero, excellent food, first class service; Lola in Recoleta and La Bourgogne at Alvear Palace, which has a new chef (Gaucho100K, it's time for a visit .. however, the old chef's food was a little better)

We always had a safe feeling, especially in the Recoleta area. Even Boca and the market at San Telmo looked pretty safe to us.

Yes, Teatro Colon is great, however no performances during our stay .. performances started April 15th.

lateacher

My wife "talked" me into calling in sick on my last day of work, so now we're leaving a day earlier. We'll be there from 6/29-7/4.

Can't wait! ^

Gaucho100K

As far as I know, the head chef is still the same and has not changed. Perhaps his "right hand", which is the only one really getting his/her fingers dirty with the actual cooking is the one that has changed?

Where did you get the informatio on the change, if you dont mind me asking?

Gaucho100K

Not much new to report. My previous suggestion, to stay away from issuing new tickets on SW still stands.

While the operations of SW seem to be dragging along, nothing much has been solved. LAN Chile, though its subsidiary LAN Argentina is slowing absorbing workers from LAFSA and other residual gone-under carriers, including staff let go recentrly from SW. SW is still BK, and is working on a much reduced schedule. I still think that there is quite an important element of risk in forward purchasing tickets on SW. If you want to plan in advance, I suggest you buy AR tickets, else, if you like a gamble, either buy SW now or else consider issuing SW tickets on a short notice, which given their new fare structure should have a smaller "spread" vs. the longer issued tickets.

ClipperJCM

Just got home from BA this morning... and already wishing we could return. Many thanks to Gaucho100K and everyone else on this board who provided invaluable information and advice. It was extraordinarily helpful; I'm already trying to think of the next convenient time to visit Argentina.

I had hoped to use this now-that-I'm-home post to recap the trip a bit (and add even more thanks to Gaucho100K et. al.), but I think it's important to lend my voice to the chorus of concern about Southern Winds. Like others, we ran into some serious problems with their service in light of their recent financial difficulties. To anyone even considering booking a ticket on SW, I would strongly urge you to steer clear... no matter how much more expensive Aerolineas may be.

Our problems started pre-trip, when I received several voicemails and e-mails from SW alerting us to changes in our departure times for our AEP-IGR roundtrip. "No problem," I thought, since the messages said that both flights were merely being bumped back an hour each. I was actually impressed that SW had gone to such lengths to contact me and confirm that the changes were acceptable.

When we arrived at AEP, however, things changed. The check-in agent there told us that the flight to Iguazu "wasn't happening today," and that I had been reconfirmed on a flight the next day. Of course, that bit of information was never in any of SW's e-mails or voicemails.

After the agent explained to me that my PNR indicated that I *already* confirmed the changes (which was....ummmm....not quite true), we discussed the situation a bit and she disappeared for a few minutes with our passports. Five minutes later, she reappeared and escorted us to the Aerolineas counter, where she purchased -- actually purchased, with SW's money -- one-way tickets for us to Iguazu, that day, on AR. My assumption is that she recognized SW's mistake and tried to rectify the situation. That was much appreciated.

So off to Iguazu we went on Aerolineas, with the reminder from the SW agent that we were *still* going to be returning to AEP with SW on Friday at 2:45, as scheduled.

Thankfully, late check-out at the Sheraton in Iguazu is 11:00. And doubly thankfully, there is only so much time one can spend at the Iguazu border duty-free shop. Because when we arrived at IGR at 12:25 on Friday -- some 2:20 early for what we thought was a 2:45 flight -- we were greeted by a torrent of angry faces and yelling from the SW ground staff.

It seems that the departure time for SW's only IGR-AEP flight of the day -- the flight which I had repeatedly been told was switched to 2:45 -- was actually departing at 12:25. Timing is everything, I guess.

So after a bit of gate-agent walkie-talkie chatter (and not just a little bit of screaming up to the departure area) our bags were checked and we were whisked up the escalator, through security and onto the plane... sans boarding passes, seat assignments or any of the other minor necessities I guess I have come to expect from air travel.

In the end, we were extremely, extremely fortunate on both ends: We got to Iguazu safely and reasonably close to the time we expected. And despite some scowling faces on the ground, we got back to BA just as safely and even managed to avoid a long wait at the terminal.

I'm more concerned for what could have been a disastrous closing part of our vacation, and for what kinds of similar situations may affect other passengers. SW is obviously in financial trouble, and apparently has taken to flying when and how it feels is most convenient... whether or not it fits the plans of their passengers. For anyone considering choosing SW in the near future, I urge you to remember that before making plans.

USAFAN

I had a "business lunch" there last week, and I talked to him ... he introduced himself "Jean-Paul" as the CHEF (at La Bourgogne) ..
I can see at the photos at the links, that he was indeed Jean-Paul Bondoux ... he has lost at least 30, 40 pound .... sorry, my mistake.
You are correct ^
And you are lucky to have such a place, where you get a first class lunch menu for ARS 60, with drinks ARS 80 or so. In Europe, the US you pay at least three times this amount.

http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/sea...bondoux/region
http://www.relaischateaux.com/bondoux

Also, there was an article in this month's TAM journal about the chef at L'Orangerie (at Hotel Alvear Palace).

Gaucho100K

USAFAN-- Thanks for confirming JP is still around. Glad you enjoyed your lunch there.

Cheers,
Gaucho

GUWonder

I've pulled my South American meetings into Buenos Aires. I get to hit the ski slopes this (northern hemisphere) summer and get in some good bites of lomo .... a few times!!!

Viva Argentina!!!