Fantastic info. Thank you!

Any suggestions for real estate agents / people or sites for purchasing or renting properties?

Which segment of the market are you interested in, and just for Buenos Aires Capital Federal or elsewhere in Argentina? [You missed out on the best deals ;) ..... but I wouldn't let that dissuade you if you love Argentina as much as I do.]

I do suggest renting before making the leap into buying -- especially if you are interested in Argentina as a "second" home. (Just don't blame me if the prices go up in the mean time. :D ) If going down the "investment" route, I'd be more cautious.

GUWonder: you are amazing: over 26,000 posts.

We already looked outside of BA area. Would like to rent or buy in BA area.

Anyone knows how that beach/ hotel picture next to my above post appeared?

That's an advertisement placed as part of a syndicated distribution by Google for which FT receives funds if clicked through. That ad-related revenue helps to pay for some of the costs of FT.

[QUOTE=katesmo108]I have a good friend in Buenos Aires and I am interested in taking a trip to visit. However, I'm a college student and am on a very low budget. With that in mind, what time of year is cheapest to fly there? Which airlines are best..etc? I would love any info about inexpensive travel.

Katesmo: I assume that your friend can tell you about housing/hostels. There are several hostels in BA, most of them to be found in the internet. To be trusted: Hostelling International.

Re: cheapest time...depends on where you are coming from.
Where are you based? Your profile doesn`t state it. From US you can try: Continental, Delta, AA, Aerolineas Argentinas, United Airlines.
From Europe, all major: LH, AF, BA, IB, Air Madrid, AZ. from Asia: Malaysia Airlines.
I suggest you first get a travel agency quotation and then search for web pages of the airlines to see if you get cheaper tickets. Remember that if you get an inexpensive fare, this will mean penalties when changing dates, non-refundable tickets, etc..

There are two local student/youth travel agencies with web sites: ASATEJ and TIJE. You can check there for local rates.
And if you have a friend...he/she can lookup things for you here. I believe your friend is definetely the best source.

small print on discounted fares
 

I second the above excellent advice, perhaps with the following observations.

Some discount rates are for Argentine residents only, and as Ive stated before on this and other threads, non residents booking these fares are rolling the dice. If you are lucky, all will go well and you will have enjoyed a savings, but if your ID and residency is properly checked before boarding or upon usage of any contracted service, you will be at the complete mercy of the agent (and have little to no room to argue), so things could become somewhat complicated. Please remember that rebooking penalties, refaring differences, forfeiting of fares and/or other charges may apply in these cases.

I don't want to rain on anybody's parade, I just think its best for everybody to be well informed about the small print on some of the services offered at discounted rates so as to avoid unwanted surprises.

Please PM me and I can provide you some contacts of people that you may talk to.

Some questions to follow up on mobile phone rentals in EZE: is there only one vendor at EZE? Approximately how much does it cost to rent a phone for a week? About how much does it cost per minute to call the U.S.? Which mobile phone company has the best coverage--from Iguazu to BsAs to Calafate--in Argentina? Thanks!

Im not up to speed on the rates for rental phones, but in my experience the best country-wide coverage is with Personal (name of the provider).

I'm going to do a MR this weekend at EZE for 2 very short days (34 hours on the ground to be exact). I know I don't have much time but I still want to try some good parrilla, visit a flea market, buy some leather goods and do some sightseeing (this is my first trip to Argentina). I'll arrive in BAs around 10am on Sunday and will be staying at the Marriott hotel. I don't even know how and where to start my short trip...please help!

This is a three-day schedule, but you can condense it as interests you to squeeze it into around a day and a half:

http://69.20.115.219/three/2005/buenosaires.htm

.. and get a meal at Cabana las Lilas in Puerto Madero if you like steak.

The Marriott is right next to Plaza San Martin and near Florida Avenue.

Thanks for the info. Where would be a good place to do leather goods shopping?

There are some places on Florida Avenue but they are neither the cheapest nor the best from what I've heard. There is one leather goods store in downtown that is very popular with flight crews and they supposedly get a discount there FWIW but I've never been. Maybe someone here is familiar with it?

The Spouse, our two young adult daughters and I had a great, relaxing lunch on the outside patio of Cabaña Las Lilas last week... It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day and the steaks (accompanied by a bottle of Terrazas Afincado, Finca Las Compuertas Mendoza Malbec, 2001) were fabulous!

Afterwards we strolled to the pedestrian crossway area in Puerto Madero, down from the Hilton and watched as scores of life-sized fiberglass cows were being finished by different artists who were painting them with their "finishing touches" and readying them for placement around Buenos Aires for a "Cow Parade!" http://buenosaires-en.cowparade.com/ We had seen a similiar "Cow Parade" in Prague 2 years ago and others in London and in Sydney in 2002, as well as in New York City and Las Vegas here in the U.S.

As usual, our 10 day visit to Buenos Aires during March this year was super, even during the 3 overcast and rainy days! ^