flytoski

Hi all,

I'm ecstatic about having booked a Thanksgiving (late November) trip from NYC to Rio. I'd like to spend about half of my 12 days in Rio and the other half in Buenos Ares. I'm this white American mid-20's guy who knows nothing about either of these places! So if you can give me any broad or narrow recommendations, trust me that I'll follow them. I also don't speak a lick of the Portuguese or Spanish, so should I learn? I'm going to try to get a friend who can speak one or both to come with me.

Also, I don't have my Rio-BA flights booked yet. My initial searching shows that TAM, LAN, Gol, and Aerolineas Argentinas fly that route. Does anyone know how to book award flights with them or others using any of the reward programs where I have points: Amex MR, American Airlines, British Airways, United, and JetBlue?

Thank you!!

Doc Savage

Sounds like a fun trip. I'm sure you already know you'll need a visa for Brazil and need to pre-pay a reciprocity fee for Argentina before you leave.

When you get to BsAs, definitely take the two walking tours of the city offered by these guys -really great, and you'll get a good feel for the city.

http://www.bafreetour.com/english-home

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._District.html

Have fun!

Doc

Yoshi212

Learning some key phrases in Spanish & Portuguese is a good idea. It'll make things easier.

AA or BA miles can be used to book on LA or JJ (Tam). If using AA miles you will have to call to book. Another options is EK (Emirates). They fly the route and it would give you a good experience on another airlines. Prices can be much lower on this route than on others. This depends on the season. This may be a good value to use your Amex MR points on.

Marambio

The only problem with Emirates is the bad timing of their Buenos Aires - Rio flight, which lands at Gale�o at 1am. Other than that, EK does offer the best service on that route, and they tend to be (a bit) cheaper than rivals.

I think American Express MR miles can be used in Aerol�neas Argentinas, which has the advantage of flying to/from Rio from Aeroparque, BA's domestic airport, next to the city centre. The rest usually fly to Ezeiza, some 30km away.

Remember that you have to pay the reciprocity fee online before entering Argentina, otherwise they'll refuse your entry into the country. This is valid if you're a U.S./Canada/Australia citizen. EU and NZ are visa free for Argentina (and for Brazil).

The rest depends on your budget. Both cities offer good accommodation in a wide range of prices. In BA considering your age you'll probably want to stay in Recoleta and Palermo neighbourhoods, which have the liveliest nightlife. San Telmo is also a hippier option.

In Rio I've always found Ipanema to be the nicest area. Leblon and Copacabana are also nice.

Speaking Spanish and Portuguese is not a must but can be useful.

VidaNaPraia

I'd suggest taking the opportunity to visit the spectacular falls at Iguacu for a couple of days. There are flights direct and with one stop from Rio into IGU with GOL and TAM. Not expensive if booked well ahead. And fly out of IGR to BsAs.

A good introductory informational site for Rio is www.ipanema.com

You will need some Portuguese to make your stay in Brazil go more smoothly. (Spanish won't do.) At least carry a phrase book/dictionary.

Get your Brazilian visa ASAP and don't forget the Argentine reciprocity fee online. (Keep the receipt to travel with.)

Dieuwer

I suggest flying to Buenos Aires Aeroparque (AEP). It's basically in the city and therefore transportation will be much cheaper going into town than EZE (which is an insanely long drive).
You can use Delta Skymiles to book Aerolineas Argentinas awards.
What you could also do is to fly from GIG (Rio de Janeiro) to IGU (Foz do Iguacu) and visit the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. Then, head over to the Argentinian side to get a different view of the falls. Finally, fly from IGR (Iguazu) to AEP with LAN or AR to AEP.

EtoileFilante

Of course, it helps to know some basic Portuguese, but I got around Sao Paulo using only Spanish.... so, YMMV for sure.

EtoileFilante

I have a great taxi driver who can pick you up/take you to EZE. He can also help you get a good exchange rate from USD to Argentine pesos. I have his card at home, but private message me if you want more info.

6 days in Buenos Aires is plenty. I can vouch for the free tour mentioned above - I did it when I was there in the summer 2013, and it was great. I'd suggest using AirBnB for accommodation - again, I can recommend a host if you are interested (PM me). The thing I loved doing in Buenos Aires was just walking around and checking out the different neighbourhoods - safety-wise, you should be fine as long as you exercise common sense.

Marambio

I second the idea of stopping at Iguaz�/Igua��. With 12 days in your pocket you have plenty of time to discover Rio and BA and still spend a couple of days exploring the falls, which are truly spectacular.

Your Amex MR or AA miles can be handy in this case. Domestic air travel in Argentina is quite expensive for non-residents, so using miles is the best way to get a cheap ticket. Both Aerol�neas and LAN Argentina fly from Puerto Iguaz� (IGR) to Buenos Aires.

If you cross the border from Foz do Igua�� to Puerto Iguaz� make sure you get your passport stamped on the way out of Brazil. While the need for a stamp is hardly enforced on Argentines and Brazilians, in the Brazil forum some Americans/Europeans reported having trouble when going back to Brazil because they didn't get the stamp.

Doc Savage

I'll second the suggestion to fly to Iguacu for a couple of days, then on to BsAs. Iguazu Falls is spectacular!


ETA: OK, I guess I'll third the idea.

Dieuwer

Couple of photos I made two weeks ago

nsummy

I will go against the grain and say do not visit the falls. If you live in NYC I will assume you have been to Niagara Falls. While Iguazu definitely has bigger and better falls, I don't think you are going to be blown away or anything if you have seen something similar. If you were staying for longer I might recommend it but not for a stay of 12 days, especially when 1 day is already eaten up going to/from Rio. If its something you are really interested in though, by all means, its worth a stop.

For Rio: Either hit the Portuguese hard or don't bother beyond knowing basic words like the foods, drinks, etc. I've been to Rio 4 times in the past 2 years and have casually studied the language; the cariocas' inability to understand an American accent astounds me. For anything major I've found just typing what you want to say into google translate & showing the person works relatively well. You have half a year, which is more than enough time to pick up a decent portion of the language. Just a warning though, the pronunciations are much more difficult that spanish, so don't think you are going to memorize a few phrases & roll into the country with little problems. By all means though you should learn the language if you have the time.

This is going to be the best guidebook you can find and its free: http://www.rioforpartiers.com/ Don't let the name fool you, partying is a very small portion of this book. If you know nothing about Rio this is essential reading. A local guy wrote it and has been updating it for over a decade. Its humorous and is written as if a buddy of yours was giving you tips before a visit. Its not a dry guidebook.

VidaNaPraia

Worth every centavo too.

Gaucho100K

Some great advice here.... except for the "do not visit the falls above" which I just cannot agree to. Comparing Iguazu to Niagra is pretty much a joke, there are more than a dozen reasons why Iguazu was recently voted as one of the "new" wonders of the world and Niagra didnt even make it on the final shortlist. Don't mean to start a food fight with the above poster, and everybody is certainly welcome to have his/her opinion, but if you have the budget to visit Iguazu, by all means do not miss the opportunity now that you are down here in this part of the World.

For more details that are Argentina specific, I strongly suggest you go over to the dedicated Argentina Forum and start a new thread. The regulars over there will be happy to assist you with all your questions...

Cheers,
Alex / Gaucho100K

HIDDY

Well that's like saying if you've been to Blackpool Tower it's not worth your while seeing the Eiffel Tower.