●๋• Iwonka i Paweł ●๋• Podróży do Argentyny ●๋•

First suggestions

I think you should take at least 5 days to visit Buenos Aires, and a few more to to visit other places in Argentina.

Cordoba and Rosario (700km / 320km) are near and I could drive you for a weekend.

My family owns an apt in Pinamar (360kms from Buenos Aires), just in front of the beach, so that can also be a good option for the weekend.

The Patagonia is probably the most beautiful place to go but air fares and hotels can be expensive (probably around 250/300 dollars each).

If you decide to visit the Patagonia region, think about 4/5 extra days.

You can also take a day trip to Colonia (in Uruguay, accesibly by 2h-ferry). It´s a nice quiet town, with typical constructions from Spanish times.

If you fly to Rio de Janeiro, you should stay about 3 or 4 days, and an extra day to see the Carnival :) Carnival in Rio is awesome! I haven´t been to the Carnival but I know it can be pretty expensive. Besides, it´s summer in South America which means: high season, high prices everwhere. Anyway, even if you can´t make it for the Carnival, Rio is a nice city and it has beautiful beach towns all around it.
There is also a nice island just in front of Rio, with beautiful beaches: Ilha Grande.
Another great option is Buzios (around 360kms from Rio, accesible by bus), gorgeous beach town that is worth visiting it.

To sum up, if you want to visit both Brazil and Argentina, you should think about taking 2 weeks or so. The longer you stay the better you´ll get to know the places you visit!

Ideally, I would suggest you about a week in Buenos Aires + 4/5 days in other places in Argentina + 3/4 days in Rio + 2 days in a Brazilian beach town).

If you think this is too much, of course we can get rid of the extra cities and focus on the capitals.

Anyway, I will be updating this blog with more websites so that you can learn some more about the places I´m suggesting you.
No matter how many days you take, it would be so great to have you both here!

Needless to say, you can stay at my home, and I can help you find accomodation in other places.

Let me know how the Lufthansa booking goes!

I´m so excited!!!

Belen

1 or 2 day trips from Buenos Aires

Since you are staying in Argentina for about a week, these are the easy short trips options I thought about.

Two-day trip to Pinamar + Cariló (Pictures; more pics) This is probable the easiest option (and the cheapest ) since my parents have an apartment right on the beach of Pinamar. We could visit a few small beach towns, go horse-riding on the beach just before sunset, etc.
Two-day trip to Rosario (drive map, my pictures)
Day trip to Colonia, Uruguay (by ferry: the prices are in pesos - Pictures)
Day trip to La Plata ( drive map)

(at least) 4 extra days in Argentina (with or without me)

Apart from Buenos Aires, I suggest you taking at least 4 extra days to get to know other cities.
Explore the first couple of options if you want to keep your Budget low.
Another option is to take a couple of day trips not far from Buenos Aires.
Days out:
Cordoba is one of the largest cities of the country and it has nice mountain villages around it. I could drive you there and spend those days with you.

First Option: CORDOBA (With me, by car)

1) 7hs drive to Cordoba City
2) Córdoba hills villages: Villa General Belgrano/ La Cumbrecita:
http://www.villageneralbelgrano.com/fotos/index.asp?scc=26
http://www.villageneralbelgrano.com/fotos/index.asp?scc=28
http://www.argentinaturistica.com/2vgbiresenia.htm
3) Córdoba City
4) Return to Buenos Aires (we could stop by Rosario on our way back: map )
The following is probably the easiest option: I think I mentioned my family owns an apt in Pinamar just in front of the beach. If you are going to visit Brazilian beaches I´m not sure it´s worth it, but here you have a good link: http://www.argentina.ar/_es/turismo/guia-del-viajero/C3013-pinamar-entre-las-dunas-y-el-bosque.php Horse-riding at sunset is a must, and the town is really pintoresque.

Second Option: PINAMAR (With me, by car)

1) 4hs drive to Pinamar
2) Pinamar + 15-minute-trip to Cariló (Pictures; more pics )
3) Pinamar
4) Return to Buenos Aires (maybe we could stop by La Plata city on our way back: map)
Another choice is to take a number of day trips from Buenos Aires. Short distances but worth-watching places.

Third Option: SHORT TRIPS (With me, by car)

1) Day trip to Colonia, Uruguay (by ferry: the prices are in pesos )
2) Day trip to Rosario (drive map)
3) Day trip to La Plata ( drive map)
4) Day trip to Tigre: 45 minutes ride from Buenos Aires

The last two options are probably the best, but it requires airfares.
Anyway, you should take a look at the Patagonia part, to see how nice it is. It is much more expensive, but totally worth it. http://www.en.argentina.ar/_en/tourism/patagonia/index.php
Last summer I went to The Road of the 7 Lakes and Bariloche. You´ve seen the pictures, it is incredibly beautiful, but probably very European-like. Glaciers and El Calafate will be surely something very different. You can even take a trekking tour on the Perito Moreno glacier.

Fourth Option : PATAGONIA (By yourself, by plane)

1) Trip to Patagonia region (by plane): Bariloche + The Road of the 7 Lakes (day excursion map; Pictures, and more pics) / Or / Glaciers and El Calafate (map)
2) Patagonia
3) Patagonia
4) Return to BA
As a fifth option (intermmediate in terms of budgets and one of the best in terms of points of interest), I´m including a trip to Salta, in the North region. It might be hot, but there´s a unique Baroque style in the area that is worth seeing it. There are good wineries in the area and the landscape is beautiful. You will get to see native people, with their typical costumes in their everyday life.

Fifth Option : SALTA (By yourself, by plane )

1) Trip to Salta (by plane):
2) Salta: Day trips to Calchaqui Valley or Cafayate wineries
3) Day trips to Calchaqui Valley or Cafayate wineries
4) Salta city Return to BA
All the other regions are also great. Cuyo and Litoral, but you must know Summer is mostly too hot to go there.
Anyway, I´m including those regions here:

Sixth Option: IGUAZU FALLS (By yourself, by plane)

You can take a plane to Iguazu Falls (in the border with Brazil)
http://www.lan.com/en_us/sitio_personas/destinos/argentina/iguazu.html

Seventh Option: MENDOZA or SAN JUAN (By yourself, by plane, or maybe we can drive there, but we´ll need a few extra days :)

You can also fly to Mendoza or San Juan. Here it´s hot but since they have a very dry weather, it´s easier to cope with it. In February they have the Vendimia (Harvest) festival in the wineries.
Mendoza: http://www.turismo.mendoza.gov.ar
San Juan: http://www.travelsanjuan.com.ar/ingles/home.html

http://www.thegrapevine-magazine.com/features_wine_country/features_wineharvest.htm

Brazil / Argentina : Car vs Plane

About how-to-get-to-Rio issue, I think it is crazy to go by car, hehe. I know some people do it, but it´s really far away from Buenos Aires and furthermore, those routes are truly unsafe. One of them is even called “La Ruta de la Muerte” (the Death Route), so it requires plenty of time and experience to get to know the route to drive it safely.

You can go to Rio by bus, there are experienced drivers, and I could find out about prices. Maybe it´s cheaper than getting by plane. This would be a map. Here the long distance buses are really good. (fortunately muuuch better than Greyhound, hehe)
You could make a stop at Iguazu Falls (in the border of Argentina and Brazil), or maybe further in Florianópolis or Porto Seguro. Spending a night in any of these places can be a good way to split the length of the bus trip. (this would be the map)

(I wouldn´t visit Sao Paulo: there are not as many interesting things to see there, it is one of the most unsafe cities of South America and the public transportation system is horrible for tourists.)

I also thought about flying to Florianopolis and then getting to Rio by bus could be a good option, but it is just the same. Getting to Florianópolis by plane is $273 (including taxes, around the dates of the Carnival), but you will have to pay for the bus to Rio, so it will be pretty much the same. Flight to Rio in the same dates with Gol Airlines is around $300 and Tam Airlines fare is around $333 dollars (279+taxes).

Anyway, closer to the date, we´ll be able to explore tourist packages prices that incluye accomodation and maybe carnival tickets. Here you have the current prices. Of course in February/March can be 50% more expensive.
http://www.asatej.com/secciones/paquetes-turisticos/resultado.php?hasta=RIO
http://www.ativiajes.com/turismo-en-brasil/vacaciones-2.html

I´m thinking that maybe if going to Argentina+Brazil gets too expensive, you could focus on Argentina (and maybe Uruguay) this time, and perhaps in a few years come again to these latitudes but focusing on Brazil. Of course I will join you there!

If you still want to see a Carnival, I could take you to Gualeguaychú Carnival (around 300 kms from Buenos Aires). I´m including more links and info about Gualeguaychu on the right bar.

If you choose to stay longer in Argentina (or focus on these borders only), we could do a Roadtrip (that I was kind of planning for next year). You can see the map here. This option would include a wide variety of landscapes and also our famous wineries.I will include a section about it on the right bar with all the info of the places I´m considering. ;)