Argentina & Chile - Jan/Feb 09

the_badger

Hi,

I am thinking of going to Argentina / Chile for 3 – 4 weeks in January (mid January to mid February). I have done a fair amount of research but have a number of questions:

1. Typically my partner and I (mid to late twenties) would aim to spend a few weeks back-packing, i.e. we wouldn’t stay in luxury hotels but we wouldn’t stay in dorm rooms in hostels either……..we back pack in a bit of comfort I guess! As a guideline how much would you need to budget for this level of comfort on a day to day basis? (The reason I ask this is that my Lonely Planets typical budget appears way less than I really think I will need to spend)

2. Am I correct in thinking that this is the peak season and prices go way up and availability goes way way way down?

3. Will we need to plan accommodation a number of weeks before we land, i.e. we will need a pretty fixed itinerary?

4. What are peoples thoughts on tour groups? We are very reticent in joining one of these as we don’t fancy spending a month of our lives with people we don’t like!

5. Has anyone a suggested itinerary for Argentina / Chile, i.e. see most of the sights at a comfortable enough pace in 3 to 4 weeks?

6. Could anyone recommend a beach resort to relax at? I have looked into Puente Del Este in Uruguay but I get the impression it would be somewhat similar to Marbella………is this correct or way off the mark. (We have something along the lines of the resorts in Malaysia / Thailand in our minds!! )

Any thoughts you may have would be much appreciated. We really want to go to South America but don’t want to spend a fortune when, if we went a month or two later, we would have spent far less.

Thanks,
t_b

Placid_Casual

Hey, I was in Argentina (but not Chile) two years ago for about 5 weeks, so hopefully I can help a little.

1. I stayed in dorms mostly and i've also no idea if costs have gone up in Argentina or if the exchange rate has changed much in the past two years. At a guess i'd say you'd get a decent double room for €10-20

2. You are correct in thinking in that.

3. Given number 2, its probably best to book ahead as much as you can. I'm sure you could always find something at a push but it might not always be what you want.

4. I'm not keen on group tours that last longer than a couple of days. Argentina is easy to get around, so I don't see the need for it.

5. Argentina is a big country, so don't underestimate distances. For example, i'd say Iguazu Falls is a must see but this an 18 hour each way trip from Buenos Aires. You'd want to spend a good few days in BA, its a great city. You could then head down to Bariloche at the northern end of Patagonia, take a detour to Chile, head north and reenter Argentina at Mendoza (wine country) before heading back to BA. Be prepared for lots of long bus journeys. Luckily, the buses in Argentina are absolutely first class. Its more like taking a long haul flight with an attendant serving food & drink.

6. I didn't go to any beach resorts but I do think they would be more like European resorts than Thailand/Malaysia. Argentina is very European generally. They'll also be wedged with people at that time of year.

dory

I was in Argentina this past January. Some places were still $10/night for a dorm bed. Then it was mostly beach towns that had their prices doubled. Spent $22 on a bed in Punta Del Este, and yes, it's like Spain. I went to a beach a few hours north of Santiago, La Sevilla or something (I'd have to look it up) and that was lovely, also went to Pinamar, 5 hours south of BA. That was really expensive because we were there for new years, i think the accom would have been more reasonable later in January.

You won't spend a whole lot more there just because it's January, but I wouldn't go there again in that month, too much hassle. And we just booked our accom one town ahead so it was only ever a few days beforehand that we knew what we were doing.

The Falls are a must see! The chocolate it Bariloche and the wine in Mendoza are also great. Few days in BA also as was already said. I went down to the glacier down south, two days on buses but it was worth it. I know some people who found flights for the same price as the buses but we were too lazy to do that.

I didn't see that much of Chile so can't really comment there. I remember it being the most expensive place in South America though. If you want to save money you could head north from Salta and go to Bolivia? Just a thought!

As for tours - not necessary at all! You could always look up their itinerary and follow that.

Fieldmouse

You really don't need tours except for specific day ones i.e. to see penguins or do a boat trip. Otherwise travel is easy enough to do on your own. January and February are very much high season. You would need to book places where local tourists and visitors from neighbouring countries are going. So, anywhere on the beach or the lakes. However, in Chile (and this has been my experience in Argentina as well) you can go to the local tourist office and they will have a list of lodging. These will include, in Chile anyway, names of people renting a room in their home. Sometimes people do this just for the summer months and sometimes it is a year round thing (residenciales). Often just moving to the town next to the really 'hot' destination will find you a room. I would book key stops (Pucon, La Serena, San Pedro de Atacama, Viña del Mar/Valparaiso) but you don't need to have every night booked if you want a bit of freedom of movement and are flexible.
As for an itinerary, it really depends on what you like to do. With the amount of time you have, I would have a look through a good country specific guidebook for ideas. Crossing between Argentina and Chile is easily done at several points by bus and is inexpensive.
A lot of hostels now also offer private rooms and some are worth looking at. If you have any specific Chile questions I would be glad to help.

Glowing

I was in Argentina last year too - saw a bit of Chile, Bolivia and Peru.

My must-do's when you're in the area are:

- Getting the bus across the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago (only 6 hours but the views are spectacular)

- The salt flats in Bolovia - if you're in the north of Argentina anyway, it's worth the detour.

- Iguazu Falls - just amazing. We got cheap flights from Buenos Aires just because we ran out of time. The bus takes ages, but we got a return flight for about 150 euro at the last minute.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend Chile, it's hot, dry, deserty ... and not a lot to see But having said that we took the most amazing Astronomy tour in La Serena, it was surperb.

Buenos Aires is one of the coolest cities I've ever been in - I'm very jealous!

tyuis

hey guys some great info here,
im also travelling around argentina pretty soon. hope to go to ushuaia and work my way north.
i was just wondering if anyone could give me some information on renting cars, im kind of at a loss at how feasible it will be, regards price and are there any problems crossing border to chile.
also is a ferry/boat the only way getting out of tierro del fuego besides using a plane?

Meathlass

tyuis wrote: »

hey guys some great info here,
im also travelling around argentina pretty soon. hope to go to ushuaia and work my way north.
i was just wondering if anyone could give me some information on renting cars, im kind of at a loss at how feasible it will be, regards price and are there any problems crossing border to chile.
also is a ferry/boat the only way getting out of tierro del fuego besides using a plane?

There are bus options out of Tierro del Fuego, There is a ferry as part of the trip but the bus just drives on and it's included in your ticket. Don't know about renting a car, i'd imagine it's pretty easy but could be alot of hassle and expensive. The bus network in Chile and Argentina is very expensive.

p to the e

in Chile try and go to San Pedro de Aticama. they do lots of adventure type things there sandboarding, tours rafting etc. if you're going to Argentina make sure and get the Iguazu falls in. it's on the border with Brazil but it's cheeaper to see it from this side and IMO better views. Buenes Aires is like any other city pretty much. it's beautiful but it's your typical city. if you're looking for some nightlife do it here.