Tips and Recommendations for Argentina

Quick access to the chapters

    Generalities
      Guide Book
      Vocabulary
      Recommended wines
    Iguazu Falls
    Córdoba
      Visiting
      Eating
    Bariloche
      Visiting
      Eating / Drinking
    Patagonia
      Web Links
    Los Antiguos
      Taxi
      Ruta 40
    El Chaltén
      Visiting
      Sleeping
    El Calafete
      Visiting
      Sleeping
      Eating / Drinking
    Ushuaia
      Visiting
      Sleeping
      Eating
      Drinking
    Buenos Aires
      Internet links
      Visiting
      Sleeping
      Eating
      Drinking / Clubbing
      Tango
      Photos & Electronics
      Special: Lonely Planet correction - B.A. in B.A.
    Mendoza
      Aconcagua
      Other Visiting
      Sleeping
      Eating

Generalities

That's a huge country running along a big part of South America, so expect a lot of difference in weather and landscape in different regions. However, the country is fairly united and you will not see many obvious differences from one region to another (although the accent between, for instance, Ushuaia and Buenos Aires is going to be slightly different).
A third of the country lives in the Big Buenos Aires ... so that leaves space for the rest of the country. But still that's a lot of people: we are talking about 13 milions of porteños and 37 milions of argentineans.
Note
All prices are in pesos (which currency symbol is $) except specified otherwise.

Guide Book

For all South America, I used the Lonely Planet South America. Although some people find it a bit too directing, it is still a good book. However, the version I had (8th edition - Jan 2002) was getting old (particularly about Argentina as it was written before the currency devaluation).

Vocabulary

Empanada
Usually baked (but could be fried) pasty filled with vegetable and/or meat and/or cheese ... A kind of Cornish pasty.
Parillada
Argentinean BBQ: slightly different because the grease is collected to avoid flames on the meat. And the meat is fantastic !
Tenedor Libre
In a restaurant, "eat as much as you like" buffet with BBQ meat (see parillada).

Recommended wines

Finca la suita

Iguazu Falls

They are quite extraordinary.
Don't miss them it's really worth it ... on both sides !

Check out the Iguazu Falls chapter in the Brazil document, to get all the details about accommodation, visiting and all.

Córdoba

It's a big town where we didn't spend much time (8 hours) ... but supposedly you might want to spend a few days.

Visiting

Quite a few nice old buildings to visit. Start at the Cabildo (oldest building) which houses interesting exhibits (at least when we were there). The information centre is also there, so you can get a map and explanations, from the friendly staff, for where to go.

We have been recommended to hang around plaza Vélez Sársfield (north east corner), corner of Av. General Paz and Av. Olmos, and av. H. Yrigoyen (around corner with San Lorenzo) to experience the city life of Córdoba.

Eating

We have been recommended (from a local in the bus):
La Candela
Corrientes near Obispo Trejos
(Also in the Lonely Planet) Cheap and nice ... but closed when we were there (Sunday afternoon) !
Alfonsina
Corrientes close to La Candela
Really nice and friendly, service a bit slow (because it was busy ?).

Bariloche

Visiting

Ruta 40
The bus going on the Road 40 starts from here. But I would advise to go down the Carretera Austral in Chile till Coyhaique and then go back in Argentina at Los Antiguos to "do" the Road 40. See the Chile document for more information about the Carretera Austral and the Los Antiguos chapter for more information about the Ruta 40 in this document for more details.
Town centre
This town looks and feel like a European ski resort: don't miss the Centro Civico, a group of public building (including the information centre) made of log and stone that looks like Swiss chalets. Even more so when you realise you can take a picture with Saint Bernard dogs (in exchange of a few pesos of course). You can still get a nice picture with the lake without the Saint Bernards.
Also worth a look is the Cathedral, on Plaza Italia (and you may want to go to Vieja Luna for your meal too ;-) ).
Excursions
Plenty of activities around the lake in the parque Nacional Nauel Huapi: go to the information centre for details of walks and etc ...
Also if you have time, it's worth going to Villa La Angostura, on a day trip and even cross to Chile to Puyehue (see the Chile document for more details).

Eating / Drinking

Vieja Luna
Vice Alte. O'Connor 630 (close to the Cathedral) Tel: 522.887
May be the best deal in town ... for parillada: cheap and really good. And really good wine too.
El Fogón
Elflein 163 Tel: 524.603
A good parillada.
Carlos Gardel
Rolando 268 - local 10 Tel: 428.168 - 15.559.437
Another good parillada. With Tango show on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays from 21h.

Patagonia

The legendary area of Argentina ... and of course my favourite ! See the next towns for more about the area.

Los Antiguos

Taxi

Multiferia Romina.
Tel: 02963 - 0297.154008345 ?
Ing. Palavicini y Héroes de Malvinas
(9041) Los Antiguos
If you need to go to the neighbour town Perrito Moreno, you can take a bus but if you arrive late, you can get a taxi there (that's a mini-market that has a service of remise)

Ruta 40

The bus for the Ruta (i.e. road) 40 leaves from Los Antiguos and stop in Perrito Moreno (and then go to El Chaltén)... usually ! We were told he would not go from Los Antiguos (hence the taxi), but then eventually the bus arrived in Perrito Moreno with people we left in Los Antiguos.
You could drive it but consider dropping off the car (e.g. in Los Antiguos) to carry on in a bus, as the trip is pretty boring and long. No much change in scenery ... but it's still worth doing ! !

You can book your bus from Bariloche ... and other services too (hotels at the stops, transfert, ...) but all the extra are usually not that cheap and you can probably get them cheaper on your own. On another hand, it's all sorted once and for all.

In Bariloche
Mitre 125 Local 5
Tel: (02944) 525.488 / 431.777 / 435.561
Web site: www.barilocheadventures.com, www.andespatagonicos.com
E-Mail: ruta40@andespatagonicos.com, andespatagonicos@bariloche.com.ar, corredorpatagonico@yahoo.com.ar

El Chaltén

A really special place, in the middle of nowhere: you get there by driving on a dirt road. The nearest place (El Calafate) is 4 hours away. But you end up at the feet of a national park with nice walks in the montains around ! It's worth spending a few days there.

Visiting

Of course, you come for the scenery and walks but you may want to go in the montains too, like the world famous Fitz Roy. But then there are also other kind of activities, e.g. ice cascade climbing.

Sleeping

Rancho Grande is recommended (and where the bus on Carretera 40 usually brings you). Nice and friendly hotel organising a lot of excursions and with an (the only ?) good Internet cafe in town.
Avda San Martín, Tel: 493005
Web site: www.chaltentravel.com
E-Mail: rancho@cotecal.com.ar

El Calafete

Visiting

Of course, the big visit is the Moreno Glacier: that's probably the most impressive site in Argentina ! ! You can go to the parque nacional Los Glaciares by organised bus tour, but it might be worth renting a car for the day to beat the crowd and visit it a your pace (particularly if you are at least three people).
There also a few other walks and stuff to do around here. You might want to stay a couple of days here.

Sleeping

Hospedaje Familiar Las Cabanitas
Valentin Feilberg 218 9405
E-mail: lascabanitas@cotecal.com.ar
Tel/Fax: (02902) 491118
Nice place with nice owner and lovely little cabanitas (for 4 people: one double bed and 2 singles).

Eating / Drinking

Don Juan
on San Martin, nice local bars with concerts and the best steak sandwiches on earth !

Ushuaia

Probably my favourite city in Argentina.
Check out their web site: www.ushuaia.org for more info.

Visiting

Spend a few days here: that's worth it ! !
Cruise in the Bering Straight
Nice and interesting cruise. It's worth going to see the penguins: you get very close to them, the boat gets at 50 cm from the beach ... and the penguins !
Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
Go walking in the national park (several walks available), and go to the end of the road ... and the world ! !
To get there take a bus on av. Maipú at the corner with 25 de Mayo.
Museo Marítimo de Ushuaia
En el Presidio
Tel: (02901) 437.481 - 436.321
Web site: www.museomaritimo.com
E-mail: museomar@satlink.com
That's in the old prison. That's quite interesting and very diverse: stuff about the old prison and the conditions of the inmates, but also about a marine museum about the vessels, and even more ! !
Wandering around the street and shopping
Buy your souvenirs from the end of the world ! ! ;-)
Recommended agency
www.canalfun.com: they are really good !

Sleeping

Book in advance as it seems it's always really busy (but of course staying there at Christmas ... it IS going to be busy ;-) ! ). The tourist information centre will provide a list of accommodations with prices, it's worth using it, if you are planning to stay for a while, to get a good deal.
Hostel at 25 de Mayo y San Martin
It was nice and the only one, we could book ! ! Not cheap but we got breakfast and complimentary cider and cake: it was Christmas !
Recommended: Torre al Sur
Gobernador Paz 1437, Tel: 02901.430745 Web site: www.torrealsur.com.ar
I was told it is really nice (and it's in the Lonely Planet too).

Eating

The cheapest: El Gran Chef
on calle Hilario Acasubi between calle Kayen and Kuanip
Cheap parillada tenedor libre (i.e. eat as much as you like) for $12.
The food is not really fantastic but good ... and there's a special (local) atmosphere as you are away from the centre. Also good if you stay in one of the B&B nearby !
Others
The recommendations on the Lonely Planet are good: Volver is great, and Chez Manu has good food and great view : book a table next to the window and bring your camera !
But La Rueda is more expensive than the parillada across the street ! ? !

Drinking

Kuar
Outside of town after the naval base: great bar where they brew their own beer. Big bay windows overlooking the Beagle Channel !
El (something) Galleon
In San Martin street across from El Café de Las Esquinas, much more atmosphere and less touristic. Good food and good "picadas" !

Buenos Aires

A vibrant city that never sleeps and with a lot of culture too ... and really good restaurants, bars and clubs.

Internet links

A mini guide of "What's up ?" in town: www.tangol.com. There's also a hard copy that you can pick-up for free in most of hostels, "Buenos Aires Day & Night - La Guíofficial del viajero independiente".
This is acutally published by a travelling agency, so there are a few chapters about other places in Argentina.
To receive an e-mail every monday with all of what's happening in town, send an e-mail to equitur@buenosaires.gov.ar with "subcripción" as the text of your mail.

Visiting

There are loads to see and do:
Recoleta
For the market at the weekend, the design centre, and the museums nearby ! And also the cemetery if you are English or interested in Evita Perron.
Museo de los Bellas Artes
Really nice museum ... and that's free ! ! Nice impressionist collection on the ground floor, first floor are several local artists, and on the second floor (look for the hidden stairs up) are temporary expositions and nice terraces !
Town centre
For the atmosphere, the old buildings (Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada, Plaza San Martin with Torre Monumental - ex Torre de Los Ingleses, Teatro Colón, Av. 9 de Julio, ...). And of course for the shopping too: av. Santa Fe, Florida, Lavalle, ...
La Boca
For the nice multi-coloured houses, the tango in the streets ... and all the tourists !
Puerto Madero
The port with nice restaurants and bars. And also, you might get lucky and be able to visit an old boat. There's also a good tourist centre there.
San Telmo
For the Sunday fair and the tango shows ... and also for drinks in the evening.
Palermo
To relax during a stroll along the nice parks and streets (check out the Planetarium to identify the stars of the Southern Hemisphere).
On a bike
It could be interesting to do a bike tour of the town to be able to see a lot quite quickly but still at a reasonable pace. Ask in your hostel to book a tour or check out www.biketours.com.ar (there are other tours too).
and much more ...
There's always something else to see in B.A.

Sleeping

My Favourite: Saint Nicolas Hostel
Mitre 1691, Tel:011.4383.3958 - 4373.8841 - 4373-5920
E-mail: stnicholashostal@hotmail.com
A nice place, centrally located ... and with really good people when I was there ! You might be sleep deprived by the time you leave: there's always somebody ready to go and party ! Really friendly staff and owner too, who contributes to a great atmosphere.
Milhouse Youth Hostel
Hopólito Yrigoyen 959, Tel: 4345.9604
A lot of people's favourite ... so it gets filled up quickly. Book in advance: I visited a couple of times. It is a nice one too.
Hotels
If you want more privacy there are quite a few cheap hotels in the town centre, just have a look around.
Recommended B&B in Palermo Viejo
http://www.bandb.com.ar/ gurruchaza 2155, Tel: 4831.0517
They are not cheap ... but supposedly really good, and a nice owner that will point out what to visit in B.A. and in the rest of Argentina too.
Recommended: Hotel San Remo
Humberto 1, opposite El Balcon.
Cheap ($16) but really, really basic.

Eating

Restaurante Puerto Leyenda
Ridavia 1119 (between Cerrito -i.e. Av. 9 de Julio- and Libertad)
Tel: 4382.2829
Nice tenedor libre and cheap: from $8 to $10 depending on days (and lunch or dinner).
Includes salads, parillada, seafood and deserts with ice creams.
La Bisteca
Republica Arabe Siria 3001
Tel: 4514.3220
Fantastic tenedor libre, great food for a bit more than usual price (about $20) but really worth it !
There's one in Puerto Madero that I haven't tried.
The Unknown
Sorry I forgot to get the name and the address. But there's a cheap and nice restaurant, frequented by locals (mainly) on Av. de Mayo between San José and Salta.
Courtyard restaurants
Corner of Paraná and av. Corrientes
There's a little maze of courtyard with quite a few nice restaurants: good deals for lunch.
Cheap parillada
Corner of Mitre and Montevideo
Nice parillada with good meat and good empanadas (sorry I don't remember the name).
Cheap Empanadas
Corner of Mitre and av. Callao
A big bar which sells a good range of good empanadas: good deal if you buy in bulk (sorry I don't remember the name).
El Obrero
It's an old place, located in La boca. Great argentinian food and cheap.
Central
Located in Palermo hollywood: modern.
Sonoridad Amarilla
Located in Palermo hollywood: cheap Asian food.
Los Mirasoles
In Puerto Madero. Nice meat but a bit expensive.
Guerrin
Corner of av. corrientes and uruguay
For nice pizzas.
La Mezzeta
Alvares Thomas and Elcano
Another pizza place. To eat like Astor PIAZZOLA, ask for pizza and moscato to drink.
Special Milanesa Napolitana
Around Cabildo ave. and Ugarte
Here you can eat the best milanesa napolitana of the world (so I was told). It's so cheap with huge portion.

Drinking / Clubbing

For the best places, ask your hostel: like in any good cities, the good places change all the time.
Kilkeny (irlandais)
Marcelo T. de Alvear and Reconquista
New Port (with "girls")
Junin 1715 Tel: 4803.3332
in Recoleta, better bars next to it !
Acabar
in Palermo (Honduras 5733 ?)
Nubar
Av. Costanera Norte y Pampa
New cool bar in the club zone !
La Cigale
Calle 25 Mayo, 722
Good bar / club with a french theme ;-) ! Big night is Tuesday.
La Trastienda
Balcarce 460
E-mail: info@latrastienda.com
Tel: 4342.7650
Good place for latino music: salsa and all ! ! Good fun, even if you don't like that music too much ... and cheap drinks !
Deep Blue
Two addresses
Ayacucho 1240, Recoleta Norte Tel: 4827.4415
Reconquista 920, Downtown Tel: 4312.3377
E-mail: info@deep-blue.com.ar Web: www.deep-blue.com.ar
A cool bar where you get your own tap for the beer ! ! ;-)
Cafe Tortoni
The classic to get a breakfast after long saturday night out ... or at any other time ! ;-)
Plaza Serrano bars
Plenty of nice little bars around a nice square go on a Saturday evening (in Palermo).
Torte
In Adrogue neighbourhood.

Tango

You can see tango shows in the street everywhere ... at least everywhere touristic: Recoleta, San Telmo (at the weekends), La Boca, ... You can also go to a show with dinner and all !

The real thing: La Catedral

corner of Sarmiento and Medrano (one block from Corrientes)
Locals come and dance tango (and other dances) here ! Quite good ... but hot ... in temperature ! ;-)

Photos & Electronics

Calle Libertad
Between Teatro Colón (Tucumán) and Sarmiento
Plenty of second hand shops (they sell new stuff as well)
www.digitaldepot.com.ar
For all digital photo and electronic stuff. Web shopping but they also have an address in Buenos Aires (see the web site for details).
Consentino
Bartolomé Mitre 845, Tel: 4328.3290
Av. Pte. Roque Sáenz Peña 738, Tel: 4328.9120
Reconquista 313, Tel: 4325.0656
E-mail: info@opticaconsentino.com.ar Web site: www.opticaconsentino.com.ar
THE photo shop in town. Really professional but still friendly and a lot of stocks.

Special: Lonely Planet correction - B.A. in B.A.

The correct address for Bristish Airways
Carlos Pellegrini 1163 (i.e. Av. 9 de Julio)
Planta Baja
Capital Federal (C1009ABW)
Opening hours Monday to Friday: 0900 hrs to 18 hrs
Tel: +54 (0) 11 4320 6600

Mendoza

Aconcagua

Great to go ! !
You can go only to the lake at main entrance of the national park and get a view of the mountain without paying for the entry. Otherwise, you will have to pay for a short permit or a long permit (depending on how long you are staying there).

A few facts:
The summit of the Aconcagua is at 6 962 meters. The park encloses 71 000 hectares of the Central Andes. It's at 180 km of the city of Mendoza, in the province of the same name.
There are many options to go trekking there: the short trekking, the long trekking or the ascension to the summit.

The short trekking goes to Plaza Francia, broken up in three days: first day to Confluencia, second day to Plaza Francia and return to Confluencia, third day return to Mendoza. There is also a longer trekking (5 or 7 days) or you can do the climb all the way to the summit: you have to allow between 13 to 15 days (may be more, it all depends how quickly you acclimate to the altitude).
The short and long trekking are easily done without a guide: just follow the path and get organised before departure to get all information needed. Also, you may want to rent a tent (or a bed) and get food at the base camps (as it would happen on a organised trekking), so you would not need to carry all the equipment and/or food ! ! It could be also an option even if you get the equipment up, to get a nice rest (and food) at the base camp and to avoid renting many mules

You might be tempted by a short excursions (organised by a tour operator or not): Puente del Inca is a really cool place to go and it's just minutes before the main entrance to parque provincial Aconcagua. Then you can carry on to the park and go at the lake and till the bridge without paying any entrance fee. That's a good trip on a day and from the park you can see the Aconcagua. Even if you don't go to the park, going to Puente del Inca is really interesting. You could also have a rest at the winter resort Los Penitentes (Campo Base have a cool hostel there).
It's also worth going to the Christ statue at the old border post between Chile and Argentina in the mountains (close to Las Cuevas the new one). You go up via a winding road for at least half an hour, and get great mountain views along the road ... and at the top too.

There are two main local companies organising trekking to the Aconcagua:

Xperience Aconcagua
I didn't go with them, but their installation at Confluencia is the best: you get a real bed in a huge dome tent (size of a small circus). Really good confort and same price as Campo Base.
Information in Mendoza at the Hotel Indepedencia (see next chapter). Web site: www.aconcagua-xperience.com.ar
Campo base
Really friendly (friendly hostel too, see next chapter). And they depart more often than Xperience ... but their installation are not as comfortable as Xperience.
They both can organise either all your trip to the summit (or for one of the trekking) with guide, tents and all, or just renting mules, or renting accomodations (or selling food) at base camps. They can organise your transfert to the park too.

Other Visiting

Apart from the Aconcagua, there are quite a few things to do in Mendoza and around. One of the most popular is wine tasting, but you may also want to do other activities: white river rafting, abseiling, paragliding, ...
It's also worth visiting the city and going to museums.

Sleeping

My Favourite: Hostel Campo Base
Mitre 946, Tel: 0261.429.0707
That's a base for many climbers and they organise different tours and activities: climbs white water rafting, walks, paragliding, wine tasting, soccer matches, ...
Hotel Indepedencia
1237 Mitre
Same kind as Campo Base (tours, activities and looks great) ... but I didn't stay there ;-) !
You might want to book in a nice hotel when you come down from your trip in the Aconcagua though. There are a few nice and not too expensive ones (where a few climbers stayed) but I lost the addresses ! ;-) Shop around ! ;-)

Eating

Caffee V.I.P.
San Martin 1404
Tel: (0261) 4203.059
The best deal in town: nice steaks, big with good home made fries ! Enjoy all sorts of Argentinean steaks ! ;-)

Thanks ! ! Muchas Gracias ! !

A big thank you to all the people who recommended me different places and to all the Argentinean people in general.

A special thanks to:

Vocabulary Note
"veludo" means "guy" in the Argentinean slang. So all the "veludos" are Argentinean guys ! ;-)