Argentina travel tips

Following are regularly updated travel tips for Argentina.

The text below is from the comprehensive holiday travel tips to be found at
Cheap World Travel Tips.

April 8 2008 Argentina travel tips

The north-west province of Salta near the Bolivian border is peppered with native ruins, indigenous peoples, isolated villages and a spicy local cuisine. The dramatically undulating landscape creates a variety of deserts and lush cloud forests close together. The province has a balmy climate throughout the year due to its elevation and a popular journey is Ruta 40, a dusty trail beloved by Argentines because of its length and scenery.

If you want to picnic in Buenos Aires, Palermo is the district of botanic gardens, parklands, the planetearium and the zoo.

The bus service in Buenos Aires is fairly complex and should be studied carefully before use. The subway is usually crowded and taxis are recommended for most short trips in the city. Fares are cheap but few taxi drivers speak English.

If you travel to Buenos Aires, your best tourist buys are leathergoods, jewelry and crafts from Patagonia, woven rugs and tapestries, clay pottery and Argentinian wines and chocolates.

A huge meal can usually be enjoyed at a cafe or restaurant in Buenos Aires for US$7-8.

The English-language Buenos Aires Herald publishes exhibitions and other tourist information in its weekend editions.

Argentina's economic downturn in recent years has seen the value of the peso plunge, creating a smorgasbord of cheap holiday pleasures. Take note, however, that the downturn has also led to frequent protests in Buenos Aires and the country's high unemployment rate around 15% is evident in the streets with many people obviously looking for work or a tip. Hawkers have become fairly common despite such trade being illegal.

Although the language is American Spanish, plenty of locals speak English (and Italian). If you intend booking a guide or a tour, it's worth checking that fluent English is spoken and not just Spanish as some operators can manage only a few words of English even though they claim otherwise.

The Patagonia region offers true adventure travel in a harsh but spectacular landscape. If you travel to Patagonia, it's well worth rugging up against the cold and catching ferry trips across lakes such as Nahuel Huapi, Los Cantaros, Frias, Todos Los Santos and Llanquihue, each surrounded by ancient mountains, sheer cliffs, waterfalls and volcanoes - some still active.

The small town of Puerto Piramides has been a popular tourist destination since the 1960s because of the enormous number of southern right whales that migrate to the surrounding Valdes Peninsula from June to December. Puerto Piramides has a good choice of accommodation (book ahead in high season) and whale watching excursions in 2006 mostly cost about 60 Argentinean pesos for two hours.

Argentina Travel Tips 1

Argentina Travel Tips 2

Top of page