Planning a trip to Argentina: recommendations?

[filmfan]

So my girlfriend and I are planning on going to Argentina for a few weeks (3-4) in about a year. We are beginning to plan our trip now so if you have any recommendation on areas to visit, places to stay/eat, activities, etc.. that would be much appreciated.
Thank you,

-Sam

[siracusa]

Well, being a quarter Welsh or something in my very mixed up gene pool I have to vote for Patagonia where to this day one there are still some Welsh speakers in certain areas...

[mangie]

Buenos Aires and La Bocca to see the Tango being danced and take photographs and soak up the atmosphere. El Calafate, again superb atmosphere and amazing steaks and wine.Agree with Patagonia and the chance to visit a ranch.The Argentinian side of The Perito Moreno Glacier [ an absolutely amazing sight" ], and in the south is the town of Ushuaia, on the Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. Ushuaia is the "Fin del Mundo" and the place from which to set off on an awesome journey to "Antarctica" - a real"must"!!!

mangie

[skibeerr]

If four weeks is all you have then concentrate on one part of Argentina.

Consider that if you want to see all the highlights you will be flying=expensive or sitting in a bus= time consuming (and after a few hundred K of pampa it gets kind of boring).

Take that 800mm lens for the condor.

[Dr Gaspar]

Hey there. I live in La Plata, a city 40 minutes from Buenos Aires.

Depends on what time of the year you come. I wouldn't go far south during the winter, gets really cold and you won't be able to visit a lot or go out of the hotel/hostel at all, and I wouldn't go way north during the summer either.

Argentina has almost every type of weather and landscape there is. Deserts, rocky deserts, mountains, forests, lakes, beaches, a very cultural and huge city like Buenos Aires, humid, dry, hot, warm, cold places..

Many people from Europe don't enjoy the mountains that much, because they've seen that already, or people from Brazil don't go to the beach here, since they've got the best beaches in the world. It depents, there are way too many choices.

If you tell me where you are from, what kind of trip you are planning to do, and what places you've been before, or if you are willing to stay in cheap hostels I could give you better advices.

I've traveled the whole country, and I could even show you a few pictures I've taken in different places.

[skibeerr]

Spoken as a true Belgian, don't eat chocolate at Bariloche it's awfull

[yanidel]

Originally Posted by skibeerr

Spoken as a true Belgian, don't eat chocolate at Bariloche it's awfull

I confirm, spoken as a true Swiss.

[ornate_wrasse]

I visited Buenos Aires Argentina a year and a half ago. Here are some of the things I would recommend:

1. Visit the San Telmo street fair on a Sunday. it's a fantastic experience and a feast for the street photographer. Here's an image I took with my Zeiss 25mm 2.8 ZF Distagon lens and my FM2N (this trip was before my Leica purchase) at the San Telmo street fair:



2. Go to a soccer game while in Buenos Aires. We hired a guide for this. it was a very expensive way of going to the game, but my daughter and I did not feel safe going by ourselves, as we'd heard about the very rowdy fans. What an experience!

3. Take the ferry over to Colonia, Uruguay for a taste of another country at little expense.

4. Warning: The following is only if you're into shopping for inexpensive leather goods! Visit Sylvia y Mario (or any of a zillion other places) for a handmade leather jacket at prices much lower than in the US

5. Visit Recoleta Cementery, in the upscale Recoleta Barrio of Buenos Aires. It's the final resting place of many of Argentina's wealthiest and most famous families and people, including Eva Peron.

6. Go to a Tango milonga or practica if you're feeling adventurous. I actually took Tango lessons in the months before I went to Buenos Aires so I could learn how to Tango myself. It was well worth the effort as I got the chance to dance with some locals. Of course, you can take pictures of the dancers while you're at the milonga.

I've just mentioned a few things that my daughter and I enjoyed the most while we were there. I hope that gives you a a few things to think about.

Ellen

[whitecat]

I am here on vacation now! Many picture opportunities. I second everything Ornate_Wrasse has suggested. I would add a few.

1. Visit the Carlos Gardel Museum......founder of the Tango.
2. Go to the Evita Museum in Palermo.
3. Eat steak.
4. Visit the Galeria Pacifico shopping center for a great photo opp.
5. Go to Puerto Madero.

[whitecat]

Dis I mention eat steak?.............

[maddoc]

.... Slowly I get interested in visiting Argentina !

Originally Posted by whitecat

Dis I mention eat steak?.............

[Chinasaur]

The Plaza de Mayo. Look for the white shawls.. very powerful.

[Jalex]

I went there on Argentinian winter, so I can't talk much about the South, since everybody told us to forget at this time of the year.
We went to the North from Iguazú (simply wonderful) to Salta and their surroundings, and we found the North worth visiting. Some kind of high altitude deserts with salt lakes, indigenous culture, and if you have the time can cross to Chile and Bolivia's altiplano to see some other salty desert landscape.
As others have said keep in mind that the distances are huge, we either took some planes inside the country.