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Why go? Argentina is immense, wild and incredibly welcoming. Spectacularly beautiful and utterly untouched, it’s one of the very few places in the world where you can explore extreme landscapes from the comfort of luxurious small hotels and welcoming estancias, combining your hunger for wilderness with a taste for fine food and wine. There are tropical rainforests, immense glaciers, ancient archaeological sites and snow-capped mountain ranges, shimmering salt flats, vast plains, and high altitude deserts; stylish cities like Buenos Aires, where chic boutiques and bars abound, and pioneer towns like Ushuaia at the very end of the world. The infrastructure is great for tourists, most people speak English, and swift internal flights make it easy to travel around, so you could combine two or three regions in a three week stay. And the dramatic landscapes are mirrored in the dramatic people. Argentines are amazingly friendly and welcoming to foreigners (no-one will mention the Falklands war!) and they do hospitality in style. Now recovering from economic collapse, the Argentines are making the most of their country’s assets. There are superb places to stay for adventurers and connoisseurs alike; from chic boutique hotels to rustic estancias – and many are amazingly inexpensive. If you can learn a little Spanish, you’ll make friends for life. So stay longer than you think, and really escape from it all. Any Downsides? You just can’t see it all in one trip. The distances are huge, and the contrasts of landscapes are extreme. So take time to explore each area, rather than cram in too much and feel rushed or overwhelmed. Adapt to the slower pace of life in Patagonia and the Andes, and be spontaneous with chance encounters: Argentines are very sociable and love to welcome strangers. Avoid the peak summer month of January if you can, when Argentines, Brazilians and Chileans travel en masse. Book flights ahead throughout the summer, and in Easter and July holidays. Argentina is very safe, but take care wandering the streets of Buenos Aires. Leave flashy jewellery and cameras in your hotel room, and take radio taxis everywhere: they’re cheap and reliable. There are no major health risks, but be up to date with your tetanus and hepatitis A and B vaccines. Take insect repellent to Iguazú, los Esteros del Iberá or the cloudforests of the northwest. Malaria is rare, but check the current situation: it’s probably not worth taking the tablets. Tap water is fine to drink in Buenos Aires city, but drink bottled water elsewhere. Current Weather - Time: Buenos Aires:  Click image for forecast |
Activities *Iguazú Falls: Stroll through tropical rainforest humming with birds and butterflies to find overwhelming cascades of water that make Niagara look small! Not to be missed. *Glaciers: Immense stretches of ruckled ice stretch out silently as far as the eye can see, and then rupture with a roar into a milky turquoise lake. See them before they vanish. *Estancias: Traditional cattle ranches offer the quintessential Argentine experience of life on the land: ride horses over the pampas, muster cattle with gauchos in Patagonia, explore the Sierras Chicas in Córdoba, or hike through virgin cloudforest in Salta. Then eat a superb asado (BBQ) under the stars. *The Lake District: (nothing like Windemere!) is a vast trekking heaven of four national parks stretching long the length of the Andes, with pristine lakes of all hues from pea green to Prussian blue, set amidst stunning jagged peaks. *Shopping eating tango: Buenos Aires is Latin America’s most elegant capital. Hit Palermo for chic boutiques, have your steak char-grilled to perfection with a velvety Argentine malbec, then learn to tango at an atmospheric milonga. *Indigenous culture: All over the northwest, there’s vibrant local music, exquisite weaving, and both Easter and the ancient Pachamama festival are celebrated with passion. *Wildlife: Southern Right Whales bask next to your boat near Península Valdés, home to extraordinary colonies of sea lions, penguins and orcas. And the magical wetlands of the Esteros del Iberá are birdwatcher’s paradise. *Tierra del Fuego: Gaze out over the end of the world from pioneer town Ushuaia, with its national park, ski resort (complete with husky rides), and boat trips on the spectacular Beagle Channel. You could even sail to Antarctica. *Drink wine: In Mendoza, Argentina’s main wine growing region, rich green vines flourish against the hazy purple veil of the Andes under cloudless skies. Or climb Aconcagua for a different kind of high. *Ancient history: Córdoba’s Jesuit ‘estancias’ are impressive (think more The Mission than horse riding!), and in the northwest, immense ruined cities show civilisation here began long before the Incas invaded. |
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