I'll be there for 10 days in August. Anyone been? Advice? Must Dos?

Thanks

7/17/2010 5:16:01 PM

The domestic airport and the international airport are relatively far away from each other.

I haven't been, but I heard Bariloche was the place for skiing. Don't forget you're going in the dead of winter, it's going to be cold!

Argentinians pronounce the letter s very softly, kind of like people from Spain. Also whereas most Spanish-speakers pronounce the double l as if it were like an English y, Argentinians pronounce it like sh. So for example castellano would normally sound like cast-eh-yan-o, it will instead sound like cast-eh-shan-o. Don't let this through you off if you're not a fluent Spanish speaker. That aside they speak pretty clearly. If you ask them what language they speak, it's not "español" it's called "castellano" That's the South American dialect of Spanish being spoken. If you encounter someone not affiliated with tourism it's likely that at best they will know a little bit of broken English.

Argentina's economy collapsed about 10 years ago, and has been on the mend since then. As a result the American dollar goes very far down there, in stark contrast to Brazil and Chile. Even more so now the Argentine Peso is almost 4:1 with the US$, you probably won't spend nearly as much as you might think, especially if you're not in a four-star hotel eating at white-tablecloth places.

Not too far away from Buenos Aires is Mendoza, one of the premier wine valleys in the world. Catena vineyards FTW Seriously though almost all the wine is phenomenal. The beer sucks, so stick to the wine. It's not like here where a cheap glass of wine tastes like crap, all the wines there are great, so just order by the bottle. In flavor, a 20 peso bottle of wine there is comparable to something 10 times as much back in the US. Malbec is the type of grape/wine most closely associated with Argentina, and it's usually a big juicy red wine like a good Cabernet savignon.

Argentine beef and Argentine lamb are world-renowned for their flavor. Hope you like red meat and seafood!

I've hiked throughout southern Patagonia, including Tierra del Fuego, so if you have any time or interest in the far south I have suggestions galore, just ask.

[Edited on July 17, 2010 at 5:55 PM. Reason : more]

7/17/2010 5:31:59 PM

Quote :

"it's called "castellano" That's the South American dialect of Spanish being spoken."

I think you've got it backwards

7/17/2010 6:51:37 PM

Quote :

"The name castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred particularly in the Spanish regions where other languages are spoken (Catalonia, Basque Country, Valencian Community, Balearic Islands and Galicia) as well as in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, instead of español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America and Spain."

7/17/2010 8:34:10 PM

super cheap steak, incredible wine and great duck hunting. vaya con dios

7/17/2010 9:07:17 PM

My dad always gets some leatherwork made down there when he goes.

7/17/2010 10:28:59 PM

Not worried about Spanish- I'm fluent enough for whatever dialects I hear to be a negligible difference. I was mostly interested in hearing specific suggestions about where to eat and the nightlife. I'll be staying in an apartment in Palermo so I suppose I'll just find out when I get there.

I live in the SF Bay area so a trip to Mendoza doesn't sound all that exciting when I've been to Napa/Sonoma/Livermore countless times. I am going to take a side trip to Iguazu falls though so that should be interesting. If anyone has done that, I'd appreciate any input. Thanks

7/20/2010 4:07:29 PM

[Edited on July 20, 2010 at 5:47 PM. Reason : .]

7/20/2010 5:47:21 PM

Never been, but while I was in Brazil I had a trip planned to visit, however that fell through.

7/21/2010 12:47:59 AM

Quote :

"Must Dos?"

Would also be interested in must tres and much quatro as well.

7/21/2010 7:35:04 AM

If you're going into Brazil at all for your trip to Iguazu you need to get a visa in advance.

7/22/2010 2:05:28 PM

not going to Brazil

that's a whole other trip someday

7/22/2010 2:18:37 PM

MUST DO

7/22/2010 2:34:30 PM