Each year my DH and I go to Italy for 4-6 weeks. We prefer to rent an apartment and stay in one place and enjoy. (Our big decision is were to go to lunch and what wineries to tour) We will be in Tuscany for 4 weeks this fall.
Last March we rented a cottage in Sonoma Ca for a month and loved it, so we want to go somewhere for 4-5 weeks every spring. Toured 39 wineries and the food was wonderful.
Argentina has come to the top of the list for spring of 2009. We are in the wine business so the wine country is a must. We have also heard wonderful things about Buenos Aires.
Can anyone help with town/rental in wine country? The same for BA.... isn't there a cool Italian neighboorhood in BA?
Hi Jfraz - we are leaving in 9 days for a two week trip to Argentina and Uruguay, so I've been web-surfing for a while for information. Our trip is going to be quite different from yours: after 5 days decompressing and sightseeing in BA, we will be joining about 30 singing companions in a 10 day concert tour of Uruguay (Montevideo and Colonia) and Argentina (BA, La Plata and Mendoza).
I would think Mendoza would be near the top of your list if wine is of interest to you -- it is the center of the wine-growing area of Argentina. Here is a website with information on Mendoza - including a list of rental apartments.
The Vines of Mendoza website also has a wealth of information on wineries, wine tours, etc., but also more general and useful information.
We decided not to rent an apartment for this visit, but have several friends who have recommended apartment rental as a very inexpensive way to stay in Buenos Aires. Here is a blog written by a British ex-pat with a good list of web resources for finding an apartment - and a good link to a site that describes the various areas of BA so you can get a sense of where you might want too stay. (note, it is poorly formatted, so you need to scroll down past the advertisements to get to the actual blog entry).
Happy planning!
Judy
Posts: 1578 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
You'll love, love, love, Buenos Aires. It's a lovely city. When I was there it was a shopping haven. I didn't rent an apartment because back then I hadn't found SlowTrav but I stayed in a very central hotel, the Ibis Congreso.
There are two restaurants in Puerto Madero,a re-vamped area of BA,that you shouldn´t miss: La Bisteca (an excellent sort of all-u-can-eat place) and Siga La Vaca (i.e. Follow the cow!)
You shoulnd't miss also the Museo Vivo del Tango, where for about 40 USD you can have dinner, see the show and have a tango class!
A couple of questions. We really want the neighborhood experience of BA. It looks like Recoleta is very European and Palermo more trendy. What are some favorite neighborhoods.
Is there a good internet map for Argentina? Google doesn't seem to have much and viamichalen has nothing.
In Italy I search using "agroturismo". Is there a similar word for Argentina.
Originally posted by jfraz: A couple of questions. We really want the neighborhood experience of BA. It looks like Recoleta is very European and Palermo more trendy. What are some favorite neighborhoods.
In Italy I search using "agroturismo". Is there a similar word for Argentina.
Recoleta and Palermo are the favorite areas with the tourists. Recoleta because it is up scale and Palermo you will find it full of trendy restaurants, shops and hotels.
I prefer staying in the area of Palermo Viejo of Buenos Aires. Because I find it an area with Portenos and the cafes/restaurants/shops are for them, not the tourists. Recoleta and Palermo are a taxi ride or ½ hour walk away if I want to visit those areas.
There is not a cool "Italian" neighborhood in Buenos Aires. There are cool areas of Buenos Aires like Palermo and San Temelo.
Why are you asking about agroturismo or estancia, are you planning to do some horse back riding?
My favorite restaurant for steak is La Cabrera in Palermo. It is popular with the Portenos and tourists. If you do go be warned the steak portion are large and if you aren’t really hungry they can share by two people.
Jfraz - just remembered another website that might point you in the right direction: Welcome Argentina includes pages on argentine wines, and Argentinian Estancias. I was curious enough to do some browsing on both pages - the estancias section includes several in the area of Mendoza (which they identify as in the Cuyo region). The section on wineries identifies all the areas where wines are produced, with a fair amount of information.
Can I come with you? I know this trip is only going to leave me wanting to return...
Judy
Posts: 1578 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
I know that you are a big wine lover. Have you been to the Argentina wine region. If so where.
Hi, I was on a running tour(total 130 miles or so) of Patagonia Christmas of 06. We were mostly in the parks, Torres del Paine, Glacier, Tierra Del Fuego, Fitz roy etc. We also we in Buenos Aires for 3 day during new Years (summer).
Unfortunately we did not make it to the vineyards but we did drink a lot of wine and eat a lot of grass fed beef (all beef in the region is grass fed with no hormones) RR
Okay, I've looked up some Estancia's and they all seem to be quite remote. So they are off our radar. An Apartment in Mendoza seems to be best option.
Another question. We will walk while in BA and rent a car for the Mendoza portion of the trip. Can anyone give me insite into car rental. ie one company better than another, hidden fees, lease options (like autoeurope)?
Originally posted by jfraz: Okay, I've looked up some Estancia's and they all seem to be quite remote. So they are off our radar.
If you do visit Buenos Aires and are still interested in visiting an estancia I can definitly recommend the one I go to when I am in BA, Los dos Hermanos.
I will admit I consider the owners to be friends, but if want some un-bias reviews check out Trip Advisor's Buenos Aires Forum. On the left handside Things to Do. It is consider the #1 thing to do in BA.
I was in Buenos Aires about a week ago. Now, I was really psyched about going since it was on top of my dream destination list for years. To be completely honest though, I was a bit "underwhelmed" at first by the city. I heard so much about how beautiful it is and what an amazing mixture of Latin American and European Architecture one can find in the city, etc. That said, by the end of my stay, I was ready to pack up and move there. Great food and wine, friendly and kind people - it's certainly my favorite Latin American city.
I don't eat meat so my favorite meal was at Dora's. They have an extensive seafood menu and their veggie side dishes were to die for. YUM.
I talked to someone last night who said the best way to travel from BA to Mendoza is via bus. When in Mendoza we will need a car. Has anyone rented a car in Mendoza? Have a favorite company?
I'm new to this forum and I've just discovered your thread. I will try to answer some of your questions.
First of all, there's a huge Italian community in Buenos Aires, but there's not one Italian neighborhood. You will see the Italian influence all over the city, from some of its architecture to its food, pasta and pizza are as traditional in Buenos Aires as is steak. One of our national dishes is called "Milanesa a la Napolitana". It has nothing to do with Italian cuisine, you will have to try it to learn.
As other poster said, one of the best neighborhoods to stay to have a sense of and old style neighborhood is still Palermo Viejo or Palermo Soho, despite it is undergoing a great development these days thanks to increasing tourism.
If you are interested in the wine industry, Mendoza is the most popular destination, you can stay at one of the wineries, some of which also offer grape harvest programs and breathtaking vineyard views. There are also wine routes in other provinces, like Salta, La Rioja or San Juan, which are as beautiful and not so touristy.
Here are some links with information, some of them are only in Spanish so let me know if you need any help:
At this next one, click on Tourist Products and then on the left Active Tourism you will find Rural Tourism, and under Special Interest Tourism you will find Wine Route:
Lastly, travel from Buenos Aires to Mendoza by bus is a good option in terms of budget and comfort, since buses are very good and they have totally reclining seats, but it takes more than 10 hours. Plane is always better, but more expensive. I know people who have rented a car from Avis to travel all the Northern Argentine provinces, and they were very satisfied. They picked up the car at Tucuman airport and dropped it at Jujuy city at the end of the trip without a problem.
I hope this helps you start planning your trip, and if you want more information about the city of Buenos Aires, you will find plenty in my blog below.
but I stayed in a very central hotel, the Ibis Congreso.
