Here is a day-by-day itinerary for Argentina! Once again, I wasn't on this particular trip, but this itinerary is coming from much trusted sources. Enjoy!
Buenos Aires
Where to Stay:
- San Telmo area is a hipster, artsy, bo-ho area with reasonable prices for restaurants and accommodations.
- Recoleta is more modern, European-like, and as a result, more expensive but still very reasonable.
- Avoid La Boca
- This is a good site with a description of different neighbourhoods around the city and places to visit in each.
What to Do:
Day 1: Buenos Aires (Explore Retiro)
Tip: It is recommended to spend at least 3 days to see Buenos Aires properly, without rushing.- Head to Calle Florida to check out the shops at Galerias Pacifico and have a snack at Il Gran Caffe. Wander down to Plaza de Mayo and take a look at historic sites such as the Cabildo, Buenos Aires's original city hall, the Catedral Metropolitana, and the Cassa Rosada, with Avita's famous balcony. This is part of the City Tour indicated below.
- El Ateneo - largest book store (used to be a theatre).
- City Centre Tour - starts at 3pm. Recommend to learn more about various sights and historical events in the city over a number of decades.
- Casa Rosada - opens up for free guided tours, which must be reserved in advance. Tours in English are offered on Saturday at 12:30 pm. Here you'll have a chance to step out onto the same balcony where Evita addressed the crowds of her adoring fans.
- For the evening, have dinner in San Telmo and head out to one of the clubs in the late evening.
- Milonga: definitely recommend to go to one. They typically offer a lesson - no experience required.
- This place is fantastic, super authentic and has great ambiance but there are many in the city to choose from. Check them out here.
- Check out this site for a good 4-day plan.
Day 2: Buenos Aires (Explore San Telmo)
- If you end up going to a club the night before, this may be a slightly late start to the day. Nonetheless, start with Plaza Dorrego (known for the free tango performances, which begin around 3 pm).
- Feria De San Telmo Market is one of the most enjoyable highlights of Buenos Aires. You can buy small antiques and souvenirs. It is open from 10 am. to 5 pm. The San Telmo Market is open every day. It has great coffee, fruits and different food stands. Check out Coffee Town for really good coffee.
- For Lunch (or Dinner), depending on your schedule that day, head to La Brigada. It is known for very tender steak. A lighter option that the ladies did not get a chance to try, but that was recommended is Mercadito Latino Bar Comedor.
Tip: Keep an eye out on your pockets and bags as you watch the tango performances.
Day 3: Buenos Aires (Tour Day!)
- Free Recoleta Tour starts at 10:30 am. every day. No need to book. The Tour begins at Teatro Colon
- There is also a free City Center Tour that starts at 3 pm. every day (if you didn't get a chance to get this done on Day 1). Don't need to book in advance. The tour begins at the National Congress and lasts for about 3 hours
Tip: You can break these tours into several days if you can't fit all of them in one day.
- Floralis Generica - this is a huge metal flower that opens up its petals every morning at sunrise and closes during sunset.
- Explore Palermo - has many bars, shops and cafes.
- Tango Performance - book a ticket in advance (also available on the day of) for the evening tango show at Bar Sur. This is an intimate bar in San Telmo. It is recommended to have dinner somewhere else beforehand.
Day 4: Buenos Aires (La Boca and the rest)
Tip: This is the day that can probably be combined with another day to fit Buenos Aires in 3 days.
- It is recommended to explore this part of the city during the day only! Don't let this stop you. It has postcard-like views of colourful houses, cobbled streets and art.
- Have a drink at a speakeasy.
- Close to Ricoleta or Retiro, try Milion or Floreria Atlantico.
- For a great photo-shoot, go to Edificio Barolo, Galeria Guemes or Hotel Panoramico.
Where to Eat:
Other places to try are shown below. The ladies did not get to try all of these places, but it's a good list to have.
- El Banco Rojo - try empanadas
- Bars in San Telmo
- Pizzeria Guerrin
- Confiteria La Pasta Frola - have the cannoli
- La Cabrera Steakhouse - reservations required
- Siga La Vaca - an all-you-can-eat grill
- Cafe Tortoni - one of the most historic and scenic cafes. Try the coffee and croissants
- Don Julio - great steak, reservation recommended. Should arrive before 8 pm. without reservation. Try bife de chorizo and bife de lomo
- Eat as much gelato as possible. Try Rapanui.
Puerto Iguazu
Where to Stay:
- Stay at this Airbnb apartment, run by a family - Reflejos de Luna Llena. It has a kitchen, multiple rooms, beautiful premises and a pool. A pick-up from the airport can also be arranged for a good price and no hassle. You can use the same service to get you to Iguazu Park (drop-off and pick-up).
What to Do:
Day 5: Buenos Aires --> Puerto Iguazu
- Depending on when you land and get settled, you can have the evening to relax and explore the town.
- There are great restaurants as you walk down the main street (Avenue Misiones) towards the central area where seven streets meet. Along the way you'll find restaurants, ranging from low-key empanada bakeries (Empanaderia Cataratas Del Iguazu) to relaxed Mexican restaurants with good drinks and vibes (Tacopado Comida Mexicana), to more upscale and interactive spots where you can help cook your own meal (The Argentine Experience).
- If you have extra 30 minutes, you can drive or bike to the "Three Flags Monument" and stroll around a small park which is right on the border of where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet.
Day 6: Iguazu National Park (best on a sunny day)
- The national park is open from 8 am. to 6 pm. Last admission is at 4 pm.
- It costs $20 dollars/day (Canadian). If you want to come back, get the ticket stamped on the first day to get 50% off on day two.
- Upper Trail - 1 hour.
- Lower Trail - 1.5 hours, has better viewpoints and lookouts.
- Devil's Throat Garganta del Diablo - 2 hours. The tram leaves every thirty minutes from designated points throughout the park and takes you to a walkway to reach the famous viewing platform. Take a waterproof jacket with you on a windy day.
- Stop at the visitor's centre to get information and free maps. They also offer safari's and boat trips.
- Look for an area called Green Path. It is from this area that it is possible to reach the Upper and Lower trails on foot. There is a train that takes you to either trail and the first train departs at 8:30 am. The last train departs at 4:00 pm. in the spring and summer and at 3:00 pm. in the fall and winter. When you reach the Upper train station, you can take the Devil's Throat train, which departs every 30 minutes.
- Taking a boat ride to the falls, however, is a MUST! The hotel can help you organize this tour. It's not recommended to book too far in advance so you can have flexibility depending on weather.
Day 7: Iguazu National Park - Brazilian Side
- To see the falls from the Brazilian side is definitely a great experience. You will get a panoramic view of the falls from a higher vantage point than from the Argentinian side and you get to walk along a viewing platform at the bottom, which is the epicenter of the falls. You will see the falls cascading from above and flowing underneath and away from you. You really get to experience the falls here because you are surrounded from every angle.
- Jungle Mission Trek - you can zip-line and rappel you way around the Selva Misionera forest outside of Puerto Iguazu (4 hour tour). You get a great view of the rain-forest with all the fauna and flora. The best part was rappelling down the waterfall. It is an option but costs $70 dollars. You only get to rappel down one waterfall. There are more thrilling rappelling tours available where it's a full day of rappelling down multiple waterfalls!
- You can read more about the Iguazu Eco-Tour here.
Tip: To read more about Iguazu, check out these two sites: here and here. Note that the hikes and the overall waterfall views are better from the Argentinian side. In addition a visa is required to enter Brazil, but you can talk to your hotel and they will try to help and arrange for you to enter Brazil for the day without any problems.
Salta Region
Where to Stay:
- Stay at Econhotel Salta. It is very central and walking distance to everything.
What to Do:
Tip: The main reason to come to Salta is to explore the stunning scenery of the landscape in the region which ranges from tropical rain-forest, salt plains and the Andes mountains with different fauna and flora at various levels of elevation.
Day 8-10: Salta Region
- Here you get a chance to see the Andes Mountains. You can easily spend 3 days here. Day tours are recommended, but best to book in advance as most tours are small (~16 people).
- Full-Day Tour to Cafayate (with wine) - it looks like a popular one as there was a 50-person group.
- Full-Day Tour to Salinas Grandes and Purmamarca and San Antonio - Excellent tour.
- Full-Day Tour to Cachi and Los Cardones National Park - Excellent tour.
Tip: Book through Viator in advance. Unless you are staying outside of the city, they pick you up from the hotel in the morning. Bring snacks with you and small lunches on the all-day trips as food is only available in the larger towns. For more information on the Salta Region, check out these two sites: here and here.
- Other items to do and see (how you split them among the three days is up to you:
- Explore the town, see Iglesia San Francisco, cathedral Basilica de Salta and Convento de San Bernardo.
- There are three noteworthy museums (if the weather isn't cooperating).
- Cerro San Bernardo is a mountain with a great view of Salta (cable car or hiking up options are available and takes about 45 minutes). It is better to go up in the morning to see the sunrise or in late afternoon for sunset. Make sure there is enough time to take the cable car down after sunset because it is not safe to walk down after it gets dark.
- See Pena in the evening, which is a traditional folk-dance unique to the region. There are many options along Balcarce street and you can get a taste of a typical Argentinian barbecue.
Where to Eat:
- Wherever you go, eat Empanadas. They are different in every region and are fairly filling!
- There is a restaurant called New Time, which is open all day (in case you do get hungry during those siesta hours).
- There are many gelato shops, a result of the Italian influence. A great gelato spot is Dulce Encanto.
- El Charrua is an amazing steakhouse in Salta. Try Salta beer as well.
Cordoba
- Cordoba is a fairly central city. A few of the girls loved it, some did not recommend it. Many people go to Mendoza for wine tasting and having visited Cordoba, Mendoza may have been a better choice.
Where to Stay:
- Cordoba is very walk-able. As long as you are staying in the centre, you will be able to get to any of the key attractions. Staying close to Mercado Sud is convenient as you can conveniently take a bus to any of the smaller surrounding towns.
What to Do:
Day 11-13
- It is a university city (with one of South America's oldest universities), the nightlife scene is busy and starts around 11 pm.
- Free walking tour.
- The Tour of the Good Shepherd - an old prison remodeled into a cultural centre with bars, shops and restaurants.
- Paseo de las Artes (on weekends).
- Iglesia de Los Capuchinos - church.
- Teatro del Libertador General San Martin - theatre (check out the interior).
- The Patio Olmos - shopping mall.
- Guemes is a bohemian neighbourhood with boutiques, bars/patios, restaurants and music.
- Day Trips:
- Villa General Belgrano - mini Germany.
- Villa Carlos Paz - scenic town for swimming, kayaking, sailing or windsurfing, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking. Take a chairlift to El Cerro de la Cruz for views of the lake.
- La Cumbre is Argentina's skydiving, hang gliding and paragliding capital. Horseback riding is also available.
- Capilla del Monte - many tourists come here for the "energy centres". There have been UFO sightings here. Cerro Uritorco is the supposed heart of the region's paranormal activity.
Where to Eat:
- Try the national drink called Fernet & Coke.
- Alfajores - this is a cookie/cake with a creamy/milky/caramel centre.
- Once again, great empanadas at Lo De Jacinto.
- La Zete Comida Arabe - great middle eastern cuisine, tapas style and generous portions.
- In Villa Carlos Paz, grab a coffee and a snack on the river enjoying the peaceful view at El Bajo.