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jackieo1309
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Montevideo/Buenos Aires
in Travel
DH and I are going to Montevideo in January for our anniversary and are hoping to spend a day or two in Colonia and a few days in Buenos Aires. Has anyone taken the ferry to B.A.? Or the bus/ferry? It doesn't look like there are any visa requirements from the state dept website but did you encounter any problems entering Argentina from Uruguay? Any recs for places to stay or things to do in those three places? Clearly I haven't done much actual planning yet! Thanks!
Re: Montevideo/Buenos Aires
I have not been to Montevideo, but I have been to BA and we did a day trip to Colonia. We were going the other way, but at the time we didn't have any problems or need a visa. This was several years ago, though, so it could have changed. We took the ferry and it was easy.
I loved BA and there is a ton to do. Colonia is very cute, but there isn't tons to do there. I wouldn't plan on more than a day there.
Sounds like a great trip!
On a U.S. tourist passport, you do not need a visa to enter Argentina (regardless of where you are entering from). Argentina has instituted a $140 entrance fee for Americans, but the last I heard, you only had to pay it at Ezeiza international airport, so you should be fine. I've never taken the buqeubus (ferry) myself, but a number of my colleagues have, and they found it to be pretty easy. If you're short on time, you could also take a quick flight over to Argentina's domestic airport, Jorge Newbury, which is in downtown B.A.
I would make your reservations pretty soon. January is one of the summer holiday months for Argentina and Uruguay, so a lot of people from those countries will be traveling domestically and in the region, especially to the Uruguayan beaches.
It's been a long time since I was in Montevideo (2004) but I've been to Buenos Aires quite a bit. For hotels, I like the Marriott or Hotel Emperador (the Sofitel is very nice, if your budget is on the higher end), which are close to Avenida Florida but a decent walk to Recoleta. My in-laws have stayed at Loi Suites in Recoleta and liked it. For restaurants, I'd recommend Mirasol or Cabana Las Lilas, but you won't go wrong with most of the restaurants in Puerto Madero. I'm happy to send you my more detailed list of recommendations if you'd like (it's pretty long to paste here) - feel free to email me at jenn248 at gmail.
Baby248 - ETA 1/10/13
We went in August (winter) so my experience may differ, but while I loved Colonia I found it really sleepy outside of the really touristy spots. Unless I just really wanted to relax and chill for a few days, I would probably only spend one night there. We wandered around for like 5 hours and felt it was enough. We took the ferry over from BA - no visa required but obviously you need your passport. We also wished we would have brought our drivers license to rent a scooter for the day.
BA - we did an awesome cooking class where we learned to make empanadas (cooking with Teresita), and spent a day horseback riding and gorging on meat with gauchos (estancia los dos hermans) both of which I highly recommend.
Have pizza at Guerrin, empanadas at Cumana, go tango dancing at a milonga, hit the San Telmo market, do lots of shopping, wander around Recoleta, visit the Japanese garden, wander La Boca. We basically picked one or two neighborhoods a day and tackled the city that way. We went in 2008 so prizes have definitely risen, but we ate and drank very well on $30-$50 per day for two ppl.
We just came from BA and Colonia, and pretty much everything above stated remains current.
Buenos Aires is really fun, and we liked Montevideo a lot too. I think 3 days is probably enough in Montevideo, and I'd then spend 3 or 4 days (or more!) in BsAs. You could do a day in Colonia in between, but as PP said, I wouldn't do more than that.
I think they're now charging the reciprocity fee at AEP airport as well, but I'm not sure whether they charge it at the Buquebus boat terminal.
We liked the Hotel Moreno in BsAs and got a great rate by booking in advance ($90/night). In Palermo, Home Hotel is supposed to be great. I have blog post on Montevideo in 2009 (http://www.emilyinchile.com/tag/montevideo/) and Buenos Aires in May (http://www.emilyinchile.com/tag/buenos-aires/) which will hopefully be useful in terms of figuring out what to do. Have fun!
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Hi Rock! I've been so busy at work and can't nest there so I haven't been on much. I check the Boston board every once in a while but I hate to post and run at 9 PM so I haven't posted in a while- I'm trying to get back on more often though! Hope everything's going well with you!
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Cabana Las Lilas is fine, but all the restaurants in Puerto Madero tend to be more expensive than restaurants in other parts of the city, and I would argue that actually a lot of them aren't as good as the rest of BsAs because I felt they catered more to tourists. If you really just want good steak, try both La Brigada (in San Telmo) and La Cabrera in Pallermo Viejo. Order the lomo. Incredible.
Cabana Las Lilas is fine, but all the restaurants in Puerto Madero tend to be more expensive than restaurants in other parts of the city, and I would argue that actually a lot of them aren't as good as the rest of BsAs because I felt they catered more to tourists. If you really just want good steak, try both La Brigada (in San Telmo) and La Cabrera in Palermo Viejo. Order the lomo. Incredible.
I agree that Puerto Madero's restaurants not only are more expensive, they're almost pedestrian in that they're very what you'd expect from restaurants in a tourist spot. Put it this way, there was a TGIF as a choice. And with such great choices in the many neighbourhoods, I wouldn't go there as an option. We stayed at Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood, mostly because that's where our condo was located, and we never ran out of options.
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You'd be in good company, there are a handful of people in the same boat as you and I know we still enjoy seeing their posts.
Glad you're well and hope you have a great vacation!