Hotel Crillon Mendoza

It's a BIG country

by TheWanderingCamel

Distances in Argentina are huge and, unless you have plenty of time, getting around in any other than flying is neither feasible or practical. If you're planning to see the great attractions of the country and you have only two or three weeks at your disposal, you really don't want to be spending hours, let alone days, on a bus - and don't even think about trains. Buenos Aires to El Calafate in the far south is a hop short of 3000 kilometres, the Iguazu Falls are 1500km north of the capital, and Mendoza's vineyards are 1200km west.

Aerolineas Argentinas is the national carrier and services most of the major cities around the country. If you are travelling independently, be aware that flights will be full of pre-booked tour groups, large and small, so make your bookings well in advance. The airline is notoriously unreliable about punctuality, but they will get you there, just be prepared to get to know the airports well and carry a good book.

Their policy of a two-tier fare system means non-Argentinians pay a premium on fares and - to add insult to injury - you'll pay more if you haven't flown into Argentina with AA as well. You really need to do your homework on these fares - or make sure your travel agent does, the difference can be hundreds of dollars. I don't know what fares we actually paid as our ticket was all-inclusive of flights (BA - El Calafate - Bariloche - Iguazu - BA - Mendoza), hotels and tours but the overall cost seemed pretty good value so they obviously did the right thing by us.

LAN have entered the domestic market in Argentina and the recent introduction of a oneworld alliiance South American airpass has made LAN flights around South America somewhat cheaper and covers all the cities we visited but you must purchase the pass BEFORE your departure for South America and you must fly to and from the continent with a oneworld carrier.