Salta Warnings Or Dangers

• All the tours and activities included in Active Tourism or Alternative Tourism within the province of Salta are strictly regulated and controlled by the Secretary of Tourism of the Province and by ADOPTAS ( “Asociación de Operadores y Prestadores de Turismo Alternativo de Salta” – Association of Alternative Tourism Operators and Agencies of Salta).

• Some of the activities included in Active Tourism or Alternative Tourism which were offered may require a previous medical examination or physical training. Before engaging any of our services you should ask a responsible operator about the physical requirements and see your doctor in order to carry out the correspondent examination.

• If you wish to perform any of these activities, ask about the equipment or clothing needed for such activity.

- REMEMBER FOR YOUR SAFETY
- ONLY MAKE THIS ACTIVITIES WHITH LEGALLY AUTHORIZED OPERATORS OR TRAVEL AGENCY -
- Taxi drivers or funny people for your hotel are not authorized to make a tour or activities with you.

The wife and I were in Salta for three days. We walked all around the downtown area. Also took tours and taxis. We had no problems anywhere. No one put their hands in our pockets. Even in the bus station at midnight, we were comfortable with the situation. We liked both the city and most of the people that we met in it.
That said, we did run into at least one very pushy begger. Just say, "No!" and mean it.
There were more beggers on the streets than we saw in Chile.
We also encountered children (both shoeshine boys and beggers) who could turn on the water works at the drop of a hat. Might sound difficult to tell a crying kid to 'get lost', but it got to be easy.
One slight problem you should be aware of is the lack of change available at some stores, taxis, etc. Several times we waited while someone had to go in seach of the proper change. At our hotel, the deskman hit the street accosting various people for change. To compound the problem, every ATM dispensed nothing but 100 peso notes. I seldom had the guts to drop 100P bill in any store. Always pay with the largest bill you feel comfortable with and hoard those small bills. On one occasion, we hit the ATM at a smaller bank and then went and stood in a long line at the counter. The understanding bank clerk converted 300 pesos into a stack of smaller bills that we could use.
There are many good restaurants in Salta. Our only complaint would be with Viejo Jack. Our Lonely Planet mentioned it, so we gave it a try. The food and beer were good, but the service was lousy. Our waiter made it obvious that he would rather serve the locals than a couple of foreigners (that would be us). If he was having a bout with PMS, he should have had the class to keep it to himself.