Travel Guides: All Countries / South America / Argentina
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| | | New World wonder |  | Why go on holiday to Argentina?
The eighth-largest country in the world, Argentina combines natural wonders with a neo-European culture.
Europeans and North Americans can feel at ease and travel relatively inconspicuously. Brits, though, would do well not to mention the Falkland Islands, as ownership of the islands the Argentines call the Malvinas is still hotly disputed.
How much does it cost?
Touring package of 16 nights, taking in Buenos Aires, Patagonia, Peninsula Valdes, Tierra del Fuego and Santiago is around £3,000. Return flight London to Buenos Aires is generally around £700. Moderate hotel from £30 a night. Season and quality of hotels will affect the price.
When should I go?
Buenos Aires is worth visiting year-round, while Patagonia is best seen in the summer months, and subtropical Misiones province best in the southern hemisphere's winter, when heat and humidity is less oppressive. Skiing is also possible in winter.
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| | | Country of contrasts | | What should I do when I'm there?
There are lots of possibilities - partly because Argentina is so varied geographically.
Argentina falls into four distinct regions. The Andes, to the west has arid basins, foothills, glacial mountains and the Lake District.
The fertile lowland north has subtropical rainforests; the central Pampas has flatlands, a mix of humid and dry expanses and the pastoral steppes; and there's the glacial regions of Patagonia.
Other than the capital, Buenos Aires, the main towns are Rosario, Cordoba, Tucuman, Mendoza, and Bahia Blanca.
Sport is extremely important to the Argentinians, and football is more of a national obsession than a game.
What clothes should I pack?
Argentina starts off cold in the temperate south and gets hotter as you go north. It's humid and steamy in the centre and subtropical in the north.
Be prepared for anything in the Andes: erratic rainfall, flash floods, searing heat, snow or the Zonda, a hot dry wind.
In the lowlands the winter dry season is pronounced and the summer heat can be brutal. Patagonia is mild year-round in the east and glacial in the south.
What wildlife can I expect to see?
Bring your binoculars! Twenty-two national parks preserve large areas of these environments and their wildlife, much of it unique.
Species include the caiman, puma, guanaco (a lowland relative of the upper-Andean llama), the ostrich-like rhea, Andean condor, flamingo, marine animals and unusual seabirds such as Magellanic penguins. Virgin rainforests are also protected.
What's Buenos Aires like?
Buenos Aires has been described as being rather like Paris. It has a beguiling, faded elegance reminiscent of European cities where sophistication jostles with hardship. The European influence permeates its art, music and architecture.
Where should I go next?
Take your pick! Cordoba is the second city and has long rivalled Buenos Aires for political, economic and cultural supremacy, while Mar del Plata on the northern Atlantic coast is the beach resort of choice.
Iguazu Falls formed the spectacular background to the film The Mission, and Patagonia is the place for nature lovers with glacier-dotted mountains, unique coastal wildlife and Andean national parks.
Tierra del Fuego, the island territory half shared with Chile, is Argentina's only coastal national park, with rivers, lakes, forests and glaciers offering great trekking and wildlife spotting.
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| | | Terrific for tango | | Where's good for nightlife?
Argentina sparked the imagination of romantics everywhere with the dance and music of the tango. You can see it for free on alternate Saturday nights in summer in Buenos Aires' Plaza Dorrego.
Drinking in dance clubs tends to be expensive, so it's wise to check prices before you land yourself with a whopping bill.
What's the food like?
Veggies watch out! This is cattle country, which means beef - and plenty of it. Mixed grills (parrillada) carve up every possible part of the animal: tripe, intestines, udders.
Unless you're in Buenos Aires, where there are several veggie restaurants, vegetarians will have to make do on a diet of Italian gnocchi (noquis) and delicious ice-cream (helado).
Be flattered if you are offered mate, Paraguayan tea, which is a special expression of acceptance. It is elaborately prepared and drunk from a shared gourd.
What should I buy?
Leather jackets, handbags, and shoes, handicrafts and jewellery (lots of 18-carat gold). Ponchos from the province of Salta, woollen goods from Bariloche. Also popular is the paraphernalia used for the traditional drink, mate - gourds and the like.
What is there for children to do?
Argentinians love children, so they'll never be short of attention. There's a good selection of cultural activities for youngsters in Buenos Aires.
Tourist office
Argentine Embassy, Tourism Section, 65 Brook Street, London W1K 4AH. Tel. 020 7318 1300.
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| | Available rental properties in Argentina |
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| |  | | Renovated & Sleekly Designed Studio in Recoleta
• Studio with attached kitchen, bathroom
• 310 square feet / 29 square meters
|  | | Luxury Studio, Azcuenaga & Vicente López
• Studio with attached kitchen, bathroom, terrace
• 380 square feet / 35 square meters
|  | | Villa Viamonte
Villa Viamonte is a classic Argentine house located in Chacras de Coria, Mendoza. Enjoy the large pool, beautiful grounds, and spacious villa in the heart of wine country.
|  | | Avenida Corrientes
Apartment of 2 main room furnished and equipped for 4 persons, very bright and wide. With clothes of bed, set of dishes , tv for cable, music, heat
|  | | CUATRO HOJAS COUNTRY CLUB
4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. 3 minutes Golf of Villa Allende - 4 minutes Angel Cabrera & Eduardo Romero Golf Academy
| | Click here for more properties... |
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