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Argentina travel guide

Buenos Aires: Romance on a Budget

baromanceLong known as the “Paris of South America”, Buenos Aires just oozes sex appeal. The city itself is gorgeous, home to sprawling parks and gardens, European architecture and of course, the sizzling, sultry tango. While it’s not often thought of as such, it’s actually one of the best cheap romantic honeymoon destinations.

Imagine spending your days strolling arm and arm beneath the ornate facades of buildings like the Teatro Colon or wandering through the largest Japanese Garden outside of Japan. Shop for sexy tango shoes in the Palermo neighborhood, or browse antiques at the San Temlo Sunday market. At night, feast on heaping platters of tender beef and glasses of Argentine wine, all for a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere, and then spend your nights tango dancing at a local milonga.

Thanks to a very favorable exchange rate, Argentina is a cheap destination for travelers from North America and Europe. Airfare to Buenos Aires can be on the expensive side (about $800-$1000 from most places in the US) but the savings you’ll experience once you arrive will offset the extra cost of airfare. You’ll find no shortage of cheap hotels in Buenos Aires as well, with even the most lavish, luxurios properties charging less than what you would pay in other parts of the world.

And once you’ve seen the city, there are plenty of places to get away to – taste wine in Mendoza, take a short boat ride to the charming small town of Colonial de Sacremento in Urugauy or head up to Rio de Janeiro to relax on the beach.

Photo by Natalia Romay

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Argentina travel guide

Cafayate – a pleasantly unexpected treasure of Argentina

cafayateCafayate is located in the central zone of the Valles Calchaquíes, at a distance of 1,329 kilometres from Buenos Aires. It is an important center for exploring the Cafayate valleys and the wine making areas. To further add to the appeal of the city, the largest golf course in South America is currently built just outside the city.

Although popular among tourists, Cafayate is definitely one of the South America highlights , especially if you are looking to taste the traditional wines of Argentina. Most wines in Argentina are red but the white wine produced only from the grapes grown in this region will give you a unique taste of the country.

The best way to explore the area is to rent a bike for a day and tour the wineries on your own (of course, skip the bike when you are tipsy, you really don’t need accidents to happen during your vacation, do you?). Keep in mind that summer is the best time to visit the city.

The city is about 3.5 hours south of Salta. Flying into Salta is the easiest way to get so when you look for airfare to Argentina , check the fares directly into Saltra or into the capital and then look for a domestic flight into Salta. It’s not a bad idea to spend several days here exploring the impressive buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cheap hotels in Argentina are not hard to find especially if you visit cities such as Cafayate. It is filled with affordable places to stay and some of them even have a pool. There are many excellent restaurants clustered around the main square. There are luxury hotels in the city as well and they can be an excellent choice for a romantic holiday (prices start at $250 per night and include breakfast daily and champagne upon arrival).

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Argentina travel guide

Learning Spanish in Argentina

Any traveler knows it: if you speak at least a bit of the local language, you can enjoy a country way better than if you are stuck with using only English. Not to mention that you can learn a lot more about the culture and people if you can communicate with them properly.

The Spanish you learned at school helps some but what would you do if you don’t speak any word? No problem, learn it while in Argentina! There are literally hundreds of schools which offer classes. Thanks to so many classes available, the prices are affordable and the quality is high.

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Argentina Featured Articles

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls is one of the most famous and spectacular waterfall in the world. It is located on the Iguazu River, on the border of Brazil and Argentina.

Legend

Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful native girl but she fled with her mortal lover in a canoe. Furious, the god sliced the river, hence creating the waterfall.

How to get to the falls from the Argentine side

The waterfall can be access via two roads, on both sides. If you want to visit it from the Argentine side, the town near Iguazu Falls is Puerto Iguazú, in the province of Misiones. The falls are part of the Iguazú National Park, shared between Argentina and Brazil.

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Argentina Featured Articles

Martial Glacier and other trekking trails

Located really close to Ushuaia, Martial Glacier provides the views of a lifetime. You need a bit of stamina to tackle the hike, but in the end, it’s surely worth it.

How to get to Martial Glacier

Follow the national route 3 about 7 km out of the town of Ushuaia. The road is paved and signaled. Once arrived at the base of the mountain, there’s a ski slope. Take the ski lift up the slope and now you can see the glacier on one side and the Beagle Channel on the other. If you want to get closer to the glacier, you need to hike for another 2 km.

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Argentina Featured Articles

Argentine Tango

The Argentine Tango is a social dance which originated in Argentina and was later adopted in Uruguay and the rest of the world. Many people confuse the Argentine Tango with Ballroom Tango.

Origin and history

The beginnings of Argentine Tango can be traced to the working class port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. For this reason, tango is also referred to as the music of the immigrants to Argentina. One of the most popular “origin stories” has it that tango came from the Niger Congo languages of Africa.

The dance itself derives from the Spanish habanera, the Uruguayan milonga and candombe and also contains elements from the African dances practiced by the community in Buenos Aires. The music is a fusion of styles from Europe.