Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
42
RECOMMENDED BUENOS AIRES-
BASED OPERATORS
Even if you have
arranged things at home, once y ou're in
Buenos Aires, there are always last-minute
changes or ne w things y ou would like to
see. The following companies are all excel-
lent and have English-speaking staff mem-
bers. All can also pr ovide trips to other
cities in Argentina outside of B
many other par ts of S outh America.
Within the U.S., they ar e r epresented
by G ina H eilpern, who maintains an
office in New York. She can be reached
at
&
718/857-5567.
ORGANIZED AD VENTURE TRIPS
The advantages of traveling with an orga-
nized gr oup ar e plentiful, especially for
travelers who hav
uenos
e limited time and
Aires, as well as South America.
•
Say Hueque Tourism,
Viamonte 749,
Office 601, 1053 Buenos Aires (
&
11/
5199-2517;
www.sayhueque.com), is a
highly r ecommended small company
with kno wledgeable, friendly ser vice
and attention to personaliz ed client
care. The company began by catering to
the y oung and adv enturous on a bud-
get, but has begun to deal with a mor e
upscale yet independent-thinking clien-
tele. Various tour themes include Liter-
ary Buenos Aires, Biking Buenos Aires,
and Tango Buenos Aires, among many
others. They also offer adv enture tours
within the vicinity of Buenos Aires such
as to the Tigre Delta. Outside of B ue-
nos Air es, they specializ e in P atagonia
and Iguazú, finding special out-of-the-
way places for their clients. B ased on
their very personal service, this is among
my fav orite of the operators within
Buenos Aires.
•
Euro Tur,
Viamonte 486, 1053 Buenos
Aires (
&
11/4312-6077;
www.eurotur.
com), is one of the largest and oldest
travel companies in Argentina, special-
izing in inbound trav el, but they can
also help walk-ins to accommodate
resources. Tour operators take the head-
ache out of planning a trip , and they ir on
out the wrinkles that inv ariably pop up
along the way . M any tours ar e organiz ed
to include guides, transpor tation, accom-
modations, meals, and gear (some outfits
will even carry gear for y ou, for example,
on trekking adventures).
•
Abercrombie & K ent,
1520 K ensing-
ton Rd., Oak Brook, IL 60521 (
&
800/
323-7308;
www.abercrombiekent.com),
is a luxur y tour operator that offers
“Patagonia: A L uxury A dventure,” a
16-day trip that heads fr om B uenos
Aires to U shuaia for a 3-day cr uise
around Tierra del F uego, follo wed b y
visits to Torres del P aine par k, P uerto
Varas, and B ariloche. Cost is $12,695
per person, double occupancy.
•
Mountain-Travel S obek,
6420 F air-
mount A ve., E l Cerrito, CA 94530
(
&
888/MTSOBEK
[6876235] or
3
510/527-8100; fax 510/525-7718;
www.mtsobek.com), are the pioneers of
organized adv enture trav el, and they
offer trips that inv olve a lot of physical
activity. O ne of their mor e gung-ho
journeys trav erses par t of the P atago-
nian Ice Cap in F itzroy National Park
for 21 days; a mor e moderate “Patago-
nia Explorer” mixes hiking with cr uis-
ing. P rices star t at $6,495 per person.
Sobek always comes r ecommended for
their excellent guides.
•
Backroads A ctive Vacations,
801
Cedar S t., B erkeley, CA 94710-1800
(
&
800/GO-ACTIVE
[462-2848] or
510/527-1555; www .backroads.com),
travelers' needs directly while in Buenos
Aires. They can arrange basic city tours
to trips of all kinds thr oughout Argen-
tina and South America.
•
Les Amis,
M aipú 1270, 1005 B uenos
Aires (
&
11/4314-0500;
www.lesamis.
com.ar), is another large Argentine tour
company, with offices throughout Buenos
Aires and Argentina. They can arrange
trips for B uenos Air es, Argentina, and
