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Help with So.America Itinerary


kathynorth
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Hello Everyone, I'm hoping you can help me figure out what to book for excursions on my upcoming So. America cruise. I've read most of what's been posted on these boards, my roll call and the excursion options for my cruise, but I'm very confused since several of the ports seem similar. We are a group of 3 who would like to know "what not to miss" at each of the below ports. We like to experience a mix of history, geology, and wild life. We definitely want to see penguins and prefer reliable private tours over ship tours. Does anyone know which of these ports are the best place to view penguins?

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina- overnight

Punta del Este, Uruguay 10am-6pm

Puerto Madryn, Argentina 8am-6pm

Ushuaia, Argentina 8am-8pm

Punta Arenas, Chili 8am-8pm

Montevideo, Uruguay 8am-4:30pm

 

 

I appreciate any suggestions you can provide.

 

 

Thank you, Kathy

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I am assuming this will be your first time at these ports. I think the best place to see penguins is at the Falkland Islands but it looks like you are not going there. We took a private tour at Puerto Madryn to the Valdez Penn. Did not see many penguins there. We saw a few while on top of this cliff looking down. Could barely see them. But our ship offered a tour to Punta Tombo. There are suppose to be tons of them there. Never been there. I have read the down side of going there is a long bus ride RT. In Punta Arenas you can take a ferry or speed boat to an island and see Penguins. We were going to do this but the weather was really bad so we cancelled. My best bet for penguins is Punta Tombo with Plan B Punta Arenas.

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina- overnight. Big problem here IMHO BA is one of the great cities of the world. You can't come close to seeing it is a day or day and half. I would take a full day organized tour from a professional. You could do some of it yourself but you would waste valuable time waiting for transportation, waiting in lines and in my case getting lost. Be sure to see the cemetery, Plaza Mayo, Casa Rosada, the grave of San Martin inside the cathedral, where Pope Francis used to live, San Telmo, Calle Florida,and Porto Madero Most tours include these places. See if you can find at least one coffee cafe. Cafe Tortoni is really touristy but fun. Most organized tours include these places. At night go to a tango show. There are several. Your ship should have a one excursion to a dance show. Go at night with a dinner (the food is OK not great but you save time that way. Time will your enemy in BA for such a short stay.) Some other places that may not be included on a tour is the opera house and the Eva Peron Museum (my favorite). By taking an small organized tour you will be insured to see the highlights in a small time frame. I would not bother with the Tigre River cruise with such short time.

 

 

Punta del Este, Uruguay 10am-6pm. Never been here

Puerto Madryn, Argentina 8am-6pm. Punta Tombe for Penguins or Valdez Penn. for more varied animal experience. At Valdez Penn it is a long day. Most of it is traveling over a dirt road to the ocean. It takes a while in that the driver stops at every animal for pictures. Lot of animals. It is known for whale watching. When we were there there was no whales. Wrong time of year. Also most of the penguins had already migrated.

 

 

Ushuaia, Argentina 8am-8pm. The end of the world tour is pretty good. Very scenic. They take you to where the PAN AM Highway ends. Usually there may be a couple of easy hikes on this tour to see nature. There is a small museum at the end of the world next to a place to eat. I really like this port. Me I would not bother to take the Beagle Cruise. I have seen sea lions and seals before. The scenery is top notch here. We were on a Princess ship sailing west to Chile when we almost had a disaster. It was about 30 minutes after leaving I heard just by accident the naturalist talking on the loud speaker that wasn't so loud. I went to our cabin to find out what was going on. Then we saw all these waterfalls and glaciers. Princess forgot to mention that. It was one of the highlights of the cruise and we almost missed it.

 

 

Punta Arenas, Chili 8am-8pm. Nice town We just walked around. They have a plaza where they sell handmade goods (or China??). It was bad weather so we did not take the ferry to see penguins.

 

 

Montevideo, Uruguay 8am-4:30pm. We coud have done this on our own but I got lazy and took a ship city tour. It was OK. The plaza area was shut down because of security - they just elected a new president and there were events there. There is soccer museum in the stadium. I am not into soccer. But the capital building is definitely worth a look. There is a market near where the ship docks that has some great steak places. It bit over priced but convenient

The best thing I can tell is if you figure out a way to stay longer in BA do it. Even better if can stay even longer and visit the Iguazu Falls.

Have a great trip.

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Paul, I really appreciate your detailed response! This is our first time for any of these ports.

 

We'll probably arrive in Buenos Aires at least 1 night early, possibly 2 if we can get the time off from work. I've been researching Iguazu Falls, but this side trip is somewhat pricey for 3 of us and can only be done if we're able to add a couple of days to the front of our trip. I think we'll book a tour that includes as much of what you listed, then try to stop at a couple of the leftover locations the morning we sail out of BA. A Tango show sounds like fun!

 

Seems like Punta Tombe is our best bet for the penguins. Thank you for the heads up regarding the cruising as we leave Ushuaia. This may be a good night to skip the dining room in favor of the buffet or room service so we can watch the scenery unfold from our balcony. Do you happen to recall if the waterfalls were on the port or starboard side of the ship?

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Personally, I would suggest that if at all possible do the trip to the Falls. You will not be sorry - it is worth every cent. Make sure you do both the Argentina side and also the Brazil side - both are spectacular in their own way. We did it at the end of our cruise which finished in Rio. We flew to the Falls from Rio then returned to Buenos Aires.

 

I would also do the Ferry ride to Magdalena Island where you will see literally thousands of penguins with most of them waddling right up to you. Magdalena Island is done from Punta Arenas in Chile.

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Thanks for the suggestions joybook! I just checked Aerolineas for our dates and they show with a $172 rate roundtrip from BA to Iguazu. That's not bad if we put together our own trip. I was seeing tour rates at over $1,000pp, which seemed crazy expensive to me. Did you overnight at Iguazu in order to see both sides? An excursion to Magdalena Island would be awesome. Did you use a private company to go there?

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If you look on this site for reviews of Montevideo and Punta del Este you will see some ideas. In Mvd the ships dock right downtown and you can easily walk about and see quite a bit if you don't want to bother with a tour. There are also a number of bus tours from both ports you can take.

In Punta del Este you will need some kind of transport or tour to see anything much. The main attractions are the a bit spread out - Casapueblo,los dedos sculpture on the Brava beach and the Ralli art gallery are the main things I think. They do have walking tours you can join from near los dedos.

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Both of us are retired so we don't have the work issue. I had planned to arrive a day or two early in BA. Then board the Golden Princess. But the more I looked into it the more I saw that we needed more time. So I changed our flight to add a couple more days in BA. I was lucky in that I booked with Princess EZ Air which allows you to change dates for free up to a certain date. Then my wife said we are going both the falls for sure .. end of debate!! I am so glad she did. So I added a few more days to our flight for a second time for free. I did not want to deal with it anymore in that I had already booked a hotel and a flight that I changed twice, so I contacted a Argentine travel agent. I told him what I wanted and how much we wanted to pay. He did a great job arranging. the falls and adding a few things in BA like hotel transfers, a city tour, a tango show and a tour to a real milonga (another highlight). At the falls he got us a three star hotel which was really nice. The hotel and food at the falls was cheaper than staying in BA. The expense is the flight.

 

But it was so worth it! I have never seen anything like it. And I have seen Niagara and Yosemite. This was special especially if you take the boat ride into the falls.

 

Maybe next time.

 

Another option instead of or in addition to a tango show is a tour of a real Milonga which our agent was able to set up. It was with two professional tango dancers. They picked us a little after 11:00 PM and brought us back after 2:00 AM. They took us to a real neighborhood milonga where we saw the locals tango. I could not believe the quality dancing. It was worth every penny.

 

When I worked I used to find travel time by combing weekends with my PTO's. I am so glad I don't have to do that any more.

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When we did the Falls it was at the end of our cruise on the Golden Princess (LA to Rio) a year or so ago. This was an add-on and was not a Princess excursion but something we organised before we left home. Yes we overnighted, staying in the township of Iguazu (hotel was OK but not the greatest I have ever stayed in). We did the Argentinian side the first day then the Brazil side the following day. Both sides are must sees in my opinion.

 

The ferry excursion to Magdalena Island was a Princess excursion. We were a little too conservative to do it outside of Princess.

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Seeing Iguazu Falls is well worth the effort, time and cost. We were on a cruise that ended in Rio in January 2017 and considered a Princess cruise tour but it was very expensive. I made similar arrangements for 4 people for less than half the price Princess charged.

 

We spent 2 days and nights in Rio and our last 2 days and nights in Brazil at Iguazu Falls staying on the Brazilian side. We took the Latam flight to Iguazu departing at 10:50 am and arriving at 1 pm. We checked into our hotel (San Juan Eco, 4.5*, lovely grounds, free and excellent breakfast and an inexpensive - and delicious - buffet dinner) unpacked and then visited their in house tour company where we purchased tickets to the nearby Bird Park (a 5 minute taxi ride).

 

The following morning we arranged for transportation (with another family group of 4) and advance purchased tickets to the Argentine Falls. Our driver also gave us an orientation to the falls. He met us at the end of the day and took us back to the hotel.

 

On our last morning we went to the Brazilian Falls (5 minutes by taxi from the hotel) and spent the morning there. We then got our return flight to Rio at 4 pm arriving at 6 pm and departing around 11 pm. That is a common time for return flights to the US out of Rio and, I think, Buenos Aires so a similar itinerary should work if returning to the US from BA.

 

Regarding Punta Arenas and the magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island -- we were there on Christmas Day 2016 and booked our tour via speedboat (the ferry takes too long in our estimation) with Solo Expediciones. The penguins are incredible and there were hundreds (if not more) babies at that time of year.

Edited by capriccio
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  • 4 weeks later...

I appreciate the suggestions you have all provided and thought I'd give an update on where we're at with our planning. Any additional feedback is greatly appreciated!

Buenos Aires, Argentina- at least 2 nights precruise: We're trying to figure out how we can fit in a side trip to Iguazu either before or after our cruise. Our Iguazu plan will impact what we end up doing in Buenos Aires. We'll definitely fit in a either a private or DIY city tour, plus a Tango show.

Punta del Este, Uruguay 10am-6pm. We'll most likely take a DIY walking tour and maybe a cab to one of the beaches.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina 8am-6pm- We're very conflicted on what to do here. I booked a ship tour to Punto Tombo, but have since read lots of great reviews of Peninsula Valdez tours. We will be here in mid-Dec, so it's the end of the whale season. Seeing penguins is a priority, but we have a chance of seeing penguins when we stop at Punta Arenas. Are any of you willing toshare personal opinions on why you chose one destination, either PuntoTombo or Peninsula Valdez over the other?

Ushuaia, Argentina 8am-8pm- small van Tiera del Fuego National Park tour

Punta Arenas, Chili 8am-8pm-We booked with Solo Expediciones. I'm aware that there have been lots of cancellations due to weather, but the ship tour was too expensive.

Montevideo, Uruguay 8am-4:30pm- We are considering taking a City + Vineyard tour. Do you have any suggestions?

Buenos Aires, Argentina- disembark. We'll either be heading to Iguazu or touring Buenos Aires, whichever we didn't do precruise.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and for any suggestions!

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Totally agree with what others have said about Iguazu Falls. Do it. Really.

 

(Just to add a few things that you may need to plan for with Iguazu: luggage storage (you are limited by airline) and you will need Brazilian visas ( I see you are Americans- you can get the visa online for $40). At the very least I would plan 1 night in Iguazu. 2 or 3 would be better. I did 3 and I am wanting to do it again, not because I missed something, but because it is so spectacular. It may overshadow the cruise.

 

Montevideo: there is a walking tour “Tours for Tips” where the guide accepts tips only. No set fee. Find more info online. You will likely get handed a walking tour map when you get off the ship. I would post it but the file is too big.

For history there is a trip to Colonia Sacramento. It is a long bus ride from Montevideo or a short hop via ferry from BsAs. I would have liked to have spent more time there, and would have fore gone the 3 course sit down lunch/dinner HAL included in order to spend more time on the town. (I left after the salad). I would DIY next time from BsAs.

 

Ushuaia

We did End of the World with Edgardo’s group (tour guides Ushuaia) and it was great. There are penguins in Ushuaia too- not sure if he can take you there.

 

Punta Arenas: If you cannot get to Magdalena island, I would suggest a ride to Nao Victoria Museum. It is a small private collection of 4 reproduction ships important to local history in 1:1 scale. (James Cairo, Beagle, Ancud, the 4th escapes me now). You can hire a local to take you there- about a 10 minute ride from the pier. I had planned Fort Bulnes tour but the guide I had booked with stood us up (GV Tours) so we hired a local at the Plaza de Armas. For $30 pp he took us to the overlook, Nao Victoria and dropped us off at the Brain Museum. We walked to the Shackleton Bar across from the Plaza de Armas and had a pleasant lunch in this cozy place.

 

BsAs: Try the ice cream. We know it as gelato. I fell for Abuela Goya’s chocolate and a dulce de leche, more than once. :0

 

I did a lunch Tango show through HAL at Los Angelitos. You can do that Independantly and for dinner. The food was really good. I had a steak which was the best I have ever had.

 

Rereading your original post, Iguazu = Geology.

Really.

 

This thread is firing me up to finally process my video from March.

Edited by TiogaCruiser
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Totally agree with what others have said about Iguazu Falls. Do it. Really.

 

(Just to add a few things that you may need to plan for with Iguazu: luggage storage (you are limited by airline) and you will need Brazilian visas ( I see you are Americans- you can get the visa online for $40). At the very least I would plan 1 night in Iguazu. 2 or 3 would be better. I did 3 and I am wanting to do it again, not because I missed something, but because it is so spectacular. It may overshadow the cruise.

 

 

Punta Arenas: If you cannot get to Magdalena island, I would suggest a ride to Nao Victoria Museum. It is a small private collection of 4 reproduction ships important to local history in 1:1 scale. (James Cairo, Beagle, Ancud, the 4th escapes me now). You can hire a local to take you there- about a 10 minute ride from the pier. I had planned Fort Bulnes tour but the guide I had booked with stood us up (GV Tours) so we hired a local at the Plaza de Armas. For $30 pp he took us to the overlook, Nao Victoria and dropped us off at the Brain Museum. We walked to the Shackleton Bar across from the Plaza de Armas and had a pleasant lunch in this cozy place.

 

.

 

The 4th ship is Magellan's Victoria - hence the name Nao Victoria What we did: https://airlandandsea.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/punta-arenas-chile/

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I appreciate the suggestions you have all provided and thought I'd give an update on where we're at with our planning. Any additional feedback is greatly appreciated!

Buenos Aires, Argentina- at least 2 nights precruise: We're trying to figure out how we can fit in a side trip to Iguazu either before or after our cruise. Our Iguazu plan will impact what we end up doing in Buenos Aires. We'll definitely fit in a either a private or DIY city tour, plus a Tango show.

Punta del Este, Uruguay 10am-6pm. We'll most likely take a DIY walking tour and maybe a cab to one of the beaches.

Puerto Madryn, Argentina 8am-6pm- We're very conflicted on what to do here. I booked a ship tour to Punto Tombo, but have since read lots of great reviews of Peninsula Valdez tours. We will be here in mid-Dec, so it's the end of the whale season. Seeing penguins is a priority, but we have a chance of seeing penguins when we stop at Punta Arenas. Are any of you willing toshare personal opinions on why you chose one destination, either PuntoTombo or Peninsula Valdez over the other?

Ushuaia, Argentina 8am-8pm- small van Tiera del Fuego National Park tour

Punta Arenas, Chili 8am-8pm-We booked with Solo Expediciones. I'm aware that there have been lots of cancellations due to weather, but the ship tour was too expensive.

Montevideo, Uruguay 8am-4:30pm- We are considering taking a City + Vineyard tour. Do you have any suggestions?

Buenos Aires, Argentina- disembark. We'll either be heading to Iguazu or touring Buenos Aires, whichever we didn't do precruise.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences and for any suggestions!

 

I did Peninsula Valdez and wish I hadn't. You are so far off in viewing any wildlife - on bluffs looking down. I am so glad that we went to Volunteer Point in the Falklands to see them there - absolutely no comparison. IF I were to do it again, I would go to Punto Tombo

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I appreciate all that you've shared on this thread. Your input has helped us to adjust some of our planning.

 

Iguazu Falls- We've decided to fit this in is at the start of our trip, which means we'll have one very long travel day at the start. We'll stay 2 nights in Puerto Iguazu and are looking for a reasonably priced hotel that will allow 3 adults in the same room. I'm researching guides for the falls, but those with reviews on TripAdvisor seem costly for a group of 3 since they all charge pp. I'm wondering if we can DIY here or maybe our eventual hotel can help with booking a last minute tour guide. I also need to figure out the easiest way to get to the Brazil side and then back to catch our flight back to BA.

 

BA- Unfortunately, our side trip to Iguazu will cut into our time for touring BA. We board our ship the day we return from Iguazu, but our ship doesn’t leave port until the next day. This gives us an evening (likely book a Tango show), the next day until 4pm, plus a full day when our ship returns to BA at the end of the cruise since out flight leaves at 10pm. We'll try to find an organized tour for one of these days.

 

Punta del Este- still thinkingabout making this a relaxing day by taking a cab to the beach.

 

Puerto Madryn- You've convinced me that taking the trip up to Punta Tombo is our best bet for seeing penguins.I realize we may see them elsewhere, but this will be our best bet since it's land based and up close. We are booked on a ship tour right now, but are thinking of rebooking this with a small van tour.

 

Ushuaia- We booked a van tour to Tiera del Fuego National Park

 

Punta Arenas- We're booked withSolo Expeditiones, but thanks to all of you I have a list of alternatives in case that tour doesn't work out.

 

Montevideo- I'd like to do a city tour and wine tour/tasting, but haven't found one at a reasonable rate. I'm wondering if this is something we have to prearrange or if we can book at the port. Does anyone have suggestions? Has anyone booked a tour directly with a winery and traveled there via uber?

 

 

Thanks again for all your suggestions. Additional comments are welcome and appreciated!

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I just can't imagine what a tour guide would do for Iguazu Falls, except lighten your wallet. Every guide we saw in the park was either sitting as a group chewing the fat while their customers walked the trails, or, if they were walking with their group, they weren't really doing much. The trails are so easy to navigate, especially with the map provided, that a guide is totally unnecessary. Transportation to/from the falls can either be via taxi or, like we did, the $1.50 public bus from Puerto Iguazu

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I just can't imagine what a tour guide would do for Iguazu Falls, except lighten your wallet. Every guide we saw in the park was either sitting as a group chewing the fat while their customers walked the trails, or, if they were walking with their group, they weren't really doing much. The trails are so easy to navigate, especially with the map provided, that a guide is totally unnecessary. Transportation to/from the falls can either be via taxi or, like we did, the $1.50 public bus from Puerto Iguazu

 

Hi Fred, the tour guide question in posts 16 & 17 were regarding Montevideo. Based on my research it does seem that the Argentina side of Iguazu is easy enough to do on our own. We're trying to also visit the Brazil side and I haven't worked out how to do this on our own.

 

Also, do you recall what the cost was for the Iguazu Argentine Experience? Do you know if there is an additional charge for the before dinner cocktail session?

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Hi Fred, the tour guide question in posts 16 & 17 were regarding Montevideo. Based on my research it does seem that the Argentina side of Iguazu is easy enough to do on our own. We're trying to also visit the Brazil side and I haven't worked out how to do this on our own.

 

Also, do you recall what the cost was for the Iguazu Argentine Experience? Do you know if there is an additional charge for the before dinner cocktail session?

 

I have read of folks who used a taxi to get to the Brazilian side. There is also a bus that makes the trip for a lot less, but the border crossing takes longer .

 

The Argentine Experience is $55 pp IIRC. The cocktail session must be a recent addition because I don't recall that as an option when I was looking. I would bet that they charge extra for it.

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Hello Trend, I appreciate your response! Who did you book your tour with? Did you enjoy the tour? Which winery did you visit?

We are using Uruguias Brun Turismo (Jorge)

We leave on Dec 22 his tour does the city then to winery outside of town not sure which one.

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We are using Uruguias Brun Turismo (Jorge)

We leave on Dec 22 his tour does the city then to winery outside of town not sure which one.

 

Trend, I appreciate your following up with this information. Do you know if Uruguias Brun Turismo has a website? I googled, but couldn't find anything. I may be able to find them via an email if you have one for them.

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Based on my research it does seem that the Argentina side of Iguazu is easy enough to do on our own. We're trying to also visit the Brazil side and I haven't worked out how to do this on our own.

 

Are these folks any help?

 

https://www.greentoadbus.com/en/Brazil-bus-passes/Transfers-foz-do-iguacu-brazil-side-of-falls-396

 

They do all kinds of transfers from each side to the other etc.

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