Argentina

• Buenos Aires: capital of Argentina, nicknamed the “Paris of South America” and known for its European flavor, tango, art, etc.
• Córdoba: has the country's best-preserved colonial architecture.
• El Calafate: the main destination when visiting the Glaciers National Park and the advancing Perito Moreno Glacier.
• Mar del Plata: a beautiful place, also known as The Pearl of the Atlantic.
• Mendoza: well known for its extensive and high quality wine production.
• Iguazú Falls: a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site; taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide
• Ushuaia: the most important gateway to Antarctica and a port for cruising yachts
• Las Leñas and San Carlos de Bariloche are well-known ski centers in the Andes

Argentina’s diverse and elongated geography gives visitors opportunities to have a different travel menu depending on the season. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, Argentina also allows visitors from the Northern Hemisphere to enjoy a warm Christmas vacation.

Autumn (March –May) and spring (September – November) are the best times to visit Buenos Aires – its summer (December – February) is hot and humid. Autumn is also a very nice time to visit Mendoza, Córdoba and the Lake District. You will enjoy the fall foliage and nice temperature.

It is best to visit Patagonian destinations, such as the Moreno Glacier in Santa Cruz during the summer months (December – February), when the weather is warmer and more travel services are available for visitors. Outside of these few months, travel services are harder to be arranged for Patagonia.

The tropical environment of Iguazu Falls is great to visit year round. It is more pleasant to visit this area during the winter or spring months (June – November) to avoid the heat and humidity. Expect high humidity and temperatures in Jan-Feb.

Ski season opens from mid-June through mid-October, with July and August being the peak (and most expensive) months.

Argentina provides good value for the travel dollars.

A decent mid-range hotel room costs around $80 - $120 per night (compared to $250+ per night for a 3 star hotel in Venice). $10 - $20 per person ($40+ in Venice) will get you a decent meal.

A luxury five star hotel room starts around $250 - $400 per night (compared to $500+ per night for a five star hotel in Venice). $25 - $40 per person ($100+ in Venice) will get you a gourmet meal.

You can also rent a studio apartment fully furnished in Buenos Aires for around $300-350 per week.

However, due to high inflation and its recent popularity in tourism, the cost of traveling in Argentina is rising and its getting more crowded than before. Go there soon!

Argentina (officially República Argentina), is a South American country, constituted as a federation of twenty-three provinces and an autonomous city. It is second in size on the South American continent to Brazil and eighth in the world. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. The country claims the British-administered overseas territories of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Argentina also claims part of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory).

Argentina has the highest Human Development Index level and the second highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America and its total national GDP is the 23rd largest in the world. The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank. Argentina's nominal GDP makes it the 31st largest economy in the world.

Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals. In the first decade of the 20th century, Argentina became the richest nation in Latin America, its wealth symbolized by the opulence of its capital city.

European immigrants flowed into Argentina, particularly from Italy; by 1914 nearly 6 million people had come to the country.

After World War II, a long period of Peronist rule in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976.

Democracy returned in 1983 after the abortive attempt to wrest the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) from United Kingdom sovereignty.

A painful economic collapse at the turn of the 21st century devalued the Argentine peso by a factor of three and ushered in a series of weak, short-lived governments along with social and economic instability. As of 2006, the country has stabilized under President Nestor Kirchner, and the economy has begun to recover.