To follow up on the travel discussion: we decided on Argentina and Chile for December — flying into Buenos Aires and out of Santiago. Here’s some fun stuff that my first quick web search about Argentina and Chile turned up:
Argentina
- When To Go (from Lonely Planet):
For residents of the northern hemisphere, Argentina offers the inviting possibility of enjoying two summers in the same year, but the country’s great variety and elongated geography can make a visit in any season worthwhile. Buenos Aires’ urban attractions, for example, transcend the seasons, but Patagonian destinations, such as the Moreno Glacier in Santa Cruz, are best to visit in the summer months (December to February). The Iguazu Falls in subtropical Misiones province are best in the southern hemisphere’s winter or spring when heat and humidity are less oppressive. The winter months (mid-June to late September) also offer the opportunity to go skiing.
- Attractions:
- Buenos Aires – Supposedly a great city for tourism, “European flavor,” nightlife; New Year’s Eve?
- Cordoba – second-largest city, famous colonial architecture, large historical museum
- Iguazu Falls – Huge waterfall, ruins of historic Jesuit missions, subtropical rainforest
- Mar del Plata – Huge beaches lined with mansions and resorts
- Pampas – “Agricultural heartland,” large national park and lots of wildlife; Rosario and Santa Fe have museums and churches
- Maps:
Chile [& Easter Island?]
- When To Go (from Lonely Planet):
Chile’s geographical variety can make a visit rewarding in any season. Santiago and Middle Chile are best in the verdant spring (September through November) or during the fall harvest (late February into April), while popular natural attractions like Parque Nacional del Paine in Magallanes and the lakes region are best in summer (December through March).
Conversely, Chilean ski resorts draw many foreigners during the northern summer (June through August). Easter Island is cooler, slightly cheaper and much less crowded outside the summer months. The same is true of the Juan Fernandez archipelago, which can be inaccessible if winter rains erode the dirt airstrip; March is an ideal time for a visit.
- Attractions
- Santiago Chile’s “modern metropolis,” large commercial city, but supposedly tourist friendly; nearby whitewater rafting
- La Serena – Beach city with “colonial air,” museums and quaint villages/vineyards
- Parque Nacional Puyehue – popular national park, volcanic scenery, thermal springs, nature trails, “strange plant life”
- Puerto Montt – settled by German colonists, middle-European architecture; access point to Lakes District, island of Chiloe, and Chilean Patagonia
- Valparaiso – port and second-largest city; cobbled streets, cliffs, hilltop suburbs; “maze-like strolls”; lots of museums
- Easter Island?
- Maps: