Traveling in Argentina, Tips from the Best

Take an overnight bus to Iguazu. Bike from Patagonia to Alaska. Drive from North America to South America. Or hang out in Buenos Aires for three full months.

We’ve had some incredibly adventurous guests and many of them blog about their experiences. So, to say thanks to these guys for staying with us and to point other travelers to some of the best travel tips out there, let me introduce you to some of San Telmo Loft’s blogging guests.

Bike Across the Americas

Matt and Sylwia are cyclists riding from Patagonia to Alaska over the next two years. Never Tyred of Cycling is the name of their blog. Their posts all show up on one page, but go to the list of their entries on The Americas and check out their post on packing for such a trip. When they got here, I would have never guessed they had so much gear. Then follow their journey from Buenos Aires, to Iguazu, to Mendoza, and beyond. Last I read, they were entering Ecuador and headed to Quito.

Bicycles below El Chalten (Credit: Never Tyred of Cycling)

One of my favorite posts covers their thoughts on biking the barren and vast Pampas. These were the top ten highlights of the 500 km. they rode:

1. A fire’s smoke creating a cloud in an otherwise perfectly blue sky
2. A bird of prey standing on an alive sheep’s head
3. Gauchos with their cattle, spotted at some distance
4. Many shrines to St. Gauchito Gil
5. 2 dead armadillos
6. 7 dead owls
7. Golf course on the outskirts of Talalque
8. Lots and lots of cows
9. Lots of dead dogs
10. A river

Drive from one America to the Other

Rochelle, Nick and their gorgeous pit bull, Domino, spent a year driving from North Carolina to Buenos Aires and documented the entire adventure on their site The Ramble Writer. Some of my favorite posts are about the border crossings, their fun pictures in the salt flats in Bolivia, the post about making pizza while camping, and, of course, their post about The Pad and The Loft.

Rochelle in the Uyuni Salt Flat (Credit: Ramble Writer)

Be sure to look at her Guide to Buenos Aires. In the guide, check out the cute place they rented in Palermo before coming to San Telmo (a great idea, by the way, one week in Palermo and one in San Telmo).

Nick and Domino in Buenos Aires (Credit: Ramble Writer)

And if you’re planning to drive the Americas, get a copy of their book The Essential Guide to Driving North, Central and South America so you’ll know what to expect and how to deal with the unexpected.

Become a Local in 91 Days

Juergen and Mike (pictured with John and Angela at the top of this post) spend every 91 days in a different place and blog about the food, culture, people, music, language, architecture, street life, you name it, with humor and gorgeous photography. The For 91 Days’ coverage of Buenos Aires is so thorough, I’ve taken notes about things I had no idea existed. Their coverage of Bolivia is breathtaking.  And now they’re in Palermo, Italy, with posts beyond delicious and always informative.

Suggested Posts  

The portraits of two great local artists: Chancha via Circuito whose music is fantastic, and Alfredo Genovese whose fileteado work is stunning and fun, and so very San Telmo.

Alfredo Genovese (Credit: For 91 Days)

Their reviews of two of my favorite San Telmo restaurants: La Poesia which is down the road from The Depto. It’s a traditional cafe (bar notable, they’re called here) that serves food all day. A gorgeous setting and good standard food. Caseros which is down the road from The Guesthouse. I love this place, especially for lunch. Fantastic bread, beautiful setting, fresh lemonade, a simple menu of beautifully prepared, tasty food.

Steak at Caseros in San Telmo (Credit: For 91 Days)

The graffiti tour post is gorgeous. I took this tour a year ago and learned so much about the artists and the movement. And I love their impressions after having been here for a month. A fun read. Their photo reportages are wonderful. They always seem to capture the quirky, the beautiful, and the bizarre.  Here are their posts about The Loft and The Depto. They stayed in both.

From Asia to Sweden to South America

The Runaway Brit, Elaine, and her Swedish boyfriend, Nicklas, met in Cambodia and have been traveling together ever since. Elaine’s been keeping up a great blog for the backpacker, hostel-staying crowd filled with tips and beautiful scenery.

Elaine and Giang at The Guesthouse (Credit: Runaway Brit)

She stayed at and wrote about The Guesthouse. The picture above is of Elaine and Giang who was also staying in The Guesthouse. While chatting the first night of their stay, they realized they’d all met before while staying at a hostel on a lake in Cambodia. Small world. It’s not that surprising that they keep choosing the same places to stay.

Perito Moreno Glacier (Credit: Runaway Brit)

Be sure to look at her panamoric images from Iguazu and the lovely image of the Perito Moreno glacier on her Facebook page, and this great video of their whale-watching adventures in Patagonia. If you’re a budget traveler looking for fun and adventure, be sure to “like” her Facebook page. There are some great conversations about ways to cut costs and still have a wonderful adventure.

Buy a Car and Make it your Home for 9 Months

And our latest blogging guests, Kirsten and James left their jobs, Life Outside the Cubicle is their blog, to spend a year climbing mountains and traveling through South America while living mostly out of their car. They actually found us through Rochelle’s blog. Kirsten and James are pros at living out of their car and mountain climbing. I think they’re tied with Matt and Sylwia as the healthiest guests we’ve ever had.

Here’s their post about Getting Connected in Argentina and The Guesthouse. Stay tuned for their upcoming posts as they CouchSurf and drive through South America, leaving the cubicle behind for good.

Honeymoon in Buenos Aires

And the first blogging guest we had in The Loft, Katie of A Backyard Wedding. Katie’s blog about planning her backyard wedding on a budget of $10,000 US has remained popular years after Katie and Paul can no longer claim to be newlyweds. She’s a great writer with an amazing eye for detail and beautiful taste. Read her posts about Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, San Telmo and about returning from their honeymoon and her final impressions. They also took my absolute favorite photo of The Loft.

Katie and Paul on their Honeymoon in San Telmo Loft (Credit: A Backyard Wedding)

After Katie and Paul spent their honeymoon in San Telmo Loft, we had a year of honeymooners. Looks like next year may be filled with adventure travelers.

Got any other great blogs for travel tips in Argentina you’d like to recommend? Just put them in the comments below.