Mendoza: We very much enjoyed Mendoza and stayed there three times while in Argentina – each time renting out a room at Federico’s house, who we found through Air BnB.
We had a lovely stay at Federico’s house. He was very welcoming and generous. He cooked a traditional Argentine barbecue for
us and went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and show us his city.
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| Trying out Fernet – an Argentine favourite – with our host Fede |
The house is well situated, quite close to the bus station and in walking distance of the main square.
We felt very at home in Federico’s house and will be back!
Buenos Aires: When in La Paz, we met Tom and Wendy – a dutch couple who we ran into again in Sucre. We became facebook friends and when I saw where they were staying while in Buenos Aires, I knew I wanted to stay there too! It was another Air BnB gem of find.
Our room or rather our ‘suite’ was in a mansion of a house on the edge of San Telmo. There’s a grand windy staircase through the centre of the house, with beautifully ornate bannisters, marble pillars and stain glass windows. The cherry on the cake was the jacuzzi in our suite! And this is all for only £23 a night (approx $37).
Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who wanted to stay in this beautiful house and our suite was booked by someone else for the end of our week in Buenos Aires. We moved to the Art Factory, a popular porteño hostel in the centre of San Telmo, where we paid around £25 a night for a double room with private bathroom.
The hostel was comfortable and well decorated and the staff friendly. Unfortunately, our room had no windows, which, because of the bathroom, did make the room a little musty. While there were lots of really nice common areas for some reason it didn’t feel that easy to meet other travellers, but maybe we just didn’t spend enough time actually in the hostel. The shared kitchen was also a little small given the size of the hostel.
Las Leñas: With a limited budget, we were a little concerned about whether we’d be able to afford the accomodation in Las Leñas – one of the main ski resorts in Argentina – as looking online, the only options seemed to be quite pricey hotels.
However, in Mendoza, we managed to find Argentina Ski Tours and the owner had a friend with an apartment in the staff area of the resort. He agreed to rent it to us for $500 for a week, which for a whole apartment in a ski resort is pretty reasonable. The apartment was very basic, but had everything we needed.
Cordóba – In Cordóba, we stayed at Turning Point Hostel, which was a couple of blocks from the bus station and in walking distance to the centre of town. We had a nice spacious double room, overlooking the street, with a large bathroom, which cost about £26 a night. The staff were very helpful and helped arrange a hire car for us for our trip into the Sierras de Cordóba.
Turning Point is also one the hostels in Cordóba that take place in Espanol y Cerveza and English and Maté – a twice weekly language exchange that allows locals to practice their English and travellers to practice their Spanish over hot drinks and beer. Sign up through facebook for more details.
The downside to the hostel was the poorly equipped and not quite clean kitchen, as well as the speed in which glasses and cutlery ran out at breakfast.
Villa General Belgrano: On arrival in Villa General Belgrano, we headed to the tourist information on the main street. They pointed us in the direction of VGB Hostel, as a good value accommodation option in town. The double room with private bathroom was a bit stark and almost cell like. However, it was a friendly place an it was easy to chat to other (mostly Argentinian) guests and only cost £22 a night. Book ahead if you’re going for Oktoberfest!
La Cumbre: The long driveway sweeps up to this European style mansion – now converted into a lovely hostel international hostel. There was only one other guest, when we were there – it was winter after all – but the housekeeper looked after us. Our double room with private bathroom cost us around £25 a night.
Puerto Iguazú: We’d heard bad things about the hostels in Puerto Iguazú, so I picked the very best rated hostel on hostelword, Mango Chill. Apart from the lack of private rooms (and the broken toilet that took a few too many days to repair, luckily it wasn’t the only one), we weren’t disappointed. We were very warmly welcomed when we arrived and even given a complimentary beer on our first night, while we were advised on the best way to see the falls. The hostel organises regular barbeque nights, where you all sit down together to eat and get to know each other. The communal areas are pleasant, breakfast generous and wifi reasonable. We paid approximately $13 or £8 each for a bed in a four bed dorm.
Addresses and more information:
For more information on Federico’s place in Mendoza, click here.
For more information on the palace we stayed in, in Buenos Aires, click here.
For more information on accommodation options in Las Leñas, contact Adam at Argentina Ski Tours.
Art Factory, Piedras 545, San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Turning Point, Entre Ríos 435, Córdoba, Argentina
VGB Hostel, Julio A. Roca 334,Villa Gral. Belgrano, Sierras de Cordoba, Argentina
Hostel La Cumbre, Av San Martin 186, La Cumbre 5178, Argentina.
Mango Chill, Av. Cordoba 264, Puerto Iguazu 3370, Argentina
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Where we stayed – Peru
Where we stayed – Bolivia
Where we stayed – Chile
