BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina's capital city is in the midst of a
tourism boom.
Foreign visitors who are filling its restaurants, cafes and
tango halls are discovering not only a beautiful and cosmopolitan
city but one where the price is right.
Certainly, Buenos Aires is no short-haul destination, even from
Miami, its nearest U.S. gateway.
However, clients may find that this is the year to break the
close-to-home travel rule and venture south for Christmas shopping
at devaluated-peso prices -- or to learn to dance the tango.
The market is awash in real-deal packages to Buenos Aires.
Here's just a sampling, with prices per person, double
occupancy:
• Tara Tours calls its five-night program Buenos Aires Super
Buy. It is priced at $599, including air from Miami via Aerolineas
Argentinas (add $34 from New York).
The package also covers accommodations at the three-star Hotel
de la Paix, located downtown; a half-day city tour; daily
breakfast; and roundtrip airport transfers. A two-day extension to
Iguassu Falls is available for $358 with air. Call (800)
327-0080.
• Marnella Tours offers its five-night Buenos Aires package at $629
from Miami and $659 from New York aboard Aerolinas. In addition to
air, the cost includes accommodations at the Gran Hotel Argentino,
a half-day city tour, dinner and tango show at El Querandi,
transfers and a copy of the Berlitz travel guide to Buenos Aires.
Call (866) 993-0033.
• Maxim Tours specializes in what it calls Uncommon Journeys,
including its four-night Tango Workshop in Buenos Aires.
The program includes accommodations at Abastos Hotel in the
heart of the neighborhood where tango was born; a half-day city
tour highlighting the capital's architecture; a private tango
lesson and three group lessons in the evenings. The cost is $560,
land only. For more information, call (800) 655-0222.
To contact reporter Carla Hunt, send e-mail to [email protected].