Frommer's Argentina and Chile, Second Edition [Paperback]

Shane Christensen (Author), Kristina Schreck (Author), Haas Mroue (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frommer's Complete Guides | Publication Date: June 1, 2003

The only major guidebook that takes readers to the best of these two favorite South American countries.

• Shows visitors how to get the most out of Buenos Aires and Santiago, which were both named among the top 50 international cities by Travel & Leisure
• Guides travelers to the most spectacular Argentinean destinations-from the majesty of Iguazu Falls to the alpine splendor of the Lake District-and includes a chapter on Montevideo and the resorts of Uruguay
• Brings to life the charms of Chile, from the eerie moonscapes of the Atacama desert to the spectacular glaciers of southern Patagonia
• Points visitors to the many travel bargains available in Argentina
  

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer. And avoid tourist traps. At Frommer’s, we use 150 outspoken travel experts around the world to help you make the right choices. Frommer’s. Your guide to a world of travel experience.

Choose the Only Guide That Gives You:

• Outspoken opinions on what’s worth your time and what’s not.
• Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip no matter what your budget.
• Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.
• The best hotels and restaurants in every price range, with candid reviews.

About the Author

To do Argentina right, Shane Christensen (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and the appendix) moved in with a Porteño family, committed himself to a rigorous steak-only diet, searched Buenos Aires for the perfect tango partner, and added a rich Argentine accent to his Mexican-learned Spanish. With his nascent Argentine credentials, he roamed the country’s far corners, finding that no place in South America offers such geographic diversity and cultural distinction. A California native, Shane has written extensively in South America, Western Europe, and the United States for the Berkeley Guides, Fodor’s, and The Wall Street Journal.

Haas Mroue (chapters 1, 8, 14, 15, 16, and 17) has not stopped traveling since he was a child accompanying his single mother (who worked for the U.N.) on trips around the world. Haas traveled extensively in Argentina and Chile doing research to update this guidebook (crossing the Andes twice by bus). A freelance travel writer based in the United States, he covers a diverse number of destinations, from Bangkok to Monte Carlo to Santorini, for various publications. His short stories, poems, and travel pieces have appeared in a variety of publications—including Interiors Magazine, theMichigan Quarterly Review, the Literary Review, National Geographic guides, and Britannica.com, among many others—and his work has been broadcast on the BBC World Service and Starz! Cable channel. He’s the author of Frommer’s Memorable Walks In Paris and Frommer’s Paris from $80 a Day, and is a contributor to Frommer’s Gay & Lesbian Europe and Frommer’s Europe from $70 a Day. When not on the road, he lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

Kristina Schreck (chapters 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, and the appendix) has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and has lived and worked in Argentina and Chile for 8 years. She is the former managing editor of Adventure Journal magazine, and is co-author of the first edition of Frommer’s Argentina & Chile. Kristina currently resides in Santiago and the Andes, where she works year-round for Ski Portillo (and although she thinks it is the greatest ski resort in the world, to be fair, she asked an independent, impartial source to edit Chile skiing coverage in this guide).

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 2 edition (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764525387
• ISBN-13: 978-0764525384
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,051,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excels as a restaurant guide., July 12, 2004

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's Argentina and Chile, Second Edition (Paperback)

I took this guide, along with Footprint and Rough Guide, on a two month tour of Argentina, Uruguay & Chile. Though this guide's title doesn't say it, the guide also covers two important locations in Uruguay (Montevideo and Puente del Este), a very nice plus.

IF you like the best in life, and can afford it, and if you are not going off the beaten path but plan to stay in the major cities, then Frommer's can be a definite plus. However, if you are driving, backpacking, exploring smaller cities and towns, then get another guide (consider Footprint or Rough Guide).

Travel Guides target various audiences. Frommer's is for those with jingle in their pocket. There are guides for those that backpack and have a tight budget (Rough Guide, Let's Go), then there are guides that are for people that have a budget in mind, but can splurge when needed (Footprint, Lonely Planet, or Moon's), and then there are guides for those with money, 'darling'. These are willing to pay for the best and when traveling money is a secondary or tertiary concern, if a concern at all. Frommer's and Fodor's target the upper income class. To put this in perspective "inexpensive lodging" in this Frommer's guide averages around $40-$50 per night (double), while in the Rough Guide "inexpensive lodging" is $2-$10 per night (double). The restaurants that Frommer's lists as 'inexpensive' cost me on average $20 per meal (tip, tax and house wine included), 'inexpensive' to Rough Guide cost me about $2-$4.

Frommer's excels in pointing you to the best restaurants. The descriptions of each restaurant are superb ("This historic cafe has served as the artistic and intellectual capital of Buenos Aires since 1858", "with its high gilded ceiling and grand pillars, bas-relief art work and original Spanish paintings, this restaurant boast the most magnificent dining room in the city", and it sells "thick rump steaks, tenderloins, BBQ ribs or tender filet minion with delicious mushroom sauce"). That said, keep in mind that life changes and chiefs come and go.

Occasionally, one out of five times, the recommended restaurant bombed-out. I was in one recommended restaurant and ordered the dish that guide recommended, "Spanish Paella". I ended up with 5 cups of over cooked, mushy yellow rice, 3 small shrimp, 7 black mussel shells (half without the mussel) and squid pieces, lots of squid pieces. Also, prices quoted were about 20-30% higher that the book stated. But, overall, this guide is a guide to excellent restaurants in Argentina and Chile.

The guide's maps are too few to be a contender with other guides (it is hard to believe that this travel guide has only city maps for Santiago and Buenos Aires, but totally omits maps for Chile's and Argentina's major cities like Mendoza & Cordoba!). That, and in comparison to other guides, the few maps that there are not as easy to use or navigate with.

Your selection of places to stay are paltry compared to other guides (Cordoba, second largest city in Argentina has three listings), however what listings they do provide describe the properties very well and have website addresses. I especially liked the "Seeing the sights".

This guide is superb for knowing where to find the best restaurants and usally the best lodging in Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. So if you want the best, will only be in major cities, and money is not an issue, this is a very good guide. Recommended 4 stars as a resturant guide - 2 stars as a travel guide.