Getting there

Traveling to Argentina is relatively simple and a painless.

There are a wide choice of convenient, daily flights from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and New York. Most flights are direct departing the States in the afternoon or early evening and arriving early the next morning. Airlines that service Buenos Aires daily include American, United, Continental, Delta, LAN Aerolineas Argentinas, Air France, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Lufthansa and Varig.

Flying Times to Buenos Aires from: Los Angeles: 13 hours, Dallas: 11 hours, Houston: 10 hours, Miami: 9 hours New York: 11 hours, Chicago: 11 hours.

Almost all the international flights into Argentina arrive at the Ministro Pistarini (Ezeiza) International Airport of Buenos Aires, 35 Km from the Federal Capital. You are required to fill out a customary arrival form, which will be handed out to you on your flight down. First you will clear Immigrations (Passport Control) then you will retrieve your luggage, and clear Customs. The entire arrival process in Buenos Aires should take between 1 and 1 1⁄2 half hours.

Specific flight details for Patagonia River Guides

Arrival Buenos Aires
Getting to Patagonia is not difficult. It is actually very simple: take an overnight flight to Buenos Aires from one of several major cities in the U.S, get a good night’s rest and awake in Argentina. If you have so pre-arranged, you will be met by our professional agents at the airport and transferred to your hotel or to the domestic airport for immediate departure to Patagonia.

Our agents in Buenos Aires will re-confirm flights, make dinner reservations, share a cocktail, and take you on a city tour if you wish.

Buenos Aires has two airports, an international and a domestic. You will arrive from your country of origin at Ezezia (EZE) and depart to Esquel (EQS) from the domestic airport, Aeroparque (AEP). It is necessary to transfer by ground from the international airport to the domestic airport for your flight to Patagonia. Our agents can set up your transfers. Depending on the time your international flight lands, you might be able to travel directly to Patagonia on the same day (If you want to travel directly to Patagonia, you should plan at least on one hour to clear immigrations and customs, one hour to transfer between airports, and to arrive at the domestic airport at least one hour before your flight to Patagonia.).

Flying to Esquel and transferring to Estancia La Paz
Esquel has five flights scheduled per week for 2010 departing on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At the time of this writing, the flight to Esquel departs Buenos Aires around 10:30 am and takes about two hours. Flying to Bariloche is possible on all days of the week and there are several options per day; however, there will be an additional charge of $75 per person (estimate) for the four-hour transfer to Esquel.

When you arrive at the Esquel Airport, Rance Rathie, or a representative of Patagonia River Guides will meet your flight, assist you with luggage and provide transfer to Estancia La Paz, located about 10 miles south west of the village of Trevelin. The auto transfer from Esquel Airport to the lodge takes about one hour.

When you arrive at Estancia La Paz, your luggage will be taken to your cabin and you will have a chance to get un-packed, settle in and organize your fishing gear. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served in the clubhouse at approximately 7:00 p.m., and finally dinner in the dinning rooms at around 9:30 p.m. During cocktail hour Rance and/or Travis will provide a comprehensive orientation on the week ahead and answer any questions you might have.

Departure from Esquel to Buenos Aires

Patagonia River Guides will provide auto transfer to the Esquel Airport along with check-in assistance for you flight back to Buenos Aires and home or the continuation of your South America travels.

Immigration Requirements for entry Into Argentina:
A current passport is required with or without visa depending on your nationality. For all U.S. citizens, passports must be valid for a minimum of three months beyond the visitor's proposed date of departure. U.S. citizens do not need a visa for visits of up to 90 days for tourism and business. All visitors must be in possession of a return passage to a country for which they have a right of entry.

Customs: Generally, foreign tourists (especially tourists carrying fly rods) are not bothered by customs officials upon entry. You are allowed to bring personal items such as clothing, footwear, toiletries, etc., as well as; any fishing equipment needed during your stay and personal medications. You are allowed to enter Argentina with 2 liters of alcoholic drinks, 400 cigarettes and 50 cigars. Expensive camera and video equipment should be declared and you will have to bring it out with you when you leave.

Inoculations and Health Concerns: There are no formal requirements, or recommendations for immunizations and very little risk of infectious disease in Argentina. The risk would be about equivalent to what it would be for a trip to Colorado. You should check with your personal physician if you are concerned. We recommend that anglers be up-to-date on their Tetanus, Hepatitis-A and Hepatitis-B vaccinations.

Political Situation: Argentina is a safe, pro-American country. Argentineans are overall a very friendly people & welcome foreign tourists. The hospitality of the country people in rural Argentina (where all the fishing takes place) is genuine and warm. Like in Chile the current president of Argentina is a woman, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Make it easy on yourself.

Alicia Regueiro and here expert staff at Holdy Tours (800) 446- 1111 or alicia@holdytours.com are a full service travel agency. They’ve been our first choice for ticketing for years because Holdy professionals are intimately familiar with the intricacies of travel to Chile, Argentina and all South America.

Holdy gets rave reviews from us for arranging reasonably priced flights as well as city tours, hotels, transfers, and optional add-on travel packages to our fly fishing trips. They know the best routes and connections for even the most complicated Patagonia angling destinations and they’ve teamed up with LA to offer the best airfares and service to South America. Make it easy on yourself and contact Holdy Tours for your flight accommodations to, from and within Argentina. www.holdytours.com