Traveling to a non rick steves destination

If you visit the TripAdvisor Forum for Argentina, there are people who may be able to answer your questions regarding Buenos Aires. The web address is: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g294266-i977-Argentina.html Also, Lonely Planet and Rough Guide publish guidebooks for many parts of the world not covered by Rick Steves.

Thanks Lamont. I will check out trip advisor. I find the other books aren't as straight forward as the Rick Steves books. I was hoping some like minded travelers who have been to BA before could provide some tips on where to stay, etc. thanks for your help!
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Sarah, I was also going to suggest the Lonely Planet Guidebooks, but it sounds like you've already checked. I agree with your opinion on the other books. I also don't find them as logical and well organized as Rick's books. If you have any questions about travels there, you might post them on the Lonely Planet ThornTree Message Board. It's similar to this one, and has a large number of members. Happy travels!

Besides tripadvisor and thorntree, you could also try the forums at fodors.com.

Sometimes Fodors discussions go something like, "Should we get the two-bedroom suite or two one-bedroom suites?" or "What's the best wine I can get for under $350 per bottle?" I may be exagerating but I find Fodors travel style is four star or better. My motto is save money where you can so you can spend it where you want. For my style (buying food from grocery stores or corner stands, staying in hostels, pensions, or small budget hotels, and choosing transportation options primarily on price) Rough Guides or Lonely Planet are probably better sources. I like tripadvisor.com too. Tripadvisor isn't as easy to navigate as this site but many of the contributors are locals at your destination.

Hi Sarah, We've been to Buenos Aires twice and really love the city. I used Frommers and Trip Advisor for planning. We like staying in the Palermo area near the Zoo or Botanical Garden and have rented an apartment both times we stayed. I think you'll have a great time - it's expensive to fly there but hotels and restaurants were a very good value the last time we were there in November, 2010. Have a good trip!

Hey -- I agree TripAdvisor is a pretty cool site. Also check out http://zoomguides.com/cheap_vacation.html for ideas about making everything more affordable...

"I may be exagerating but I find Fodors travel style is four star or better." There are certainly people posting on Fodors who travel four or sometimes even five star, but there are also posters like me, who travel budget. I suspect the majority are somewhere in between. And sightseeing information is valuable regardless of the hotel the poster stays in.

Thanks All for your help. Sharon, since you have been there any additional info you can provide me with would be great. restaurants, stuff to avoid, other helpful tips. I picked up a Frommer's guide book from the library but I think it's a tad outdated but can help with some little stuff like when to travel, etc. Considering a side trip to Bolivia....sounds intriguing!

Hi Sarah, I'll PM you some info!

Of he is and that is what sets him apart from the others and, to a degree, why we enjoy his books - a bit more personal. As for B Aires we are headed that why next fall. BAires was featured in recent issue of Budget Travel. I sure you can find if you google it.

I went to BA in September 2010 and loved it!!!
The best guide book ever is DK Eyewitness Top 10 Buenos Aires. I don't know what I would have done without it! Please pick up that book! Have fun! You will LOVE BA!!!

I have something to add... I'm not sure if you would like the hotel I stayed in. It is the Hotel Axel. It's a gay hotel but is great for straight people like myself. It's very modern and beautiful. The rooms have showers that are so relaxing and wonderful. The down side, it's on a very crappy street! But it is walking distance to many places. Look it up om booking.com. I liked the hotel, but next time I'm there I would find another hotel on a better street!
You will have the time of your life in Buenos Aires!!

I can't help re: BA, but this question/string of responces caught my attention. I'm such a fan of RS and rely on his info so much in Europe, that when I go to a "non-Rick-covered" place, I get into a slight panic! Yes, there are other very solid guide books/sites in the market, but IMHO, non compare to RS (for CERTAIN types of travelers, of course). I find that I've become so accustomed to his types of suggestions, strong opinions, mix w/ the locals mantra, slightly hoakey (but always on-spot) writing style, "back-door" recommendations, only providing his readers w/ "the best" approach, etc. If one is an independent/do-it-your-self type (as I am), then Rick's the way to go! Good luck w/ BA!

People posting on this forum are not authorized to travel to a Non-Rick Steves destination! This is in the fine print when you became a member of this forum.
:)

"I'm such a fan of RS and rely on his info so much in Europe, that when I go to a "non-Rick-covered" place, I get into a slight panic!" "If one is an independent/do-it-your-self type (as I am), then Rick's the way to go!" No offense, but aren't those two statements a contradiction? Kent, I'm still waiting for my excommunication to become official.

Tom, you being a veteran senior member of this tiny corner of the internet, there's no chance of excommunication for you. :)

"No offense, but aren't those two statements a contradiction?" Actually no - at least not when the snarky stereotypes can be set aside. I discovered Rick Steves only five years ago. His books presented things in a way that gave me the courage to plan things on my own - to never consult a travel agent or pay their fees. And while I consider most of his suggestions for locations quite good, We have stayed in some non-RS destinations in each of five trips since then. We rarely wind up staying in lodgings he suggests because they don't fit for our family. But we do fit with his philosophy. We almost never eat in the restaurants he suggests because we can't afford to continually eat out on long trips. If I'm a slave to RS, then I'm a pretty lax one. We just returned from a 6-week trip in two countries RS does not cover. We took eight flights and stayed in 18 different locations, including at least three that were not mentioned in ANY guide book. Except for some volcanic ash cloud-related delays, everything went smoothly. I never once "needed" Rick Steves on this trip. But if he had written a guide book for this area, you can bet I would have read it.

I'm with Randy. I tend to travel with Rick's philosophy at times but have never used his recommendations for eating out or accommodations. We've found places that worked for us quite well and many times based on Trip Advisor ratings. I don't even buy tickets to museums beforehand. Have never used the Hop On, Hop Off Bus! Always take a nap first day because it works for us, and dang it, have spent a lot of time in cities and towns that he has not mentioned. But I love Rick,lol Sometimes recommendations from others here who did not do it Rick's way have been very helpful. Plus we always end up staying longer in places he said was either not worthy of much time, or barely got mentioned. I do love his ideas though about spending time with locals, taking a day off in between heavy sightseeing, and the idea that you will return to Europe so lighten up bit and relax. Picnics have been great for us as well astravelling lighter. We have been to Hawaii, Trinidad & Tobago, st. Lucia, cayman islands, Venezuela, Mexico etc and they were not big on Rick's list,lol

Ed, you pretty much described my weekend activities when I'm not with family in Belgium.

I've got a sneaking suspicion that you can go places for which guidebooks don't exist, have to ride chicken-and-pig trains to get part way, ride farm trucks the rest of the way, find that there's no app, find that you can't commincate except by drawings - - all to see where a path crosses a creek where some obscure battle was fought - - toss in a couple of odd geological formations along the way - - and still have the time of your life - - just because you got curious about some minor footnote in a paper that doesn't apply to anything.

I've never been to South America, but I've used Venere many times in Europe, and it looks like they have over 300 hotels in Buenos Aires. I look at the New York Times travel site and see if they have any of their "36 hours in" articles on the cities I'm traveling to. Also check other major papers' travel sections, including Toronto, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago, etc. There's a walking tour from National Geographic here: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/buenos-aires-walking-tour-1/ Here's a website called "a gringo in Buenos Aires" http://www.gringoinbuenosaires.com/buenos-aires-film/ This paticular page talks about movies set in the city. I've only seen "Live-in Maid" of the films on the list, and I really liked it. I also search for foodblogs for the city I'm going to. Here are a couple I found: http://www.buenosairesfoodies.com/ http://newbuenosaires.blogspot.com/ Finally, this is my local foodblog, but they have information about other cities, as well. Here's a search thread for Buenos Aires.
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/search.php?keywords=buenos+aires&terms=all&author=&fid%5B%5D=15&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search Hope this helps.

WOW! Thanks all for some great tips on BA! Pam you rock with all your website listings. THX. Getting together with two girlfriends who have just been to BA in the last year. One travels like me and the other does not (stays in 4 star hotels and doesn't go anywhere that tourist don't go) So a good balance of the two.
For those who posted about not using RS recommendations I just want to say that my husband and I ALWAYS use his hotel recommendations and restaurant recommendations and have never been disappointed. If he says "don't book in advance, go there and negotiate a price" we do! When his guide book said "don't bother staying in Naples, Italy" HE WAS SO RIGHT. We left after a few hours and headed right to Positano booking a great hotel from his book. It's information like that I rely on heavily.