Frommer's Argentina & Chile (Frommer's Complete)

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.


A useful book, even despite some outdated information   January 22, 2002
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

I used this book on my recent trip to Chile and Uruguay, so I can't vouch for information it offers on Argentina. Most of the information it offers on Chile is pretty useful. There were some inconsistencies, however (although not a big deal). For instance, the entrance fee for the US citizens is now $61, not $45, as stated in the book, and is payable ONLY in cash and only in US dollars. If you are a citizen of Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, double-check before you go, as entrance fees for your countries may also have changed. Also, some items claimed by the book to be in the menus of the restaurants were actually not on the menu.

Nevertheless, I was VERY satisfied with the book's recommendations on restaurants, hotels, siteseeing, as well as organized tours in Chile. Following their recommendations, I have NOT been disappointed once, which I found quite impressive. They certainly did a very nice job with that.

The book also provides a few pages worth of information on Uruguay. It is very basic and sometimes superficial, but nevertheless useful, in particular the recommendation on hotels and siteseeing in Montevideo, as well as transportation between Montevideo and Punta del Este. However, it is certainly incomplete, and I would use some other reference books in addition to it if you plan to spend more than 1-2 days in Uruguay. I would certainly use other references for shopping recommendations in Montevideo or for what to/where to dine in Punta del Este. Also, beware that many ATM machines in Uruguay are giving instructions only in Spanish, and US dollars (symbol U$S) can be easily confused with Uruguayan pesos (symbol U$).

Despite the problems mentioned above, I STILL would highly recommend this book.


A guidebook full of insight   April 25, 2002
Pedro Moita (Puerto Natales Chile)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

This is a very nice book. I live in the South of Chile and I got it on a recent visit to the Central part of the country. I find the suggestions on places to visit and especially to eat very good and I must say that all the restaurants recommended in and around Santiago in which I ate,were excellent. Also one day we were to make a reservation for a table for lunch and we tried the phone number that showed on the 2002 edition of a local guidebook. It was disconnected. Than we tried the number indicated on the Frommer's and it worked!!!
Around the region I live in, I find that the book gives the best suggestions on places to visit, dine and stay. It shows that the author has researched thoroughly and lived in Chile for a while. Her comments are elegant and full of insight.
I'm looking forward to try it on my visit to Buenos Aires next month!!!


Good But Incomplete   August 11, 2001
Michael J. Locascio (San Francisco, CA United States)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

I find Frommers, simple concise and not directed towards the backpacker like some other series. This book is good, but very incomplete, excludes areas like Mendoza and Cordoba in Argentina. However, I like what is has to say about the areas in Chile I have traveled to.


fact checkers needed   February 9, 2002
Lauren Hauptman (san francisco, ca USA)
6 out of 17 found this review helpful

I have only just begun planning my trip to Argentina, and I have been very frustrated with the incorrect information presented in this book. Many of the phone unmbers are missing a numeral and, after quite a bit of research, I found a key website didn't work because the book left out one of its suffixes. I'm going out to buy a different book.