Go to sleep in the winter and wake up in summer
You can too for fewer points than you may think!
A few days in Buenos Aires, Argentina
As my regular readers know, I work for a US based international airline, so I can take advantage of the fantastic travel benefits and share my experiences and insights. I often blog about “Insights from the Inside” and have helped many get through difficult travel roadblocks.
In this chapter, I’ll review my latest trip: Buenos Aires, Argentina
We decided to take a quick trip to Buenos Aires (BA) partly due to the convenient flight schedule that maximizes time on the ground. I was able to work a full day then catch an overnight flight to EZE that arrived before noon. That allowed most of a full first day to spend in the city. The return two days later was at 9:00 PM giving us effectively three days to tour and explore the city.
An advance warning:
Your UBER app may not work. Mine didn’t work at all but my traveling partner’s did work on Wi-Fi inside the airport. Another option is Cabify, though it wasn’t completely reliable either. Submit a comment below for more details.
We had a few things we wanted to do in the short time we were there.
- Visit La Recoleta Cemetery. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and a granddaughter of Napoleon.
- Take a city walking tour
- There are many options for city tours in BA. I always recommend a free tour where the guide works for tips only.
- Visit La Boca, a neighborhood on the southeast side of the city
- EAT!!! (Sorry vegetarians)
- Argentina has outstanding, inexpensive beef and BA has some very good places to try it.
It was an easy three day trip with overnight flights in both directions allowing maximum time all three days. It was a great visit and getaway from the northern hemisphere winter.
If you’re looking for an easy, exotic getaway, Buenos Aires is a must-consideration and PointsForDeparture.com can help!
I’ve started a new personal tradition of visiting European Christmas markets. Before I get to Vienna, I’ll share the trip details. Flying standby requires a little extra planning so at the last minute I chose Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) as our gateway to Europe. This is all based on which flight loads look best for us. We arrived at IAD from out origin at about 12:00 EST so we had several hours to kill. Using the great benefit of my Priority Pass Lounge Card, included with my Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa, we had a couple lounges from which to choose for our four hour wait.
- Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse (Concourse A)
- British Airways Galleries Lounge (Concourse B)
- Turkish Airlines Lounge (Concourse B)
There’s also a restaurant option of Chef Geoff’s in Concourse C.
I had never been to any of the IAD lounges so I wanted to experience all I could. We started at the Virgin Clubhouse. We entered the lounge and found it mostly empty. There was a limited selection of food. While the lounge was quiet and comfortable, I was a little disappointed. I’ve flown Virgin Atlantic Upper Class and expected more from its fun, hip reputation.
After we finished our coffee and eggs, we moved on to the Turkish Airlines Lounge. We found this club much more inviting and comfortable. The food and drink options were typically Middle Eastern including hummus, tabbouleh, olives, lamb and beef. There was a nice vegetable and fruit selection and of course, Turkish coffee. One wall had several televisions with American football playing as well as two TVs, each connected to a Roku. The largest of all screens seemed to be for Turkish self-promotion. There was plenty of seating, though it did fill up as we got later in the afternoon.
The British Airways Club is only open until 2:00 PM so we didn’t try it.
Turkish Airlines has done well with their club and that will be my first choice when killing time at IAD.
In the list below, we share 26 road-tested travel tips. As Bilbo Baggins famously warned, ‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door’; follow this A to Z of timeless travel advice to keep the chaos to a minimum.
We’ve all been there are some point. You’re 500 miles from civilisation, trekking in the mountains, when you spot a rare beast or gorgeous vista.
Ever dream of quitting work, renting out the family home and taking off to explore the world long-term? It’s a step that plenty of parents would love to take but the thought of planning such a mammoth trip can be daunting – especially when it takes all your energy just to get the kids out the door.