So,

I'm looking to spend ~ 7 days near Buenos Aires.

Is it worth doing a day trip to montevideo or no?

Maybe try flying in there and then taking the ferry to BA to avoid the entrance fee?

No, Montevideo is a waste of time. It's like a small rundown BA without the all the stuff to do. A day trip to Colonia renting a moto is the way to go wrt Uruguay (at least this time of year).

Good to know - is there an easy/cheap ferry ride over?

Yes, buquebus has lots of cheap ferries leaving from puerto madero. You can check prices online, they're reasonable. Note that there are two speeds of boats.

if i were only going to be in BsAs for 7 days, i'm not sure i'd spend one of them in Colonia unless I was one of those people who tried to get a passport stamp from every country.

this

7 days should be easily filled with activities within BA

colonia is pretty boring

I agree, don't go to Colonia, and you have space in your 7 day schedule than do more research on things to do in BA.

Did you pay Argentine import taxes on the car? If so, how much?

I won an LAPT Rosario tourney package just last Saturday. Will be flying in Sept 22 and leaving Sept 27 but trying to make the most of a short trip, will be traveling with GF. What activities in Rosario/Buenos Aires do I have to make sure not to miss? Anything else nearby that I should consider going to? I think I plan on renting a car, is this a good idea or should I try to do everything through public transportation? Anyone down there want to show us around?

Don't know anything about Rosario but it's hard to screw up Buenos Aires as long as you don't get a car. Street signs are essentially impossible to read from a car, streets do not go straight, there are tons of ****ed up intersections, and people ignore lane markings and speed limits. You will spend all of your time trying not to die while having no idea where you are.

Renting a car is only a good idea if you wanna visit different cities and most of them are too far away (15-20h drives).. If i were you i'd take an omnibus to go back and forth from BA -- Rosario -- BA. Those are cheap and very comfortable. So you'll probably land in EZEIZA. The bus terminal is in retiro. Tickets can be bought online but also there. Be carefull for pickpockets in that area. It's located next to one of the biggest villas miserias (slums) of S-America.

http://www.omnilineas.com/argentina/bus/retiro/rosario/

Driving a car in BA is pure madness and you'll be better of taking taxi's exploring the city.

Things to do in Rosario. I heard the going-out scene is pretty good there, so you might wanna go clubbing one night there

Things to do in BA
- visit the different neighbourhoods: Recoleta, Microcentro, Palermo, Puerto Madero, La Boca which are the most memorable ones.. Be carefull in Boca and def with taxidrivers who scam you with their payment meters.. They know it's mostly tourists going there.
- go to some of the finer restauratns for great cuisine or a delicious steak
some recommendations:
look them up here for adress/type of cuisine:
http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/
La cabrera (steak), green bamboo, oviedo, Tó, Osaka (best sushi/french-oriental fusion restaurant i've ever been to),
- clubbing (crobar/pacha are decent)
- they have quite some nice museums (like the national art museum)
- check out rosedal park + jardin japones (japanese garden)

Not really coherent but I'm sure guys will chime in and help you out.

Join our facebook group SHIP IT BUENOS AIRES, there are enough guys here and they will probably take you around, so you can ask there as well since some don't read 2+2 topics anymore

I might be going to Rosario to cover the event...2p2 dinner get together?

Wish I had seen this earlier. Hey guys, just joined because I saw there was such an active 2+2 contingent in BA. I'm moving there Sept 30 (2 weeks)...I play a decent amount of NL both online and live but I'm really just looking for fun people to go out with.

I'm from boston originally and I'm moving down to BA just for the hell of it (perfect my spanish...mother is colombiana but I havent spoken consistently in years, travel through S America and just live it up). I founded and run several online communities, the largest being WallStreetOasis.com, so I'm pretty mobile. BA seemed like the ideal place to go for a while...planning on staying at least through March 2011. Rented a monster apt/townhouse (2300sf) with a lot of deck space because I used to live in NYC and couldnt believe how far the $s go (so, why not?) and I want to be able to host parties.

Would love to meet up with some of you guys once I get down there - whether to play some poker and/or grab a beer/steak/wine. I'm very excited to finally get down there (feel like I've been talking about it for years).

Talk soon,
Patrick

hey guys, what is the Facebook group called?

Thanks

SHIP IT BUENOS AIRES

the facebook group is pretty dead, in part because most of the people who used to use it don't live in Buenos Aires anymore. it was mostly used among the crowd that got here about a year and change ago, and has since left.

personally, i never check the FB group these days, but i'd bet of the people still here, more people check this thread than the group.

Why no tortilla chips in BA? I've only been to one maybe two restaurants with decent chips. Anyone seen them at jumbo or another big supermarket?

yes you can find them. Jumbo has them but it's inconsistent. There's also a supermarket on borges a couple blocks from plaza serrano that has them, but again shipments are inconsistent. by the end of the year i was buying about 4 bags at a time when i saw them.

Is the expat crowd considerably lower than it was two years ago? Is the increased cost of living one of the reasons for that?

i don't think there's any year-over-year change, but most people leave for the winter because of a combination of weather and WSOP. the FB group was started by Ben, who left a year ago. it seems like most of the people who used it were new arrivals and have since left.

i don't think cost of living is that much higher in exchange rate-adjusted terms.

Jumbo definitely has them (at least the one on Cervino), but they are expensive. You can also find them in barrio china.

Thanks guys, found some yesterday at a Carrefour. Around 20 pesos for a big bag.

any of you guys still play in a soccer league or recommend one before i start googling? id like to play at least 1 night a week

if you're not looking for anything very serious, you can join the facebook group Buenos Aires Futbol Amigos

for something more serious, I don't know