Colonia

[Daddy Rulz]

Machu Piccu (most likely mispelled) would be an excellent visa renewal trip. Hope a plane to Lima, transfer to Cuzco, spend a day or so in Cuzco (great city but kinda dodgy) do the tourist stuff there, then take the train to MP, spend the night at the MP hotel and come back the next day or hike part of the inca trail (hard to do on the spur of the moment you have to have a reservation to hike it) then back to Lima and return to BsAs.

I've seen MP and it really is one of the 10 things you need to see before you die. I understand it's being very poorly managed and is suffering damage so go while the getting is good.

[Mpexy]

I was voicing an opinion - to me Colonia is boring and dull, and personally wouldn't go out of my way to steer people or recommend it to anyone. However that doesn't mean I don't think it's perfectly ok for someone else to think it's a great stop to visit.

Looking through the board I saw that visa renewal threads kind of got lost here and there among other threads or with replies that sort of blurred the info. So again, my post was basically just a practical how-to approach to renew your visa quick in Colonia, with the perhaps should have left out observation I found it totally boring.

So for the same reason, any place I'd recommend to be a good tourist visit is all up for interpretation and personal likes / dislikes. That said, for me personally and those that might be like me, I'd recommend Buenos Aires. Sounds trite, but one reason I've been here so long is because I like it for a number of different criteria that usually other spots for me only fill one or a few of. For example, a fantastic location I'd easily recommend is Cairns, Australia. But other than the great barrier reef visit / diving, it's a fairly small town, even by Australian standards, and other than the nature type reasons - reef, jungle, aborigine life tour activities, etc. - it's not a place I can stay long term.

Near Argentina, I can't recommend any location as I've so far stayed right here in BA for my entire 4.5 month stay so far. I've got on a potential list to visit Bariloche, some wineries in Mendoza, and Cordoba. Not really into the nature thing so Iguazu I've written off. But since I've been having such a relaxing time in BA, I haven't really felt a need to venture out yet.

[Hobby Fan]

Colonia is peaceful, quiet and packed with small and informal but at times interesting museums. Its 17th century fortifications are intact. Archeological remains are reached over a well laid out set of raised walkways, up near the main church.

Whether you like Colonia or not is a question of taste and style, and certainly it is not Paris or Rome. But it does have a pretty strong claim on being a high quality tourist destination. UNESCO does not pass out world cultrual heritage designations lightly.

Mpexy, what else in the area would you recommend for an 'actual tourist visit?' To me, Colonia is near the top of the list.

[Dickhead]

Shit Hunt you and I don't normally see eye-to-eye to put it mildly, but if you like Colonia for peace and quiet, you gonna LUV Carmelo! It has a really nice town square and a very peaceful river walk. You can bring a bike on the train and then on the boat and just kinda cruise around for like three hours, end of story. You go to Colonia, that is open water. Boring. The Carmelo boat (Mpexy it is a reputable operator, Cacciola in the 500 block of Florida) goes up the delta, tranquilamente, no problema. You be chillin' and shit. Chillin' like a ice cube, baby.

ICE ICE BABY

[El Perro]

I agree with Hunt in that Colonia is a peaceful, quiet break from the bustling city. I believe that some of the owners of the mansions (S America standards) you see there are wealthy Portenos that can quickly visit this place that is so close yet so far away from BA. But at 5:30pm Id still rather return to BA than stay in Colonia. It amazes me that some people stay there for 2-3 days, I have no idea what they do (assuming you can't fuck 24/7) I should try it, maybe I'm missing something.

I sincerely doubt it.

[Moore]

I agree with Hunt in that Colonia is a peaceful, quiet break from the bustling city. I believe that some of the owners of the mansions (S America standards) you see there are wealthy Portenos that can quickly visit this place that is so close yet so far away from BA. But at 5:30pm I'd still rather return to BA than stay in Colonia. It amazes me that some people stay there for 2-3 days, I have no idea what they do (assuming you can't fuck 24/7) I should try it, maybe I'm missing something.

[Hunt99]

I like it, more for the change-of-pace than anything else. It's actually quiet in Colonia, you can sit outside at a cafe in the evening and listen to the birds singing in the trees. In BsAs I quickly get tired of the constant blasting of buses, trucks, cars, and honking horns.

[Thomaso276]

I agree with MPEXY. I never liked Colonia, never will, but I had to go there for the three month rule in the past. Waste of a day.

[Mpexy]

If I can book through a reliable operator like Buquebus, and the total elapsed time is enough less than the Colonia day trip to make it worth it, then I'll do the Carmelo thing next time.

[Dickhead]

IMO having done both several times, Carmelo is considerably easier than Colonia if one's purpose is solely to renew one's visa.

[Mpexy]

Colonia is a dull, boring place. I don't recommend to anyone to go there for an actual tourist visit.

My post is more about using Colonia as the quickest, easiest tourist Visa renewal than visiting the place. If I could have, I would have gone there, got my stamps and got right back on a boat back to BA. Unfortunately, the boat schedule doesn't run that often.

[Moore]

I went to Colonia once way back in Sep-02 and it doesnt sound like much has changed. I concur with most of Mpexy's comments. I looked back in Quicken and see that I paid p343 for 2 tickets, so the price has increased very little since then, surprisingly. Of course in those glory days at the rock bottom of the Argentine recession, the peso was trading around 3.60/dollar and you could have the entire restaurant of Estilo Campo to yourself on Friday night for about US$10. There were plenty of open tables every night of the week at Gran Bar Danzon as well. Whoares at Affaire PY cost p70 instead of p120 and I almost had my own personal beach at Playa Grande in Mar del Plata that year. Ah, the good old days. Camelot. Of course I lost more money that year in the US stock market than I'll ever save on Argentine whoares.

I also took the fast boat which I highly recommend but I'm pretty sure I went regular class. It was still roomy and you never even have to sit down during the 1hr journey - you can walk in the dutyfree shop/ bar/etc. 4.5 hours was still too much time for me and my then GF. I rented a scooter and buzzed around the place (including a few mansion areas further out), walked the few cobblestone streets, ate lunch, and had ample time left over before the 5:30pm return. I don't remember having to buy Uruguayan pesos.

For guys that need 90day visa renewals, its damn easy, quick, and cheap. Otherwise, its a decent day trip from BA once but I see no point in returning.

[Hobby Fan]

Mpexy:

Your report is useful. I suggest that other visitors walk around the historic fort area of Colonia, which is a UNESCO heritage historic district and really very tranquil. It is a world away from the energy and hussle of BA. You may have done so, but your report seems to focus on just the Radison pool for the passage of time between boat runs. To me, the fort area is even worth an overnight visit, and perhaps taking in some of the small museums. To each his own.

Prostitution is actively banned in Colonia and the rest of its state or province but exists about a 40 minute car ride in either direction along the Rio Plata.

JACKSON: should this be a subthread of "Uruguay?"

[Mpexy]

90 Day Visa Renewal day-trip excursion -

I had to renew my 90 Day tourist visa, and didn't have a short hop back to the states planned for awhile, so I did the day trip to Colonia thing. Thought I'd write up my observations specifically for those wanting / needing to renew their tourist visa as quickly as possible via a Colonia trip.

Buying a ticket -

Any Buquebus tour office will do, or you can even buy them online at their website, but I just went down in person to their new location on Posadas, near corner of Callao and Posadas. Normal day trip only ticket was 226p for the fast boat in a first class cabin seat. I highly advise taking the fast boat as it's only 1hr vs 3hrs for the slow one, and spending the extra 34p for first class - the normal 192p tourist cabin seats looked ok but the upstairs first class ones are not only a lot more roomy, it has an on-board lounge / bar / kitchen for snacks right next to it, and very clean bathrooms. Another tangible benefit is that when the boat docks, you get to exit pretty rapidly as the stairs down from the first class cabin is right next to the exit lock. The fast boat leaves every day at 11:15 am from the Darsena Norte Terminal in Puerto Madera, or just say Buquebus terminal to any taxi driver - and the ticket seller will say show up 1hr before, but it seems 30-40min will easily do. You can buy a packaged tour but riding on buses as a tour group isn't my thing so I passed on that, just took the boat-only trip ticket over.

Immigration.

At the Darsena Norte terminal, soon as you enter there's a bunch of numbered lines on your left - the little sign above the number will tell you which to get in line for - it has the time of departure and type of boat. They check you in, check your passport, and issue you the boarding ticket. Then send you on to immigration.

Just before the immigration door, there's a little cambio place - you can change some cash into Uruguayan pesos, but I'd say forget it and just do it in Uruguay (or not even change any at all actually)

Passing through immigration seems to be so ho-hum and routine the guards didn't even check my when the metal detector went off. I forgot and had my cell phone and camera in my pockets but I guess they figured a gringo was safe and just waved me through in a pretty bored fashion. At the passport check, the process is pretty rapid and well set up - sitting side by side is both the Argentine and Uruguay immigrations people. So you step up, the Argentine guy stamps you out of Argentina, slides the passport over to the Uruguay guy, and he stamps you into Uruguay. Bienvenido Uruguay and you haven't even left the Puerto Madera port yet.

The Boat Ride.

Exactly 1hr by my watch and the boat left a few min early. Very smooth, zero roll or turbulence.

Entering Colonia and Changing Cash.

Since they already checked you in and out, all you do is get off the boat, collect any luggage, if any, and just walk past the customs guards. It was a day trip so I had no luggage so I didn't have to pass anything through their baggage checker. Once you exit the terminal, which is really tiny - you kind of think you're now in the middle of some little backwater as the Puerto Madera side is totally different than Colonia. It's like walking out into a large parking lot with a bunch of nothing.

You can rent a car near a few rental agencies right as you exit, but what you should do if it's the first time is just walk the 10 meters or so to the Uruguay Tourismo office. The guy there can give you a pretty nice map to walk around by, and if you need it, directions to where you can change Dollars or AR pesos into Uruguayan pesos.

There is no cambio place in the actual port area - you need to walk out the large parking lot area, and I found the directions incredibly difficult based on what the tourismo guy said and marked on my map, so the easier version is this - just walk out the damn parking lot, there's only one way to exit - and just like a parking lot in the states they have a little guard shack with raising / lowering bar. Just walk out there and you'll be looking at a three-way triangle. To your immediate side left is some random street you don't want to go, diagonal left is a street called Rivera, and diagonal right - forget that street to. Literally staring you right in the face is this small building that looks like and actually also does serve as a car rental shack - it has a name marker on it called Viaggio. Call me stupid but it took me 35 min and two trips back and forth to two different tourismo offices to finally understand that this damn car rental shack is also the open all hours cambio place.

It's important to know this cambio place as opposed to any other for two reasons - going against all common sense and prior experience, this place closest to the port gives the best exchange rate from american dollars or AR pesos to your pesos. When I went this weekend, they gave 7.5 your pesos per 1 AR peso. The two different cambio / banks open on a Saturday on the main street of Gral Flores that the tourismo office willl also direct you to gave 7.1. Also, the boat docks at 12:15pm usually, and by the time you get off and situate yourself, especially if it's the first time there, it's 12:30 or so. I found out the hard way that all the cambio places in town other than this car rental / cambio place right next to the port closes for a little lunch time siesta between 1pm and 3pm. Personally, if you're only going to Colonia for a day trip, and specifically to renew your tourist Visa, I'd say forget exchanging any money at all.

What to Do for 4.5 hrs.

The boat goes back at 5:30pm, but since you need to show up about 30 min prior, you're really looking at killing about 4.5hrs in Colonia.

What I did, and advise if you don't want to hassle with changing cash is just pay in AR pesos - most the restaurants and other places will take AR pesos here. Argentine friends tell me it's a Colonia thing - in Montevideo apparently there are less places. I figured if there was going to be any place that had a decent place to lounge around, it was a nice hotel. So I took a cab but later learned the walk is so short, might as well walked it. Although if you want, there are a ton of scooter and moped rental places right as you exit the port area - don't know the cost but I saw people renting them pretty quickly.

The Radison Colonia is a decent place to park for a couple hours, have a nice lunch, sit by their pool and sip your drink of choice, read a book, whatever. I basically spent most my time there. You can pay for your meal in pesos, which they don't give the best exchange rate for but the difference is so small, in my opinion, that it washes out if you exchanged AR pesos to your pesos, and then back again if you had any left. I took some pics of the Uruguayan pesos because I found them fairly attractive, although fairly large sized bills compared to the more easily pocketed AR ones.

The walk from the port to the Radison is literally 5-6 min at most, so I'd say needing any small change for cabs while in Colonia is pretty useless. The only reason to have some your pesos is perhaps if you wanted to get some ice cream as the one main place that seemed to be the one ice cream store in all of downtown Colonia on their main street only took your pesos that day. Misc observation but the ice cream was about 3/5 the cost as in your average Freddos in BA. If you want to buy electronics without the killer BA tax on them, it seems like Uruguay is the place to do it in as the cost for digital cameras I looked at in one store seemed about on par with what I'd expect to pay in the United States, and less than the really jacked up rates I see in BA.

Going Back.

Same process in reverse as in Puerto Madera, show up about 30-35 min before the boat leaves - check in to get your boarding stub, then pass through immigration. Uruguayan guy stamps you out, slides passport over to the Argentina guy, and he stamps you in and stamps a new 90-day tourist visa into your passport.

As far as any checking to see if I'd done prior tourist visa renewals or whatever, it doesn't seem like they are cracking down on that at all. The immigrations guy just took like all of 5 sec to open, stamp stamp, smile and move me on my way.