A little advance planning can make the difference between a good trip and a great trip. What do you need to know before you depart? When should you go? What's the best way to get there? How much should you plan to spend? What safety or health precautions are advised? This sectionoutlines all the basics -- the when, why, and how of traveling to and around Argentina.
Online Traveler's Toolbox
Veteran travelers usually carry some essential items to make their trips easier. Following is a selection of handy online tools to bookmark and use.
- Airplane Seating & Food. Find out which seats to reserve and which to avoid (and more) on all major domestic airlines at www.seatguru.com. And check out the type of meal (with photos) you'll likely be served on airlines around the world at www.airlinemeals.net.
- Foreign Languages for Travelers (www.travlang.com). Learn basic terms in more than 70 languages and click on any underlined phrase to hear what it sounds like.
- Intellicast (www.intellicast.com) and Weather.com (www.weather.com). Provide weather forecasts for all 50 states and for cities around the world.
- Subway Navigator (www.subwaynavigator.com). Download subway maps and get savvy advice on using subway systems in dozens of major cities around the world.
- Time & Date (www.timeanddate.com). See what time (and day) it is anywhere in the world.
- Travel Warnings (http://travel.state.gov, www.fco.gov.uk/travel, www.voyage.gc.ca, www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice). These sites report on places where health concerns or unrest might threaten American, British, Canadian, and Australian travelers. Generally, U.S. warnings are the most paranoid; Australian warnings are the most relaxed.
- Universal Currency Converter (www.xe.com/ucc). See what your dollar or pound is worth in more than 100 other countries.
- Visa ATM Locator (www.visa.com) for locations of PLUS ATMs worldwide, or MasterCard ATM Locator (www.mastercard.com) for locations of Cirrus ATMs worldwide.
