Getting Oriented

Argentina's famous pampas begin in Buenos Aires Province—an unending sea of crops and cattle-studded grass that occupies nearly one-quarter of the country's landscapes. Here are the region's most traditional towns, including San Antonio de Areco. In southern Buenos Aires Province, the pampas stretch to the Atlantic coast, which is dotted with resort towns that spring to life in summer.

From Buenos Aires ferries cross the massive River Plate estuary to the small Uruguayan town of Colonia del Sacramento. Suburban trains connect Buenos Aires to Tigre, close to the labyrinthine waterways of the Paraná delta, explorable only by boat. The delta feeds the Esteros del Iberá, an immense wetland reserve hundreds of kilometers north, in Corrientes Province. On Argentina's northeastern tip, readily accessible by plane, are the jaw-dropping Cataratas del Iguazú.