elr

hi,
based on all the recommendations on this board, I contacted Cintia. She and WowArgentia seem to be exactly what I'm looking for....however, I'm fairly independent and have been doing a good deal of research by myself, and wonder if it's possible to use the agency basically to book airline tickets, etc., but do much yourself, or is it best to allow Cintia to pull together entire itinerary, etc.?

Also, has anyone found a big difference in price between booking own hotels, and having agency book them?

I hope this post makes sense. Thanks for any answers.

ciao, Ellen

taitai

ELR:
I am in a similar boat -- want to use Cintia just to help with one day trip -- we can do the rest ourselves. I have done this before in many countries and never had a problem so I think it is okay. I have sent her two emails and not heard anything back. What email address are you using?

Thanks.
Taitai

elr

hi,
I'm using this email:
[email protected]

There was a post sometime ago regarding contacting her, and all the possible addresses. I got a reply from her after about two days.

I hope you post what happens.
ciao, Ellen

jenm

Cintia is truly fantastic. We used her for a month long trip to Argentina with great results. Typically we do not use a travel agent but found that we saved a great deal of money using Cintia, her prices for many hotels were considerably cheaper than when we priced them on our own. That being said, we did a week in Uruguay that we booked on our own and it was no problem. She and Matias are very informed, pleasant and great to deal with. It was lovely having them meet us at the airport each time and felt like we were seeing old friends. I highly recommend her, but by all means feel free to book some portions yourself if that seems to work better. Enjoy your trip, Argentina is an amazing country.

Graziella5b

Hi ,I agree a 100% with jenm. May be because we have done the same, used Wow for a number of things, their custom city tour is outstanding, is like being a day out with local friends., and have done others on our own.
As Jenm rightly points out we also feel we have saved a bundle making hotel reservations through Cintia and Matias . We took the precaution of checking the hotels directly and in each case, we saved money. This,I was told is the prevailing system in Argentina, travel agents get wholesale prices which are better than the ones obtainable booking directly.
They are honest, flexible within reason, and know a lot. However I am sure some people write to them asking a lot of custom made information and then star comparing with other agencies. The thing is that their services in my opinion are way above most of the services offered by other agencies.
Obviously it is not the same to have a city tour inside a bus or big van with lot of other passangers, than have a custom made tour, with enphasis in the aspects you are more interested, and to do it vis a vis with Cintia in a chauffered car.
So, in my opinion, it is not fair to write to them extracting a lot of information, to be compared with services which most likely will be of a lesser quality, I always felt that they are very reasonable is not inexpensive for the quality of their services.
They were always out there for us, they helped us solve a number of different issues that came along. I have no words to
thank them.

lelc00

No problems with Wow Argentina here.
Very satisfied with their service, just tell them your needs and preferences and they will arrange everything for the best price.

elr

thanks, everyone, for responses. it's highly unusual to hear such positive things about one agent. and, it does put to rest my fears that I may not be using them for entire time in Argentina, but just for bits and pieces.

thanks again. I'm really looking forward to getting to S. America.

elr

I forgot...
Jenm, I'm interested to hear about your week in Uruguay, b/c I'm thinking of doing the same. I'd like to hear about what you did. Could you either post here or email me at [email protected], if you care to chat about it.

thanks, Ellen

sugarpuff

They are a truly amazing agency with extremely personalized service. Honest, dependable and really nice people. They can do as much or as little arranging as your require. Plus they saved us at least $60 a night on our hotel from the prices we were quoted by the hotel directly.

You won't be disappointed.

josheli

I just wanted to chime in here as well. I just returned from 11 days in argentina and cintia was a huge help. My wife and I arranged most the trip ourselves, but cintia helped us get our flight to Iguazu set, along with a trip to see Boca play River. We went by her office and met with her upon arrival and she was kind enough to help give us a good quick overview of the city.

She really helped make the trip wonderful and I'd definately recommend her services to anyone. Thanks also to everyone here who suggested using wowargentina, it all helped make our trip a success.

elr

Since I asked this question initally, I want to let you all know what happended.

I contacted Cintia, and it took a few days for her to initally reply. When I told her what I was looking for: specifically, someone to help with flight and hotel bookings, it was fine. When I told her my price points for hotel (esp. in BsAs) it was less fine. As a mid-range traveler, I don't mind shelling out the bucks for a nice hotel for a night or two, but I'm pretty comfortable in mid-range or lower hotels (as long as they are clean and have basic amenities).

Basically, she informed me (nicely) that she didn't work with people in my price range (which, frankly, I didn't think was all that rock bottom, i.e. around $50/night). I wrote back and asked about booking airline tkts, which she was fine with, but, at that point, as I figured I didn't want to work w/her and she obviously didn't want to work with me.

I was fairly disappointed in this. I had hoped to work with her, and was hoping for someone who could save me money, and offer suggestions, even though I did much of my own research....

In any event, I went with Isabel, at Buenos Aires Travel, who has not problem with my price points, and has been a riot to deal with. In any event, thanks, whoever it was, for that suggestion.

WinterTravel

Most people seem very pleased with Cintia and we were thinking of contacting her for the Argentina portion of an August trip. We have already reserved a room at the Four Seasons BA via the web, but are wondering from some of the comments posted if we are better off booking the hotel throught Cintia. Does anyone know if she gets better rates at hotels like the Four Seasons?

SoeurAnneLafleur

I hate to be contrary but I remember reading some less than favorable comments about this agents services. Mainly that she doesnt always get back to her clients and that she occasionally takes a snippy attitude. I wouldnt trust her and I think she might right her own reviews!

SoeurAnneLafleur

Meant to say that she might "write" her own reviews.

Judi

Well, I take offense at that. I have posted positive comments about Cintia several times as I think she is the best. I know Graziella is also a regular poster who thinks WowArgentina is a great company and there are many others as well.

If you want to check my credibility you can click on my name and discover I have been a Fodors poster for many years.

connette

To SoeurAnneLafleur - do you know Cintia? If not I am puzzled as to why you would wish to say something so terrible about her? You have already had someone feel offended by your posting and you are bound to have more. There is a reason. Cintia is like family to the nearly 100 posters that have worked with her. It is like you have said something bad about a sister or mother. Cintia is much too honest and busy to write her own reviews. She has many satisfied clients doing that for her. To elr, I am also a travel agent of many years. I have made the decision to not book very cheap hotel rooms myself. I used to stay cheap and book cheap, but there is sometimes a reason why a hotel might be so inexpensive. I have had some really bad luck myself and had to change hotels that were already paid for and pay for a 2nd hotel due to unsatisfactory conditions of the hotel room or the location. That can wreak havoc with your trip. If a client chooses to book cheap and something goes wrong, they have only themselves to blame. Not me. Therefore I explain that to them and if they wish they are welcome to book their own inexpensive hotel. I will only book someone where I would stay myself. So little is made on hotel commissions ($2.00-$4.00 on cheap and maybe $6.00-$7.00 on decent) that is not worth my integrity to book someone in a substandard hotel. I am only speaking for myself, not Cintia. She may have a different line of thinking on the subject. As I mentioned I am a travel agent and I freely state that I am not 1/2 the agent that Cintia is. I am sure there are other good agents in BA. Work with whover you are comfortable with, but please - do not bash someone for no reason.

SoeurAnneLafleur

Hmmm! Someone who doesn't answer emails promptly and will not book a room for $50. which is 150 pesos( a lot of money in Argentina mind you!) is not someone that I would want to work with. You can still find nice and decent places for that sum. You can't blame her for making a profit but be reasonable!

drdawggy

I have had contact with a number of Cintia's clients and can assure you that the testimonials you see on the board are written by those who have received excellent service and not by Cintia herself.....

Cintia occupies a unique niche in Buenos Aires. Think of her as a Tag Heuer and most other service providers as a Timex....Timex wearers want a serviceable watch for a minimal price....Tag wearers are looking for quality and don't mind the extra expense...


Cintia is both a tour guide and a travel agent. Her specialization is providing both services in Buenos Aires and booking packages for side trips to other parts of Argentina.

Her tours are not cheap and she works with mid and upper range hotels. If this is what you want, you will be quite pleased with her service. She can offer discounted prices for the mid and upper range hotels and provide you with individually tailored tours that offer insights into Porteno life that you will not get by taking standard bus tours.....

The choice is yours. There are many other great agents here that do bookings and will arrange tours,etc, for you...in any price range you wish.....

A word about U$50 hotel rooms....$150 pesos may be a lot of money in Argentina, but it is getting harder and harder to find a good hotel for $50 a night....I won't say it is impossible, but many rooms have gone up 50% or more in the past twelve months as tourists have discovered Buenos Aires....The Art Hotel started out as a bargain at below 50 dollars a night, but has gone steadilly up...The Sofitel Madero started out at $80 a night and is now $120..these are just two examples....

hobbes

I do not want to get into the midst of a posting debate but elr and soeur are entitled to an opinion. I mailed Cintia for help with our Argentina trip in end April and got a reply - after a few days - that as she is traveling we have to wait until we return. I was not happy having to wait as our trip was fast approaching and wanted to work with someone who has some back up available for when they are not there. So, I went with Go Argentina. I was not entirely happy with them either as we booked stuff in Iguazu which was completely redundant and I felt Go could have advised us that if you are staying at the Sheraton for example then you really can see the Devils Throat viewing very conveniently on your own without a guide (who added no value). I posted re my experience separately. I do not want to hijack ths thread but will only say everyone is entitled to their opinion. elr, I highly reco the cicerones service - please book them for your BA trip, They are a bunch of people with no motivation but to share their wonderful city with tourists. Pull up my earlier post and you will see that my cicerone was the higlight of my trip - I would rank him higher than Iguazu in terms of my favourite things!

elr

I didn't expect this to turn into a battle. Cinta and her agency didn't work out for me; I was hoping she would, but she didn't. As I said in one of my posts, she was really "nice" about it, but frankly I didn't expect the $50 hotel range to be met with such scorn. And, she did tell me that there were fine places in that range, just that she didn't deal with them.

I also want to thank people who posted suggestions re $50-range hotels, etc. Also, thanks for the tip on the cicerone. It looks like an incredible organization and I definitely plan to use them.

Anyway, I'm glad people have had great experiences with Cintia. When I return from my trip and post my review, I'll let you all know how it went with my agent. I do think that it's a good thing for travelers to be able to compare agents...and it's probably also good for the agents too...so they keep innovating.