Tango in Buenos Aires with Alejandro & Erzsebet - This holiday is no longer available -

• Return flights from London
• Return airport transfers

• Nine nights' accommodation and breakfast in the 3* Sarmiento Palace Hotel

• Nine 1.5 hour tango classes suitable for beginner and improver dancers
• Nightly escorted milonga visits (entrance fees payable locally)
• City tour
• Sightseeing in and around Buenos Aires, including some of the city's "hidden gems" off the main tourist trail
• Full evening programme including organised dinners (payable locally)
• Welcome reception with drink
• Full hosting
• Optional extensions to Iguacu Falls and more

Sarmiento Palace*** (Bed & Breakfast) (Included) 

Only 100 metres from Corrientes and Callao Avenues and a short walk from our dance studio, and some of the city's best milongas, the Sarmiento palace Hotel features a fitness centre and a terrace with a hot tub. Free Wi-Fi and breakfast are provided. The Obelisk is 1.3 km away.

Fully carpeted, rooms at Hotel Sarmiento Palace feature air conditioning facilities. Some of them have whirlpool bathtubs and plasma TVs.

A buffet breakfast is served daily. Fine drinks can be enjoyed at the bar. Common BBQ facilities are available.

Guests can unwind on the rooftop terrace, which features a hot tub. Upon request, they can make use of a gym with spa facilities located 150 metres away.

We bring you the best way to dance Tango in Argentina - in a like-minded social group with local experts to ensure you get a real "insiders" tango experience. 

Our course directors Alejandro and Erzsebet teach traditional milonguero-style tango emphasising elegance, musicality and strong connection, permitting an authentic Argentine Tango experience for beginner and improver dancers. Accommodation is in the well-located 3 star Sarmiento Palace Hotel and our private dance studios are just a short walk away, as well as being close to some of the city's best milongas.

We include nine 1.5 hour tango classes as well as nightly milonga visits, a city tour, sight-seeing suggestions, group dinners and full hosting.

Buenos Aires:  Buenos Aires is a city of contrasts, a contemporary, energetic metropolis that maintains old traditions, wide boulevards and narrow cobblestone streets. It is a romantic, elegant city with a European identity and heritage, visible in its architecture and design. Experience its charm, excitement and sophistication.

Why not extend your stay with a visit to the world-famous Iguacu Falls, Patagonia or Mendoza wine region?

In order to get the most out of your milonga experience, we strongly recommend that you hire a taxi dancer for at least some of the evenings. We can pre-book this for you at £35 per evening. Note that you will also need to cover the dancer's milonga entry fee, transportation and soft drink.

'Just to say that we had a wonderful vacation. Buenos Aires is tremendous and our dancing has improved by leaps and bounds. The tour host was an excellent host and looked after us well.'

'Brilliant.'

Just a note to thank you for sorting out the holiday. Our tour host was fantastic and a very warm lady to deal with and made everyone feel as if they were VIPs. At all the Milongas and dinners we seemed to get the best seats in the house and I did feel as if I was some kind of visiting diplomat. The people were very friendly. I learnt a lot about tango that I simply haven’t been taught here in the UK. Overall it was a great time. Thank you once again for sorting things out.'

'Perfect organisation. Excellent value for money. Intense, serious and stimulating tuition. Iguacu was a knockout.'
   

This trip is suitable for both complete beginner dancers and those who have had some lessons, known as "improvers". You've been bitten by the tango bug and want to experience the culture and emotion of tango in Buenos Aires, as well as explore one of the world's most fascinating cities. And for a relatively small supplement you can add on an extension to the world-famous Iguazu Falls, Mendoza wine region or Patagonia.

Note that the milongas in Buenos Aires are a unique experience; there are rules and etiquette and the art of tango is taken very seriously. You may find that, as a non-local, you don't get asked to dance as much as you would like so we strongly recommend hiring a taxi dancer. We will visit a combination of the "serious" milongas and more light-hearted tourist milongas to give you the opportunity to experience both. 
 

Sample Itinerary

This is a provisional itinerary aiming to give you an idea of what your holiday will look like. There will be some elements which will change:

DAY 1
Depart London Heathrow on the overnight flight to Buenos Aires (Via Rome or Madrid)

DAY 2
Morning - Arrival and check in. Buffet breakfast and time to relax and recover from the flight
Afternoon - Welcome drink and meeting with Alejandro and Erzsebet followed by a 1.5 hour tango class.
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 3
Morning - 1.5 hour tango class

Afternoon - Buenos Aires sight-seeing tour including the Avenue 9th of July, Congress, Government House, Cathedral, Avenue de Mayo as well as the old city and the elegant neighbourhoods of San Martin Park and Florida Street. Finally Puerto Madero and the historical areas of San Telmo and La Boca.
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 4
Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Afternoon - Sight-seeing suggestions (see below)
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 5
Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Afternoon - Sight-seeing suggestions (see below)
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 6
Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Afternoon - Sight-seeing suggestions (see below)
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 7

Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Excursion to an Estancia, or ranch outside Buenos Aires for a "Fiesta Gaucha" with BBQ (OP) OR check out a football match at La Bombonera Stadium. You'll be as impressed by the stadium as you will be by the passion of the fans in it. Ask us on booking and we'll pre-book tickets for you, subject to availability and match schedules.
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 8
Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Afternoon - Sight-seeing suggestions (see below)
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 9

Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Afternoon - Sight-seeing suggestions (see below)
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 10
Morning - 1.5 hour tango class
Afternoon - Sight-seeing suggestions (see below)
Evening - Optional group dinner followed by escorted milonga visit

DAY 11
Depart for the airport and your return flight (overnight via Rome or Madrid)

DAY 12
Arrive in the UK.
 

Alejandro and Erzsebet will advise daily on sight-seeing suggestions, with options suitable for specific days of the week. Some activities include:

• Visit Libreria el Ateneo, Buenos Aires' most famous bookshop. Regal in size, operatic in feeling, the ornate Librería El Ateneo Grand Splendid draws in bookstore patrons as much for its setting in a 1920s theatre as for its amazing range of books which can be perused over a coffee before you buy.
• Visit one of Buenos Aires' lively street markets, including Palermo where young designers present their original clothes inside bars and restaurants. Your tour host will be happy to advise you on directions and / or public transport.
• Visit another of Buenos Aires' lively street markets featuring impromptu Tango performances, including San Telmo and La Boca. Your tour host will be happy to advise you on directions and / or public transport.
• Visit La Recoleta cemetery, a sprawling maze of narrow lanes home to 4,800 extravagant tombs, including some of the country's best known figures such as Eva Peron. Your tour host will be happy to advise you on directions and / or public transport.
   

14.5 hours of morning workshops (1.5 hours per day over nine days) are included in your holiday. 

Alejandro and Erzsebet will tailor the tuition specifically to the needs of the group with plenty of individual attention and the best opportunities for personal development. The workshops will ensure that everyone receives exactly the right measure of technique and style to inform their dance development and enhance their enjoyment of the dance at its roots. They teach Milonguero-style tango (see "The Learning Experience" for more information).

Dance partners in the classes and in the Milongas at night: You do not need a dance partner to take part in this holiday. We strongly recommend that you hire a taxi dancer for the evening milongas and this can be pre-booked at £35 per evening. Note that you will also need to cover the dancer's milonga entry fee, transportation and soft drink.

Language: Alejandro and Erzsebet are fluent in English.

Alejandro Gee was born in Argentina and grew up in a tango family where his involvement in the tango culture began at a very early age. His grandfather Francisco Gée was a milonguero and musician, who danced and played in his own orchestra until he died at age ninety.

Alejandro's tango style is traditional milonguero and he was inspired by his grandfather but it continues to evolve through the influence of different well-known milongueros and milongueras of Buenos Aires. His style emphasizes elegance, musicality, strong connection through close embrace, dancing for your partner and expressing that feeling through the music.
 

A Buffet Breakfast is included in your holiday. Lunch and Dinner are not included in your holiday.

The base of Argentinian food is beef which is often cooked 'a la parilla' (barbeque) and served with salad. Roasted meat ('asado') is also a favourite. Pasta is widespread along with pizza and hamburgers. Vegetables are low on the ground - what you will see will probably be potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and garlic. Starters are often empanadas (meat pastries, although the filling can vary, vegetarian empanadas are usually corn and spinach), chorizos or morcillas (pork, blood sausages) an assortment of achuras (sweetbreads). To finish off, one might choose a nice flan (custard), topped with dulce de leche and some whipped cream.

In addition to Argentinian food retaurants, Buenos Aires has many restaurants offering food from all over the world: Italian, Spanish, Japanese, French, Scandinavian, Mexican, Chines, North African, Turkish, Armenian.

Vegetarianism: It is worth mentioning that much of Argentinian food focuses on meat. However, Buenos Aires is a comospolitan city with a panoply of restaurants offering cuisine for all tastes.

The food and water The chances of falling sick because of what you eat are as unlikely as back home. However some people are upset by the change in diet. This can be minimised by ordering carefully. Tap water is safe in the urban areas but less so in rural areas of Argentina, especially in the rainy season (Argentina's autumn and spring). Bottled mineral water is readily available and perhaps recommended for those on short stays.

What are optional extras?   In addition to your holiday we also offer you a variety of optional extras to make your holiday even richer and add some local colour. These are the optional extras that we anticipate running – actual details will be confirmed on arrival. Some may require minimum numbers.

Taxi Dancers

In order to get the most out of your milonga experience, we strongly recommend that you hire a taxi dancer for at least some of the evenings. We can pre-book this for you at £35 per evening. Note that you will also need to cover the dancer's milonga entry fee, transportation and soft drink.

Full day countryside visit to an "Estancia" horseback demonstration - typical lunch with soft drinks and wine included and folk music dancers and singers

Three day sightseeing trip to Iguazu Falls: (£999)

• Transfers and Flight round trip Aeroparque Airport Bs As/Puerto Iguazu Airport
• Local rep on hand in Iguazu to give you full local info.
• 2 nights bed and breakfast accommodation at the four star Las Orquideas Hotel or similar 
• Afternoon tour of Argentine side of Iguazu
• 1 night bed and breakfast accommodation at four star Hotel in Buenos Aires
• Transfer Hotel Bs As/Ezeiza International Airport.
• Note: All transfer and excursions are quoted SIB (seat in bus) basis with bilingual Spanish/English tour guide. 

Iguazu Falls lie on the Argentina/Brazil border and are a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The falls are part of a singular practically virgin jungle ecosystem protected by Argentine and Brazilian national parks on either side of the cascades. Two thirds of the falls are on the Argentinian side of the river where you can also tour Iguazú National Park where there are jungle trails and bird hikes. Plan a full day in the park to fully enjoy the wildlife flora and fauna.  During the rainy season of November - March, the rate of flow may reach 450,000 cubic feet (12,750 cubic m) per second.

Taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horsehoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguazu River, Iguazú Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption which left yet another large crack in the earth.  It is possible to see the falls and surrounding area in a lightning trip but it is better to plan at least two days. You may take boat rides out to the falls. The light is best in the morning for photographs. From the Argentine side you can take a series of catwalks over the water rushing into Devil's Gorge. Protective rain suits are provided. The best times to see Iguazu Falls are in the spring and fall. Summer is intensely tropically hot and humid, and in winter the water level is considerably lower. Downstream from the falls where the Parana and Iguazu rivers meet, so do the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Each country has created a landmark in their national colors on a spot in each of their countries where you can see all three.

Four day visit to Patagonia £1159

• Private Round Trip Transfers in Buenos Aires: Hotel - Airport - Hotel
• Private Round Trip Transfers in El Calafate: Airport - Hotel - Airport
• Accommodation for 03 nights at Hotel Sierra Nevada or similar. Breakfast and taxes included.
• Full day Visit to the National Parks and Glacier Perito Moreno. Entrance fees to the National Parks included. Group activity.
• Full day Visit to Glaciers Upsala, Spegazzini and Onelli. VIP AREA on the Boat. Entrance Fees to the National Parks included. Group Activity.
• Accommodation at Hotel in Buenos Aires for 01 night. Breakfast and Taxes included.
• Airfare Buenos Aires - El Calafate - Buenos Aires included. Airtax included.

Four day visit to the Mendoza wine region £1169

• Private Round Trip Transfers in Buenos Aires.
• Private Transfer in Mendoza.
• Accommodation at Hotel Mendoza www.hotelmendoza.com or similar for 03 nights. Breakfast and Taxes included.
• Half day Sightseeing Visit of Mendoza. Group Activity.
• Full day Visit to the wineries. Wine tasting included. Lunch included. Group activity.
• Full day Visit to Cañon del Atuel. Group Activity.
• Accommodation in Buenos Aires for 01 night. Breakfast and taxes included.
• Airfare: Buenos Aires - Mendoza - Buenos Aires. Airtaxes included.

On Arrival: As arrival is first thing in the morning after an overnight flight, there will be free time to relax before the evening's welcome meeting. During this meeting Paul will go over the full itinerary and give you lots of local information and tips. He will also post daily updates about the day's schedule and activities including restaurant options.

Independence during your holiday and free time: You are fully independent on this holiday. Although your holiday is carefully organized and coordinated, we believe our guests do not like to be over-organised. So we give you quality information with all the addresses of where there are dance activities. You can decide for yourself if and when you want to turn up. We encourage you to explore Buenos Aires during your stay. This can be done when you please around the dance classes and Milongas at night.

Holiday Host:  Paul and his partner are there to make your holiday as enjoyable as possible. He will make sure you get the best out of the destination even though you are there for a relatively short time and he does this through local knowledge and knowledge of dance. Club Dance Holidays Tour Hosts normally offer much more of themselves than you would expect including making sure your nights are sociable and fun often well into the small hours if that is your whim. During the daytime the level of participation and presence of Club Dance Holidays tour hosts varies according to the nature of each holiday and its destination.
 

Welcome Drink: At the start of the week, you will be invited to a drink with live music.

Getting Around: Classes and workshops take place at our private dance studio around 10 minutes' walk from the hotel. Alejandro and Erzsebet will come to meet you on the first day and direct you to the studio. For the evening meals and milongas they will organise taxis which are cheap and readily available. An even cheaper alternative is the metro ('subte'),

Banks and Money:  The currency in Argentina is the Argentine Peso (ARS) and this is the currency that you will use on a daily basis (public transport, taxis, shopping, restaurants). US$ bills are also accepted in some restaurants and shops. If you take foreign currency, it is best to take US$ or euroscash rather than sterling. Though the risk of loss is greater than with travellers' cheques, better rates and lower commissions can usually be obtained for cash. Bank opening hours are Monday - Friday, 10am - 3pm. Cash machines are available throughout Buenos aires and are open 24 hours. Travellers' cheques are generally difficult to change, especially in smaller towns and at weekends. Transactions can take a long time and there is a 3% tax and banks generally charge about 4% commission though can be as high as 10%. Commission can be avoided if you go to a branch of the issuing bank, especially if changing small amounts. Hotels will normally change travellers' cheques for their guests (often at a rather poor rate). American Express, Visa or Thomas Cook US$ travellers' cheques are the better known variety. Credit cards are readily accepted in all main towns in Argentina. There is a high surcharge on credit card transactions in many establishments; many hotels offer reductions for cash.  It is hard to miss in the media the news that Argentina is currently suffering an economic crisis. In order to give Argentinians a chance of travelling with the money that they have, there are sometimes 2 prices (one for tourists and one for Argentinians) in the tourism sector. Generally, your holiday will not be affected by the economic situation. The Festival informs us that there is no more crime in the street than in other big cities, such as London, Paris or Barcelona.

VAT return: At the airport you may obtain a VAT reimbursement corresponding to any purchases made within the country for an amount over $70 (per invoice) and in shops operating with the “Global Refund” system.

Tipping:  Service charges are not usually included in the bill.10% of the amount of the bill is usually left in cafeterias and restaurants. Doormen, porters, and ushers in cinemas and theatres are also generally tipped.

Local Time: GMT -3.

Electricity: 220 volts 50 cycles AC (continental round pin plug).

Making friends with the Locals and people not on the holiday: If you make friends with a local and would like them to come along to the activities organised by us, then just ask your Tour Host and except for the dance classes and provided they pay their way there should not be a problem. We are here after all to interact with the locals. Generally, however, we discourage British people who are not on the holiday from coming out with us or joining the activities and we ask for your discretion is this respect.

We included escorted visits to milongas every evening (entrance fee is payable locally). Evenings in Buenos Aires are when you will truly experience the passion of Tango which dominates the city's clubs - an opportunity not only to observe some of the best Tangueros in Argentina.   

We will visit a combination of the city's top milongas as well as some of the more laid-back venues. As a non-local, you may not get asked to dance as much as you would like in the top milongas so we strongly recommend you hire a taxi dancer. They can be pre-booked at £35 per evening. Note that you will also need to cover the dancer's milonga entry fee, transportation and soft drink.

Alejandro and Erzsebet explain their teaching approach: For many people tango is just a dance. But in reality tango is a whole culture; it is the character of the people, the music, the lyrics, the way we dress, the way we talk, the way we greet each other by hugging, our life stories, our codes, our language, the feminine, the masculine and all our feelings which we express through dancing. This is why learning tango is not about just getting the technique, and this is why tango always evolves into more and more levels for everyone. This is why most of us choose it as a lifetime experience that we can never get bored of, as tango is infinite.

We choose to teach the milonguero style because we consider it the original Argentine tango, the base of all other tango styles and a reflection of our culture and my character. Milonguero tango is the social dance that people dance in the milongas. It is, first of all, danced in a close embrace, and it pays attention more than anything to the embrace, the connection, the partner, the music and the other couples dancing around. That means it is not about big elaborate movements, ganchos, high boleos, lifts and other movements that would require a lot of space and are more suited to show dance. It is about the connection with the partner, the music, and by respecting the other couples dancing around you and by not kicking them by mistake or bumping into them, with the connection to everyone else. The traditional milonguero style has elaborate movements of its own, that can be very complex, intricate structures within the close embrace.

Flights: We include flights with Alitalia via Rome or Iberia via Madrid. The flight is overnight both ways so the total holiday duration is 11 nights (9 nights in Buenos Aires).

If you would like a direct flight with British Airways we're happy to organise this for you for a supplement. Please call us for details. 

Transfers: We offer airport transfers for all arrivals on the start and end dates of the main holiday.

 

Making your own way to your Hotel: You can easily make your own way to your Hotel. Ezeiza Airport is 15 minutes drive away from the centre of Buenos Aires. Public transport between the Airport and the city centre functions on a 24 hour basis.

Books on Buenos Aires: Of the books we have read about Buenos Aires or Argentina these are the ones we would recommend.
Footprint Argentina Handbook, Footprint Handbooks - Factual Travel book.
Bad Times in Buenos Aires, Miranda France (travel writing) - Excellent insight into the psyche and character of the portenos (citizens of Buenos Aires), the place that Tango holds in Argentina and the Argentina's perception of its own identity.
Time Out Guide to Buenos Aires, Time Out Guides - Factual Travel book.
 
Budgeting for your holiday: Here are some guidelines on prices, to help you do your own calculations. Please refer to the optional extra section of the fact sheet for the prices of the optional extras.
Three course meal including drinks in the centre of town: 35-50 pesos
Taxi ride across town:  5 pesos
Rum and coke in a nightclub: 10 pesos
Beer in a bar/cafe:  3 pesos
Coffee in a bar/cafe: 2 pesos
Entrance to a monument or museum: 8 pesos

Passports: These must be valid for at least six months beyond the length of stay. Please check your passport now. You should carry your passport with you at all times. It is illegal not to have identification.

Visas: Visas are not necessary for US citizens, Canadian citizens, British citizens, nationals of other Western European countries and citizens of neighbouring countries who are given a tourist card on entry and may then stay for three months.

Health and Fitness: There are no particular health requirements for a dance holiday. However you should be able to dance for at least two hours a day in order to be able to enjoy the dance classes. Please inform us if you have any medical conditions that we need to be aware of.

Vaccinations: The following vaccinations are recommended for Argentina: typhoid, poliomyelitis, tetanus, infectious hepatitis A & B. Please consult your own GP in respect of which vaccinations you should have.

Luggage Labels and Lost Luggage: We strongly recommend that you secure your luggage before flying by all means possible – tape and locks. You should attach large and clear labels to your luggage with your name, flight number and destination, ie: Hotel Waldorf, Buenos Aires. Do not put travellers cheques, jewellery or money in your suitcase. In the unlikely event that your luggage is lost during the journey you need to independently take the matter up directly with the airline at the airport in Buenos Aires.

Keeping your valuables safe: Our advice is to leave unnecessary valuables at home. Do not leave your luggage unattended at any time and ensure that there is some way of locking or padlocking your suitcase or travel bag on the occasions where the luggage needs to be left in the bus or in the reception of the hotel. We suggest that you keep your passport, travellers cheques, dollars and other important valuables in the Hotel safes.

Insurance: This is a condition of booking please refer to the brochure for details.

Travel Documents: You receive these when you have paid for your holiday in full and we have received your airline tickets. In some cases the airlines do not release the tickets until five days before the departure date. We also confirm the address and phone number of the hotel and the emergency contact numbers.

In terms of weather, spring (September to November) and fall (March to May) are the best seasons to visit Buenos Aires. Day time temperatures average around 24C.

Useful Things to Bring: Shoes suitable for walking around the streets
Sunglasses
Sun cream
Insect repellent/anti-mosquito spray
Antiseptic cream in case of bites
Money belt
Money, plane ticket, full valid passport, visa
This fact sheet

What to wear for dancing: We recommend that you bring shoes with a leather sole for the dance classes. You may also be wise to bring shoes with a rubber sole as the floors in the evenings might be somewhat “fast” and they will give you an alternative. Your shoes should be comfortable and supportive. Wear lightweight cotton socks to avoid sweaty and blistered feet! It is probable that you may get through quite a few clothes in the classes and dancing at night (you can get quite hot!) so bring a variety of outfits. Wear comfortable loose clothing for the classes. The Tango events will be quite smart – do bring some smart outfits with you for the evenings.