Of course this depends on whether you love trekking, you’re learning Spanish, backpacking or digital nomading… but on average we believe 1-3 days is the right amount of time.
In this case, unlike for places like Buenos Aires or Iguazú, you need to pay attention: Lonely Planet forum suggest 4-14 days, Fodors reminds you you definitely need to hire a car and visit the whole region, yes, they are all talking about the whole REGION/PROVINCE (with nights in different locations) and not just the town itself.
But let’s now break down what we believe are the ideal stay lengths depending on your trip objective. We spent 10 days in Salta working as digital nomads so hopefully we can help you with your trip planning!
Backpackers: how long to stay in Salta
Salta has many hostels and, in our opinion, is not the best place for campsites due to the adverse weather conditions. Hostles are cheap and there are many close to the Terminal and city center. The only thing, Salta is pretty noisy and busy, and the main attractions inside the town can be seen in less than a day.
If you’re backpacking, you really want to tour the whole area of Salta Province & Jujuy as oposed to spend time in town.
Recommended stay: 1-2 days
Trekkers: how long to stay in Salta
Salta is completely flat apart from Cerro San Bernardo. You can walk to the base of it from the town centre in 20 minutes, and then “climb” its 1000+ steps in 30 minutes. Locals use it as their open-air gym, and the view from the top is great. Other than that, there is no trekking to be done.
Recommended stay: 0-1 days
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPYUvI1gdIW/?tagged=cerrosanbernardo&hl=en
Digital Nomads: how long to stay in Salta
Salta is a pretty busy, noisy, touristy town and apart from the cafés in the main square there is not much on offer – such as co-working spaces – the digital nomad “atmosphere” is just not there at all.
This is a place to avoid if you wish to get some work done – enjoy it as a tourist though!
Recommended stay: 0-2 days
Spanish Learners: how long to stay in Salta
We didn’t look too hard, but for sure Salta has a few language schools.
Apart from that, it just looks a very residential place with not much to offer (apart from great food and great shopping), so we’re not entirely sure this would be the best place for this sort of activity.
Suerte!
Recommended stay: 0-7 days
On a budget: how long to stay in Salta
Salta is one of the cheapest touristy cities in Argentina.
Having said that, basing yourself there while driving to a different place everyday is just not “healthy”, as distances are gianormous. A 2 or 3 nights stay, some local empanadas, a beautiful asado and a couple of museums should be sufficient.
Recommended stay: 2-4 days
Living like a local: how long to stay in Salta
We liked Salta people very much. They’re pretty different from the ones in Buenos Aires, and it seems it’s easier to live down here.
On the other hand, you haven’t much stuff to do apart from shopping and drinking cerveza. If those are your things, then you’re more than welcome to enjoy a long stay in here, mostly if you really want to live like a “Salteño”.
They call it “Salta La Linda”, but it doesn’t seem the best place on earth in fairness!
Recommended stay: 7 days
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