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Trip Planning

 

Planning your first dove hunting trip to Argentina is a fine art. If you are reading this section, you are probably the group leader. Most of your friends/family/clients will be looking at our nice pictures and videos while you try to figure out how to get the trip together. The good news is we will help you along the way. Plus there are benefits for group leaders such as nicer rooms, better hunting spots and discounts with a large group. If you are not a group leader go back to the youtube videos :) .

 

We have divided this section into step-by-step procedure to make the process as easy as possible. If you have organized a trip before, you know the drill and can contact us directly. If you are looking to send us your pre-trip information, please click here.

 

STEP 1: Planning Phase

 

 

This is planning phase for your dove hunting trip. You basically need to do 3 things:

 

  • Choose the place you want to shoot doves. By visiting this website you have access to most of our marketing materials including pictures and videos . Hopefully you have decided to come hunt doves with us based on what you see or better yet what you have heard.
  • Figure out the month you want to travel. Thankfully doves fly year-round in Cordoba, Argentina. Because of this, we are open all year except during the harvest season in April and May. During this time, the birds leave our roost to feed in the fields and instead of driving more than an hour to the field, we close the operation.
    If your schedule is flexible, there are two main things to consider when choosing dates. First is the weather. Seasonal weather patterns are most similar to Atlanta, GA, but keep in mind that our seasons fall opposite of our northern hemisphere counterparts. For further information, please visit our detailed weather page Second is price. Even though the birds are plentiful all year round, we have split the year into three seasons, which is solely dependent on the demand of our guests. You can visit our rates page to see details of the different seasons.
  • Pick your friends to come along on the trip. Unfortunately the common rule is the more friends/family/clients you pay for, the more likely the trip will take place. Our main advice here is to have a core group that is 100% committed (could be one or more people). If the group grows, this will be great for you. If not, the group will grow in future years as you talk up your dove hunting adventures. It is best not to wait for everybody to be on board because than you will be talking about coming every year. And shooting is much more fun than talking!

STEP 2: Information Gathering Phase

 

 

  • Receive basic information. The best thing to do is fill out a form here. We will call you and send a reply email usually within a few hours. Our reply email will contain the sample schedule, prices and availability if you provide the group size and preferred month of travel. Alternatively you can call 1.800.281.2717. Please leave a message since we are usually out in the field. Here is some basic information that is vital for your trip.

    Before you finalize your travel plans, please consider dove flight times for morning or afternoon shoots, depending on the time of year.

    Seasonal dove flight times*
    Date Morning flight Afternoon flight
    June 1 – July 31 08:00 – 12:00 14:00 – 17:30
    August 1 – October 31 07:30 – 12:30 14:30 – 19:00
    November 1 – March 31 06:30 – 12:00 15:30 – 20:30
    *shooting times will differ

    Sample Itinerary

    A typical hunt is 2 full days and 2 half days.
    Day 1          : Morning arrival — Afternoon shoot
    Days 2 & 3 : Full-day shoots

    Day 4          : Morning shoot — Afternoon departure

  • Circulate basic information to your friends/family/clients. It is best to get everybody involved at this point and tell them you are going to shoot birds in Argentina on certain dates. Forwarding them the email is the easiest way to get everybody the information. Here you will have a soft headcount.
  • Research flight options. There are many flight options to arrive into Cordoba. The easiest thing is to contact our travel agent Brigitte at brigitte@trvlcorp.com. The four direct flights to Cordoba are from Santiago, Chile, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lima, Peru and now Madrid, Spain.
    • The best way to reach Cordoba from the US and just hunt doves is to go through Santiago Chile because of the flight times and layovers. There are daily red-eye flights from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York and Miami to Santiago and the flight from Santiago to Cordoba is less than an hour.
    • The second most common travel route is spending a night in Buenos Aires before joining us in Cordoba. There are nonstop red-eye flights from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami and New York. You would than take a local flight on Aerolineas from Buenos Aires to Cordoba. Please note it is possible to connect on the same day in Buenos Aires if you charter a plane or don’t mind an abbreviated hunt on the first afternoon
    • A newer option is to fly through Lima, Peru. The advantage is you arrive at 7am on the date of arrival and may have time to shoot that first morning. The disadvantage is the return flight on the last day is in the early morning so you miss the last morning hunt. Many clients have been flying in through Lima and out through Santiago or Buenos Aires
    • Finally we have a new option for our European clients on Iberia through Madrid on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Otherwise, our European clients can fly to Buenos Aires from Frankfurt, Paris, London (via Sao
      Pablo) or Madrid

 

Step 3: Committing Phase

 

 

Here you reserve the dates and start collecting deposits for your dove hunt.There are 3 basic steps:

 

  • Pencil in the group on our schedule. Once you have an idea of specific dates and number of people, contact us and place a soft hold. We can probably hold dates for 2-3 weeks, but please be considerate as certain times of the year have very limited availability
  • Receive and circulate the payment link. After placing a soft hold on certain dates, we will send information to pay the 50% deposit by credit card or check. It is important to circulate this to the group members
  • Send the payment. Once a deposit is made, the trip is a reality.
    Congratulations on organizing the team!

 

Step 4: Pre-Trip planning

 

 

Here you need to take care of certain things before coming to the lodge in Cordoba:

 

  • Purchase your plane tickets. It is always a good idea for the whole group to arrive and leave on the same flights. Usually the group leader is the first to buy his tickets and he circulates his flight itinerary to the rest of the group.
  • Send the pre-trip information. We need personal information for your hunting permits and flight information for pick-up and drop-off. You will receive an email from Franca or you can fill this information out directly on our website.
  • If you plan on bringing a gun into Argentina, please read our pre-trip information package.
  • Other helpful tips for your trip include:
    • Be sure that your passport is valid through six months after your departure date. Please note that no visa is required for American or European citizens to travel to Argentina or Chile.
    • Make a photocopy of your passport. Store your official passport in a safe place like your luggage, and carry the photocopy with you when you are outside your suite. The only time you might need your original passport would be while shopping and paying with a credit card or while changing money.

 

Generally speaking, it is easy to organize a dove hunting trip to Argentina. Plus any complications will surely be quickly forgotten in the first 10 seconds of shooting doves in magical Cordoba!