From one of the World's best cities to the site of the famous Patagonia logo, this trip is a pound-for-pound superstar. Here's your full guide: What to Do, Where to Stay, What to Eat, Where to Party, Where to Hike š¤š½
At a Glance:
Getting to Argentina Cheaply (via Santiago) Stay: Hostal Providencia Eat: Mestizo Party: Candelaria Bar Alternatives: Fly through Sao Paulo, or Bogota
Buenos Aires Area: Palermo Soho (Blog: Palermo, Best Neighbourhood in South America - Guide) Stay: Selina Palermo (9.0), Play Hostel Arcos (8.2), Play Hostel Soho (8.6) Eat: Don Julio, El Preferido, The Burger Joint Party: Plaza Serrano, La Mala, Bayside, MoscĆŗ, various great speakeasies Tourism: Plaza de Mayo, Obelisk, Futbol match, San Telmo, Uruguay Day-Trip Pro-Tip: Exchanging money!
Patagonia: El ChaltƩn (aka "Basecamp") Stay: Aylen-Aike (9.8) Eat: Don Guerra, Maffia Party: Bourbon Smokehouse Hikes: Laguna Los Tres (Mt. Fitz Roy), Laguna Torre
Patagonia: El Calafate Stay: America del Sur Hostel (9.6) - no brainer š„ Eat: Mi Viejo (best meal we had in Argentina) Party: Patagonia Brewing Co. Tourism: Perito Moreno Glacier
Timing: How Many Nights in Each Spot? (based on 2 week trip) Santiago: 1 Night Buenos Aires: 7-9 Nights (total, before and after Patagonia) Patagonia: El ChaltƩn 2-3 nights, El Calafate 1-2 nights
Getting to Argentina (Cheaply)
The pricey flights are a rare flaw for Argentina. I've definitely found unicorn flights before, but usually to get to Buenos Aires cheaply, you'll want to fly to a neighbouring country first.
Here's how:
If you're coming from North America: Look for a flight to Santiago (then book separately to BA). Even with the two tickets, it often comes out cheaper. šØ PRO-TIP: USE THAT LAYOVER! šØš± Seize the opportunity and check Santiago, Chile off the list. Transparently, unless you've got an open-ended trip, one night is enough for Santiago. But it will be a fun night. The top hostel will no doubt be Hostal Providencia. The best restaurant: legendary Mestizo (recommend the ossobuco on truffle gnocchi) Best for drinks / nightlife: Grab a rooftop patio beer at Tiramonto Terrace or Luna Bar (for sunset) with views of the mountains. Then, hit up the street-terrace at Candelaria Bar. At about midnight, the staff will let you know the party's moving inside - where a surprisingly big hidden bar hosts a raucous crowd and quality DJ's (mostly playing Reggaeton, Top 40, Hip Hop and Dance). Definitely had a good time here. šØ
If you're coming from Europe: Try a flight to Sao Paolo first. Again, this tends to be much cheaper. Particularly, flights from Lisbon to Sao Paolo tend to get you across the ocean for the cheapest price. Haven't been to Sao Paulo myself, so can't comment on what an overnight layover looks like.
Alternative: Depending on time of year, you can get lucky with a very cheap flight to Bogota (from North America or Europe - especially Spain, Texas or Florida).
Buenos Aires
The city that steals hearts. For whatever reason, everyone I've ever known who visited BA (myself included) has put it on their podium of all-time favourite cities. There's something about the place..
Let's talk basics:
Where to Stay
Without question the place to be is the famous neighbourhood of Palermo Soho. This place is so damn good, I wrote a whole blog on it alone:
In there, you'll find exactly Where to Stay, Where to Eat, Where to Party and What to See in Palermo Soho. Best Hostels: It has to be the trio of Selina Palermo, Play Hostel Arcos, and Play Hostel Soho.
What to See / Do in Buenos Aires:
Obviously, you can spend days roaming Palermo Soho, eating, drinking and having the time of your life. But that's already in the Palermo Blog. Here, we'll cover everything else:
š¶āāļø THE TOURIST MUST-DO's: On BA's Eastern waterfront (and a quick Uber from Palermo) you'll find the neighbourhoods of Monserrat and Puerto Madero. In short, this area is the proper "downtown" where you'll find the major tourist attractions:
1) Avenida 9 de Julio (and the Obelisk) - the iconic obelisk and the famous wide avenue it sits on. Most recently made headlines via the multi-million-person World Cup Parade (goosebump inducing video).
2) Plaza Mayo (and Casa Rosada) - the original town square and pink government building. This whole area looks like a mix of London, Monaco and Hogwarts.
3) San Telmo - A 15 minute walk south of Plaza de Mayo is the colourful neighbourhood of San Telmo. Most notably, you'll find the Mercado San Telmo here, as well as a lively town square for enjoying draft beer and tango shows (called Plazoleta Dorrego).
ā½ļø FUTBOL MATCH: The most intense rivalry in world sports: River Plate vs Boca Juniors, and their world-famous stadiums - El Monumental and La Bombonera all live in Buenos Aires. If you can catch any game at all, it's truly a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
That said, šØ BE WARNED šØ:
1) Tickets are almost impossible to come by. As soon as you know your dates, contact your hostel about finding you a "tour" that includes tickets to the game. You can also find these tours online. The sooner the better.
2) This is no regular sporting event. These people would kill (sometimes literally) for their team. If you want to avoid problems, wear a neutral colour like white or black, and keep your wits about you. While tempting; this is not the place to show up wasted. Here's a Youtube clip of Matt Damon talking about Argentina soccer game
šŗš¾ Bonus: Day-Trip to Uruguay: Keen to add another country to The List? In BA, you're only a short ferry ride to the first ever World Cup hosts; Uruguay. Not just that, but the nearest attraction is a colonial gem and UNESCO Heritage Site called Colonia de Sacramento.
š„ BA's Nightlife & Super-Clubs: Again, in the Palermo Soho Blog, we covered the nightlife in Palermo itself. But outside of it, on the waterfront, you have BA's insane indoor-outdoor nightclubs: BaySide and MoscĆŗ. Check their instagrams (linked) for events, times and tickets. These venues are epic (imagine 10k people partying under the stars), and the party goes FULL BLAST until the wee hours of the morning š¤š½ Most definitely #HOSapproved
āļø Pro-Tip: Exchanging Money!
Rule #1 of visiting Argentina: BRING USD! Rule #2 exchange at Western Union! Rule #3 use cash for EVERYTHING (wherever possible)!
First of all, your foreign debit card (particularly for North Americans) is next to useless at ATM's. Most often it doesn't work, and even when it does you can pull a maximum of $100 or so and are charged a $20 commission. But frankly.. why would you anyways?
Due to Argentina's unfortunate economic troubles, you can DOUBLE your exchange rate by trading cash dollars for pesos. This is called the "blue dollar" or "blue rate" (informal exchange rate). At one point, you had to go to underground sketchy dealers for this - but now - you can just pop in to the nearest Western Union. Find one on google (there are many), show up with USD and walk out with more pesos than you can carry! I say that jokingly... but really it's more than you think. Definitely bring a bag or purse to hold it as you don't want to walk around with big stacks in your hands.
Pro-pro-tip: Go in the afternoon (an hour or so before closing). This is when they tend to have the most dollars and where your rate will be at it's very best.
Patagonia
Is it the clothing brand? The MacBook wallpaper? The fact it's the Southern Tip of the planet? What makes Patagonia so attractive?
The answer is I don't know - but it did not disappoint.
When you think Patagonia, the instinct is usually: "remote, expensive, 9-days of intense trekking with thousands of dollars worth of gear I don't have"
Wrong. Wrong as f**** ā
While this can be true about the deepest parts of Patagonia, primarily on the Chilean side, Argentinian Patagonia is incredibly accessible - including the notable Mount Fitz Roy. In fact, you never even have to camp! You can settle back into your bed every night. How casual is that?
Here's the rub:
Landing in Patagonia
From Buenos Aires, you'll fly to the Patagonian hub of El Calafate (~$330 USD round-trip) a quintessential mountain town with all the fixings you'd expect. We'll cover more about what to do here in a bit - but for now - you'll want to get yourself to El ChaltƩn ASAP. Why? Well the drive is beautiful, so it's a shame to do it in the dark.
Getting from El Calafate to El ChaltƩn
Renting a car or hiring a taxi is completely up to you. For the rental, consider booking in advance as supply is low and demand is high. For taxis, book directly through the taxi desk at the airport. From there, it's very useful to grab the driver's number on Whatsapp. You can write him (even if via google translator) to pick you from El ChaltƩn when you're ready to go, as well as taking you to see the glacier (but more on that later). The 3h 30mins drive from El Calafate to El ChaltƩn passes through impressive plateaus, valleys and glacial lakes, all while approaching the glorious Mount Fitz Roy on the horizon. Have your camera ready! Along the way, you'll travel along the famous Route 40 Highway (the "spine of Argentina") and should stop at the Parador La Leona for a coffee and "milanesa" sandwich. This place has been a trusted pit-stop for expeditions and nomad farmers for a hundred y
ears. Don't forget to try your hand at the "ring game" (hint: look on the wall to the left of the door as you enter).
El ChaltƩn (aka "Base Camp")
The heading tells the story: this is basecamp. From El ChaltƩn you have access to all the best hikes in the region, without the need to camp out for nearly any of them. You can, of course, but it's not required. You also don't need a guide - which makes things much easier (and cheaper). But first, where to stay?
Where to Stay in El ChaltƩn
We stayed at Aylen-Aike Hostel (because it had the best reviews on Hostelworld - 9.8) and it was honestly very comfortable! Of course, it's a hiking town, so don't expect glamour - but the water was hot, the common-room was inviting, and the owner was really chill. In fact, his approach is "the bar is fully stocked, as is the water and gatorade fridge - take as you please, and let me know your total when you check out". Gotta love it šš½
The Hikes
Undoubtedly, the two most famous hikes are:
1) Laguna Los Tres (aka Mount Fitz Roy hike) āļø - the flagship, and your top priority.
Total time: 11 hours (5 hours in - 2 hours up top - 4 hours down)
This is a comfortable, decently flat hike that features one steep incline at the end (final 40 mins), before a genuinely awe-inspiring reveal: the other-worldly Laguna los Tres, complete with Mount Fitz Roy (yes, the one from the Patagonia logo) towering over it. Once you've sat there staring for a while and enjoyed your sandwich (of course, bring sandwiches) and gone for a polar dip (of course, bring a bathing suit and microfiber towel), don't forget to climb the small hill to your left, to look down on the neighbouring Laguna Sucia - which is equally stunning. šØ PRO TIPs: Don't burden yourself with tons of water, 1-2 bottles will do as there are glacier springs along the trail, where you can fill up. Secondly, wear sunscreen! Our faces, necks and backs of hands got absolutely TORCHED. Rookie mistake.
š¬ Here's the recap video of our trek (WARNING: it will fire you up).
2) Laguna Torre (aka Cerro Torre hike)
Total time: 7 hours (3 hours in - 1 hour at the Laguna - 3 hours down) This hike is also quite flat, and even easier than Laguna los Tres. It does start out with a bit of a dessert landscape (no shade - which was rough with our sunburn) but otherwise it weaves through beautiful forests, impressive sight-lines and rivers as well. While the destination is similar (a laguna with a mountain behind it - in this case Cerro Torre) this one is unique in that there were icebergs littered throughout the laguna. This was definitely cool, as none of us had seen icebergs in real life before, but not quite as good as Laguna los Tres.
Both trails are:
ā Incredibly well marked & easy to follow ā Relatively easy (low altitude, no specialized gear needed)
ā Day hikes (no need to camp overnight)
ā Susceptible to weather (both final viewpoints require some luck with the clouds) - For this reason, I recommend giving yourself an extra day (or two) if you can. There were folks who waited 2 days for better weather before making the hike.
Where to Eat & Drink in El ChaltƩn
There are surprisingly quite a few options, including a fair few micro-breweries and wood-fire pizza joints. That said, for us, there were three standouts:
Maffia - is a family-run, homestyle Italian spot that we couldn't help but go back to multiple times. The homemade pasta, gnocchi and goulash were perfect for a post-hike recovery. Delicious. It's also very good value with big portions and low prices.
Don Guerra - is really a typical good mountain-side restaurant. A big wooden cabin, with good food, nice owners, and a pleasant atmosphere. Again, the portion-to-value is great, perfect for hungry hikers.
Bourbon Smokehouse - you know when you walk by a place and can tell (just based on activity) that it's the "happening" place? That's Bourbon. The patio was always full, the inside as well, and the general ambience was the liveliest in town. Picture a wooden tavern with large A-frame windows and a fusion of chalet and sports-bar vibes. Their bartender must have experiences 'cause the cocktails were delicious - Had a few too many here our last night, but that's neither here nor there.
The Journey Back to El Calafate (ft. Perito Moreno Glacier)
Once you're done in El ChaltƩn, you'll make your way back to El Calafate. This is where having your own car (or the whatsapp of your taxi driver) will come in handy. Why? Because on route to El Calafate, you'll want to make a pit stop at the Perito Moreno Glacier.
Here's what that looks like:
Set off nice and early (no later than 9 am). This way you'll make it to Perito Moreno around 2pm (5 hours). There are two distinct things you'll want to do there (or possibly three):
Take the boat tour through the icebergs and up to the edge of the glacier. This ride was cheap and worth it, as the photos were wicked and the sheer size was pretty remarkable.
Drive up to the "walkways", where a trail of wooden viewpoints have been erected above the glacier. The pictures here are insane too.
Optional: You can climb onto the glacier itself and check out the (terrifying) crevasses that run through it (featuring crampons, safety ropes, the works). This is undoubtedly awesome - but it does require booking a few weeks in advance, and spending the previous night in El Calafate (as the tour has an early start-time). If you're interested, you can find these tours all over the web.
If you're not doing the tour, the first two items should only take you a few hours. You'll be back in El Calafate for dinner. Speaking of which:
El Calafate
El Calafate is actually quite the town, don't mistake it for "just the airport town". It's really pedestrian-focused, lively, decorated, and has that distinct ski-chalet mountain vibe. There's a steakhouse here called Mi Viejo which is absolutely bananas good. Super hot take here, but it might be just as good (or better) than the famous Don Julio in Buenos Aires. Obviously have the steak, a bottle of Rutini wine, and as many appetizers as you can handle. They're so, damn, tasty.
Up the road, there's the Patagonia Brewing Company which is simply a good vibe with good beer and fun games (Jenga, cards, etc.). Even here, the couches-and-fireplace area, as well as the wall-map of Patagonia echo that mountain feel.
Frankly though, you can wander the main strip and find plenty of bars, pubs and restaurants filled with folks anticipating their upcoming adventures or celebrating those they've just conquered. Good energy all around.
Where to Stay in El Calafate
It's a no brainer that the move here is āļø America del Sur Hostel (pictured below). This place is UNREAL. Here's the highlight pack:
a huge chalet-style common area with couch, booth and table seating
featuring massive a-frame windows overlooking Argentino Lake and the Andes
a backyard with patio and hammocks
a wood-fire BBQ with traditional Argentinian dinners
tours to climb the glacier (see #3 above)
kayaking tours in front of the glacier
a 9.6 rating on Hostelworld with 4k+ reviews
Timing
If we use two weeks as our timeline, I'd say your breakdown should be:
Santiago - 1 Night Optional, flight-depending
Buenos Aires - 7-9 nights Total including before and after Patagonia. There are so many good restaurants, bars, speakeasies, cultural and historic attractions, not to mention just hanging around sipping mate. You'll never get bored.
El ChaltĆ©n - 2-3 nights You'll arrive in the afternoon (call this Day 0). You'll grab dinner and some sandwich ingredients for the next morning - and hang out exploring town. The next day (Day 1) you'll do Laguna los Tres, then dinner at Maffia and maybe a drink at Bourbon Smokehouse. The following day (Day 2), Laguna Torre. The last day (Day 3) you'll get up nice and early for the drive to Perito Moreno then El Calafate. TOTAL: 3 Nights šØ NOTE: If weather makes it that you can't see Laguna los Tres on your first day, it's worth trying it again the second day. Laguna Torre hike was great, but Laguna los Tres hike was AWESOME. If you have the time, don't hesitate to bank even a fourth night just in case. If you get lucky with weather, there are plenty of other hikes you can fill your extra day with šØ
El Calafate - 1-2 Nights One will technically suffice, but with Hostel America del Sur being so good, and multiple good eating / watering holes in town, it's often tempting to stay another night. Better to have it accounted for.
"Impossible is the lamest of the excuses" -Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia Co.
This info is amazing ā so helpful! Canāt wait to book my trip. Sounds like a must do..