Advice for Argentina Itinerary
Replies: 11 - Last Post: Dec 17, 2012 5:59 PM Last Post By: trent84
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Advice for Argentina Itinerary
Hello all!I'm looking for some advice on a trip to Argentina at the end of February 2013. This trip is part of a wider backpacking tour of South America that I will be doing with a friend. We are both females in our mid 20's who have traveled extensively around Europe and both speak fluent Spanish. I have already done A LOT of research for this so are now looking for some more particular advice.
Having read a number of blogs and posts we have decided that we have three options to cover Argentina. For each we will start with Iguazu falls (coming in from Brazil) then travel on to Buenos Aires before heading to Puerto Madryn to see the Peninsula Valdes. Our issue is where to go from there:
1. Travel down to El Calafate to see the Perito Moreno glacier and include a trip to El Chalten. From here we would travel up to Bariloche before heading on to Mendoza.
2. Head North to Bariloche from Puerto Madryn, possibly stopping off in Neuquen to break up the trip, again heading on to Mendoza from here.
3. Skip the Lake District entirely and head even further North to Mendoza from Puerto Madryn.
We are not limited at all in terms of time so can spend as little or as long as we want in each place and will have no trouble 'roughing it' and taking long bus journeys for large parts of the trip. Our main constraint is cost which is why we are looking at possibly cutting some things out of the trip.
However, as we have been saving for a number of years for this once in a lifetime trip, would it be a crime to completely miss the South of the country?
1
The problem with the first one is that you go a long way out of your way. Perhaps from BA - grab a flight down to Ushuaia and then head up to El Calafate/Valdes/Bariloche and continue up?5
There are a few places that are worth crossing over (I only crossed over in Southern Patagonia) but it might be worth investigating considering you have no exact time frame. But I definitely think a flight down to Ushuaia is the best option.I'm not entirely sure of how the wildlife is around Valdes around that time.
6
Your best option is to take a flight to Ushuaia and make your way up north by buses. The most spectacular part of Patagonia is the south, Ushuaia, Torres del paine, El Calafate and El Chalten. Puerto madryn itself isn´t exavtly a big deal as in february, the whales won´t be there and you can see all the other animals in southern patagonia too and in much better scenery.7
Not sure what you mean by saying time is no constraint.... I comfortably did all that you have listed plus Salta, Rosario, Cordoba & Ushsuia in 3 months. So if you had a similar time frame you would have no problems. Though the issue with spending that length of time is the cost.....Argentina not as cheap now as it was 5 to 10 years ago. If you have less time and looking to cut out places it depends on your interests.....if you into the outdoors, trekking and stunning scenary than El Chalten & Ushuaia are a must. Agree with Beerfree re: Peurto Madryn....you won't be there for the whale season and there is plenty of sea wildlife in the Beagle Channel at Ushuaia. As mentioned crossing into Chile could be an option though best in mind that Chile is probably a little more expensive than Argentina. Where you going to after Argentina should also be taken into account when planning your route.....if you heading onto Bolivia it would def be worth adding Salta which is an easy trip onto the Bolivian border8
Sorry I should have included our onward travel plans. From Mendoza we will continue North to Salta and Jujuy and also across to Cordoba. From there we were originally looking at crossing over to San Pedro de Atacama before heading on to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.By no time constraint I mean that we have no specific commitments with regards to when we need to be in which country/region. We have both taken a career gap and are planning on seeing as much as we can while our money lasts, hence the cost being more of an issue.
Thanks for such detailed replies, I'll get looking at flights to Ushuaia. I'm assuming that those would need to be booked asap?
9
Hi, what's the best way to move from Ushuaia to El Calafate? would you reccomend renting a car? how long does it take by car? anything to consider when crossing the border with Chile and driving in Chile with a car rented in Argentina?sorry for making so many questions.... ;))
Thanks
Paolo
