1

in a timeframe of a few months i suggest that travelling down the atlantic coast would be the way to go. you could break up the trip with a few days in Puerto Madryn....visit the Valdes Peninsula to see sea wildlife or stop in trelew or further south in Comodoro Rivadavia (not been there so unsure of any attractions/activities there). to get to Ushuaia will take days by bus.....18 hours to Puerto Madryn then another 15+ hrs to Rio Gallegos. Rio Gallegos is the departure point for buses entering Tierro Del Fuego and heading onto Ushuaia and buses sell out quickly.....a delayed bus meant i missed my connecting bus and all buses and flights were booked out for 4 days so i had to hitch as far as Rio Grande and get a local mini bus the next day. From what i been told there is not much in Rio Gallegos to do or see.

2

Well, with the exception of a few good places to go wildlife-watching (there definitely won't be any Southern right whales in Puerto Madryn in February, unless their internal calendar is seriously out of kilter!) the Atlantic coast of Argentina is not exactly what I'd call the country's best asset.

One spot which is good for wildlife is Ría Deseado, which is centred on the small, windswept Patagonian coastal town of Puerto Deseado, easily reached from Comodoro Rivadavia. There is a little outfit there called Darwin Expeditions - we went out with them and saw dolphins (2 species), seals and sealions, lots of seabirds, penguins etc. It was well worth the trip, but since we were heading from Esquel to El Calafate overland, it was on our way (more or less).

You can see some of what you might spot here in my blog entry on Ria Deseado:

http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/Puerto-Deseado/blog-673272.html

#1 mentions Comodoro Rivadavia. It's sole redeeming feature is its proximity to Puerto Deseado and other wildlife watching spots like Punta Tombo. The town itself is an ugly oil town which is most definitely not worth visiting on its own merit. You might want to consider the possibility of flying to Comodoro Rivadia with LADE (the Argentina military airline) and then continuing from there by bus. Likewise Rio Gallegos and Rio Grande have no attractions - they are in fact rather depressing places (especially if the weather is poor, as it usually is in that neck of the woods!!) which are best avoided in my book.

If bussing it, I will stick my neck out here - and I know many will disagree with me - and say that I don't think Ushuaia is worth a long detour. Unless you are going there to board an Antarctic cruise or have a strong personal reason for wanting to go there (which would be a perfectly valid reason), I think Ushuaia is one of the most illogically over-hyped places in the whole of South America. I went there as a jumping point to get to Isla Navarino - if I had gone just to see Ushuaia itself, I would have been very disappointed. French tourists especially descend on the town in huge numbers - as far as I can tell the only reason for this is that a French National Geographic-type programme from years gone by happened to be called "Ushuaia"...

3

Thanks for the info, particularly the down side comments on Ushuaia, most folks are hesitant to give realistic evaluations.

4

Ushuaia is one of the best spots in Patagonia if you like all kind of outdoor adventures. Those guys who say that Ushuaia isn´t worth haven´t been to the forests, mountains and lakes around Ushuaia. That´s like saying that El Chalten isn´t worth. Of course it isn´t it´s the surroundings.
I would take a flight to BA as it is the same as a long and tedious bus ride and then make your way up north slowly by bus.
Polyglot has a special problem with Ushuaia. I would like to know which one it is

5

You know, mister beerfree, you're a real laugh. My problem with Ushuaia is that, for me, it did not and does not offer the opportunities and scenery I found elsewhere in South America and that, for me (did you notice those words "for me") Ushuaia is overrated and overhyped, banking on its "southernmost" position more than its natural beauty. Being in Argentine Patagonia it is also horrendously overpriced - for me. There you go! Interesting that I should have to justify my dislike of Ushuaia more than your apparent obsession with it!

6

http://tierradelfuego.shutterchance.com/archive/
these are just some pics from around Ushuaia.The only one obsessed here is you talking BS about something you have no idea about, like said by yourself on the other thread that Navarino island is much better than the surroundings of Ushuaia when it is exactly the same. I have no problem to do a serious discussion about it but bring up some real arguments. Ushuaia is one of the best spots for trekking and other kind of of outdoor adventures. It has very good wildlife and a fantastic scenery around. I don´t care if somebody goes to Ushuaia for being the southernmost position. That isn´t my problem.

7

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2299523
that was the other thread polyglot. Clarify yourself and stop writing complete nonsense

8

So sorry beerfree, I solemnly pwomise not to say anything bad about Ushuaia ever again. Please forgive me, I can't live knowing you're angry with me.

9

I am waiting for a serious discussion not your silly trolling polyglot.