Two Weeks in Argentina | Argentina - Lonely Planet Forum

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Wed, 04 Nov 2015 23:41:02 +0000

Hello all,

My wife and I are planning 2 weeks in Argentina and Chile from December 17 - January 2. I have a couple of logistical questions that I hope the group can help me with. Our current itinerary is as follows:
- Fly into Santiago 1 day, 1 night
- Bus to Mendoza 3 nights
- Fly to Patagonia 1 week
- Fly to BA 3 nights, 4 days
- Fly home

First, should we buy our domestic flights for Argentina as we travel or book in advance? If the latter, does anyone have any suggestions besides the sites for LAN and others?
Next, for our week in Patagonia, our current plan is to fly into El Calafate and rent a car, spend a day going to Glaciers National Park, then driving down to Puerto Natales to do the W at TDP. Would we be better off doing day hikes in TDP to save time for other parts of Patagoina or is spending the 4 -5 days on the W worth the time? (I'd imagine it is).

Does anyone have any insight on using day packs and Refugio's for the W or do I need to have full backpacking gear? Would rather not have to drag it all over Argentina for the rest of the trip.

Thanks in advance for any and all much-needed advice.

Josh

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Thu, 05 Nov 2015 00:19:55 +0000

Cheapoair.com is the best site for flights in my opinion. Hands down.

Idk where any of those zones are that you mentioned but if youre near Bariloche and or El Bolson, I HIGHLY recommend going to the areas. I used a day pack for a 2 day trek up into the andes to a refuigo called Cajon de Azul for one night and back. So I dont see why a well packed light backpack wont get you from refugio to refugio. Just make sure you get to them early in the day to assure a spot inside. It will be a sea of mattresses of fellow hikers crashing for the night but better than full blown gear setup. hope all that helps

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Thu, 05 Nov 2015 01:21:40 +0000

At this point you would have to check what availability there is for the refugios in Torres del Paine. There might be little to none.But you can rent a set up tent and bags for the campsites next to the refugios, not the free ones where you need your own gear. Any option needs to be booked, including campsites. Check the websites for Fantastico Sur and Vetice which run the refugios.

To fly to BA you would have to go back to El Calafate or fly via Santiago. You are wasting a lot of time travelling. You might consider going to El Chalten rather than TdP, about 3 hours from El Calafate. You can do a lot of day hikes there. It is very small so check what lodging is available for your dates. You would then return to El Calafate and fly to BA.

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Sun, 06 Nov 2016 01:01:53 +0000

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