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Hi all,

I’m planning a 2-week trip to Argentina and Chile next month (first time) and I’m working on my itinerary.

I’m aware that it’s a short trip so I want to hit a couple of highlights in each place without overloading my itinerary.

Day 1 to 3 - Arrive in and explore Buenos Aires (w/ a Colonia day trip)
Day 4 to 7 - Patagonia (base to be confirmed)
Day 8 to 9 - Santiago (w/ a day trip to a winery)
Day 9 to 12 - Atacama
Day 12 to 13 - Buenos Aires
Day 14 - Home

Questions:
1. I would like to see part of Patagonia (either in Argentina or Chile) and I’m flexible about where.
I want somewhere i can explore relatively easily (e.g. day hikes and sightseeing while staying in a hotel/hostel without overnight camping etc) and that is easy to get to from either capital city; I don’t drive.
Which site is best for this?

  1. Flights from Buenos Aires to Santiago seemed pretty expensive when I checked online. Is this normal? Is it cheaper to buy them in Argentina?

  2. I would like to minimise air travel but are long-distance buses even an option for me, given my limited time? It looks like there are very few overnight buses for the routes I need and I wouldn’t want to lose 18 hours of daytime on a bus.

  3. Does my itinerary seem doable? Are their any locations that should be removed/added/rescheduled?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated :)

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1

A pretty insane schedule.
You could do it, the question is why you would want to.

Yes, short flights in SA are expensive. With such a short time its a little risky waiting to the last minute to book. Also some airlines are notoriously unreliable, further eating time. Aerolineas Argentina for example.

Patagonia is a long way, and takes a lot of time or a lot of money. Maybe this should be a different trip.

I would cut either Patagonia or Santiago/San Pedro de Atacama(assuming thats what you meant).

Possible:
Day 1 Arrive BA and acclimatize
Day 2 Tours of BA
Day 3 Buquebus and back to Colonia
Day 4 Tour to Tigre on delta
Day 5 Fly Santiago and connect to Calama and bus to San Pedro
Day 6 tours around San Pedro
Day 7 tours up high , geysers
Day 8 Bus to Calama, fly to Santiago, afternoon around Santiago
Day 9 day trip to Valparaiso/Vina
Day 10 wine tours
Day 11 mountains around Santiago, Cajon de Maipo
Day 12 fly back to BA
Day 13 relax day in BA
Day 14 Fly home

If you like rushing, consider cutting Chile short by a day, less time in BA and add a trip to Puerto Madryn for wildlife tours. But at 20 hrs in a bus you would have to use more very expensive flights.

Alternately, fly Calama-Santiago and change to Punta Arenas and do a 2 day quick tour of Torres del Paine. Trading Valpo and Cajon. Probably necessary to fly back to Santiago

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2

Atacama is five thousand kilometers north of Patagonia. You are missing the best part of Argentina and Chile, the Lake District and it is close to Patagonia, but not to Atacama. 20 bus rides? A masochistic itinerary

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3

@vizcachas & smilecu2 thank you so much for the feedback!
I’ve added a couple of days to my itinerary. I’ve also accepted that I’ll have to stick to long distance flights (which seem to be generally cheaper in Chile than in Argentina) instead of buses.

Day 1 to 3 - Arrive in and explore Buenos Aires (w/ a Colonia day trip)
Day 4 - fly early to Santiago and settle in
Day 5 to 6 - Santiago and surrounding area (wineries, Cajun de Maipo etc)
Day 7 - flight to Calma and on to Atacama
Day 7 to 10 - Atacama (valleys, geysers etc)
Day 11 - flight to Santiago
Day 11 to 15 - [Flight to either Puerto Nantes for Torres Del Paine or somewhere in the Chilean Lake District or go to BA earlier and connect to Puerto Mondryn]
Day 15 - back to Santiago then onward flight to Buenos Aires
Day 15 to 17 - chill days in BA
Day 17 - Home

I have a slot of about 3/4 days that’s undecided.
I’m a solo traveller who doesn’t drive or camp so I want to go somewhere that is accessible with a good supply of activities, day trips and other travellers. After visiting Atacama some greenery would be nice

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4

Just thought I would tag a long to this... Please.

Great info so far.

Myself (and 2 best friends - 3 total) Are going to Argentina for 2 weeks in mid June. We know its mid winter, so assuming Patagonia is just a bad idea in general, but is it possible to go to El Chalten with this trip?

We also want to do the falls in the North (Iguazu), and then possibly Santiago Chile, or some configuration of that. Does sound doable?

Thanks in Advance! So much info out there but not a ton specific to June, or whether everything is possible.

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5

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