From the cultural buzz of Buenos Aires to the mountainous view from the Seven Lakes drive, from the whales of Peninsula Valdez to the magnificent hiking in El Chalten – this vast area of Argentina is one of the most photogenic places you’ll ever see. Click for Luxury, Mid-range or Budget.
Here’s your Southern Argentina itinerary:
| Luxury |  |
||||
| 1 | ✈To Buenos Aires (Book >) | Dep: Evening | 🏨 In flight! | ||
| 2 | Arr: Morning | 🏨Alvear Palace (Book >) | All hotels > | ||
| Have a relaxing first day recuperating from jet lag. I suggest you find a cool café in Palermo and enjoy a delicious medialuna. | |||||
| 3 | Visit Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, grab lunch at Mercado del Progreso and admire the city architecture on a walking tour. | Extend your trip with a couple of days in Uruguay, a short ferry ride away. | |||
| 4 | ✈Buenos Aires to Puerto Madryn flight (Book >) 🚌Puerto Madryn to Puerto Pirámides bus |
Dep: Morning Dep: 17:00 |
Arr: Afternoon Arr: 18:30 |
🏨Hotel Las Restingas (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Take a taxi to the bus station in Puerto Madryn and catch the 17:00 bus to Peninsula Valdez. | You’ll need to pay an entry fee to the peninsula – someone will board the bus to collect the fee. | ||||
| 5 | Whales. So many whales. You can see them on a boat trip from Puerto Pirámides, or even from the shoreline. If you want to see orca then you’ll need to take a tour to Punta Norte. | Take motion sickness tables for the whale watching trip. | |||
| 6 | 🚌Puerto Pirámides to San Antonio Oeste bus 🚌San Antonio Oeste to Puerto Madryn bus (Book >) 🚄San Antonio Oeste to Bariloche train (Book >) |
Dep: 11:00 Dep: 17:35 Dep: 22:20 |
12:30 Arr: 21:10 |
🏨Train | |
| Return to Puerto Madryn and pay a visit to the wonderful Museo Oceanográfico. If you’ve a couple of hours to spare walk along the beach to Punta Cuevas, where Welsh pioneers first settled. Take the bus to San Antonio Oeste and wait to board the train (which only departs on Friday nights). | Get your Tren Patagonico ticket as soon as possible – up to 2 months before departure – on the Plataforma 10 website. For sleeper cabins select ‘Camarote’. | ||||
| 7 | 🚗Bariloche to Villa La Angostura drive (Hire car >) | Dep: 14:00 | Arr: 12:28 Arr: 15:50 |
🏨Luma Casa de Montaña (Book >) | All hotels > |
| In the morning sit back and watch the vast landscapes of Patagonia roll by. Hire a car in Bariloche and enjoy the start of the spectacular Seven Lakes road to Villa La Angostura. Once you’ve arrived drive a little way on to the shores of Lago Correntoso. | You may want to allow more time to drive the Seven Lakes road as there are many scenic spots to stop at. | ||||
| 8 | There are many incredible hikes to enjoy here, my favourite was to Cajon Negro. | The ViewRanger app was really useful for hiking in Argentina. | |||
| 9 | 🚗Villa La Angostura to San Martín de los Andes drive | Dep: 16:00 | Arr: 18:30 | 🏨Río Hermoso (Book >) | All hotels > |
| For a more sedate hike drive down to Puerto Angostura and get a ferry to Bosque De Arrayanes Embarcadero for the glorious walk through the Los Arrayanes National Park back to the dock. | The first ferry leaves at 11am and the journey takes about one hour. | ||||
| 10 | San Martín also has a number of enjoyable hikes in the vicinity, including the unmissable walk to Mirador Bandurrias and La Islita. | Take some cash because you’ll pay a small fee to pass through Mapuche territory. | |||
| 11 | 🚗San Martín de los Andes to Bariloche drive | Dep: 10:00 | Arr: 13:00 | 🏨Hotel Charming Luxury Lodge & Private Spa (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Return to Bariloche and then drive on to Villa Llao Llao for a great walk along the lake before returning the car and taking a taxi to your hotel. | Not a hiker? No problem. Your hotel is in a spectacular location so why not just enjoy the views from the luxury of your own spa room. | ||||
| 12 | Board either bus 50 or 51 to Villa Catedral. Here you can enjoy a number of hikes or even a cable car ride. My favourite hike here is to Refugio Frey. | Take a filter water bottle with you so that you can top up from streams along the way. | |||
| 13 | ✈Bariloche to El Calafate flight (Book >) | Dep: Afternoon | Arr: Afternoon | 🏨Xelena Hotel & Suites (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Another few hours in which to enjoy your luxurious hotel before departing for El Calafate. | Arrange tomorrow’s trip to the glacier in advance. | ||||
| 14 | Take a day trip to the Perito Moreno glacier, where a boat will take you up close to the face of the glacier. There are also some excellent walkways from which to admire the glacier from various angles. | It can be expensive to get cash out of ATMs in Argentina. | |||
| 15 | 🚌El Calafate to El Chalten bus (Book >) | Dep: 08:00 | Arr: 11:00 | 🏨Destino Sur Hotel & Spa (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Welcome to one of the best places for hiking in the world. Start with a relatively easy walk to Lago Torre – about 4 hours round trip. | When you arrive into El Chalten the bus will stop at the park visitor centre where you can figure out which walks you want to do. | ||||
| 16 | Devote today to walking to Lago de los Tres. This is a truly spectacular route that ends with a steep incline (so be sure to have some spare energy!) When you arrive you’ll be surrounded by immense, photogenic mountains and lakes. | The final climb on today’s hike can be very busy and you may be stuck behind slower walkers – be patient and give yourself plenty of time. | |||
| 17 | 🚌El Chalten to El Calafate bus (Book >) ✈El Calafate to Buenos Aires flight (Book >) |
Dep: 08:00 Dep: Afternoon |
Arr: 11:00 Arr: Afternoon |
🏨Alvear Palace (Book >) | All hotels > |
| If you happen to be in Buenos Aires on a Sunday then you can get some great souvenirs at the San Telmo Feria. If you want to extend this southern Argentina itinerary then you can fly to Ushuaia from El Calafate (and on to Antarctica). | Bus tickets are usually only available to buy up to 2 months before departure. | ||||
| 18-19 | ✈Buenos Aires to home (Book >) | Dep: Morning | Arr: Morning (next day) | Connect this Southern Argentina itinerary with the Northern Argentina, Brazil, Northern Chile or Southern Chile itinerary | |
| Book your transfer to the airport. | |||||
| Mid-range |  |
||||
| 1 | ✈To Buenos Aires (Book >) | Dep: Evening | 🏨 In flight! | ||
| 2 | Arr: Morning | 🏨Carles (Book >) | All hotels > | ||
| Have a relaxing first day recuperating from jet lag. We suggest you find a cool café in Palermo and enjoy a delicious medialuna. | |||||
| 3 | Visit Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, grab lunch at Mercado del Progreso and admire the city architecture on a walking tour. | Extend your trip with a couple of days in Uruguay, a short ferry ride away. | |||
| 4 | ✈Buenos Aires to Bariloche flight (Book >) | Dep: Morning | Arr: Afternoon | 🏨Bungalows Buena Vista (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Once in Bariloche spend some time in the many chocolate shops, or maybe take a trip up to Cerro Otto, using bus 50 or 51. Take those same buses or a taxi on to Villa Llao Llao and your hotel. | It can be expensive to get cash out of ATMs in Argentina. | ||||
| 5 | Board either bus 50 or 51 to Villa Catedral. Here you can enjoy a number of hikes or even a cable car ride. My favourite hike here is to Refugio Frey. | Not a hiker? No problem. Your hotel is in a spectacular location so why not just enjoy the views from the luxury of your own spa room. | |||
| 6 | 🚗Bariloche to Villa La Angostura drive (Hire car >) | Dep: 15:00 | Arr: 16:30 | 🏨Hotel Alma Andina (Book >) | All hotels > |
| On your last day here enjoy a great walk along the lake from Villa Llao Llao. Take the bus to Bariloche, hire a car and enjoy the start of the spectacular Seven Lakes’ road to Villa La Angostura. Once you’ve arrived drive a little way on to the shores of Lago Correntoso. | You may want to allow more time to drive the Seven Lakes’ road as there are many scenic spots to stop at. | ||||
| 7 | There are many incredible hikes to enjoy here, my favourite was to Cajon Negro. | The ViewRanger app was really useful for hiking in Argentina. | |||
| 8 | 🚗Villa La Angostura to San Martín de los Andes drive | Dep: 16:00 | Arr: 18:30 | 🏨Monte Verde (Book >) | All hotels > |
| For a more sedate hike drive down to Puerto Angostura and get a ferry to Bosque De Arrayanes Embarcadero for the glorious walk through the Los Arrayanes National Park back to the dock. | The first ferry leaves at 11am and the journey takes about one hour. | ||||
| 9 | San Martín also has a number of enjoyable hikes in the vicinity, including the unmissable walk to Mirador Bandurrias and La Islita. | You’ll need to take some cash because you’ll pay a small fee to pass through Mapuche territory. | |||
| 10 | 🚗San Martín de los Andes to Bariloche drive 🚄Bariloche to San Antonio Oeste train (Book >) |
Dep: 12:00 Dep: 17:00 |
Arr: 15:00 | 🏨Train | |
| Return to Bariloche and then board the train for San Antonio Oeste. Once on board sit back and watch the vast landscapes of Patagonia roll by. | Get your Tren Patagonico ticket as soon as possible – up to 2 months before departure – on the Plataforma 10 website. For sleeper cabins select ‘Camarote’. | ||||
| 11 | 🚄Bariloche to San Antonio Oeste train 🚌San Antonio Oeste to Puerto Madryn bus (Book >) 🚌Puerto Madryn to Puerto Pirámides bus |
Dep: 09:40 Dep: 17:00 |
Arr: 07:14 Arr: 13:05 Arr: 18:30 |
🏨Hotel Las Restingas (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Transfer to the bus to Puerto Madryn where you can grab lunch whilst waiting for the bus to Peninsula Valdez. You’ll need to pay an entry fee to the peninsula – someone will board the bus to collect the fee. | Tren Patagonico only departs on Sundays. The bus to Puerto Madryn departs a few blocks north of the train station – ask for directions. | ||||
| 12 | Whales. So many whales. You can see them on a boat trip from Puerto Pirámides, or even from the shoreline. If you want to see orca then you’ll need to take a tour to Punta Norte. | Take motion sickness tables for the whale watching trip. | |||
| 13 | 🚌Puerto Pirámides to Puerto Madryn bus 🚌Puerto Madryn to Esquel bus (Book >) |
Dep: 11:00 Dep: 20:15 |
Arr: 12:30 | 🏨Bus | |
| Pay a visit to the wonderful Museo Oceanográfico in Puerto Madryn. If you’ve a couple of hours to spare walk along the beach to Punta Cuevas, where Welsh pioneers first settled. | Pack ear plugs and an eye mask for the overnight bus journeys. | ||||
| 14 | 🚌Puerto Madryn to Esquel bus 🚌Esquel to El Chalten bus (Book >) |
Dep: 16:00 | Arr: 06:30
|
🏨Bus | |
| With your almost 12 hours in Esquel take a ride on La Trochita – the old Patagonian Express. Walk to Laguna La Zeta or in Parque Nacional Los Alerces. | Bus tickets are usually only available to buy up to 2 months before departure. | ||||
| 15 | 🚌Esquel to El Chalten bus | Arr: 10:00 | 🏨Latitud 49º (Book >) | All hotels > | |
| Welcome to one of the best places for hiking in the world. Start with a relatively easy walk to Lago Torre – about 4 hours round trip. | When you arrive into El Chalten the bus will stop at the park visitor centre where you can figure out which walks you want to do. | ||||
| 16 | Devote today to walking to Lago de los Tres. This is a truly spectacular route that ends with a steep incline (so be sure to have some spare energy!) When you arrive you’ll be surrounded by immense, photogenic mountains and lakes. | The final climb on today’s hike can be very busy and you may be stuck behind slower walkers – be patient and give yourself plenty of time. | |||
| 17 | 🚌El Chalten to El Calafate bus (Book >) | Dep: 17:00 | Arr: 20:00 | 🏨MadreTierra Patagonia (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Several more hours during which you can hike to Chorrillo del Salto and/or to Los Condores. | Take a filter water bottle with you so that you can top up from streams along the way. | ||||
| 18 | Take a day trip to the Perito Moreno glacier, where a boat will take you up close to the face of the glacier. There are also some excellent walkways from which to admire the glacier from various angles. | Arrange your trip to the glacier in advance. | |||
| 19 | ✈El Calafate to Buenos Aires flight (Book >) | Dep: Afternoon | Arr: Afternoon | 🏨Carles (Book >) | All hotels > |
| Relax before the flight to Buenos Aires. Enjoy one last evening in the Argentine capital. If you want to extend this southern Argentina itinerary then you can fly to Ushuaia from El Calafate (and on to Antarctica). | If you happen to be in Buenos Aires on a Sunday then you can get some great souvenirs at the San Telmo Feria. | ||||
| 20-21 | ✈Buenos Aires to home (Book >) | Dep: Morning | Arr: Morning (next day) | Connect this Southern Argentina itinerary with the Northern Argentina, Brazil, Northern Chile or Southern Chile itinerary | |
| Book your transfer to the airport. | |||||
| Budget |  |
||||
| 1 | ✈To Buenos Aires (Book >) | Dep: Evening | 🏨 In flight! | ||
| 2 | Arr: Morning | 🏨Viajero Buenos Aires (Book >) | All hostels > | ||
| Have a relaxing first day recuperating from jet lag. We suggest you find a cool café in Palermo and enjoy a delicious medialuna. | |||||
| 3 | Visit Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, grab lunch at Mercado del Progreso and admire the city architecture on a walking tour. | Extend your trip with a couple of days in Uruguay, a short ferry ride away. | |||
| 4 | ✈Buenos Aires to Bariloche flight (Book >) | Dep: Morning | Arr: Afternoon | 🏨Hospedaje Penthouse 1004 (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Once in Bariloche spend some time in the many chocolate shops, or maybe take a trip up to Cerro Otto, using bus 50 or 51. | It can be expensive to get cash out of ATMs in Argentina. | ||||
| 5 | Board either bus 50 or 51 to Villa Catedral. Here you can enjoy a number of hikes or even a cable car ride. My favourite hike here is to Refugio Frey. | After all that hiking enjoy the incredible views across lake and mountains from the hostel. | |||
| 6 | 🚌Bariloche to Villa La Angostura bus (Book >) | Dep: 14:30 | Arr: 15:45 | 🏨Hostel La Angostura (Book >) | All hostels > |
| On your last day in Bariloche take the bus to Villa Llao Llao for a great walk along the lake. Take the bus along the spectacular Seven Lakes road to Villa La Angostura. Once you’ve arrived walk a little way on to the shores of Lago Correntoso. | Bus routes along the Seven Lakes road are weather dependent. | ||||
| 7 | There are many incredible hikes to enjoy here, my favourite was to Cajon Negro. | The ViewRanger app was really useful for hiking in Argentina. | |||
| 8 | 🚌Villa La Angostura to San Martín de los Andes bus (Book >) | Dep: 14:45 | Arr: 17:00 | 🏨Alhue Patagonia Hostel (Book >) | All hostels > |
| For a more sedate hike walk down to Puerto Angostura and get a ferry to Bosque De Arrayanes Embarcadero for the glorious walk through the Los Arrayanes National Park back to the dock. | The first ferry leaves at 11am and the journey takes about one hour. | ||||
| 9 | San Martín also has a number of enjoyable hikes in the vicinity, including the unmissable walk to Mirador Bandurrias and La Islita. | You’ll need to take some cash because you’ll pay a small fee to pass through Mapuche territory. | |||
| 10 | 🚌San Martín de los Andes to Bariloche bus (Book >) 🚄Bariloche to San Antonio Oeste train (Book >) |
Dep: 09:45 Dep: 17:00 |
Arr: 13:15 | 🏨Train | |
| Return to Bariloche and then board the train for San Antonio Oeste. Once on board sit back and watch the vast landscapes of Patagonia roll by. | Get your Tren Patagonico ticket as soon as possible – up to 2 months before departure – on the Plataforma 10 website. For sleeper cabins select ‘Camarote’. | ||||
| 11 | 🚄Bariloche to San Antonio Oeste train 🚌San Antonio Oeste to Puerto Madryn bus (Book >) 🚌Puerto Madryn to Puerto Pirámides bus |
Dep: 09:40 Dep: 17:00 |
Arr: 07:14 Arr: 13:05 Arr: 18:30 |
🏨Casa de Tehuelche (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Transfer to the bus to Puerto Madryn where you can grab lunch whilst waiting for the bus to Peninsula Valdez. You’ll need to pay an entry fee to the peninsula – someone will board the bus to collect the fee. | Tren Patagonico only departs on Sundays. The bus to Puerto Madryn departs a few blocks north of the train station – ask for directions. | ||||
| 12 | Whales. So many whales. You can see them on a boat trip from Puerto Pirámides, or even from the shoreline. If you want to see orca then you’ll need to take a tour to Punta Norte. | Take motion sickness tables for the whale watching trip. | |||
| 13 | 🚌Puerto Pirámides to Puerto Madryn bus 🚌Puerto Madryn to Esquel bus (Book >) |
Dep: 11:00 Dep: 20:15 |
Arr: 12:30 | 🏨Bus | |
| Pay a visit to the wonderful Museo Oceanográfico in Puerto Madryn. If you’ve a couple of hours to spare walk along the beach to Punta Cuevas, where Welsh pioneers first settled. | Pack ear plugs and an eye mask for the overnight bus journeys. | ||||
| 14 | 🚌Puerto Madryn to Esquel bus 🚌Esquel to El Chalten bus (Book >) |
Dep: 16:00 | 🏨Bus | ||
| With your almost 12 hours in Esquel take a ride on La Trochita – the old Patagonian Express. Walk to Laguna La Zeta or in Parque Nacional Los Alerces. | Bus tickets are usually only available to buy up to 2 months before departure. | ||||
| 15 | 🚌Esquel to El Chalten bus | Arr: 10:00 | 🏨Hospedaje Mi Rincon (Book >) | All hostels > | |
| Welcome to one of the best places for hiking in the world. Start with a relatively easy walk to Lago Torre – about 4 hours round trip. | When you arrive into El Chalten the bus will stop at the park visitor centre where you can figure out which walks you want to do. | ||||
| 16 | Devote today to walking to Lago de los Tres. This is a truly spectacular route that ends with a steep incline (so be sure to have some spare energy!) When you arrive you’ll be surrounded by immense, photogenic mountains and lakes. | The final climb on today’s hike can be very busy and you may be stuck behind slower walkers – be patient and give yourself plenty of time. | |||
| 17 | 🚌El Chalten to El Calafate bus (Book >) | Dep: 17:00 | Arr: 20:00 | 🏨Folk Hostel (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Several more hours during which you can hike to Chorrillo del Salto and/or to Los Condores. | Take a filter water bottle with you so that you can top up from streams along the way. | ||||
| 18 | Take a day trip to the Perito Moreno glacier, where a boat will take you up close to the face of the glacier. There are also some excellent walkways from which to admire the glacier from various angles. | Arrange your trip to the glacier in advance (your hostel can help). | |||
| 19 | ✈El Calafate to Buenos Aires flight (Book >) | Dep: Afternoon | Arr: Afternoon | 🏨Viajero Buenos Aires (Book >) | All hostels > |
| Relax before the flight to Buenos Aires. Enjoy one last evening in the Argentine capital. If you want to extend this southern Argentina itinerary then you can fly to Ushuaia from El Calafate (and on to Antarctica). | If you happen to be in Buenos Aires on a Sunday then you can get some great souvenirs at the San Telmo Feria. | ||||
| 20-21 | ✈Buenos Aires to home (Book >) | Dep: Morning | Arr: Morning (next day) | Connect this Southern Argentina itinerary with the Northern Argentina, Brazil, Northern Chile or Southern Chile itinerary | |
| Book your transfer to the airport. | |||||
A Plan To Go 