Argentina
Bariloche
Sitting on the banks of the massive lake Nahuel Huapi, this large-ish Patagonian town with a population of around 150,000 is one of the more northern “Patagonian” towns that offers tourists lots to do. We rented a car and felt that it was very worthwhile, but if you plan on doing all your activities with tour guides, it may not be necessary and we did speak to some younger travelers who said they were using Uber a lot!
Downtown Bariloche has one main strip that feels extra touristy, and the remaining town that feels very local and busy with tour and city buses running through it. We enjoyed downtown only for making some gear purchases, buying some of the famous chocolate from one of the dozen or so Chocolaterias, participating in a walking tour, and a quick bite to eat at a cafe. Otherwise, we preferred the quieter feel of Playa Bonita where our lodging was located.
Bariloche offers a variety of activities but we picked a few that piqued our interest most:
- Hike to Refuguo Frey
- Hike one of the many short hiking trails close to the famous Hotel Lao Lao
- Rent e-Bikes and ride the Circuito Chico circuit
- Join the “German Footprint & Nazi Presence” walking tour
- Drive (a portion of) the famous 7 lakes route
- Visit the Arrayanes National Park (and the cute village of Villa la Angostura for some window shopping!)
- Take a dip in the Nahuel Huapi lake and enjoy the sunshine on its shores
We didn’t end up kayaking, SUP’ing, or horseback riding this visit, but only because we ran out of time!
Buenos Aires
Our time in Buenos Aires was cut short by 1 day due to a flight delay as we were trying to leave Denver. BUT…we still managed to do a great Free Walking Tour through downtown, rent a sailboat for a private sunset + wine & snack sail with a local captain/guide, and go to Esquina Homero Manzi for a traditional Tango show!
Free walking tours are our favorites - and this was no exception. The guides are always motivated to make it a great tour, so you tip them well at the end! It was a great introduction to some of the past and more recent history of Argentina.
During our private sailboat ride, we got to chat with 2 locals about the current state of affairs, in addition to enjoying watching the Buenos Aires skyline fade into night.
And finally, the Tango show was exceptional. We opted out of the round-trip bus transportation, though it looked like it would have been very easy and convenient to use it. We also opted out of Dinner, as it was served at about 10pm! Instead, we ate on our own, and took a taxi to/from the show. The neighborhood around the show didn’t appear to be super safe, and we were warned by staff members to keep our phones and wallets out of sight.
Our overall impression of Buenos Aires (from the short time we were there), is that it felt like a large industrial city, with the same good/bad areas you can find in any big city around the world.
El Calafate
El Calafate is an easy 3hr 15 min flight from Buenos Aires, or just over 1hr from Bariloche. You’ll likely go through El Calafate to access El Chalten, OR, if you plan to rent a car and drive across the border to Chile in order to visit Torres del Paine National Park. Hop on over to the Chile page to read more on that piece of our 2020 and 2026 trip. Rental cars are available on site and are easy to book!
This bustling little town had a plethora of gift shops, ice cream & coffee shops, bars and restaurants lining the main street. We found some excellent food including Pura Vida, Mako Fuegos & Vinos, Patagonia Brewing Company, and Olivia coffee shop (with tasty breakfast). There were a number of other great-looking food options in town, which was good since there were numerous tourists there at the same time as us!
The highlight of El Calafate was visiting the Perito Moreno glacier inside the Los Glaciares National Park. We went with Mil Outdoor as the trip guide, although there were numerous companies offering this excursion. Since we had our own rental car, we didn’t need to pay for the full transfer from El Calafate so we opted to drive ourselves the 1.5 hrs. The Mil Outdoor guides met in their base shop just a stone’s throw away from the lake where we’d be kayaking. They provided an overview of the excursion, and got us all geared up before walking us down to the shoreline. A great little lesson followed, and off we went, as a group, kayaking as close to the glacier as was permitted (for our own safety). The water was calm and the views of the glacier (including some calving) were incredible. By the time we were getting back toward shore, the wind had picked up, as had the waves, so the timing was perfect to get off the water and enjoy some hot beverages provided back at the base shop.
Conveniently, we found a great laundromat who would wash, dry, and fold our clothes within the same-day, which was perfect for this point in the trip. It was called: Lavandería y Tintorería De la Mancha.
There were also 2 sporting goods stores - and one of them had reasonably priced hiking poles, which we purchased for our next stop - Torres Del Paine. We had planned on doing this so that we wouldn’t use up luggage space…and then we made some fellow hikers very happy when we gave them the poles for free when we were done with the hiking portion of our trip!
Our lodging was SUPER cheap, but clean and conveniently located - we stayed at the Hotel ACA. Be aware that between about the 12th and 20th of February every year, El Calafate hosts The National Festival of the Argentine Lake. It includes live music every night and can be heard clearly through the walls of the ACA hotel - and likely other nearby hotels as well! We recommend bringing ear plugs or booking a hotel on the opposite side of town if you’re there during these dates (but go check it out - it’s a family friendly event!).
El Chalten
El Chalten is a much smaller town than El Calafate. It almost has the feel of a small, casual Colorado mountain town. We loved our room at the Hosteria Senderos in 2020 (convenient location, lovely breakfast, clean rooms with hot showers!), and we found a cute little single family home (1 bedroom) for rent on AirBnB for our 2026 trip. The town has more than its share of great bars and restaurants.
In reality, El Chalten is a backpackers and rock-climbing paradise. The famous Fitz Roy mountain is accessible from here, along with numerous other day hikes that would allow for you to return home to your comfy bed and a nice bottle of wine in the evening. We highly recommend doing the nearly 15 mile Fitz Roy hike (Sendero de los Tres) all the way to Laguna De Los Tres, but there is also a shorter 6 mile loop that starts on the same trail and still has fantastic views.
We enjoyed great meals throughout town, including La Vineria for a delicious Argentinian dinner, and Patagonia Rebelde for some live music and drinks.
We would highly recommend a stop in El Chalten - it seems like there are endless hiking trails to explore, with a good ratio of bars and restaurants so as not to get bored!
Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Summary
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed all our time in Argentina and have found it to be a relatively easy and safe place to get around! We’ve preferred the small cities over Buenos Aires, and although we haven’t visited, we’ve heard great things about the Mendoza Valley (wine region) AND, heard that it’s easy to do a day trip or quick overnight trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Uruguay - so if we found ourselves with extra time in Buenos Aires, we’d likely add that to our itinerary as well. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Argentina to family and friends!
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”
– Jack Kerouac