saraezp

My husband-to-be and I are traveling to Argentina for our honeymoon in a couple weeks. I know this is waiting until the last minute but wedding planning over the last couple months kept me busy. We are using Bariloche as our travel base. I am now trying to narrow down destinations. We're all over the map, there is so much in Patagonia we want to do!

There are several places relatively close to Bariloche we'd like to visit (Esquel, Neuquen, San Martin de los Andes) but also would like to go farther south to El Chalten or El Calafate or even Torres del Paine. The problem is we only have 2 weeks and we don't want to bounce around every day but really enjoy ourselves. Originally we were thinking of driving down Ruta 40 to El Calafate but the time it would take round trip from Bariloche is giving us pause. Should we concentrate on the area we're using as our base and save down south for next time? I feel like that makes the most sense but the idea of missing out on glacier walking is disappointing.

Any advice would be most appreciated!

jhubbel

I'm writing you from Nibepo Aike, 90 minutes out of El Calafate right now. Been in Argentina again almost a month. First things first. Patagonia is HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE. Do NOT underestimate distances. If you only have two weeks I would consider flying LAN and NOT driving, to save time and maximizing your adventure time down here. You cannot underestimate how much time it takes to get around. You really cannot.

Bariloche is gorgeous, like being in Colorado or Montana, this time of year is perfection. Not too hot not too cold, bring adequete clothing including protection from WIND, it is windy here in Patagonia and I am not kidding. The father south the windier. A good hardshell like an Arcteryx or Patagonia Goretex is critical.

Pick a base, and explore from there. Such as: base in Bariloche, and explore outward, or base in El Calafate and explore outward. You can get to the glaciars (they are in El Chalten) and the tours run up there all the time. El Chalten was only recently incorporated and the road only recently paved. It is the backpacking, hiking, trekking capital of Argentina. Gorgeous. Try to get there.

El Calafate is cute, windy, central. Transportation, including air, comes in and out all the time. Easy to get to and out of. My estancia, Nibebo Aike (I'm just staying here as a guest) is 90 minutes away by their transport. There are glaciars here too, and horseback rides right to them, which I am leaving for today. It's about $300 a night all inclusive. A fantastic place, breathtaking, or you can go to El Condor, which is 5 hours out of El Calafate, windy as all getout, really rustic, about 255 a night, all kinds of hiking and riding and adventures, but you'd better be able to deal with a constant wind of AT LEAST 20 mph all day long and more. The vistas, condors, rides and views all make both worth the effort.

In Bariloche you can skydive, kayak, horseback ride (Look up Ariane Patagonia, she is fantastic, the best, I've done two reviews on her) and there are many good places in town. It's very touristy but you can get out of Dodge and really explore.

Those are the options I see. In only two weeks, my strategy is pick a place to stay, and explore outward. Argentina is vast vast vast. You will get addicted, you will come back, you will fall in love here. Don't end up doing so much traveling you can't appreciate the beauty of where you are. You can spend three or four days in Bariloche and then fly down to El Calafate and absorb Patagonia and all its riches. Be a glutton. This is the time to come.

Happy honeymoon. Hope this helps.

avrooster

Great advice above from top poster jhubbel, who is dieting off quite a few extra pounds in Patagonia right now. LOL!!!!!

odie1

Would agree that this is good advice from jhubbel, except that there are glaciers in El Calafate as well, namely the most popular one for trekking, Perito Moreno.

Huentetu

You really want to get on with booking flights and hotels. You are heading into summer holidays and the longer you put it off the harder it will be to find what you want. With the time you have to spend, you could do a nice Bariloche/Villa la Angostura/San Martin de los Andes itinerary. That puts you in the lake district, where there are some lovely hotels and lots to do. I would remove Neuquen from the list because of distance from those 3 and also because it just isn't as interesting. I think Patagonia requires more planning.

jhubbel

Keep in mind that Perito Moreno can be very crowded because it is so popular. There are plenty of glaciars to see. At PM you see them calving, which is one reason why it is so popular. I agree that you need to start booking NOW. I did Viedma, which was quite nice, just keep in mind there's a lot of hyperbole around them and there's a considerable amount of getting to and from and not a lot of time actually on them. That said, don't miss it.

Just got back from the three day, two night refugio trip here at Nibepo Aike, absolutely fabulous, a great end to my second long month in my beloved ARG, wandering glaciar country and getting my meals cooked by a handsome gaucho. Even if he did set my underpants on fire (a true story, and we weren't doing anything naughty either, they were set to dry over the fireplace mantle and he was cooking- and he flambeed something and they literally caught fire! It sent us both into hysterics). I'm not going to throw them away either, they make too good a yarn.

Get busy, make your plans, lock them in, don't miss a thing.

Tdata

We are doing the opposite, we are based in El Calafate and bummed to miss out on Bariloche and the Chilean lake district. But our main purpose for the trip is to do a 5 day trek in Torres del Paine (Chile) so we'll have to do the Lake district another time. I agree with others to include El Calafate, you are already spending so much flying to Argentina, one more local flight should be worth it! We are spending roughly 3 days in El Calafate which for us is enough to see the so called "must see" in all of the south - Perito Moreno and check out the city and a bit of down time. Several local outfitters also offer other activities such as mountain biking, kayaking and fly fishing but since we only have 2 weeks for the whole trip as well I am fine not doing those other activities (I can kayak any day at home but not walk on glaciers!)
Also It am not sure if you will only be staying in the Argentina side? It seems there are plenty wonderful places to visit near Bariloche (including day trips) around the Lake District in Chile.

saraezp

Thanks, you guys are really helpful! Based on timing and your advice I think we might have to skip Perito Merino this time around. We'll concentrate on the Lake District area and northern Patagonia. We're thinking maybe going over to the Chile side too, maybe Puerto Montt?
Any recommendations for delicious meals in Bariloche? Also, we're definitely renting mountain bikes for our entire stay. Any bike rental places in Bariloche we need to check out?
I can already tell that this is only our first trip to the area, we definitely need to make it south on our next one!