pamplemuss

I’m starting some very advanced planning for a March 2015 trip, with a focus on scenery and adventure. After going through quite a few options, I have (I believe!) narrowed it down to two options: Chile/Argentina and New Zealand. This post is all about Chile/Argentina as an option for a 2 week trip: I will also post a New Zealand option in the Australia & Pacific forum.

My main focus is great scenery and adventure opportunities. I also do like great food & wine, affordable luxury hotels/inns, and wildlife viewing, but those are much lesser points of interest on this particular trip. In terms of adventure, I’m most interested in the hikinh/trekking opportunities in Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia. I don’t want to rush too much, but do want to get to a few key locations.

I’m very interested in Argentina/Chile, although I’d prefer to go to New Zealand. Coming from New York, it is a much easier (and shorter) trip to get to South America, so with the time I have on the ground I’m seriously considering Argentina/Chile instead of NZ. My main points of concern are language (while I have rough skills in a few other languages, I really don't know Spanish at all) and costs (because I’m planning so far in advance, I don’t have a budget per se, but at the outset it looks like New Zealand has a range of offerings at multiple price points, whereas Patagonia seems fairly expensive overall).

Keeping those things in mind, I’ve crafted a rough itinerary for 13 nights in Argentina and Chile, with a focus on Patagonia. My itinerary is extremely rough since I haven’t done quite as much research on Patagonia yet as I have for New Zealand. I don’t have firm dates at all, but looked at when planes depart/arrive to get an optimal schedule together:

SUNDAY – land Buenos Aires 11 AM (nonstop from NYC), night Buenos Aires

MONDAY – Buenos Aires

TUESDAY – fly BsAs to El Calafte, night El Calafte

WEDNESDAY – El Calafte/El Chalten

THURSDAY – El Calafte/El Chalten

FRIDAY – El Calafte/El Chalten

SATURDAY – El Calafte/El Chalten, bus to Puerto Natales

SUNDAY – Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine

MONDAY – Torres del Paine

TUESDAY – Torres del Paine

WEDNESDAY – Torres del Paine

THURSDAY – TdP, drive back to Puerto Natales, night PN

FRIDAY – PN to Puerto Arenas, PA flight to Santiago

SATURDAY – Santiago day, depart Santiago (9:50 PM), land NYC Sunday morning

How does this itinerary look for the things I’d like to do, as well as keeping the rushing around to a minimum and relying on public transportation as much as possible?

Also, if anyone has been to both New Zealand and Chile/Argentina and wants to weigh in on both experiences, I would very much appreciate it.

Cheers!

mlgb

I've been to both TdP and NZ, New Zealand is a lot easier to plan, and as you've figured out, less expensive. They are both worthwhile scenery wise although I might give the edge to TdP. Food and wine are better in NZ in my opinion.

It's true that the flight can be a big PITA, but if you can go with Air New Zealand it is a bit less painful.

Break up your flight with an overnight in Los Angeles if possible (maybe last flight in and first flight out will be possible).

pamplemuss

Thanks mglb! That helps tremendously. New Zealand is again my top choice, so it sounds like sticking to NZ may make the most sense from a budget perspective.

I'm not too worried about the flights/jetlag: was taking 14-hour plane rides monthly for awhile, so it shouldn't be too bad to do 21-22 hr rides instead.

Grindeldoo

Patagonia certainly wasn't cheap when I spent time there in November/December 2012, in both Chile and Argentina. You'll also be travelling greater distances than you would be in NZ if you are proposing South Island as an alternative to Patagonia. I love both, but if I only had 2 weeks then I'd pick NZ.

sealstep

I have been to Argentina and New Zealand, and will be going to Chile in September, including Torres del Paine. It's a tough choice, but I loved Argentina. The scenery is spectacular in both places, truthfully. I actually don't remember NZ being cheap, but I know Patagonia is not either. I guess what I'm getting at is you can't go wrong with either

And your itinerary looks fine to me!

NoFlyZone

Have also done both but will throw my vote towards Patagonia, especially since you have smartly limited yourselves to two basic destinations with plenty of time to enjoy them.

Two comments on the itinerary, basically transport. First, from Calafate to TdP there's no need to get to P. Natales. "All Glaciers" runs busses between the two; your hotel in Calafate/Chalten can guide you. You may have to change bus in Cerro Castillo but that's easy. Either way, it saves a full day and a somewhat wasted overnight in P. Natales.

Same on your return. Take a bus all the way to Punta Arenas, about 6 hours, and stay overnight there. Lots of hostels near the main square. We stayed at Carpe Manzana Hotel which was a couple of blocks further out but an easy walk into town. Another day saved. With the evening flight back to the States, try for an early (0600 or 0630) flight up to SCL and head into Santiago, it's a really nice city.

As for not recommending NZ, two weeks really isn't enough. There is so much to do and surprising opportunities pop up unexpectedly. We spent almost four weeks there in 2011, with only 3 days on the North Island, and still had a laundry list of sights and activities we missed. As an example of a pop up, we learned of some local sheep dog trials way off the tourist routes and spent a glorious day with the locals. They had never had tourists come to their trials (which were fascinating) so they took turns explaining absolutely everything to us, insisted we don't pay for our lunch, treated us to dinner and invited us to a horse jumping show in the evening! So leave NZ until you have more time.