11 Day Argentina Trip - Report
 

My boyfriend and I went to Argentina for 11 days late April/early May. It was fantastic! Argentina is a lovely, magical place.

We flew from SFO to Buenos Aires (with a layover in Washington DC). Straight afterward, we flew from Buenos Aires to El Calafate on Aerolineas Argentinas (no problems with the airline). Obviously we were dead TIRED when we arrived, but we felt so welcomed in the little town of El Calafate. We stayed at Hostel Glacier - GREAT, clean hostel for budget travelers.

After 1 day of resting, we took a bus to El Chalten for 2 days. Man, seeing the majestic mountain ranges of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy was unbelieveable. I didn't know of such remarkable beauty until I saw them. Luckily, we came on days with good weather.

The next two days consisted hiking to Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy. The 6 hour hike to Fitz Roy was definitely more challenging than Cerro Torre's hike....but SO worth it.

After that, we went back to El Calafate, and hike the AMAZING Perito Moreno Glacier. We booked the "Big Ice" tour through Hielo Aventura - a repuatable tour group in Argentina. It was about a 6 hour hike - 2 hours on land, and 4 hours on the glacier itself. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. If you don't want to hike that long, they also have mini-trekking tours (like for 2 hours).

Next day, we flew back to Buenos Aires for 4 days. I'm a little surprised that so many people recommended staying here for a week or more. I guess it just depends on your traveling style. My bf and I are fast-paced people. We don't exactly like to sit around in cafes or walk around malls for hours. So, we thought 4 days was just fine. We would've been fine with 3 days too. Buenos Aires is a great city though. It's extremely efficient, easy to navigate, people are nice, great food, and everything is modern and fairly clean. Since there isn't a super famous monument you absolutely HAVE to see (like the Eiffel Tower in Paris for example), you are free to walk about the city at your own pace, exploring the different neighborhoods and people.

After Buenos Aires, we took Lan Airlines to Iguazu Falls. Another amazing spot. We only had 1 day to explore (the Argentinean side). Just one side would take up about a whole day. We also did the speedboat ride under the falls, which was fun. It's $20 per person - but trust me, you will get SOAKED!! :) The park itself is very easy to navigate as well.

I've been recommending Argentina to everyone I know. I'd love to go back one day. Patagonia was my favorite part (and I don't consider myself an outdoors person, so that says a lot!), so I would love to explore more of that region the next time around.

Any questions, let me know. Happy Travels! :)

Also want to mention that airfare within South America is ridiculously expensive. We paid $650 for tickets to from BA to El Calafate and from BA to Puerto Iguazu. There's really no way around it unless you take the bus.

Thank you for your great, if somewhat "fast paced", trip report!

Question: your second post, concerning the cost of local flights is not quite clear. You mention a cost of 650 dollars, but it sounds as if that was the total you spent. Is that right?

Thank you again for "recommending Argentina to everyone".

Yes, I think it was something like $400 for RT tickets from BA to El Calafate, and $250 for RT tickets from BA to Iguazu. I guess I'm just used to the low cost US domestic flights.

Luckily, we used our miles to pay for the international flights (otherwise $1100) so that alleviated the pain a little. ;)

Examples of the most recent fares:

Aerolineas: AEP one way to --Bariloche: 328.40 - Calafate: 300.00 - Iguazu: 246.20 - Mendoza: 246.20 - Salta: 311.10 - Trelew: 240.50 - Ushuaia: 314.00


LAN AEP one way to: Bariloche 236.00 - Salta: 208.00 - Iguazu: 175.00

Fares are less for those flying into the country on Aerolineas or for those entering Argentina on LAN or a partner airline through the one-world alliance and who purchase within country tickets prior to arriving in Argentina.

The primary difference in fares compared to the USA is that discounted fare classes are not available for foreigners...so buying a ticket is like buying a full fare coach ticket in the USA (and almost no one actually pays full fare coach?).