Argentina

3th stop of my world trip

My first trip to south America. My trip starts in Buenos Aires, from there I’ll go directly to the south, to Ushuaia where my expedition to Antarctica will start. After that I’ll explore the Patagonia mountains in El Chalten and El Calafate and then I’ll go to north Patagonia with a bus to Bariloche. After that I’ll be traveling to the north of Argentina, exploring Salta and Iguazu.

Planning details

Arrive: Buenos Aires
Planned arrival: February 2022
Duration stay: 45 days
Weather then: Summer- beginning of fall. Temperatures reach 15-20°C and the rainfall is at its lowest
Visa: no need first 90 days

Details country:

Culture

Argentinean people are really friendly. Most of them speak little English, so if you know a little bit of Spanish that helps a lot. They like meat very much, they eat around 70 kilo (150 pounds) of meat every year and they really like BBQ. Don’t be surprised if you see a hole pig on their BBQ. They mostly eat very late, around 10 p.m. If you’re in Argentina you see them with a thermos can and a special cup. It’s for a drink called mate. You see them drinking it everywhere and they really like to bring it on a hike or drink it as breakfast.

My route map

My destinations:

Stop #1 - Ushuaia

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and is located in an area full of impressive mountains and ice landscapes. Ushuaia is also known as the end of the world. It is a wonderful place to get your mind at ease. It’s a year-around-destination. In the winter you can ski or take a dogsled tour. In the summer you can take wonderful hikes and if you have the time and money, you can also embark on an expedition to Antarctica from here.

Click on the link below to read more about my visit in Ushuaia.

Stop #2 - Antarctica

From the small place Ushuaia I went on an expedition cruise to Antarctica. It’s only possible to go on an expedition from October till end of March– in the summer. The prices variates from 6000-15.000 euro. These prices depends on the route (directly to Antarctica, or along the “bird” islands) you go, for how many days and if you can get a last-minute deal. The expedition is led by expert guides who will tell you all about the history and extraordinary nature of Antarctica. It was a once-in-a-life-time-experience!

Click on the link below to read more about my visit in Antarctica.

Stop #3 - El Chalten

El Chaltén is located in the Southern Andes, within the Los Glaciares National Park, in a valley where the rivers De las Vueltas and Fitz Roy meet. Cerro Chaltén or Fitz Roy is the predominant figure of the landscape. El Chaltén is the trekking Walhalla in the Patagonia of Argentina. From here you can take lots of adventurous hiking trails or multi-day treks through Los Glaciares National Park. I stayed here for 1,5 week and did two multi-day hikes: Fitz Roy and the Huemel circuit.

Click on the link below to read more about my visit in El Chaltén.

Stop #4 - El Calafate

El Calafate is the portal to the Argentina Patagonia and starting off point to go to the Los Glaciares National Park. After El Chalten I stayed in El Calafate for a week, where the main attraction was the Perito Moreno Glacier. A week was more than enough – you can visit El Calafate in 3-4 days and see everything.

Click on the link below to read more about my visit in El Calafate.

Stop #5 - Bariloche

Bariloche is the gateway city to the Andean lakes district in Argentine Patagonia. The soaring peaks of Cerros Catedral, López, Nireco and Shaihuenque (to name just a few) – all well over 6561ft (2000m) high – ring the town, giving picture-postcard views in nearly every direction. Bariloche is the gateway city to the Andean lakes district in Argentine Patagonia. The soaring peaks of Cerros Catedral, López, Nireco and Shaihuenque (to name just a few) – all well over 6561ft (2000m) high – ring the town, giving picture-postcard views in nearly every direction.

Stop #6 - Salta

Salta is located in the northwest of Argentina. It is an old colonial city full of special architecture and has a beautiful landscape, surrounded by mountains and valleys. It is the most Spanish city in the country. It gave me the feeling I was walking in Barcelona. Salta also have lots of great tour opportunities to visit surrounding towns like Cafayate, Jujuy and Tolar Grande.

Stop #7 - Iguazu falls

In Salta I went on a 3 day tour with Origins travel to Tolar Grande. We drove in a remote area and stayed in a town in the middle of the Andean dessert. It’s on the west side of Salta close to the border with Chile. I booked this trip 4 days in advance, later my friend Anna and Paul joined. It was an amazing trip. We saw many different landscapes from gorges to a life-less red dessert and lots of Salt flats. It felt like we were traveling on another planet. We got to see some interesting wild-life too, mostly on the road itself, like Guanaco’s, llama, Suri’s (Andean Ostrich) and more. At night we got to see the milk-way and falling stars.

Stop #8 - Buenos Aires

The main capitol. Buenos Aires is often referred to as the ‘Paris of the South’. This is due to the great European influence over the centuries. A nice mix of South America and Europe. It is also the cradle of tango.

I did not visit the city Buenos Aires, only the airport. Because the city is so big > 3 million residents I wanted to avoid staying here for long.