Argentina - 12 day itinerary

This was one of our favourite countries in Latin America, the food, people and scenery were all fantastic. We also felt incredibly safe everywhere we visited.

Warning - we visited in October 2024 and the inflation problem was difficult (but a new experience) to say the least! The max we could withdraw from the ATM per day was 40,000 pesos ($40 USD) excluding a fee of 10,000 pesos. As we were travelling for circa 7 months prior to our visit, we also turned up with no coat, as we assumed it was OK to buy a coat there. Do not make this mistake, the brands are TRIPLE the price of the rest of the world prices. If you can, bring USD or GBP with you, as there are lots of exchange shops which will get you a better exchange rate.

Summary of suggested itinerary

Day 1 - Buenos Aires - explore Palermo, Tango Show PM

Day 2 - Buenos Aires - walking tour AM, Nazi Tour PM

Day 3 - Buenos Aires - La Boca AM, local asado PM

Day 4 - Fly to Iguazu, visit viewpoint

Day 5 - Iguazu falls

Day 6 - Fly to El Calafate, Bus to El Chalten

Day 7 - El Chalten - Hiking day 1

Day 8 - El Chalten - Hiking day 2

Day 9 - El Chalten - Hiking day 3

Day 10 - Travel to El Calafate

Day 11 - El Calafate - Glacier Perito Moreno

Day 12 - Depature to Chile or back to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires:

Where to stay:

I would HIGHLY recommend staying in Palermo. This area was amazing! So many cool cafes, bars and shops - all round, it was a great vibe. We used Airbnb as we found that you get a lot more for your money here vs hotels. We absolutely loved where we stayed in the heart of Palermo, linked here.

What to do (Days 1-3)

1) An absolute must do is an Asado experience. This was the highlight of our time in Buenos Aires and one of our highlights of Latin America. We went to a locals house, where he talked us through (and we helped a little bit) the traditional asado experience. It was a father and son duo, and we got to ask so many questions about traditional life and try lots of yummy food and wine. The one we picked was is liked here [affiliate].

2) Another absolute must do is the Nazi walking tour - did you hear about Nazis fleeing to Argentina after WW2? Well it may be true... a totally fascinating tour with the best tour guide we had in 7 months of travel, run by a local history lecturer. Affiliate link here.

3) Free walking tour - there is loads of rich history in Argentina. Why not join a free walking tour to find it out and see the top sights? We used guruwalk.com

4) La Boca - grab an uber over to la boca and have a walk around. It was great to see lots of traditional tango dancers, everything Boca Juniors, Messi and Maradona! We didn't do a walking tour here but wished we had to be honest - the below affiliate link here looks a good one.

If you are here on a day Boca Juniors are playing, you should get to a game! Even if you're not a big football fan, they're a pretty iconic club and the fans are very passionate.

5) Watch a traditional tango show - a really amazing show and a great experience, even though we do not watch dancing much, we absolutely loved this cultural experience. We opted for this one [affiliate link].

6) Explore and mooch around the streets of Palermo - honestly an unreal neighbourhood, with tonnes of amazing food and coffee, as well as some gorgeous little boutique shops. The perfect place for some hipster avocado on toast too!

7) Try some dulce de leche. This is a sweet spread (sort of like biscoff, but not...) that is used in all kinds of desserts in Argentina. You can find it in croissants, on cakes, in pancakes and in ice cream. Our personal favourite was the dulce de leche ice cream!

Iguazu:

Day 4 - Catch a mid-afternoon flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu. We stayed in the small town of Puerto Iguazu. Although not much to do in Iguazu itself apart from the falls, on the day we arrived we headed over to an extremely interesting view point, where you can see not 1 but 3 different countries at once. Although not the most stunning viewpoint in the world, it definitely was a surreal experience. Just type in "Hito Tres Fronteras (Argentina)" into maps. It is about a 25 minute walk from the centre.

There are plenty of nice restaurants in town, we particularly recommend Restaurante La Rueda 1975 (aka the wheel). The steak is out of this world, and the pasta dishes are an excellent choice for lunch too.

Day 5 - Head over to Iguazu falls!

I would recommend booking your ticket online in advance to avoid the queues when you get there. Honestly it only gets busier too, so head over first thing!

Website for your ticket below - https://iguazuargentina.com/en/

You have different options to get there - either ask your hotel/hostel to organise a private cab, or head over to the bus station "Terminal de Buses De Puerto Iguazu" in maps. Here you can get return tickets to Iguazu and catch the next bus, they leave every 20 mins. The tickets were 10,000 pesos each and you could pay with cash or card.

Iguazu falls is absolutely gorgeous - you can do a boat ride closer to the falls but it was £50/$65 each so we opted not to, and felt like we got great views just doing the hikes!

We got there at 10:30am and left at 4pm, and did 3 different loops. We recommend doing as much as you can, and definitely head up the trail at the top of the falls (you will get wet). On arrival you will see a map of the park and it is pretty obvious which loops, as they are the ones that go close to the falls!

1) Circuito superior - probably an hour and a half in total to walk around, take pictures and admire views etc - stunning!

2) Circuito inferor - much quieter than the above and great views

3) Sendero Macuco to Devils Throat - you can get the train up here but not necessary, since it was a c35 min walk to the point at which the train goes to. We saw so many butterflies on the walk too, it was totally amazing. It was then maybe a 20 min walk further along the wooden walkway to the view point. This was the closest point you could get to the falls - close enough to get wet! which was very refreshing given the heat.

Note - you can buy food at Iguazu. It is a bit expensive, but not enough to deter. We got empanadas and some chips to share which were delicious!

Day 6 - Catch a flight over to El Calfate airport

It will probably take most of the day, since there are not many direct flights, so you will likely have to go back via Buenos Aires!

The two places you want to visit in Argentina Patagonia are "El Calafate" and "El Chalten". If you are planning on heading over to Chilean Patagonia afterwards, I would suggest doing El Chalten first, since El Calafate is closer to the Chilean border. If you are planning on going back to Buenos Aires to exit, then it doesn't really matter which way round you do it.

On a side note, we caught the cheapest flights from Iguazu back to Buenos Aires and then Buenos Aires to El Calafate, which meant we had a 5am flight the next day. We stayed in "My Pod Boutique Capsule" to get a couple of hours of Zzzzs. It was amazingly clean, and you had access to snacks and drinks.

When we landed in El Calafate, we transfered straight to El Chalten. We booked this in advance on busbud however you can just buy when you get there, there are a couple of different companies to choose from. The transfer is about 3 hours 30 and the buses stop at the airport.

Where to stay in El Chalten:

El Chalten is really expensive, obviously as it is Patagonia! If you're on a budget, we really recommend staying in a hostel with kitchen facilities, since eating out in El Chalten can be pricey. This allows you to make a packed lunch for your hiking days and also dinner.

We paid a bit more than our usual budget for our hostel, but honestly could not recommend it more and super glad we increased our budget for it. The room was SO cosy, like being in someones home. We had a really nice heater which was needed as it can get v cold in Patagonia! The kitchen was excellent and we always had space to cook etc. Breakfast was help yourself which was really handy to grab a quick bite before heading out on a day of walking. Click here to book.

There are 3 main hiking days that you can do, we did a minimum of 30k steps a day so be prepared! Track the weather, you want to do the Lago de Los Tres hike on the day that the weather looks best - since this is the best hike! The best thing about El Chalten is that you do all of the hikes from El Chalten centre!! This is different to the Chilean Patagonia where it is a little bit more complicated to plan. I really recommend downloading the AllTrails app so you can follow the hikes easily and see what is coming next - do a free trial or a whole annual subscription is only £35 - bargain!

Note - Argentinian Patagonia have recently started charging tickets for the 2 hikes "big" hikes - Laguna Torre and Laguna de Los Tres. You can buy a 2 day ticket to cover this, which gives you 50% off day 2. We bought our tickets at the ranger's office (a little hut at the start of each hike trail) as they accept card. You can buy them online, but if you buy the wrong one - no refund. So be careful! The tickets cost £30 / $40 for one day, so the second day is about £15 / $20 per person.

Day 7 - Hiking day 1 - Laguna de Los Tres via Mount Fitz Roy

We are super keen hikers and this is one of our favourite hikes we have EVER done. It's about 22km and took us around 8-9 hours, taking our time and lots of photo stops with lunch at the top. We found the hike to be pretty flat for the first 8km, with a very steep climb on the last 2km (not a climb with hands, but more big boulders). Hiking poles are useful for the last part of the trail. This trail is a MUST do in Argentinian Patagonia - the views were genuinely stunning and live up to the pictures. We saw some foxes at the top which was a beautiful moment. When you get to the top, make sure you head over to the second lake called Laguna Sucia (just head left around Laguna de Los Tres and over the ridge), this is only about a 10 min extra walk and is worthwhile as Sucia is a blue lagoon. The number of people that miss this out is insane - don't be one of them!

Day 8 - Hiking day 2 - Mirador de los Condores, Chorillo del Salto and Canon Rio de las Vueltas

The feet may be a little sore today if you're not a big hiker. We decided to take a bit more of a leisurely day on the second day, and explore some of the smaller hikes by El Chalten.

• Chorillo del Salto: This is a pretty waterfall a short walk from El Chalten. Round trip from El Chalten takes about 1 hour 30 mins, including time to explore the waterdall. The trail is well signposted and is flat the entire way, passing through some beautiful Patagonian fields with horses in it.

• Mirador de los Condores: This is short, circa 2 hour hike, with a small (200m) elevation gain. It gives you some great views over El Chalten and even Lago Viedma on a clear day. It is a very doable hike, suitable for beginners/people who do not hike much.

• Canon Rio de las Vueltas: If you've still got energy, you can head up to Rio de las Vueltas. It's also a short but steep climb from El Chalten. You get views over El Chalten, with views of the snow cap mountains on a clear day. Not a must do, but if you have energy to burn - why not?!

Day 9 - Hiking day 3 - Laguna Torre

This hike is pretty long distance wise (around 20km), however it is very flat and doable. The trail takes you through a mix of woodland and open sections, past a river and eventually to Laguna Torre. Laguna Torre is not itself blue (more brown, actually). However the glacier is awesome, and the views out to the Laguna are incredible with the mountains in the background. Be warned - this was EXTREMELY windy when we went (as in you could hardly walk at the glacier), so bring a hat and sunglasses or glasses to protect your eyes from any debries (yes, seriously...)

Day 10 - Grab a transfer to El Calafate

There isn't a transfer that gets you early enough to do the Perito Moreno Glacier trip the same day, but that is OK, since El Calafate town itself is so idyllic. Do a bit of merch shopping, grab a lovely meal or a drink at Patagonia Brewery and enjoy the rest of your day! You can also take a walk down by a nearby lake - Lago Argentino.

We stayed in a good budget option, which was run by the kindest family - linked here. The rooms are all named after Argentinian footballers, which is cool! Just don't leave your room Messi ;)

Day 11 - Day trip to Perito Moreno Glacier

We booked the following trip [affiliate]. It is effectively just transportation with some information about the history of the National Park and glacier. Overall, it's a good option that meant we didn't have headaches around self-organising or missing the final bus. For budget travellers, you can simply get a local bus to and from the glacier, or you can rent a car for a few days to spread the cost if you want to explore more of the local area. We didn't do the boat trip as budget travelling! Honestly - we don't regret missing the boat as we found the walkways absolutely gorgeous. You can sit and watch the glacier for hours. Tickets cost ARS45,000 if you want to go yourself with a car - but just beware Argentinia is experiencing high levels of inflation so this will likely change a lot...

On a side note, if you are travelling on a budget you may want to take your own packed lunch. We spent $50 on a sandwich each, half a brownie and a hot chocolate. In fairness, it was sensational food!

Day 12 - Departure

Catch a flight back to Buenos Aires ahead of your next flight out of the capital. OR) fancy heading over to Chilean Patagonia? Catch a bus over to Puerto Natales in Chile, the gateway to Chilean Patagonia... (link to Chile page)