Patagonia in winter?

doriansmith

Hi

I'll be in Argentina for about a month (from mid-June - mid-July) of a 4 month trip in South America. Our itinerary so far is roughly:

Iguaza Falls: 1 day
Buenos Aires: 7 days
Day trip to Uruguay: 1 day
Bariloche: 4 days
Mendoza: 4 days
Cordoba: 2 days
Salta: 3 days
Travel time: 4 days (We plan on getting night buses as much as possible however)

Now, i've realised that we have about a week to spare before getting to Peru for the Inca trail, (via Bolivia) and I'm thinking of spending the extra time heading further south in Argentina. We'd ruled this out at first due to the fact we'll be going in winter, but i've heard some people say it's one of the highlights of Argentina.

So i'm wondering if people think heading to Patagonia will be worth it in mid winter? And will we have time to go there in the space of a week? We could go to Ushuaia, then El Calafate, El Chalten, El Bolson before going to Bariloche. Is this realistic? Could we skip Ushuaia without missing out on much and go straight from BA to El Calafate to see Perito Mereno Glacier?

Also, does the rest of my Argentina itinerary look ok? I don't know much about Cordoba or Salta, are they unmissable?

Basically I want to know where are the most unmissable places to go in Argentina when you have about 4-5 weeks & is Patagonia a must-visit even in winter

darrenh

For starters, Perito Moreno is the first unmissable thing in Argentina. It is jaw dropping. We spent three hours staring at it and didn't want to leave at all. Spectacular barely describes it.
http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Santa-Cruz/El-Calafate/blog-387132.html

I dont know how bad or cold the weather will be at that tine of year but Patagonia is amazing. El Chalten and El Bolson are pretty cool places. If in El Bolson make sure you stay in El Pueblito hostel.

If your doing the Salt Flats start it from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Its also a cool place to spend a dew days.

v.e.r.b.a.l

If you head south from Buenos Aires, you could break up the journey with a day or two in Puerto Madryn - one of the highlights of our trip. Around that time of the year the huge Southern Right Whales come into shore to mate. You can just walk along the beach and watch massive whales jump out of the water really close. Or you can take a boat out to see them up closer. They're really curious and come right over to the boat to have a look!

El Calafate isn't unbearably cold at that time of the year. We were there at a similar time last year and it was fine. Winter coats and woolies, but fine. We had snow on the day of our flight but no delays. Perito Moreno is amazing. You can spend hours watching the huge walls of ice crash into the water.

You could head up through Bariloche to Mendoza then. Didn't make it to Bariloche though, so can't advise on that. Did hear that the road from El Calafate to Bariloche is a bit treacherous though. We flew back to Buenos Aires and then got a bus across to Mendoza.

A lot of people we met were heading much further south to Usuahia (not sure about spelling there!!) - but we didn't really see the point. Just to say you got to the "end of the world". Did hear about a dog-sled ride through the snow that might be fun though, but it's a long journey down and back up just for that!!

Here's some of our photos of Puerto Madryn and Perito Moreno to give you an idea.

Enjoy! Argentina is amazing!!!

doriansmith

Darrenh, I've had a look at your blog a few times after you've linked to it on here, well done on it - I've found it really informative & entertaining! We're doing almost the same trip around South America as you,except we're spending two weeks in Ecuador as well to go to the Galapagos islands (costing us a fortune but hopefully be worth it!). Did you book your flight down to Ushuaia far in advance or can they be booked last minute?

Verbal, your photos look class. I think we might skip Ushuaia so, just so we're not rushing to too many places and head to El Calafate to see the glacier instead - looks amazing! Good to hear that the weather wasn't too bad either, hopefully we get similar weather. I'm getting well used to snow at this stage with the winter we're having in Ireland!

How long did you guys spend in Patagonia in total? I reckon we'll fly BA - El Calafate and then maybe bus it up to Bariloche via El Chalten/El Bolson over the space of a week, sound realistic?

darrenh

We booked it on Aerolinas Argentina a bit in advance. The prices never really change. Always good to keep an eye out though.

We spent 5 days in BA, 3 days in colonia and then flew from BA to Ushuaia and spent 5 days there. 3 days in El Calafate and 4 days in El Chalten. 3 days in El Bolson and 4 days in Bariloche. 4 days Mendoza, 3 in Salta. Add in a few extra days for bus journeys.

The bus from El Chalten to Bariloche is and experience in itself. 2 days on gravel roads with an over night stay in a town called Perito Moreno (nothing to do with the glacier). Its called Ruta 40 and all part of the experience. If you dont fancy it you could try what Verbal did. When we did it parts of it had tarmacked road which was not yet open. We could only look out the window and watch it pass us by.

In Bariloche stay in Pudu. Its and Irish/Argentinian owned hostel. Scones for breakfast. After all the free "bread" breakfasts in the other hostels you stay in, the scones are a treat! Plus they have a lovely little bar in the place like one you might set up in your own sitting room. They have a home brew and a snowboard you can do shots off (or under!). It should be ski season then so book in advance. There is and Irish/Argentinean scarf over the bar which is mine! The Irish couple are as sound as you'll meet. It's a real home from home kind of place. God I wish I was you. South America is everyones favorite place to travel from what I can see. Enjoy every minute!:)

v.e.r.b.a.l

oh, and don't worry - the galapagos are worth every expensive penny!!!

doriansmith

Appreciate the replies guys. Have a fair idea now of what route to take in Argentina

v.e.r.b.a.l wrote: »

oh, and don't worry - the galapagos are worth every expensive penny!!!

It's costing us about 2k each for an 8 day trip but it looks amazing alright, a real once in a lifetime experience.

darrenh wrote: »

South America is everyones favorite place to travel from what I can see. Enjoy every minute!:)

It does seem to be top of a lot of peoples' lists. It's the first part of a year and a half of travelling we're planning on (heading to NZ for about 10 months then SEA after) and it's definitely the part i'm most excited about! Been planning it for so long, can't wait to go at this stage

v.e.r.b.a.l

Yeah enjoy! I could easily have spent the entire year in South America!! Make sure you learn a bit of Spanish before you go - makes interaction a bit easier!

darrenh

Definitely learn a bit of Spanish. I didnt have much (or any) and got by but it would have been nice to have some. It will be handy for ordering all those Cuba Libre's your going to order!

InKonspikuou2

eva22 wrote: »

Appreciate the replies guys. Have a fair idea now of what route to take in Argentina



It's costing us about 2k each for an 8 day trip but it looks amazing alright, a real once in a lifetime experience.




It does seem to be top of a lot of peoples' lists. It's the first part of a year and a half of travelling we're planning on (heading to NZ for about 10 months then SEA after) and it's definitely the part i'm most excited about! Been planning it for so long, can't wait to go at this stage

2k each? That's crazy money for it. You can get way better deals closer to the trip. Also if you register as a volunteer in Ecuador you get a volunteer national id which allows you to get the same discount rate as locals. You can get a return flight out to Galapagos for about 150 dollars return. I'm half Colombian and speak Spanish so that may have helped but i read a blog about a few Danish people had done the same thing. Not a lot of travelers know that the volunteer card gets you the same discounts as locals for everything in the country. Could work for other countries too.