Travel around Argentina
Starter guide to travel around Argentina: all you need to know to plan your trip around this huge and vary South Amerincan country
How to Travel to and around Argentina
Flying to and around Argentina
Arriving from overseas, the main international airports are in the capital city Buenos Aires and Cordoba. From which you can fly to pretty much everywhere around the country.
Most of the flight are operate by the national company Aerolinas Argentinas, offering all flights with baggage included. And also some free snacks and drinks to treat the passengers with. They generally have quite good prices, if booked early enough.
A cheaper alternative is the low-cost company FlyBondi. It’s pretty much the South American version of Ryanair. Even if definitely less picky when checking baggage sizes and everything.
I personally spent half of the flight price on baggage (just because my backpack was slightly bigger than the designed size) on the three trips I took with them along my journey. And no one ever checked me. Or any of the people with big backpacks travelling with me.
Luckily it was only something like 7 dollars each!
Talking about international flights
You can find good deals for flying to Argentina, but flying out is generally quite expensive. That’s because of the high taxes the government puts on everyone willing to leave the country. Luckily, if you have the time and willingness, you can save a few hundreds flying out from one of the nearby countries, like Chile or Uruguay.
In my case the best option was to catch a bus to Santiago del Chile and fly back to Europe from there. I cannot guarantee it would be convenient for everyone. But it’s always worth taking a look!
Travel around Argentina by Bus
Due to the crazy long distances between everything, I’d say that flying will always be the best option when traveling Argentina.
Especially for those with a limited amount of time to waste.
But when for any reason flying doesn’t sound like a good option, you can be sure to find a bus reaching to your destination. If you are ready to exchange a 2 hours flight with 20 hours sitting on a coach of course! That said, the usually very long trips put Argentinian buses among the most comfortable you can expect to find around the planet. (Forget about Cuban Camiones, for instance!).
And no matter where you are going, you will surely find a comfortable bus running your route.
Generally speaking they are also not expensive, especially if compared to Europe and north America. But for some longer routes the price can even be higher than flying.
Driving around Argentina
Another always valuable option for traveling around the country is obviously to drive your own vehicle. Either a car, van, or even motorbike. For the most adventurous.
You can move around at your own pace, and most importantly head to the more remote places. Otherwise reachable only by hitchhiking (if you are lucky), or taking a tour.
But as said above distances in the country are huge. And unless you are planning to visit only a small area, or have a lot of time, the best option would probably be to fly between the main areas (for example from Cordoba to Patagonia) and then rent your vehicles in each of them.
if you have the time, and possibly a van, you can consider to experience one of the iconic drives. Such as the Ruta 40 stretching from the northernmost to the southernmost part of the country
Money in Argentina
The local currency of Argentina is the Argentinian Peso
This point is a little bit complicated. At the moment, Argentina is one of the countries with the higher inflation on the planet. The local currency is called Peso, and its values it’s just sliding down compared to the other currencies. They have an official rate (the one google will tell you, for instance). A more convenient tourist one, automatically used when you make purchases with your card. And a real but unofficial one, called blue dollar. Used pretty much for all the physical money exchanges.
This one will always be the most convenient when buying pesos (about twice the official rate, when I was there). So my suggestion is to mainly to bring cash, if you have the possibility.
Simply walking around the streets of the most touristy cities (like Buenos Aires) loads of people will try to stop you offering an always better rate. And some shops and hotels also make very convenient prices to those paying in different currencies.
One last suggestion, due to the skyrocketing inflation of the country, is to do not exchange all your money at the start of the trip. Especially if you are planning a longer stay. Only during the four weeks I spent there, the peso lost about the 20% of its value over the USD.
And also, you might always find someone offering you very good rates just to get some stronger courrencies
When to Visit Argentina
Due to the huge vertical extension of the country, pretty much anytime could be a good or a bad season to visit Argentina. Te autumn and wintertime is probably the best to visit the hot northern part. Either the arid west side or the humid east. Without being too bothered by the heat and the big rainfalls. Winter also means snow and skiing season in the south, from the fancy Bariloche (also called the Switzerland of south America) to the wildest corners of the Tierra del Fuego.
But if you are planning to go trekking in Patagonia, especially around El Chalten, definitely choose the summer. There are loads of single or multi day hikes (and climbs!) around “Argentina’s hiking capital”. And most of them are accessible only during the warmer months.
Unfortunately, that means summer it is also the higher season. So expect loads of people on the paths and everywhere. And of course higher prices.
But we’ll cover more on that on the post about Visiting Patagonia
I personally went there in late may, towards the end of the autumn. The town was pretty much desert, with most of the restaurants and shops closed. Days where obviously shorter and a bit chilly, especially in the morning. But nothing really crazy. And I really enjoyed experiencing the most famous hikes without many people around.
But of course you will need a bit of luck with the weather, as they got the first snowfall only about a week after I was there.
Where to go in Argentina
The South American country is really huge, and offer a very big variety of landscapes, climates and even cultures!
So that’s another little bit tricky point. But we can summarize the main and most peculiar areas here, from north to south:
The Northwest: Salta and Jujuy
the dry and warmer area close to the boarders with Bolivia and the north of Chile. Full of deserts, rocky canyons and the Andean peaks.
A slightly less common destination among foreign tourists, usually more attracted by places like Patagonia. But it is my real favorite among all the areas I went to.
For the landscapes, just too different from the ones we are used to in Europe. But most of all for the great culture and the atmosphere everyone can breath and feel in the north. And the food too!
From the city of Salta, also called “la linda” (the pretty). With its busy food market and the music shows. To the most remote villages around the desert.
Everything is just magic.
And you can read my full Northern Argentina Guide here
Iguazù Falls and the North East
At the same latitude but completely opposite side of Salta, the Misiones provence is mainly known for Puerto Iguazù.
A city located right at the border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. And famous for the impressive waterfalls.
The landscape here is green and full of tropical forest. And the weather pretty hot and humid, so is it definitely better to avoid the area during the summer months.
More on that on my post about visiting the Iguazù Waterfalls.
Buenos Aires
The huge capital city of Argentina. Definitely my least favourite part of the whole trip. Too big, modern, touristy and too similar to a north American big city. With tall skyscrapers and large busy roads.
But that is only my personal (nature seeker’s) opinion, and many people really love it.
Also, the big distances between the interesting places doesn’t make Bueons Aires the most walkable city. So one more downside for me.
On my second short visit there I decided to explore the ancient district of San Telmo. With high expectations especially around its famous food market (always my fav destinations!). Disappointingly turned out as way more touristy – and expensive – than I thought.
San Telmo also hosts a Sunday fair, in case you happen to be around there on the right day.
Other popular places around the city are the fashionable Puerto Madero, with its riverbank restaurants and walking area. Plaza de Mayo, the Rocoleta cemetery, Palermo distict, and several building and museums. In case you are into that stuff.
The Caminito del Rey
A very peculiar and visit-worthy place in my opinion is The Caminito del Rey. With its colourful and very peculiar wooden buildings that turned the run-down immigrants area into a proper open air museum. The Caminito is located at the heart of the La Boca district, originally populated by mostly immigrants from the Italian city of Genova. And home of the Bombonera. The stadium of the winning “Boca Junior” football team.
I arrived there in relatively early morning, with most of the shops still closed and not many people around. With the few people I met keep telling me to take care (“ciudate!”), as apparently this is not the safest area to be around outside the busy times. Also the walk to there from the city centre is not the safest, so better to go there with a bus or a taxi.
Cordoba and its province
Cordoba’s answer to Tango!
we all know Argentina is the homeland of the Tango. To the point of making it a proper tourist attraction, especially in cities like Buenos Aires.
But there are actually many other folkloristic and local dances. One of that is the Cuarteto, with its cheerful and happy rhythm. It was born in Cordoba, and specifically in Rio Cuarto, from where it takes its name from. Where is often played and danced at parties and in dedicates clubs.
I went to the concert of a singer called “El loco Amato” (literally “the beloved crazy”) the night I was in Cordoba. Definitely a fun experience, if it wasn’t that it started at something like 1 am and finished at 5 am. And I was coming straight from days of trekking days in Patagonia
Patagonia
Shared between Argentina and Chile, the Patagonia is the southernmost part of the South America.
Is it probably the most famous and dreamed destination, especially among European travellers. Probably also because of its remote location. What pops in most people’s mind when talking about Patagonia are usually the sharp mountain peaks, glaciers and beautiful lakes around El Calafate. Home, among the others, of the massive Perito Moreno. And the remote Ushuaia and the Tierra del Fuego. The southernmost corner of the continent.
But the region of Patagonia starts thousands of kilometres further north. Including also the famous Bariloche and its ski resorts.
Drive The legendary Ruta 40
An incredible itinerary, if you have the time (and money I’d say) is to drive down the Routa 40. Pretty much the South American version of the US Route 66.
The road is actually one of the longest in the world. And it extends pretty much parallelly to the
Andean Cordillera for almost 5.200 kilometres. From the frontier city of la Quiaca, at the northern boarder with Bolivia, to the southern Cabo Virgenes, the starting point. Featuring loads of unpaved parts and reaching a maximum altitude of 4895 metres. So better to drive a good and reliable vehicle!
Luckily Ushuaia, El Calafate and all the main places also have an airport. So you can easily save time and loads of kilomters on the road flying around. But you can find more on my Patagonia experience here
Of course there are so many places to visit around this huge and so Various country. But this is just should already give you a good general overview.
What to do and eat in Argentina
Due to the great variety of the country, also the offer of things to do is pretty much endless. From skiing to exploring cities, climbing, hiking.. and always looking for a nice spot to enjoy a good Mate!
Wondering what is it? Jump on my post about Argentinian food to learn more!
Thank you for taking the time to read this post!
Feel free to leave a comment below or share it with your friends, if you liked it. I would really appreciate it 🙂
Now keep exloring one of the related posts here, or pick another site area!
