Argentina
Six cities I explored, four routes that actually work, and the practical page. I wish someone had handed me that the first time.
Updated September 2026
What nobody tells you before you land
Argentina is enormous — the distance from the jungle waterfalls of Iguazú to the glaciers of Patagonia is the same as crossing a continent. You cannot do it by bus, and you cannot do it in a week. What you can do is pick two ends and fly between them, which is exactly how the routes below are built.
Buenos Aires is the hinge everything turns on — the internal flights leave from there. Give the city a few days for its cafés, its steak and its tango, then head south into the wind, where Argentina is at its most spectacular.
Fact sheet
Everything practical, on one page
Itineraries
Four routes that actually work
Seven days is Buenos Aires plus one end of Patagonia. Twenty-one is the whole country, jungle to glacier.
Buenos Aires, then a flight south to the Perito Moreno glacier and the Fitz Roy trails — the essential taste of Patagonia in one week.
The extra days go to Bariloche and the Lake District — the greener, alpine side of Patagonia, with its chocolate, its trails and its breweries.
Both ends of the country: the Iguazú falls in the subtropical north, and Ushuaia at the end of the world in the far south.
The one I'd take. Buenos Aires slowly, the falls, and then the long descent through all of Patagonia down to Tierra del Fuego.
City guides
Six cities, walked one street at a time
Buenos Aires
San Telmo, Palermo and La Boca — cafés, steak, tango, and the most European city in the Americas.
3–4 days · Coming soonIguazú
The greatest waterfalls on earth — the Argentine side, up close, and the Devil's Throat.
2 days · Coming soonBariloche
Alpine Patagonia: the Circuito Chico, chocolate, craft beer and the walks around town.
3 days · Coming soonEl Chaltén
Argentina's trekking capital — Laguna de los Tres under Mount Fitz Roy.
2–3 days · Coming soonEl Calafate
The base for the Perito Moreno glacier — the one you can watch calve for hours.
2 days · Coming soonUshuaia
The end of the world — the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego park, and the southernmost city.
2 days · Coming soonAsked every week
Questions I get about Argentina
How many days do I need?+
Seven for Buenos Aires plus one end of Patagonia. Ten adds Bariloche; fourteen adds Iguazú and Ushuaia; twenty-one is the whole country from the jungle to the glaciers.
How does money work now?+
The old "blue dollar" gap closed in 2025 — foreign Visa/Mastercard now charge close to the real rate, so cards are fine for most things. Still carry some US-dollar cash for small vendors, taxis and rural Patagonia.
When should I go?+
Remember the seasons are flipped. Sep–Nov and Mar–May are mild everywhere; Dec–Feb (summer) is the window for Patagonia and the south, when the trails and glaciers are open.
Is it safe?+
Yes, with normal city sense in Buenos Aires — watch your bag in La Boca and on the subte, use apps for taxis. Patagonia is as safe and calm as travel gets.
The podcast
I walked this before I wrote it
Every guide starts as an episode. Listen to the Argentina introduction — the context, the history and the honest bits — then come back for the routes.