Argentina is one of the most popular countries to visit in South America and for good reason. Being the world’s eighth largest country, it offers limitless opportunities for exploration–from trekking in the Patagonian Andes, sipping coffee on a sidewalk cafe in Buenos Aires, whale watching on the coast, indulging in Argentine beef and wine, to basking in the mists of Iguazu Falls. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy in Argentina.
Due to the size of the country, you can easily travel for a month or two without even scratching the surface of everything Argentina has to offer. I recommend taking it slow and enjoying particular stops of interest and truly soaking up the culture and interesting landscapes. But beware, inflation is on the rise again and Argentina is becoming more costly to travel than in the past few years. I will try to keep this section as up-to-date as possible because prices can literally change every month.
My favorite places in Argentina:
Bariloche and The Lake District
Buenos Aires
Barreal
Mendoza and Wine Region
Quebrada de Humahuaca
The Basics
Backpackers budget per day = $30-40 USD (obviously you can travel cheaper or much more expensive, but this is a generally baseline budget that will be on the cheap but still allow you to enjoy your travels)
Accommodation
Hostels are widespread and easy to find throughout the country. You will find a varying degree of quality and price as well, with a dorm room fetching $20+ USD in Buenos Aires to a simple room in Humahuaca only costing around $7 USD. In the major cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Cordoba, Salta, and Bariloche competition is fierce and hostels can be of very good quality. Expect to pay double the price of a dorm room to get a private room with shared bath.
Hotels in the most expensive areas like Buenos Aires and Patagonia, can easily cost upward up $60 USD, but generally can be found for less in other parts of the country. If you plan on staying in one place for more than a week, a homestay is a popular option. Expect to pay between $100 – 140 USD per week and for a room (and usually three meals per day) at a host families house. To look for homestays check Craigslist or HomestayWeb.
- Typical Accommodation Costs:
- Hostels = $7-20+ USD
- Hotels = $40-300 USD
- Homestays = $100-140 USD per week
Food
You will find great food in Argentina, but it won’t be as cheap as other South American countries (minus Brazil). Inflation is rampant again in Argentina, and food prices, especially in the supermarket, can rise 30% per month! When I returned a year later from a previous trip, the price of a liter of beer had doubled. This is the fact of life for Argentinians, but certainly doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the local food and wine as well as find a cheap meal.
Be sure to enjoy the amazing steak and wine produced from the country. In Buenos Aires you will find many amazing restaurants for whatever you desire–from Italian, parillas, sushi, pizza, or Chinese. For a quick snack or sandwich from a cafe expect to pay $2-5 USD, and upwards of $5+ USD for a meal in a cheap restaurant.
If you are looking to wine and dine, the tab can easily be upwards of $20 USD per person for a (delicious) steak and wine dinner. Purchasing groceries from the local corner store or meat market will be cheaper and quicker than buying them from a major supermarket.
- Typical Food Costs:
- Cheap restaurant = $5-10 USD,
- Nice steak and wine dinner = $15+ USD,
- A weeks worth of grocery items from the store = $30-45 USD per week
- Coffee = $1 USD
- Liter of beer = $1-2 USD
- Bottle of wine = $2+, good bottle of wine = $10,
- Snack/light meal = $2-4 USD.
- *Menu al Dia (set meal of the day) at local restaurants/cafes is a cheap meal option and includes soup, entree, drink, and dessert,
Transportation
The extensive bus network makes getting around Argentina easy for both short and long distance journeys. The quality of buses differ from the run-of-the-mill coach seats to the more expensive plush Super Cama seats. For longer distances and overnight buses you can expect to be served food and drinks and enjoy wifi and a movie. For overnight buses, it is well worth the extra few bucks to upgrade to a cama seat and enjoy the luxuries of busing across Argentina. It is much cheaper to take a long distance bus than to fly within the country, and it is possible to travel all the way to the southern tip of Patagonia by bus. Plataforma10 is a great website for finding schedules and prices for routes around the country.
Train travel can be used between Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Rosario and more routes are supposedly being established again as the government revives the country’s rail system. Tourist trains are popular, and Tren de las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) is a great, but pricey ($185 USD) journey from Salta up to the Andean highlands. I traced this same route on a day tour in a 4×4 van and only paid $25 USD for a whole day.
- Typical Transportation Costs:
- Taxi ride from Capital Federal to Recoleta in Buenos Aires = $3.80 USD
- Buenos Aires to Mendoza = $106 USD (approx 15 hours)
- Buenos Aires to Salta = $151 USD (approx 19 hours)
- Buenos Aires to Bariloche = $200 USD (approx 21 hours)
- Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls = $150 USD (approx 17 hours)
Sights and Activities
Expect to pay more for activities and sights than in other South American countries. Discounts may be available for students and teachers. You will find many possible activities and tours such as trekking in Patagonia, various day tours around Salta, skiing the Andes, white water rafting in Mendoza, winery tours, and much more!
- Sights and activities costs:
- Boliche or club cover = $2-5 USD
- Daily tour around Salta = $10-20 USD
- A Patagonia tour = $400 USD
- Mendoza wine tour = around $100 USD (can be done much cheaper by taking a bus out to the wine area and renting a bike to ride around from vineyard-to-vineyard)
Tips For Traveling Cheap
- Take an overnight bus – Take an overnight bus if you are traveling long distances or if the journey is more than 8 hours, this will save you the cost of a night’s accommodation.
- Travel off-season – Travel during the off-season between March-June or September-November to avoid price spikes during the heavy tourist season. Accommodation will be cheaper, attractions will be less crowded, and booking travel will be easier and unlikely to be full.
- Menu al Día/Tenedor Libre – Eat the set menu of the day at local restaurants or eat at tenedor libres, an all-you-can-eat style buffet restaurant.
- Pay What Locals Pay – Always pay in the local currency, and if you don’t know how much the item should generally cost try to confirm the posted price.
- Get the Best Exchange Rate – Since Argentine citizens are restricted in purchasing dollars, you can get premium exchange rates by selling your US dollars on the black market. Caution: Make sure you have a trusted source and are not receiving counterfeit pesos and attempt at your own risk.
- Use Discount Cards – Student and teacher discount cards (ISIC, IYTC ó GO 25, ITIC) can amount to incredible savings for some travel and entry to museums and attractions. If you plan on spending a considerable amount of time in Buenos Aires other discount cards to consider include: La Nacion Club and La Nacion Premium Club Cards, Tarjeta Guia Oleo, Tarjeta VIP. *Always bring a student ID with you no matter if it’s old, expired or you have an ugly picture.
Top Things to See and Do
Buenos Aires – Known as the “Paris of South America,” Buenos Aire’s blend of European elegance and Latin culture makes it one of my favorite cities to visit. Be sure to spend a few days enjoying the amazing food, culture, sights and nightlife! Explore the pedestrian mall of Florida Street, the various great museums including the Malba, wander among the dead at the Cementerio de la Recoleta, dine in style at Puerto Madero, stroll around the historic San Telmo neighborhood, and drink a Fernet and Coke at a boliche. The lovely cafe culture and endless list of things to do make it easy to see why people fall in love with Buenos Aires.
Iguazu Falls – As one of Argentina’s top attractions, the roar of 275 different waterfalls crashing 80m (262ft) into the Rio Iguaçu are sure to impress. This place is truly jaw-dropping with its sheer size and power. The falls are actually divided between Brazil and Argentina, and both sides offer a very different view–I prefer the Argentine side because there is more to see. From Buenos Aires hop on a bus (17 hours) and head up to Puerto Iguazu National Park, entry cost to the park is 130 ARS for foreigners and 50 ARS for Argentine nationals.
Ushuaia – Head to Ushuaia if you want to visit the most southerly city in the world. Being the largest city in Tierra del Fuego it is a popular town with travelers coming to the end of their South American journey, or traveling to Antarctica. Here you will find many opportunities for glacial adventures, skiing, and wildlife viewing in the Beagle Channel and the snow-capped Martial Range. It is enjoyable to wander the picturesque city with it’s colorful clapboard houses and the snow-capped Martial Mountains in the backdrop. Prices are more expensive here, and in Patagonia in general, than in other parts of the country.
Perito Moreno Glacier – Located within the amazing Los Glaciares National Park, this glacier is sure to awe anyone at almost 15,000 feet wide and 200 feet tall. If you are lucky you will get to see the glacier calving off into the ocean!
Tren de las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) – The route of El Tren de las Nubes is a 400 kilometer, 16 hour round trip journey into the Andes departing from Salta. Enjoy the breathtaking landscapes as the train climbs to over 4000 meters. Due to the overpriced ticket price and seasonal operation, another option is to take a day tour in vehicle from Salta that follows the trains route, and adds a visit to a salt flat into the mix. Many tour operators in Salta offer this option for around $20 for a day trip (highly recommended).
Drive the Ruta de los Siete Lagos (Route of the Seven Lakes) – Drive or hop on a bus from Villa Angostura and head towards San Martin de los Andes to enjoy some spectacular scenery along the foothills of the Andes. The drive is known as the seven lakes road and the road is rough in some sections, but the trip is beautiful and well worth it if you are traveling north from Bariloche. Once you arrive in San Martin de los Andes you can stop over for a day or two and enjoy the local hikes and swimming at this picturesque lakeside town.
Tour Mendoza’s Vineyards – Head to Mendoza to explore the most famous wine making region of the country. Argentines love their wine and are known to produce the worlds best Malbecs. You can either sign up for a wine tour, or rent a bike and cruise from vineyard-to-vineyard for tastings. Some vineyards offer free tastings, and other charge for a tour and tasting. Another popular wine region in Argentina is around Cafayate.
Visit Cerro Aconcagua – Being the tallest mountain outside of the Himalayas, Cerro Aconcagua (6,962 m) can be seen from the bus journey from Mendoza to Santiago, Chile. If you have time a hike into the valley towards the mountain offers some great views. Attempting to climb Aconcagua is only for very experienced climbers and takes around two weeks to reach the summit.
Trek in the Andes – There are endless options to explore the Andes and the foothills surrounding (still mountains by US standards). Head to San Carlos de Bariloche, Vill Angostura, San Martin de los Andes, or Tafi del Valle for a town with easy trail access. The town of Bariloche has many day hikes and overnight backpacking loops that are possible to do with the right gear. The mountain scenery will not disappoint.
Ski in the Andes – Hit the slopes at either Las Leñas, Cerro Chapelco, Cerro Catedral, La Hoya, or Cerro Castor. Las Leñas is known for some of the best extreme and off-piste terrain in the world–all accessible by its Marte chairlift.
Valle de la Luna – The ‘Valley of the Moon’ is a dramatic landscape that dates back to the Triassic period. Akin to Zion National Park in the States, wind and rain have carved the rocks into lunar landscapes that give this it’s name. Wildlife spotting is also possible here and is home to foxes, owls, armadillos and condors.
Barreal – Journey to this sleepy town nestled into a lush valley at the foot of the Andes for a tranquil getaway. The dirt streets are lined with cottonwood trees and the pace of life is very relaxed. This area is known for having some of the best stargazing in the world due to it’s atmospheric characteristics and high elevation.
Quebrada de Humahuaca – Journey up into the colorful red rock valley known as the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Rich in ancient Incan history and culture, the valley was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Here you can spend your days getting lost in history wandering the adobe clad streets of Humahuaca, pondering pre-Inca ruins of Pucará de Tilcara, or just sit back and enjoy the view the colorful Cerro de Siete Colores (Mountain of Seven Colors) in Purmamarca.
Stroll and Shop the Markets – A great way to spend a Sunday in Buenos Aires is to stroll San Telmo’s antiques fair at Plaza Dorrego. Artisans, musicians, and street performers take over the small streets of this historic neighborhood making for a culturally and interesting shopping experience. Who knows, you may even find a treasure or two!
Whale Watch in Patagonia – Whale watching season in Argentine Patagonia (Puerto Madryn) extends from May to December. September and October are the best months. Excursions are expensive, but well worth it during the right time of year.
Party in Rosario – Argentina’s third largest city is full of university students ready to party until dawn. Just over an hour from Buenos Aires by bus, Rosario offers amazing riverfront parks, shopping and pedestrian malls in the city center, bustling discos, theaters, and many great restaurants.
Learn to Tango – Famous for the Tango, there are many studios in Buenos Aires that offer lessons. If you just want to watch a performance there are plenty of opportunities to catch this sensual dance on the streets or at a show.
Stay at an Estancia – Many estancias in Argentina’s Gaucho country have opened their doors to the public. These rural estates that were once the private getaways of wealthy families can be enjoyed for either day trips or overnight stays.
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