In February 2023 we went on a three-week couple’s trip to Argentina and Chile, an amazing trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.
Written by Yifat Betzer Nahum.
The Planning Stage
We were helped by the amazing Gaby Bokler, who fine-tuned the planning and the key points at the important places, and accompanied us on WhatsApp and calls for three months during planning and throughout the trip itself. Highly recommended! Everything ran like clockwork, and he really knew how to tailor the trip to fit us.
We did an in-depth trip: we carefully chose the places we wanted to be and stayed several days in each. The distances are big anyway, with lots of driving and many domestic flights, which isn’t easy and is tiring. Our approach was that it’s better to focus on and enjoy fewer places than to rush.
Our Itinerary
Buenos Aires first! Including a guided tour! We did the tour with Gaby, not cheap, but worth every penny! He toured with us with a private driver for six and a half hours and gave us lots of background that helped us understand where we’d arrived, a soft landing. Two days in Buenos Aires let us enjoy the beautiful city and recover from the international flights just before setting off south.
3.5 Days in the El Calafate Area
Half a day at caves with indigenous rock paintings, with dinner in a cave, very nice.
Walking on the Perito Moreno Glacier (a guided mini-trek) + a self-guided visit to the walkways overlooking the glacier, a must!
A catamaran cruise to the Upsala and Spegazzini glaciers, highly recommended!
A day trip to El Chaltén and back. In El Chaltén we did a self-guided trek of about 4 hours to Laguna Capri, with a view of Fitz Roy. It was very nice; if we’d had more time, I’d have stayed another night in El Chaltén and returned to El Calafate only the next day.
3 Days in Torres del Paine National Park (Chile)
Then we drove a full day in a 4×4 rental car (booked in advance) to Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. We spent 3 full days there (exactly what you need).
On the first day we did a self-guided tour to the big waterfalls and the viewpoint over the Cuernos, and that same day we were also at Lago Grey and looked out over the Grey Glacier.
On the second day we hiked up to the viewpoint facing the towers (Base Torres), a tough trail of about 21 km that took me 9.5 hours, but I wouldn’t have missed it! A life experience!
On the third day we drove around the park, between the beautiful lagoons and viewpoints, and went as far as Laguna Azul (the Blue Lagoon), which has a view of the towers.
We really enjoyed the three days and felt we’d managed to see the whole park. In general, the plan in the park was an easy day, a hard day and an easy recovery day. We stayed very close to the park, in an area called Río Serrano, at a nice lodge that also has a good restaurant for dinner, which saved us the whole business of going out to look for somewhere to eat in the cold evening.
Fill up with fuel in Esperanza, in Argentina, the last station before the border crossing (two hours from El Calafate). In general, try to ask for a car with low fuel consumption: refueling around the park is a problem (you can only buy 10 liters at the Río Serrano hotel) and you use a lot of fuel in the park.
You can only shop in Puerto Natales, before heading to the park. It adds about half an hour to the drive, but this way we made ourselves tasty sandwiches for lunch and didn’t have to order lunch boxes or rely on the food inside the park.
It took us a full day to get back to El Calafate in Argentina, and from there we flew to Bariloche the next day.
3.5 Days in Bariloche and the Surrounding Area
We spent 3.5 full days in Bariloche and the surrounding area, and again rented a 4×4 (in advance).
On arrival day we strolled around Bariloche and enjoyed the town.
The next day we drove to kilometer 17 and took the chairlift up for a look around at the top, it was amazing! When we came down, we did the “Circuito Chico” by car, stopping at lakes and viewpoints, and it was very nice. Here too, we did our supermarket shopping in the morning and had a picnic on the lakeshore.
On the second day we drove via Villa La Angostura along the “Seven Lakes Route”. On the way we went down to Villa Traful, enjoyed the views of the lake and coffee with good cakes, and returned from Villa Traful to the Seven Lakes Route as far as San Martín de los Andes. We spent the night in San Martín. An amazing drive!!!
On the third day we spent the morning in the lovely town of San Martín. At midday we returned the same way (without Villa Traful) and explored the Villa La Angostura area a bit.
If we’d had time, we’d have added another day of rest in San Martín, driven there via Villa La Angostura to arrive earlier, and returned via Villa Traful directly to Bariloche.
We returned to Bariloche in the evening to fly the next day to Iguazu (via Buenos Aires, there’s no direct flight). It takes a full day.
Two Days at Iguazu Falls
We spent two full days at Iguazu:
On the first day we did the Argentine side, including a very nice boat ride where you get soaked from head to toe. It was a very beautiful day, full of water. The next day we did the Brazilian side, a must! It takes half a day, and it’s simply breathtaking.
We went back to the hotel to enjoy the pool, and at eight in the evening we had a flight to Buenos Aires.
A Final Day in Buenos Aires
We had one more day in Buenos Aires. We went to Tigre (the river delta north of Buenos Aires), finished our shopping (mostly sweets), and in the evening saw a wonderful tango show that included dinner at “Madero Tango”.
Tips for a Couple’s Trip to Argentina and Chile
Because of the short time we gave up on Ushuaia and the Carretera Austral, and we don’t regret it.
With Gaby’s help we booked popular tours, domestic flights and, as I mentioned, cars in advance. It may be a little more expensive (at the official dollar rate rather than the “blue” rate), but it gives peace of mind and fewer headaches. Gaby was very fair with us, and where there was no need to book in advance, he explained what to do on our own (for example, Iguazu Falls and the Bariloche area).
Tip from the Check In/Out team: Booking a rental car in advance is recommended and will save you the hassle of comparing prices and looking for a reliable rental agency during your trip. We recommend comparing prices through Paapm Paapm, an Israeli search engine that helps you find cars on reliable rental sites. We’ve written a whole article with tips for renting a car abroad.
We paid all our day-to-day expenses in Argentina in pesos, exchanged at the “blue” rate from dollars we brought from home. To get a better rate you need to bring $100 bills; most places also exchange $50 bills, just at a rate 10 to 20 pesos lower. (This was in 2023; since 2024 the gap between the official and “blue” rates has largely closed, so check the current situation before you travel.)
In Chile we exchanged only $100 and paid most expenses by credit card (there’s a fee on each transaction of about 1,000 Chilean pesos).
You need clothes of every kind, from tank tops, T-shirts and shorts to fleeces, thermal layers and warm coats. Patagonia is very cold.
When traveling in Patagonia, it’s important to have a wool hat, a scarf and a fleece in your bag. A short-sleeved moisture-wicking shirt makes a good base layer.
