Day-by-day programme of this 14-day itinerary across Buenos Aires, Iguazu and Patagonia.
Day 1 โ Arrival in Buenos Aires
Landing in the Argentine capital, elegant and melancholy, home of tango and asado. A first taste of the historic centre, between Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada.
- โ๏ธ Buenos Aires โ Aeroporto di Buenos Aires-Ezeiza (EZE)
- ๐ Plaza de Mayo โ The political heart of Argentina: the Plaza de Mayo, with the pink Casa Rosada (from whose balcony Evita spoke), the Metropolitan Cathedral where General San Martin rests, and the colonial Cabildo. It is here that the Madres de Plaza de Mayo still march every Thursday. A stroll along the pedestrian Florida street leads towards the hotel. You dine on your first, unmissable Argentine steak.
- ๐จ Dazzler by Wyndham Buenos Aires Recoleta โ Centro / Recoleta, Buenos Aires
Day 2 โ San Telmo and La Boca
A day in the most authentic and photogenic neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires: the old-world charm of San Telmo and the colours of Caminito in La Boca.
- ๐ San Telmo โ San Telmo is the city's oldest neighbourhood: cobbled streets, colonial buildings and antique shops. Around Plaza Dorrego you wander among stalls, impromptu tango dancers and old cafes. On Sundays there is the famous flea market. From here you walk down towards the Riachuelo, to the port district of La Boca.
- ๐ Caminito โ Caminito in La Boca is the postcard of Buenos Aires: a pedestrian street lined with tin houses painted in vivid colours, where Italian immigrants used the leftover paint from the ships. Street tango, murals and the La Bombonera stadium of Boca Juniors close by. You have lunch in a classic neighbourhood bodegon.
- ๐ฝ๏ธ El Obrero โ El Obrero is a historic bodegon in La Boca, all wood, footballers' photos and checked tablecloths: the right place for milanesa, parrillada and a glass of Malbec, among dockworkers. Argentine cuisine is a feast of grilled meat. In the afternoon you head back to the centre to rest, before immersing yourself in Recoleta tomorrow.
Day 3 โ Recoleta and the Tigre Delta
The other face of Buenos Aires: elegant Recoleta with its monumental cemetery, a trip on the watery maze of the Tigre Delta and tango in the evening.
- ๐ Recoleta Cemetery โ The Recoleta cemetery is a city within the city: avenues of marble mausoleums, statues and domes where presidents, generals and the venerated Evita Peron rest. The surrounding neighbourhood is the chicest in Buenos Aires, with historic cafes and museums. In mid-morning you take the Mitre line train northwards, along the Rio de la Plata, to reach Tigre.
- ๐ Tigre โ The Tigre Delta is a maze of canals and lush green islands at the gates of the capital, where porteรฑos come to row and relax. You sail among the stilt houses aboard a lancha colectiva and browse the colourful Puerto de Frutos, a market of crafts and wickerwork. In the late afternoon you return to the city by train to get ready for the tango evening.
- ๐ฏ Cafe Tortoni โ Tango is the soul of Buenos Aires and should be experienced at least one evening. At Cafe Tortoni, the city's oldest cafe (1858), you dine and watch a show in the basement, among bandoneons, dancers and golden half-light. Alternatively, a neighbourhood milonga to actually dance. You walk back to the hotel with the music still in your head.
Day 4 โ Flight to Iguazu, the falls
You fly to the subtropical jungle of the north-east to admire the Cataratas del Iguazu, 275 waterfalls between Argentina and Brazil. First impact: the spectacular Devil's Throat.
- โ๏ธ Buenos Aires โ Puerto Iguazu โ Aeroporto di Puerto Iguazu (IGR)
- ๐ Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo) โ A little train and a long walkway over the river lead to the edge of the Devil's Throat: a horseshoe-shaped abyss where a terrifying volume of water plunges 80 metres into a cloud of spray and rainbows, amid the roar and the swifts in flight. It is the most thrilling moment in the park. You return to Puerto Iguazu for the night.
- ๐จ O2 Hotel Iguazu โ Puerto Iguazu, Misiones
Day 5 โ The park circuits and the Great Adventure
A full day among the circuits of Iguazu National Park, with the falls seen from above and below, and the thrill of the boat that drives under the falls.
- ๐ Iguazu Falls โ The upper circuit runs above the falls, leaning out over the lip of the cascades; the lower one descends to almost touch the water, among curious coatis, toucans and blue butterflies. From here the little boat leaves for Isla San Martin. The surrounding forest teems with life. Around midday you get ready for the adventure on the water.
- ๐ฏ Gran Aventura Iguazu โ The Gran Aventura is the most adrenaline-filled experience: a boat heads up the river through the rapids and then drives straight under one of the falls, leaving everyone soaked and laughing. An unforgettable shower in the heart of Iguazu. Dry and happy, you return to Puerto Iguazu: tomorrow you change worlds, from tropical heat to the ice of Patagonia.
Day 6 โ Flight to Patagonia: El Calafate
A flight from the far north to the far south of the country: El Calafate, on the shores of Lake Argentino, gateway to Los Glaciares National Park.
- โ๏ธ Puerto Iguazu โ El Calafate โ Aeroporto di El Calafate (FTE)
- ๐ Laguna Nimez โ To settle in, a walk to the Laguna Nimez Nature Reserve, on the lakefront: a lagoon where pink flamingos, black-necked swans and dozens of waterbirds gather, with the Andes as a backdrop. Then a stroll along El Calafate's main street, among chocolate shops and wool stores. Tomorrow the great star: the Perito Moreno glacier.
- ๐จ Rincon del Calafate โ El Calafate, Santa Cruz
Day 7 โ The Perito Moreno Glacier
A day in Los Glaciares National Park, facing the Perito Moreno: a 5 km wall of ice, 60 metres high, that calves into the lake with deafening roars.
- ๐ Perito Moreno Glacier โ Perito Moreno is a rare sight: a still-living glacier, its blue front as tall as a twenty-storey building advancing into the lake. From the boardwalks (passarelas) you admire it from every angle and wait, breath held, for a serac to collapse: a boom, then a wave. You can stay for hours listening to the ice. At midday, those who wish step onto the glacier itself.
- ๐ฏ Perito Moreno Minitrekking โ With crampons on and a guide you walk on the glacier, among blue crevasses, glacial mills and streams of the purest water, toasting with a whisky chilled by millennia-old ice. Those who prefer board a boat that approaches the southern front, tiny beneath the ice wall. At sunset you return to El Calafate, dazed by the beauty.
Day 8 โ Towards El Chalten
A scenic road along Lake Viedma to El Chalten, a mountain village at the foot of Fitz Roy. In the afternoon a first warm-up walk.
- โ๏ธ El Calafate โ El Chalten โ El Chalten, Santa Cruz
- ๐ Mirador de los Condores โ A short, uphill path leaves the centre of the village and in half an hour reaches the Mirador de los Condores, with a bird's-eye view over El Chalten, the valley of the Rio de las Vueltas and, on clear days, the entire massif. Condors often wheel above. It is the perfect way to stretch your legs and grasp the geography, before tomorrow's big hike.
- ๐จ Hosteria El Puma โ El Chalten, Santa Cruz
Day 9 โ Laguna de los Tres and Fitz Roy
Patagonia's signature hike: a long walk to Laguna de los Tres, the pool of water at the foot of the spires of Cerro Fitz Roy.
- ๐ฏ Laguna de los Tres โ A full day's walk (about 20 km round trip, 8-9 hours) through lenga forests, peat bogs and streams, up to the final, very tough kilometre of climbing on scree. At the top the reward: Laguna de los Tres, glacial green, and above it the black spires of Fitz Roy, one of the most photographed mountains in the world. You picnic facing that wall of granite. Then the long descent towards the village.
- ๐ฝ๏ธ La Cerveceria โ After the effort, nothing beats El Chalten's craft brewery: a pint of glacier beer and a steaming plate of locro (Andean stew) or ravioles, with your legs finally at rest and the satisfaction of Fitz Roy in your eyes. You walk back to your lodging: tomorrow you reach the last, legendary stop, the end of the world.
Day 10 โ The end of the world: Ushuaia
Flight to Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego, squeezed between the Beagle Channel and the snowy Andes: the last city before Antarctica.
- โ๏ธ El Calafate โ Ushuaia โ Aeroporto di Ushuaia (USH)
- ๐ Ushuaia โ Ushuaia lives off its myth as the city of the far south: the port from which ships leave for Antarctica, the colourful houses clinging to the slope, the Museo del Fin del Mundo and the former prison, now a museum. You buy the postcard with the southernmost postmark and dine on centolla, the giant Beagle crab. Tomorrow you enter Tierra del Fuego National Park.
- ๐จ Hotel Los Andes โ Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
Day 11 โ Tierra del Fuego National Park
A day in Argentina's southernmost national park, among forests, bays and peat bogs, to Bahia Lapataia, where the Pan-American road ends. And the end-of-the-world train.
- ๐ Tierra del Fuego National Park โ The park is a mosaic of lenga and nire forests, lakes, beaver dams and silent bays where wild geese and giant woodpeckers gather. Coastal trails lead to Bahia Lapataia, on the Beagle Channel: here, with a signpost, National Route 3 ends, 3,000 km after Buenos Aires and over 17,000 km from Alaska. You can go no further south by car in all the Americas. At midday, those who wish take the historic little train.
- ๐ฏ End of the World Train โ The Tren del Fin del Mundo is a little steam train that retraces, on narrow-gauge tracks, the line once used by the prison's inmates to gather firewood: it crosses the Pipo river valley among small waterfalls and dead trees, with historical commentary. A short but evocative journey. Back in Ushuaia you get ready: tomorrow you sail the Beagle Channel.
Day 12 โ Cruise on the Beagle Channel
Half a day's sailing on the legendary Beagle Channel, to the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, among islets crowded with sea lions, cormorants and, in season, penguins.
- ๐ฏ Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse โ From the port of Ushuaia a boat heads out into the Beagle Channel: you skirt Isla de los Lobos covered with sea lions, Isla de los Pajaros with imperial cormorants, and reach the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, the famous red-and-white 'lighthouse at the end of the world' on a rock. In season you land at the penguin colony. Back on land, a last seafood lunch.
- ๐ฝ๏ธ Volver โ At Volver, an old tin house on the seafront full of memorabilia, you close the southern leg with the queen of Ushuaia: the centolla, the Beagle king crab, served plain or au gratin, with Patagonian white wine. The afternoon is free for last purchases. Tomorrow the circle closes: you return to Buenos Aires.
Day 13 โ Back to Buenos Aires
Flight back to the capital and a last evening among the modern docks of Puerto Madero, to bid farewell to Argentina with an asado and a glass of Malbec.
- โ๏ธ Ushuaia โ Buenos Aires โ Aeroporto di Buenos Aires-Aeroparque (AEP)
- ๐ Puerto Madero โ Puerto Madero is the modern face of Buenos Aires: old red-brick docks turned into skyscrapers, restaurants and waterside walks, dominated by Calatrava's white Puente de la Mujer. It is the right place for the last Argentine dinner: a full-blown asado, with tira de asado, chorizo and a Mendoza Malbec. You toast the trip before heading back to the hotel.
- ๐จ Dazzler by Wyndham Buenos Aires Recoleta โ Centro / Recoleta, Buenos Aires
Day 14 โ Departure from Buenos Aires
Return flight from Ezeiza international airport. The end of a journey from the tropics to the ice, from the falls to the end of the world.
- โ๏ธ Buenos Aires โ Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa (MXP)
