From the books and magazines that we read, from the TV programs that we saw, and from the photo albums that we read from Lydie (Lauren't grandmother), we were before going there already in awe in front of Argentina!
What an immense territory. Second biggest country in South America in size after Brazil, between the pampa, the beauty of the Northern region and the immense Patagonia, the Tierra del Fuego, and Buenos Aires. What should we choose? Our thirst for adventure and knowledge of the country's history and traditions, the tango, the estancias, the gauchos, the asados, gave us the desire to explore it all throughout.
Duration of stay: 6 weeks
Itinerary: 10 days in Buenos Aires, 3 weeks in Patagonia (Bariloche, El Calafate, El Chalten, Ushuaia), 5 days back in Buenos Aires, 3 days at the Iguazu falls
Next destination: Brazil (for the second time!)
Our road trip in Argentina lasted 44 days in all
- Regarding TRANSPORT, we traveled through Patagonie by bus (more than 100h of roads), and came back to Buenos Aires by plane (3h). We left Buenos Aires by bus to join Iguazu in the North (16h) and entered back into Brazil by bus too (14h).
- Regarding ACCOMODATION, we spent 17 nights at our friend's house Matias in Buenos Aires, 2 nights Couch Surfing, 16 nights in our tent, 4 nights in a rented apartment, 1 night in a backpacker's lodge, and 4 nights in the bus.
- Regarding the MONEY, we luckily fall into our initial budget, despite a stay extended by 14 days, a devaluation of the £ of 30%, and an unplanned trip to Patagonia. Thanks you Mathias for our free nights at yours and thank you Laurent for having overbudgeted this trip before leaving !!
| Buenos Aires | Expenses | Days | Average per day for 2 people |
| Accomodation | 0 € | 18 | 0 € |
| Food | 244 € | | 14 € |
| Transport | 50 € | | 3 € |
| Activities | 47 € | | 3 € |
| Other | 86 € | | 5 € |
| TOTAL | 428 € | 18 | 24 € |
| TOTAL (including Iguazu) | Expenses | Days | Average per day for 2 people |
| Accomodatio | 242 € | 43 | 6 € |
| Food | 565 € | | 13 € |
| Transport | 729 € | | 17 € |
| Activities | 179 € | | 4 € |
| Other | 174 € | | 4 € |
| TOTAL | 1 888 € | 43 | 44 € |
PS: the plane Rio -> Buenos Aires to get in Argentina was not taken into account in the tables above
General
- Drink some maté, the national Argentinan drink
- The local population is generally proud and on its guards, although people can be very nice and generous when they know who they are dealing with. Remain wary and little sympathetic with regards to tourists in the majority of the cases. Negotiating prices almost impossible. Money is very important. See our portrait of Argentinian people in our Section 'Met on the roads'.
Buenos Aires
- The parillas of grilled meat with Matias, Violeta and thir friends
- The cultural life in Buenos Aires, from the capital of design to a very musical night life. Very European, very noisy and immense city
- The architecture. The mix of European and American styles
- Our evening meal at the French restaurant `Pétanque' in St Telmo district, with Markus, a friend of Delphine
- The strong personality of the, the porteños, inhabitants of Buenos Aires
- The visit of the Museo Latino Americano in Buenos Aires, a must see!
Patagonie
- Les long bus journeys, through pampa, rocky deserts and mountains
- The lakes and mountains landscapes around Bariloche. The vastness of space, the walks in the open air
- Enjoy the succulent roasted meat in our camp-site in Bariloche
- The local bakery Don Luis in El Calafate, 1 peso per pastry unit. The dulce de leche
- Looking over at the horizon in Patagonia as far as the eye can see. Sheep and guanacos grazing, in the fields and on the side of the road.
- Our 4 day trek around El Chalten
- Home made pizzas at the house of Analia our couch surfer's host in El Calafate
- The gang of the dogs in El Calafate
- Feeling Antartica, not very far away, from Ushuaia
Iguazu
- The thousands of multicolored butterflies
| Patagonia | Expenses | Days | Average per day for 2 people |
| Accomodation | 221 € | 22 | 10 € |
| Food | 295 € | | 13 € |
| Transport | 598 € | | 27 € |
| Activities | 107 € | | 5 € |
| Other | 82 € | | 4 € |
| TOTAL | 1 302 € | 22 | 59 € |
Key
Depenses -> Expenses
Logement -> Accomodation
Repas -> Food
Transport -> Transport
Activites -> Activities
Divers -> Other
- While having a big parilla, at 1am, Delphine goes for a quick scoop in the kitchen for an intimate moment (1 video montage)
- Laurent thanks his friends from school for having offered him an instant apple puree before leaving (1 video)