Whether you’re backpacking on a budget from hostel-to-hostel or looking for a luxurious getaway, get lost in our Argentina travel guide. We aim to provide all the tips and recommendations that you need for an inspiring trip.
There’s so much to do and see — Argentina is your oyster. From skiing and hiking in the mountains, to the late-night Buenos Aires party scene, and from wine tours in Mendoza, to riding with the Gauchos across the Pampas, there’s something for everyone.
We love Buenos Aires: its frenetic lifestyle that oozes sex appeal, charm and culture. But living there for years, there’s a limit. And that’s when, through whispers, rumours and idle gossip, you find out that there are places to unwind. Some obvious, some a little bizarre and some hidden.
When porteños need to escape the city smog, they head to Cariló, Argentina’s ‘green sand dune’ (its meaning in the Mapuche language). Breezy and easy to get to, Cariló is a top Argentina travel destination and the country’s most exclusive summer resort, a green lung which is a small slice of paradise: a pine forest next to the beach.
If you’re not aware that Ushuaia is the world’s most southerly city by the time you arrive, you’ll learn pretty quickly. The capital of the fabled Tierra del Fuego is not shy about its ‘End of the World’ boast – it’s emblazoned onto anything that stands still for more than five seconds, from penguin-shaped pottery to all manner of nautical trinkets.
“You can’t go wrong” is an overused phrase, but perhaps it’s not that out of place when describing a visit to Iguazú Falls. You can’t exactly take a wrong turn and miss it. Yet there are some pointers worth knowing to get the most out of your stay. Here’s The Real Argentina’s “all you need to know” guide.
If, like ours, your legs are restless and your head a little fuzzy after a couple of days touring Uco Valley and Lujan in the car, nothing blasts the cobwebs away like a day in the saddle. And it’s a great taster of what the region has to offer for budget travellers. Read on for our top tips.
Real travel, as opposed to taking a few weeks holiday from work, can be hard to justify unless you are retired or travelling is what you do for a living as a writer or film maker. For the rest of us, the idea of spending months on end in some far-flung continent just for the sheer adventure of it all sounds self-indulgent – especially in these tough times, and especially if you are a student.
Buenos Aires. Meaty Mecca for overdosing on chargrilled cow. The capital of mate, of the mullet, and of dancing to the most melancholy music in the world. The only city in the world where staring at strangers, joining a picket line, feasting at midnight, multiple dog walking, drumming up drama, weekly therapy, and cheat nights…
Dead. Cold. Boring. Closed. Non-existent. These are among the politer adjectives a fashionable Argentine will deploy if you ask her to describe the Uruguayan coastal resort of Punta del Este in the low season. We don’t agree with this assessment. In fact, there are a number of good reasons why visiting Punta out of season isn’t the world’s goofiest plan.
Full of extremes and drama, the skies of Buenos Aires are as tormented as its tango and its people. One minute the heavens above the Argentine capital are smiling – and the next they’ve opened up.
Buenos Aires has the bright lights, Patagonia has the show-stopping scenery, Mendoza has the food and wine, but if it’s the beating heart of rural Argentina you’re longing for, you’ll find it on the country’s estancias.