Argentina itinerary, day by day

From Buenos Aires to the glaciers around El Calafate, by way of the Iguazu falls and the vineyards of Mendoza: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: March to April and October to December

Patagonie · Photo Eleanore Stohner / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Argentina in 7 days

2 stops · 11 things to do · flights

1Buenos Aires

Days 1-3

A capital that looks European and sounds like nowhere else: tango was born in its port districts. Recoleta for the marble, San Telmo for the Sunday market.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tango show and dinnerEvening · from €55
Dinner first, then the dance performed properly, with the orchestra in the room.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and La Boca, guidedHalf day · from €30
The main districts in half a day, ending among the painted tin houses of the old Genoese port.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Caminito, the painted street of La Boca · Recoleta and its cemetery · San Telmo · Puerto Madero

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: America del Sur Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Madero (€120 a night) · Luxury: Alvear Palace (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Puny - Pasta & Grill ↗ ★ 4.9 · 47029 reviews · €€
amano restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3582 reviews
Villegas Restó ↗ ★ 4.8 · 19952 reviews · €€
La Choripanería ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3543 reviews
Hierro Parrilla Palermo ↗ ★ 4.7 · 10508 reviews

Photo Miguel Cuenca / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h45 · 1 300 km

2Iguazu Falls

Days 4-7

Two hundred and seventy-five falls in subtropical forest, UNESCO-listed on the Argentine side since 1984. The Devil's Throat is the one that empties your lungs.

🎟️ Worth booking

The falls, Argentine sideFull day · from €40
A full day on the walkways, which run both above and below the water. You will get wet.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Devil's Throat: forest train and walkwaysHalf day · from €25
The narrow-gauge train, then a kilometre of catwalk out to the lip of the eighty-metre drop.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The waterfall trails · Wildlife: coatis and toucans · The subtropical forest

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Carmen (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Loi Suites Iguazu (€155 a night) · Luxury: Gran Meliá Iguazú (€400 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Chez le Choripan ↗ ★ 5 · 583 reviews
Don Aldo Wine Resto Bar ↗ ★ 4.9 · 257 reviews
Terrazas Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.8 · 926 reviews · €€
La Mamma Pastas and Salsas ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1935 reviews · €€
Origen ↗ ★ 4.7 · 540 reviews

Photo Tomas Anunziata / Pexels

Argentina in 10 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · flights

1Buenos Aires

Days 1-3

A capital that looks European and sounds like nowhere else: tango was born in its port districts. Recoleta for the marble, San Telmo for the Sunday market.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tango show and dinnerEvening · from €55
Dinner first, then the dance performed properly, with the orchestra in the room.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and La Boca, guidedHalf day · from €30
The main districts in half a day, ending among the painted tin houses of the old Genoese port.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Caminito, the painted street of La Boca · Recoleta and its cemetery · San Telmo · Puerto Madero

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: America del Sur Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Madero (€120 a night) · Luxury: Alvear Palace (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Miguel Cuenca / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h45 · 1 300 km

2Iguazu Falls

Days 4-5

Two hundred and seventy-five falls in subtropical forest, UNESCO-listed on the Argentine side since 1984. The Devil's Throat is the one that empties your lungs.

🎟️ Worth booking

The falls, Argentine sideFull day · from €40
A full day on the walkways, which run both above and below the water. You will get wet.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Devil's Throat: forest train and walkwaysHalf day · from €25
The narrow-gauge train, then a kilometre of catwalk out to the lip of the eighty-metre drop.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The waterfall trails · Wildlife: coatis and toucans · The subtropical forest

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Carmen (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Loi Suites Iguazu (€155 a night) · Luxury: Gran Meliá Iguazú (€400 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tomas Anunziata / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 3h30 · via Buenos Aires

3Patagonia: El Calafate

Days 6-8

Glacier country. Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers still advancing, and it calves into the lake while you watch. El Calafate is the base for it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Perito Moreno, the walkwaysFull day · from €45
Balconies facing a wall of ice five kilometres wide. The sound of it breaking carries a long way.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Mini-trek on the glacierFull day · from €180
Crampons on, an hour or two out on the ice, and whisky poured over a chunk of it at the end.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Perito Moreno · Lake Argentino · The Patagonian steppe · The sunsets

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: America del Sur Calafate (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Design Suites Calafate (€170 a night) · Luxury: Esplendor by Wyndham El Calafate (€180 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

BOkADO TRATTORIA ↗ ★ 4.9 · 593 reviews
Lucinda Casa Campo ↗ ★ 4.9 · 242 reviews
Buenos Cruces Pasta Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1967 reviews · €€
la trinchera wine and beer ↗ ★ 4.8 · 817 reviews · €
PUNTA ARGENTINA ↗ ★ 4.8 · 576 reviews

Photo Eleanore Stohner / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h · to the Andes

4Mendoza

Days 9-10

Malbec country, with the vineyards running up towards the Andes. Aconcagua, 6,961 metres and the highest peak outside Asia, stands a few hours west.

🎟️ Worth booking

The wine road and its tastingsFull day · from €65
The bodegas of Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, where Malbec found the altitude it wanted.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A day in the AndesFull day · from €55
The road west towards the Chilean border, past the Puente del Inca and the Aconcagua viewpoint.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Bodegas and vineyards · San Martin Park · Independence Square · The view of Aconcagua

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostel Alamo (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Park Hyatt Mendoza (€160 a night) · Luxury: Diplomatic Hotel (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Zappa Restaurante ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1899 reviews
Zonda, Cocina de Paisaje ↗ ★ 4.9 · 199 reviews · €€€€
Restaurante Estancia La Pasión ↗ ★ 4.8 · 8664 reviews · €€
Restaurante Abrasado ↗ ★ 4.8 · 4144 reviews · €€€€
La Cabrera Mendoza ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1277 reviews

Photo Andres Alaniz / Pexels

Argentina in 14 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · flights

1Buenos Aires

Days 1-4

A capital that looks European and sounds like nowhere else: tango was born in its port districts. Recoleta for the marble, San Telmo for the Sunday market.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tango show and dinnerEvening · from €55
Dinner first, then the dance performed properly, with the orchestra in the room.
Book on GetYourGuide →
City tour and La Boca, guidedHalf day · from €30
The main districts in half a day, ending among the painted tin houses of the old Genoese port.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Caminito, the painted street of La Boca · Recoleta and its cemetery · San Telmo · Puerto Madero

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: America del Sur Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Madero (€120 a night) · Luxury: Alvear Palace (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Miguel Cuenca / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h45 · 1 300 km

2Iguazu Falls

Days 5-6

Two hundred and seventy-five falls in subtropical forest, UNESCO-listed on the Argentine side since 1984. The Devil's Throat is the one that empties your lungs.

🎟️ Worth booking

The falls, Argentine sideFull day · from €40
A full day on the walkways, which run both above and below the water. You will get wet.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Devil's Throat: forest train and walkwaysHalf day · from €25
The narrow-gauge train, then a kilometre of catwalk out to the lip of the eighty-metre drop.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The waterfall trails · Wildlife: coatis and toucans · The subtropical forest

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Carmen (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Loi Suites Iguazu (€155 a night) · Luxury: Gran Meliá Iguazú (€400 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tomas Anunziata / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 3h30 · via Buenos Aires

3Patagonia: El Calafate

Days 7-10

Glacier country. Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers still advancing, and it calves into the lake while you watch. El Calafate is the base for it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Perito Moreno, the walkwaysFull day · from €45
Balconies facing a wall of ice five kilometres wide. The sound of it breaking carries a long way.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Mini-trek on the glacierFull day · from €180
Crampons on, an hour or two out on the ice, and whisky poured over a chunk of it at the end.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Perito Moreno · Lake Argentino · The Patagonian steppe · The sunsets

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Eleanore Stohner / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h · to the Andes

4Mendoza

Days 11-14

Malbec country, with the vineyards running up towards the Andes. Aconcagua, 6,961 metres and the highest peak outside Asia, stands a few hours west.

🎟️ Worth booking

The wine road and its tastingsFull day · from €65
The bodegas of Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, where Malbec found the altitude it wanted.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A day in the AndesFull day · from €55
The road west towards the Chilean border, past the Puente del Inca and the Aconcagua viewpoint.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Bodegas and vineyards · San Martin Park · Independence Square · The view of Aconcagua

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostel Alamo (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Park Hyatt Mendoza (€160 a night) · Luxury: Diplomatic Hotel (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Andres Alaniz / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Asado: the national barbecue, several cuts over wood, eaten slowly and with company.
Empanadas: baked or fried pastries, with a different recipe in every province.
Milanesa: a breaded cutlet, served flat or buried under ham, cheese and tomato.
Dulce de leche and alfajores: caramelised milk, in or on almost every sweet thing.
Malbec and mate: one poured, the other passed round a circle through a metal straw.

⚠️ What to avoid

Change money through official channels, and check the rate on the day: it moves fast.
The distances are huge. Plan night buses or internal flights rather than improvising.
Book El Calafate and Ushuaia early in high season. Beds and tours run out first.
Keep small notes. Taxis and kiosks rarely have change for a large one.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Argentina guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Argentina, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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