Itinerary in the works for 3 weeks in southern Chile and Argentina

Hi there,

Three years after exploring northern Argentina and Chile, my two travel buddies and I want to discover the southern part of these two countries. We’re traveling on a budget, backpacker-style, favoring public transport and modest accommodations, but we don’t hesitate to splurge a little when it’s worth it. The classic spots that have been fueling our dreams: Bariloche, the lakes, Chiloé, El Chaltén, Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno, El Calafate, Fitz Roy, Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego, and wrapping up in Valparaíso. We’ll take a round-trip flight to Santiago, then I’m thinking of a one-way flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas. From there, we’ll explore and do several day hikes in the south, including Ushuaia and, if possible, Tierra del Fuego. Then we’ll head back north by bus to Bariloche and the lakes, followed by Chiloé, then a bus to Santiago and Valparaíso. Based on your experience, could you help me figure out the best way to structure this trip and maybe suggest some ideas? Thanks in advance. Didier

Hi there,

Three weeks just isn't enough time. Add another one to two weeks, or scale back your plans.

Ushuaia and, if possible, Tierra del Fuego. Then take a bus back up to Bariloche

That’s about 3 to 4 days.

FYI, there’s a flight from Calafate to Bariloche 3 times a week that could save you time if you reversed your route in the far south. However, there are no direct flights between Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, or Río Gallegos and Bariloche.

Ancud on Chiloé

Border on the road between Porvenir and Río Grande

Cerro Fitzroy

Lighthouse on the Beagle Channel (departing from Ushuaia)

Hello

I agree with the reply about your Chile/Argentina travel plans. It seems a bit tight time-wise to really enjoy the countries and the stunning landscapes in those regions. We did roughly the same route using buses—Bariloche, El Calafate, El Chaltén—a long ride, then Ushuaia. If you can spare more time, it’s worth it. Happy trails

Hi there,

using the buses, especially Bariloche to El Calafate

How many hours by bus between the two? Via the east coast (Comodoro Rivadavia and Río Gallegos) or by a more direct route?

Okay, thanks. I might be able to add 3 more days, which would make it 24 days total on site. So I’ll fly directly from Santiago to the south and from Calafate to Bariloche. The far south is the part that’s giving me trouble—it seems complicated to organize, right? If we don’t have enough time, maybe we could skip Tierra del Fuego. Thanks.

Hi there! We did Bariloche to El Calafate by bus, taking a mostly "west" route—basically Route 40. That’s about 27 hours of bus time, with quite a few stops—90% of passengers get off at El Chaltén for Fitz Roy. We went there after El Calafate. Really beautiful ride. Happy trails. PS: The farther south you go, the trickier it gets to leave Ushuaia. Personal experience.

I can maybe add 3 days,

Do it—it’ll always be better than nothing!

It’s the far south that’s giving me trouble; it seems complicated to organize, right?

It’s no more complicated to organize than the rest: from the port of Punta Arenas, ferry + bus to Río Grande + bus to Ushuaia. I even think there are now buses that do the full Porvenir–Ushuaia route (still via Río Grande, at least ten hours of bus total). Same route for the return, or you could take a daily Ushuaia–El Calafate flight if you’ve already visited Torres del Paine National Park.

If we don’t have enough time, maybe we should skip Tierra del Fuego.

If by Tierra del Fuego you mean Ushuaia, you’d miss out on sailing those “mythic” names (in my opinion)—the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel.

Chiloé is a really nice island (I’ve been there once on each of my two trips), but it’s the one I’d “sacrifice” in your itinerary. You could save it for a future trip that also includes the beautiful Chilean Lake District. If you skip Chiloé: travel from Bariloche to Puerto Varas, then take an overnight bus to Santiago (check if there are direct ones to Valparaíso) or a Bariloche–Santiago flight 3 times a week.

Thanks Thierry for all this great info. I just need to put together a rough itinerary now. I’ll take your experience into account and send it to you for approval. I also saw on a blog that you can fly into Ushuaia and out of Santiago. Of course, it’s more expensive and a bit of a hassle, but otherwise, you’d have to take a Santiago-Ushuaia flight anyway.

Thanks Lionel for your tips. I think we’ll take an El Calafate–Bariloche flight if we can, to skip the 27-hour bus ride!

I also saw on a blog that you can take a one-way to Ushuaia and return from Santiago.

If you're talking about flights, this is called an "open jaw" ticket (arriving in one city and returning from another). It’s possible for almost any destination on the planet, as long as the two flights are with the same airline or with different airlines that have a commercial partnership.

Generally, the price isn’t the cost of a one-way plus a return ticket but rather the price of a round-trip to the arrival city plus the price of a round-trip to the return city, all divided by two. You shouldn’t book the segments separately. Few flight search engines offer the open jaw option.

I could see Aerolíneas Argentinas offering you an open jaw like Paris/Buenos Aires/Ushuaia/surface/Santiago/Buenos Aires/Paris. The layovers in B.A. would just be a few hours on the same day. For the "surface" part, you’d be free to buy additional flights if you want. If Iberia has a partnership with Aerolíneas Argentinas, you might be able to replace Paris with Bordeaux or Toulouse (but that’d mean two layovers instead of one, and Iberia doesn’t have the best reputation for baggage handling...). In B.A., not all domestic flights leave from the international airport.

Actually, I know what an open jaw is—it’s basically a multi-destination ticket. Well, I looked into it, and it’s not worth it. After a lot of research, the best option turns out to be: round-trip Toulouse - Santiago + Santiago - Punta Arenas + Calafate - Bariloche. And with 24 days on the ground, it’s doable.

+ Santiago - Punta Arenas + Calafate - Bariloche. And with 24 days on site, it's doable.

What would you cut from the original wish list?

Either the lakes above Bariloche, or Chiloé, or nothing—flights save so much time.

The SCL-Pta. Arenas flight was already planned, and the one from Calafate to Bariloche will only save you one night. Even with 24 days and skipping Chiloé, it'll be a marathon.

Okay, got it. The transportation really eats up a lot of time, otherwise it’s totally doable. 10 days in the south, 4-5 days around Bariloche, 3-4 days on Chiloé, and 2 days in Valparaíso. It all depends on what you're looking for in the trip. For us, no museum visits or city tours (except Valparaíso, but just a quick look). What we’re into is landscapes. So priorities are: Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno, Fitz Roy, and around Ushuaia. That said, we’re not planning to do every trek. Same in Bariloche—2 or 3 treks will be enough for us. For comparison, we just got back from South Africa. A lot of people said you need at least 3 days to visit Kruger Park. After a day and a half, we’d pretty much seen all the animals, so we left. Same with the other parks. So we’ll focus on the main spots, since we can’t stay any longer anyway. What we need is to figure out how to structure our route in the south in the most logical way. And that’s what’s worrying me, because the places to visit are split between the two countries, and I’ll admit it seems complicated to find the best flow. Anyway, thanks for your valuable advice—it’s been really helpful.

10 days in the south (...) Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno, Fitz Roy, and around Ushuaia. No way we’re doing all the treks, though.

No matter how I twist and turn the problem, I can’t get it under 12 nights—even if I rush (only 2 full days in Ushuaia, for example). I also tried including a flight from Ushuaia to El Calafate, but in the end, that doesn’t solve the issue. We’re still looking at a minimum of 12 nights.

For us, no city visits (...)

Visit or no visit, there are still some places where you’ll have to spend one or more transit nights because you have no choice. The best example in the south is Punta Arenas, and further north, Puerto Varas or Puerto Montt before heading down to Chiloé...

Okay, thanks. I’ll have to rethink it all.

Okay, so I'm trying to figure out a solution for Tierra del Fuego, which is pretty energy-intensive: Day 1 = Santiago Day 2 = Santiago - Punta Arenas Day 3 = Punta Arenas - Ushuaia by rental car (about 12 hours including the ferry) Days 4 and 5 = Ushuaia Day 6 = Ushuaia - Río Grande - Puerto Espora Day 7 = Puerto Espora - Puerto Natales Days 8 and 9 = Torres del Paine Day 10 = Torres del Paine - Puerto Natales Return the rental car Day 11 = Puerto Natales - El Calafate Day 12 = Perito Moreno - El Calafate Day 13 = El Calafate - El Chaltén Day 14 = Fitz Roy - El Chaltén Day 14 = El Chaltén - Bariloche Days 15, 16, 17 = Bariloche Day 18 = Bariloche - Puerto Montt Day 19 = Puerto Montt - Chiloé Days 20 and 21 = Chiloé Day 22 = Chiloé - Santiago Day 23 = Santiago - Valparaíso Day 24 = Valparaíso - Santiago Day 25 = Santiago - France

There you go—with a rental car in Tierra del Fuego, you save a ton of time. As long as you can cross borders with a rental car, that is. And maybe cut a day in Bariloche to add more time in Valparaíso.

Day 6 = Ushuaia - Rio Grande - Puerto Espora Day 7 = Puerto Espora - Puerto Natales

Beyond Rio Grande, I don’t know this route. Is Puerto Espora the port north of Tierra del Fuego that allows crossing the strait to reach, among other places, Rio Gallegos? Could you give me more details about the planned itinerary between Rio Grande and Puerto Natales, please?

Day 14 = Fitz Roy - El Chalten Day 14 = El Chalten - Bariloche

That’s twice on D14... Here’s how I did Fitz Roy—maybe it’ll inspire you to save a night: The bus from Calafate arrived around 1 PM, so I immediately started the hike toward base camp with the plan to sleep there. Unfortunately, I set off without a map and never found it, so I ended up camping in the wild, aiming to spend the night near a small stream. A park ranger walking the trail stopped for a quick chat, told me that with just a sleeping bag and no tent, I’d be freezing my butt off, but since sleeping in the wild wasn’t forbidden, he didn’t mind as long as I didn’t make a fire (which was a no-go). So I spent the night there, lulled by the sound of the stream, but the cold kept me from sleeping a wink. At dawn, I was treated to a view of Fitz Roy, which luckily wasn’t shrouded in clouds, and I posted the photo earlier. I figured the sight and the landscapes I’d crossed had already exceeded my expectations, so I just headed back down. That same afternoon, I caught the bus back to Calafate.

Day 14 = El Chalten - Bariloche

You’re taking the bus for that, then? No overnight stay planned on the bus?

Day 18 = Bariloche - Puerto Montt Day 19 = Puerto Montt - Chiloe

Bariloche to Puerto Varas is already a pretty long leg. I’d spend the night in Puerto Varas and then head to Chiloé the next day.

Have you read Zigomar67’s travel journal here? https://voyageforum.com/forum/patagonie-argentine-chilienne-el-calafate-ushuaia-d11476554/

Hi Didier,

In addition to the info and tips you’ve already gotten, if you’d like, you can check out some posts on my blog (free access, no ads) that cover 6 months of traveling between Argentina and Chile.

You might find a few details (information) there that could help you plan your itinerary. The main destinations you mentioned are all in my posts except for "Torres del Paine," a park we skipped for budget reasons (too expensive for our taste—just our personal take!).

Traveling as a couple, backpacking style. October 2019 to April 2020.

Happy trip planning!

Alain and Marie, see Season 5 on the blog: "The Deep South Toward the Final Frontier..."

https://www.leranquetenvadrouille.com/

Day 14 = El Chaltén - Bariloche

You're doing it by bus then, in the end? No overnight stay planned on this bus?

Yes, by bus, and if possible, yes, overnight. It saves me a day and a night at a hotel.

Day 18 = Bariloche - Puerto Montt Day 19 = Puerto Montt - Chiloé

Bariloche-Puerto Varas will already be a pretty long leg. I’d spend the night in Puerto Varas and then head to Chiloé the next day.

Okay, I’ll follow your plan.

Yeah, of course I’m reading Raymond’s travel journal. Super informative.

Hi Alain,

I just started checking out your blog—so much info! It’ll really help with my planning.

Thanks,

Didier