14 days in Argentina: itinerary

Fourteen days is the first length at which Argentina stops being one region and starts being a country. The classic shape is a triangle: Buenos Aires for the city, Iguazú for the falls, then Patagonia for ice and granite, with a final stop at Ushuaia or Mendoza depending on whether you want the end of the world or wine.

Distances decide the plan. Buenos Aires to Iguazú is a 1h50m flight, Iguazú to El Calafate is 5–7 hours door to door because almost every connection runs through Buenos Aires, and El Calafate to El Chaltén is a 3-hour bus. Nothing here is a night bus you want to take.

This itinerary keeps you to four beds in 14 days, which is the practical limit before the trip turns into packing. If you would rather slow down, cut Iguazú and give the days to Patagonia or the north.

The line runs south-west from the capital: Buenos Aires → Puerto Iguazú (north-east corner) → El Calafate → El Chaltén → Ushuaia, or back north to Mendoza. Every leg after Iguazú is a flight, and most of them touch Buenos Aires again.

Two practical notes. First, Iguazú sits far from everything else, so it costs you a full travel day on each side; that is the price of including it in 14 days. Second, if you swap Ushuaia for Mendoza you trade cold and remote for warm and vinous, and you cut roughly two hours of flying.

Days 1–4, Buenos Aires. Land, sleep, then work through the city by neighbourhood: Recoleta and its cemetery, Plaza de Mayo and the Cathedral, Teatro Colón on a tour, San Telmo on a Sunday for the Defensa street fair. Eat late — parrillas fill after 21:00 — and take one tango night in San Telmo or Abasto. Day 4 is a buffer for a delayed arrival or a day trip to Tigre.

Days 5–6, Puerto Iguazú. Fly up on day 5 and spend the afternoon at the Hito Tres Fronteras or resting. Day 6 is the Argentine side of the falls: start at the park gate when it opens, walk the Devil's Throat catwalk before the tour buses arrive, then the upper and lower circuits. If your passport allows, the Brazilian side is a half-day on day 6 or a morning on day 7.

Days 7–8, El Calafate. Fly down — this is the long day — and use the afternoon for the town and the lagoon. Day 8 is Perito Moreno: boardwalks in the morning, optional boat or ice trek in the afternoon. Book the glacier transfer the day you land.

Days 9–11, El Chaltén. Take the 3-hour morning bus. Day 9 is a short warm-up (Mirador de los Cóndores, Mirador de las Águilas). Day 10 is Laguna de los Tres under Fitz Roy — 8–9 hours, start early. Day 11 is Laguna Torre or a rest day, which doubles as your weather buffer.

Days 12–14, Ushuaia or Mendoza. Ushuaia: Beagle Channel boat, Tierra del Fuego National Park, and a spare morning for weather. Mendoza: two winery days in Maipú or the Uco Valley plus a city afternoon. Either way, day 14 is a flight back to Buenos Aires for the international departure — do not cut that connection close.

Fly the long legs. Aerolíneas Argentinas and JetSMART cover Buenos Aires–Iguazú, Buenos Aires–El Calafate and Buenos Aires–Ushuaia; low-cost fares on these routes are usually the single biggest saving in the budget. Book Patagonia legs early for November–March.

Buenos Aires has two airports: Ezeiza (EZE) for long-haul and most international flights, and Aeroparque (AEP) for domestic. Allow 3–4 hours between a domestic arrival at AEP and an international departure at EZE, more in traffic.

On the ground, El Calafate–El Chaltén is a 3-hour bus with several daily departures in season; buy the return when you arrive in case the weather shifts your plans. In El Chaltén everything is walkable. In Ushuaia and Puerto Iguazú you need taxis or the park bus. In Mendoza, wineries need a driver, a tour or a bike.

Buenos Aires: Palermo for cafés, restaurants and nightlife; Recoleta for calm and museums; San Telmo for character and Sunday market noise. All three are safe by day and require normal city care at night.

Puerto Iguazú: stay in the town, not at the park gate — the town has the restaurants and the buses to the falls leave from the terminal. El Calafate: the centre is walkable and 20 minutes from the airport; anything on the lagoon side is quieter. El Chaltén: the village is small, so pick by whether you want a kitchen and a view of Fitz Roy rather than by location.

Ushuaia: the centre near San Martín street puts you close to the port and restaurants. Mendoza: the city centre for restaurants, or Chacras de Coria and the Uco Valley if wine is the point and you have a car or driver.

For 14 days, budget USD 1,900–3,200 per person excluding international flights: roughly USD 135–230 a day. Domestic flights are the largest fixed cost, then accommodation, then park fees and tours.

Argentina is cheaper than Chile or Brazil for food and beds, but foreign visitors pay higher national park entry than residents, and card payments can be smoother than cash. Carry some pesos for buses, taxis and small stalls; the exchange situation changes, so check rates locally rather than trusting an old number.

Two easy savings: fly the triangle in one direction instead of doubling back, and cook for yourself in El Chaltén, where restaurant prices are the highest relative to what you get.

Swap Ushuaia for Mendoza. Days 12–14 become two winery days in Maipú or the Uco Valley plus a city afternoon. Warmer, cheaper to reach, and you lose the Beagle Channel and Tierra del Fuego.

Swap Iguazú for the north. Drop days 5–6 and add Salta and Jujuy: colonial Salta, the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Purmamarca's Hill of Seven Colours. Best April–November, and it pairs naturally with a Mendoza finish.

Add Bariloche instead of El Chaltén. The lakes district works for hiking in December–March and skiing in July–August, and it is closer to Buenos Aires than El Calafate. You trade Fitz Roy for chocolate and lake views.

Shorten to 10 days. Cut Iguazú and keep Buenos Aires plus Patagonia; that is the route most people should take if they have less than two weeks. With 7 days, stay in Buenos Aires and add one region only.