7 days in Argentina: itinerary

Argentina is long and thin: Buenos Aires sits in the middle, Iguazú in the subtropical northeast, El Calafate near the southern ice. Every region is a flight, not a bus ride, so a 7-day trip is one city plus one region.

The default route is Buenos Aires → fly Puerto Iguazú → fly back to Buenos Aires. It works year-round, needs no weather luck, and gives you one full day at the falls plus a travel afternoon.

The seasonal alternative is Buenos Aires → fly El Calafate → back. It only makes sense from November to March, when the glacier walks and lake crossings run and daylight lasts until late evening.

Do not try Buenos Aires, Iguazú and Patagonia in seven days. The Iguazú–El Calafate connection usually routes through Buenos Aires, so that single move costs most of a day.

Day 1: land at Ezeiza or Aeroparque, take a taxi or the airport bus into the city, and stay close to where you will spend the next two days. Do not schedule anything heavy on arrival day.

Day 2: walk the centre. Plaza de Mayo, the Casa Rosada and the cathedral in the morning; San Telmo's Defensa street and market in the afternoon. If it is Sunday, the San Telmo fair is at its busiest and pickpockets work it too.

Day 3: Recoleta Cemetery in the morning, a long lunch at a parrilla, then Teatro Colón or a tango show in the evening. Book the Colón tour and any tango dinner in advance.

Day 4: fly to Puerto Iguazú (about 1h50, check). Drop bags, then use the afternoon for the Argentine park's upper and lower walkways. Stay in Puerto Iguazú town or at a lodge inside the park.

Day 5: full day at Iguazú. The Devil's Throat train and walkway is the headline; go early, before the tour buses. If your passport and visa situation allows, add a half-day on the Brazilian side for the wide panorama.

Day 6: fly back to Buenos Aires (about 1h50, check). Keep the evening loose: Palermo for dinner, or a last walk through San Telmo.

Day 7: morning at a café or market, then the airport. Leave three hours for an international flight from Ezeiza.

Domestic flights are the backbone. Aerolíneas Argentinas and low-cost carriers fly Buenos Aires–Iguazú and Buenos Aires–El Calafate daily; frequencies thin out in low season. Book early for December–February and Easter.

Buenos Aires has two airports: Aeroparque (AEP) for most domestic flights, close to the city, and Ezeiza (EZE) for long-haul. Check which one your ticket uses before booking a hotel.

In Buenos Aires, the Sube card works on the subway, buses and trains; buy and top it up at kiosks. Taxis and ride-hailing apps are cheap by US or European standards.

At Iguazú, the park is about 20–30 minutes from Puerto Iguazú town by bus or taxi. At El Calafate, the glacier is about 80 km from town, usually done as a bus or guided day trip.

Long-distance buses in Argentina are comfortable but slow: Buenos Aires to Bariloche or Mendoza is 17–20 hours. They do not fit a 7-day trip.

Buenos Aires: Palermo for restaurants, bars and a younger crowd; Recoleta for a quieter, more polished base near the cemetery and museums; San Telmo for character and Sunday markets, with more street noise at night. All three are 15–30 minutes from each other by taxi.

Puerto Iguazú: staying in town is cheaper and gives you restaurants and a supermarket; park lodges cost more and put you at the gates before the buses arrive. Two nights is the standard.

El Calafate: the town is small and walkable, with hostels, hotels and estancias outside it. Base in town unless you want a remote lodge.

Keep hotel changes to two across the week. Every move costs half a day in packing, transfers and check-in.

Argentina has had high inflation for years, so treat any figure as a 2026 estimate and re-check prices when you book. Foreign cards often get a better exchange rate than cash changing, but rules change; check before you travel.

A mid-range week — three-star hotels or good hostels, domestic flights, one guided day, a tango show and restaurant meals — lands around USD 900–1,600 per person, excluding the long-haul flight to Argentina. Budget travellers who cook and take buses can go lower; Patagonia in high season pushes higher.

Domestic flights are usually the biggest single line. Booking two to three months ahead is the main way to cut the total.

If you want wine instead of waterfalls, fly Buenos Aires–Mendoza and spend three nights among the Uco Valley wineries; book lunches ahead, as many close on Sundays.

If you want mountains and lakes, fly to San Carlos de Bariloche for three nights of hiking or skiing, depending on the season.

If you have more time, 10 days lets you add Patagonia to Buenos Aires, and 14 days covers the classic triangle of Buenos Aires, Iguazú, El Calafate and El Chaltén or Ushuaia.

If you would rather not fly twice, stay in Buenos Aires and add a day trip to Tigre or a ferry to Colonia in Uruguay; that is a slower week, not a smaller one.