Any advice or recommendations on putting together a trip for the first half of December this year? I'm think Buenos Aires a few days. Wine country a few days. Santiago Chile a few days. I know it won't be an in depth stay at any of these places. But maybe 10-12 days total. Flying out of Htown.

Following...I've always wanted to do this trip.

Patagonia is a must.

If you are doing the wine area in Argentina I assume it is Mendoza. Check out The Vines. Nice town but try to arrange a wine tour as there are some really great world class selection. Bariloche, south of Mendoza is the mountain resort for Argentina. Nice, beautiful and good food as well as a close bus trip over the Andes to Puerto Monte in Chile. Chiloe is one of my favorite places ever to go. Very German .
Santiago has 5 wine regions.
You better do some research as not sure you can do most of this in one trip.

I just came to say that Santiago, Chile was very underwhelming: Not much to do, the food was mediocre, the people were cold. The wineries outside of Santiago were cool, but other than that not sure Santiago is worth more than a day/night stay. Vina Del Mar was much better than Santiago.

Santiago is one of those cities that I would never go back to.

We did 3 weeks in 2018 - BA, Calafate, El Chalten, Bariloche and back to BA. We are big day hikers so that was most of our trip along with wine/food, some excursions, and fishing. Have the best guide rec in Bariloche. This was a bucket list trip and it did not disappoint.

Obviously the more time the better, but if you only had 2 or 3 days to visit, is it worth it?

rebelag62 said:

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Obviously the more time the better, but if you only had 2 or 3 days to visit, is it worth it?

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Is there anyway you can do more time down there? Because Chilean Patagonia (Torres del Paine NP) is the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. There's a 4 day hike you can do down there called "the W." I did a two week trip from Santiago to BA a few years ago and skipped wine country to hike Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia and couldn't have been happier.

I could probably pull off a couple extra days. A 4 day hike would be perfect.

I've been wanting to do this trip for years, but when I was finally able to do it COVID decided to be a thing. How's the COVID insanity down there? Things settled down or are there still restrictions?

Puerto Varas

In August 2000, I flew down to Santiago, then took a commuter jet to Puerto Montt, then traveled about thirty miles to Puerto Varas. It's located on the northern edge of Patagonia. Besides the beauty, the best part was the lack of jet lag, as it's only two hours difference from the Central Time Zone.

I'm not promoting the cruise on that link, just showing a picture of Mt. Orsono and Lake Llanquihue (taken from the village of Puerto Varas).

Kind of a funny story...I met a Baptist Missionary in one of the corrals prior to the start of the NYCity Marathon in 1998. He lived in Puerto Varas and sponsored a marathon. I finally took his invitation and ran my only international marathon in 2000 down there.

One of the best memories, seeing the Southern Cross constellation.

I definitely want to go back someday.

I did a Trek Chilean bike tour just before COVID hit in early 2020, starting in Pucon and then going down to Puerto Montt, which is considered the Lakes and Volcanoes District. It was absolutely stunning scenery the entire time. Pretty much all of the volcanoes in the Andes are on the Chilean side. We just flew in and out of Santiago, but based on seeing it from the air and the airport, it didn't seem like much of anything I would go out of my way to see.

rebelag62 said:

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Obviously the more time the better, but if you only had 2 or 3 days to visit, is it worth it?

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I think you could see highlights. As another poster said, Torres del Paine is stunning. Perito Moreno glacier is also very impressive. Put simply: Patagonia is one of those places to see while you still can.

I would 2nd the vote for Mendoza…food/wine were incredible. A 4 course steak dinner for two with 2 bottles of wine was ~$50 in downtown. All of the wineries we visited had amazing views/scenery with world class food. This was 4 years or so ago. Buenos Aires was underwhelming to us as we like to adventure out and explore. Makes sense as a travel hub for air travel though.

https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/chile/premium-chile-argentina-134790

What would yall think about something like this? Adds in another stop in Chile. For a couple middle aged ags looking to explore a bit but not wanting anything too physically taxing. I'm afraid as enticing as Patagonia sounds, that's not really our vibe anymore. Not really looking for hikes.

Here's what I did a few years ago:

Flew into Santiago and spent two nights there (Good food, easy to get around. Chilean wine beats the doors off Malbec).

Hopped on a plane that took me to Punta Arenas at the bottom of the continent, from there I took a bus to Puerto Natales, which is the gateway to Torres del Paine. Spent two nights there and one full-day getting my things together. Two organizations (when I went the one I went through was called Fantastico Sur, now it's called Las Torres) run the campsites within the national park, and you can either stay in refugios along the way, camp in tents they set up for you, or bring your own stuff and rough it. You can eat/shower in the refugios for a small fee.

The W Trek takes a few days to complete. It's about 50 miles but it's seriously the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Alternatively, you could do a one-day hike from Puerto Natales. For instance, wake up early in the morning, get to the park and hit Las Torres (arguably the gem of the park), spend a night in the refugio or in a really nice lodge, and then leave. That particular hike is not easy. You need to be in decent shape.

After my hiking in TDP, I went took a bus to Argentina. Hung around Argentinian Patagonia for a few days and hiked around El Chalten (Mt Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre) and El Calafate (where Perito Moreno Glacier is), and then flew up to BA from El Calafate and flew back home after a few days in BA.

I did all this within two weeks. I haven't been to wine country or Bariloche, but if you're into the outdoors I think you're doing a significant disservice to yourself if you don't try and see a piece of Patagonia.

Another observation: I think I liked Santiago more than BA. That doesn't mean BA isn't fun, cause it is. Just throwing that out there. YMMV.

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Here's what I did a few years ago:

Flew into Santiago and spent two nights there (Good food, easy to get around. Chilean wine beats the doors off Malbec).

Hopped on a plane that took me to Punta Arenas at the bottom of the continent, from there I took a bus to Puerto Natales, which is the gateway to Torres del Paine. Spent two nights there and one full-day getting my things together. Two organizations (when I went the one I went through was called Fantastico Sur, now it's called Las Torres) run the campsites within the national park, and you can either stay in refugios along the way, camp in tents they set up for you, or bring your own stuff and rough it. You can eat/shower in the refugios for a small fee.

The W Trek takes a few days to complete. It's about 50 miles but it's seriously the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Alternatively, you could do a one-day hike from Puerto Natales. For instance, wake up early in the morning, get to the park and hit Las Torres (arguably the gem of the park), spend a night in the refugio or in a really nice lodge, and then leave. That particular hike is not easy. You need to be in decent shape.

After my hiking in TDP, I went took a bus to Argentina. Hung around Argentinian Patagonia for a few days and hiked around El Chalten (Mt Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre) and El Calafate (where Perito Moreno Glacier is), and then flew up to BA from El Calafate and flew back home after a few days in BA.

I did all this within two weeks. I haven't been to wine country or Bariloche, but if you're into the outdoors I think you're doing a significant disservice to yourself if you don't try and see a piece of Patagonia.

Another observation: I think I liked Santiago more than BA. That doesn't mean BA isn't fun, cause it is. Just throwing that out there. YMMV.

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I definitely have the southern tip of the continent on my radar. Which side do you think is prettier, the Chilean or the Argentinian side? Puerto Monty was as far south as our expedition went. TIA

Here's FK's thread that inspired us to visit Patagonia. Torres Del Paine is spectacular. We rented a camper trailer in Puerto Natales and spent a few nights in the park. Just amazing views and hiking. El Chalten was fantastic also.

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2995812/replies/53045204#53045204

IMO…the Chilean side. Doesn't mean you won't leave impressed in Argentina, but the Chilean landscapes within TDP are just unbelievable.

I guess the easiest way to put it is this: if you can do both you should do both. If you're in a position where you can choose one or the other, go to Chilean Patagonia. If you're in Argentina and you can only do the Argentinian side, go do it.

Here's our report for Torres Del Paine:

http://theintrepidfamily.com/a-family-motorhome-adventure-in-torres-del-paine/

El Chalten:

http://theintrepidfamily.com/el-chalten-argentina-hikers-paradise/

From what I have heard Chile had some onerous Covid regulations. We were in Santiago early March 2020 and entry was fine but the riot results were disturbing . I actually love Santiago, great food, wine ease of getting around with the subway system but the riots made things different. Lots of graffiti, shops and restaurants had protective barriers and a couple of subway lines were closed due to the vandalism. Also different were the number of Venezuelans working there which actually understand English better as well as hospitality.

Still easy to bus to Valparaiso which is great. I love hiking but my wife does not so most of extended hikes are with friends. Look up the Lake District in Chile. From Puerto Octay to Varas to Monte then head down to Castro on Chiloe. The latter is a unesco project of a series of churches built by ships deconstructed for that purpose. I would go back here in a heartbeat.

I went all over Argentina about 30 years ago; it was in a December. Some stuff not mentioned before.

Ushuaia was unbelievable. One of my favorite cities to ever visit. Plane lands on a tiny runway next to mountains and the frigid ocean. Day hiked in National Park nearby, great stuff. Took a plane sight-seeing over the southern tip. Took a boat tour to see seals, etc. on a tiny rocky island right next to you on the boat. Had some incredibly scrumptious crab for dinner one night. There were a lot of intrepid tourists from all over the world and we all met for a party in someone's house. Nobody spoke the same language but we all had a great time. It was cold, ice on the sidewalk. My vicuna sweater from BA came in handy.

Penguins near Puerto Madryn / Trelew. You could literally walk up right next to their dug-in-the-dirt nests and take pictures of baby chicks. I still have a photo in my office of 2 tiny chicks peering up at me.

That sounds incredible.

argentina is a beautiful country. remember that december is summertime here, so it will be warm. and it's also holiday/vacation season, so places like bariloche will be jam packed with local tourists. but this also means buenos aires will be less packed as people leave the city this time of year for holiday (and to escape the heat)

this past january we went to ushuaia, and i think that was a great time to visit down there. it will still be cool (we saw a bit of snow one day even) but it's not miserable wintertime. the scenery and hiking is gorgeous.

calafate and chalten are also great places to visit. chalten is a pretty small place, you go there to hike and not a lot else.

puerto madryn is on my list but december isn't whale sighting season i don't think.

if you've never been here before, staying in buenos aires this first time is still well worth it. it's a beautiful city and you will have plenty to see and do for a few day's stop. but if you want a little outdoors, i highly recommend ushuaia as it's not going to be stuffed full of locals on vacation.

COVID is mostly dead here now. masks are still "officially" required in public places and on transport but nobody really cares much anymore.

covid tests aren't required for entering the country anymore either, just covid insurance. unvaxxed foreigners can enter but i think still are supposed to quarantine a few days or something. no restrictions for vaxxed foreigners entering. once you're in the country no other restrictions in other cities or provinces.