Quick Answer
Argentina Itinerary: 7, 10 and 14 Days on One Route
Most first-time Argentina itineraries assume the highlights sit within driving distance of each other. They don’t: Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Bariloche and Mendoza are 1,000 km-plus apart across Patagonia, the Lake District and the high Andes, so this route flies between them instead.
This Argentina itinerary for 7, 10 or 14 days builds a hub-and-spoke loop out of Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), the domestic hub for nearly all of the country’s cabotage routes, so every stop connects back through the capital rather than to each other directly. For the season and month-by-month weather picture before you pick dates, start with the Argentina planning guide .
The Route at a Glance
This table is the route plan. The day-by-day sections below explain the transfers and the seasonal logic, rather than repeating every cell.
| Trip length | Route allocation | Major transfers | Best fit | Deliberately omitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | Buenos Aires 2 → El Calafate 3 → Buenos Aires 2 | 2 domestic flights, both via AEP | First trip, tight schedule | Bariloche, Mendoza, Iguazu Falls |
| 10 days | Buenos Aires 2 → El Calafate 3 → Bariloche 3 → Buenos Aires 2 | 4 domestic flights, all via AEP | Patagonia and the Lake District together | Mendoza and the high Andes |
| 14 days | Buenos Aires 3 → El Calafate 3 → Bariloche 3 → Mendoza 3 → Buenos Aires 2 | 6 domestic flights, all via AEP | Full four-city circuit | Iguazu Falls, Ushuaia: separate trips |
This route stays on Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Bariloche and Mendoza. If your international flight lands and departs from Buenos Aires (EZE), plan your first and last nights there.
7-Day Argentina Itinerary: The Essentials
Give days 1 and 2 to Buenos Aires. International flights land at Ezeiza (EZE), about an hour from downtown: the Tienda León shuttle runs around ARS $15,500 one-way to its downtown terminal, departing every 45 minutes from 6am to 10pm, or book Uber or Cabify (around $20 to 30) from the airport’s designated pickup area rather than the curbside taxi rank. Spend day 1 in San Telmo or the Microcentro, and use day 2 for Recoleta, where foreign visitors now pay a cemetery entry fee (around ARS $20,000, roughly $13 at the current exchange rate, card only) plus a walk through the neighborhood. The Buenos Aires guide and the Buenos Aires where-to-stay guide cover the neighborhoods in more detail.
Fly to El Calafate on day 3. Domestic flights leave from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), not Ezeiza, so budget transfer time across the city if your connection is the same day as your international arrival. Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi and JetSMART fly the route, around 22 flights a week, a flight of about 3 hours 20 minutes, with one-way fares from around $74 to 88. Flybondi and JetSMART are true low-cost carriers: their headline fares are typically carry-on only, and a checked bag bought at the airport instead of online in advance can rival the price of the ticket itself.
Spend days 3 to 5 around Perito Moreno glacier. The boardwalk viewpoints sit about 70 to 78 km from town, roughly an hour by road; a round-trip bus or tour to the boardwalks runs around ARS $60,000 per person (roughly $35 to 40), separate from the park’s own foreign-visitor entry fee, which rose to around ARS $50,000 under a 2026 fee increase. Pay by card or scan the QR code at the North Zone gate; the South Zone, where Perito Moreno sits, still takes cash or card in person. The El Calafate guide covers the boat safari and ice-trek options in detail.
Fly back to Buenos Aires for days 6 and 7. Use the extra afternoon for La Boca’s Caminito corridor in daylight, or the Teatro Colón’s guided tour (around ARS $34,000 for the general rate, roughly $22, departing every 15 minutes). Fly home from Ezeiza on day 7.
10-Day Argentina Itinerary: Add Bariloche’s Lake District
Ten days adds three days in Bariloche, Argentina’s Lake District, reached from Buenos Aires the same way as El Calafate: a domestic flight via AEP, operated by Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi and JetSMART, with JetSMART fares seen from around ARS $49,700 one-way.
September in Bariloche is a genuinely split season. Cerro Catedral, the ski resort above town, still runs a season nominally through September 30, so a full-day cash pass launched around ARS $160,000 for the 2026 season. At lower elevation, the lakeside Circuito Chico reads more like early spring: reach it on bus línea 20 from the Elflein/Palacios stop, about 45 minutes, rent a bike for around ARS $29,000 to 36,000 for the day, or ride the Cerro Campanario chairlift (around ARS $18,000 for an adult, children 6 to 12 around ARS $10,000) for one of the region’s best lake views. The Bariloche guide covers the chocolate shops, lakes and hikes in the town itself.
Route this length as Buenos Aires 2, El Calafate 3, Bariloche 3, Buenos Aires 2. Every domestic leg still connects back through AEP: there is no direct flight between El Calafate and Bariloche.
14-Day Argentina Itinerary: The Full Circuit, Mendoza and the High Andes
Fourteen days adds Mendoza, Argentina’s high-Andes gateway, for 3 days.
An important gotcha for a September trip: Aconcagua Provincial Park’s daily-trekking window doesn’t open until November 15, even though the 2026-2027 season itself runs November 1 to April 30. Treat Mendoza in September as a viewpoint stop, not a trekking base. A full-day tour to Uspallata and Puente del Inca, with a photo stop at the Aconcagua viewpoint and, weather permitting, Cristo Redentor, runs around ARS $80,000 to 95,000 per person, departing around 7:30am and returning around 7:30pm.
Round out Mendoza days with Cacheuta’s thermal park (around ARS $13,000 on weekdays, $15,000 on weekends) or the free Cerro de la Gloria monument in Parque San Martin. Mendoza’s downtown Metrotranvía light rail runs a flat ARS $1,680 fare. The Mendoza guide covers the Andes day trips and thermal parks in more detail.
At this length, split Buenos Aires as 3 days on arrival and 2 on departure, since the extra day absorbs a delayed domestic connection through AEP without wrecking the rest of the trip.
What This Route Costs: Hotels by City
Live Booking.com search prices for 2 adults, checking in 5 September 2026 for 2 nights, per room, double occupancy; two-night totals halved to a nightly figure. Checked 8 August 2026.
| City | Budget (per night) | Mid-range (per night) | Upscale (per night) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buenos Aires | around $32 to 56 | around $84 to 91 | around $127 to 148 |
| El Calafate | around $46 to 67 | around $99 to 112 | around $136 to 185 |
| Mendoza | around $36 to 50 | around $56 to 101 | around $139 |
| Bariloche (late ski season) | around $51 to 77 | around $85 to 120 | around $155 to 182 |
Buenos Aires also carries a luxury band, around $256 to 646 a night in Recoleta, and Mendoza’s own luxury band runs around $224 to 319. Palermo, a major Buenos Aires tourist base, didn’t surface in this sample: treat Palermo prices as unverified and compare live rather than assuming they mirror Recoleta or San Telmo. Bariloche’s numbers are a late-ski-season snapshot; expect lower prices outside June to September.
For the full daily budget across food, transport and activities, see the Argentina budget guide .
Shorter or Longer Than 7 to 14 Days?
Cutting to 4 or 5 days means picking one city beyond Buenos Aires, most travelers choose El Calafate for Perito Moreno glacier, and saving the rest of the country for a future trip.
Stretching past 14 days usually means adding a destination this route doesn’t cover: Iguazu Falls in the north or Ushuaia at the southern tip are the two most common additions, and each is a genuinely separate leg to plan and fly on its own via AEP.
Getting Between Stops
Every leg on this route runs through Buenos Aires, and knowing which airport to use is the one detail worth getting right before you book.
| Leg | Best option | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| EZE (international) to downtown Buenos Aires | Tienda León shuttle (around ARS $15,500 one-way) or Uber/Cabify (around $20 to 30) | About 1 hour; rideshare pickup is from a designated airport zone, not the curbside taxi rank |
| Buenos Aires (AEP) to El Calafate (FTE) | Flight: Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi or JetSMART | About 3h20m; one-way fares from around $74 to 88; around 22 flights a week |
| Buenos Aires (AEP) to Bariloche (BRC) | Flight: Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi or JetSMART | JetSMART fares seen from around ARS $49,700 one-way |
| Buenos Aires (AEP) to Mendoza (MDZ) | Flight: Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi or JetSMART | JetSMART fares seen from around ARS $31,800 one-way; other listings show fares from around $140 |
| Within Buenos Aires | Subte (registered SUBE or contactless bank card, around ARS $1,621) or colectivo (from around ARS $820) | Volume discounts kick in after 20-plus monthly trips on a registered SUBE card |
For the country-wide transit rundown and the visa rules, see the Argentina getting-around guide and the Argentina visa guide . VoyageHacks checked this page’s hotel prices in a live Booking.com search on 8 August 2026 and pulled flight and park-fee figures from airline and Argentine government sources; confirm exact fares before you travel, since peso prices move fast.
Stay Connected Before You Go
A travel eSIM gets you data the moment you land at EZE, useful for checking a domestic flight’s status, booking a rideshare, or pulling up your Perito Moreno park ticket at the gate.
- Activate before you fly: data works on arrival
- Plans for 200+ countries from a few dollars
- Keep your number; no physical SIM swap
A VPN keeps banking logins private on hotel and cafe Wi-Fi across Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Bariloche and Mendoza while letting you reach your usual streaming and home services. Set it up before you fly.
- Encrypt public Wi-Fi, protect cards & passwords
- Access your bank, streaming & sites from anywhere
- Dodge price discrimination on flights & hotels
For the full rundown, see our guides to the best travel eSIM and VPN , and compare rates across every stop on our hotels hub before you book.
Sources
- Argentina national park fee increase, Resolution 132/2026, Boletín Oficial (via promociones-aereas.com.ar and canal26.com summaries), checked 7 August 2026.
- Government of Mendoza, official 2026-2027 Aconcagua Provincial Park season announcement (prensa.mendoza.gob.ar), checked 7 August 2026.
- Booking.com, live accommodation search, checked 8 August 2026.
- xe.com, live USD/ARS exchange rate, checked 7 August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do you need for an Argentina itinerary covering Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Bariloche and Mendoza?
Fourteen days covers the full four-city circuit without rushing a leg: Buenos Aires, El Calafate for Perito Moreno glacier, Bariloche’s Lake District and Mendoza’s high Andes. Ten days comfortably covers three of the four, typically Buenos Aires, El Calafate and Bariloche. Seven days is enough for Buenos Aires plus one flagship stop, most first-time visitors pick El Calafate.
What is the best 7-day Argentina itinerary?
Give Buenos Aires 2 days, fly to El Calafate for 3 days to see Perito Moreno glacier, then return to Buenos Aires for 2 days before flying home. Every leg connects through Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), and this length skips Bariloche and Mendoza entirely, save them for a longer trip.
What is the best 10-day Argentina itinerary?
Route it as Buenos Aires 2, El Calafate 3, Bariloche 3, Buenos Aires 2. This adds Bariloche’s Lake District to the 7-day route, still flying every domestic leg through Buenos Aires’ AEP airport, since there’s no direct flight between El Calafate and Bariloche.
What is the best 14-day Argentina itinerary?
Extend to Buenos Aires 3, El Calafate 3, Bariloche 3, Mendoza 3, Buenos Aires 2. The extra Mendoza leg adds the high Andes and a thermal-park day, and the additional day absorbs a delayed domestic connection without wrecking the rest of the trip.
Why does this route fly out of Buenos Aires between every stop instead of driving?
Argentina’s domestic network is a hub-and-spoke system centered on Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), which handled around 14.9 million passengers in 2024 and hosts nearly all cabotage routes, including El Calafate, Bariloche and Mendoza. These three cities sit 1,000 km-plus apart across Patagonia and the Andes with no direct flights or practical road link between them, so every multi-city Argentina trip flies back through Buenos Aires.
Can you trek Aconcagua on a September Argentina itinerary?
No. Aconcagua Provincial Park’s daily-trekking window doesn’t open until November 15, even though the 2026-2027 season itself runs November 1 to April 30. A September visitor can still reach the Puente del Inca and Uspallata area on a road-based day tour for a viewpoint of the mountain, just not walk into the park’s trekking trails.
How much does an Argentina itinerary cost per day?
For a September 2026 shoulder-season trip, budget hotel rooms run from around $32 a night in Buenos Aires up to around $77 a night in Bariloche during its late ski season, per Booking.com prices checked 8 August 2026. Add domestic flights (from around $74 to 88 one-way to El Calafate) and park or tour costs as separate line items. See the Argentina budget guide for the full breakdown.
Book the Bones of the Trip
Book the international flight into Buenos Aires and your first Buenos Aires hotel now. Leave the AEP domestic legs to El Calafate, Bariloche and Mendoza flexible until closer to your dates, when you can compare Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi and JetSMART fares side by side.
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