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Argentina Travel Guide
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
A country of enormous distances and enormous rewards — the boulevards, bookshops and steakhouses of Buenos Aires, Malbec vineyards under the snowline at Mendoza, the lakes and forests of Bariloche, the thundering blue face of the Perito Moreno Glacier, and Ushuaia at the bottom of the map where the ships leave for Antarctica. This is the Guild’s chapter on Argentina.
The Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Where to stay & when to go
Guild guides to the best places to stay in Argentina’s headline destinations — and the best time to plan your trip.
Where to Stay in Buenos Aires ›
Recoleta grandeur, Palermo’s leafy boutiques and the flat, easy promenades of Puerto Madero.
Where to Stay in Mendoza ›
City hotels on the plaza, or a vineyard lodge under the Andes in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley.
Where to Stay in Bariloche ›
Lake Nahuel Huapi views — in the walkable town centre or out along the Bustillo road.
Where to Stay in El Calafate ›
The base camp for the Perito Moreno Glacier, and which hotels are genuinely walkable to dinner.
Where to Stay in Ushuaia ›
The end of the world, and the Antarctica cruise port — where to stay before you sail.
Best Time to Visit Argentina ›
Southern-hemisphere seasons month by month, and the short Patagonia window.
Why visit Argentina
Few countries hand you this much variety, this much space, and this warm a welcome.
Buenos Aires
A European-looking capital with a South American heart — Recoleta’s grand avenues, the Teatro Colón, tango halls, the world’s most beautiful bookshop, and dinner that begins at ten.
Patagonia
Glaciers you can hear cracking, turquoise lakes, granite spires and empty steppe. The Perito Moreno is one of the few great glaciers on earth you can walk right up to on a level boardwalk.
Steak & Malbec
The asado is a national ritual, and Mendoza’s high-altitude vineyards under the Andes turn out Malbec worth crossing a continent for — often with lunch on a vine-shaded terrace.
The end of the world
Ushuaia, on the Beagle Channel, is the southernmost city on the planet and the port where almost every Antarctic voyage begins. Even the signposts feel like an achievement.
The regions of Argentina
Each region is really its own trip, and they are far apart. Where a Guild city guide is finished, it is linked below; where it is not, we say so plainly rather than send you to a page that does not exist.
The capital and the flat grasslands around it — tango, steak, and the estancias of the cattle country.
- Buenos Aires guide
- Córdoba guide coming
High-altitude Malbec country in the rain shadow of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas.
- Mendoza guide
- Salta guide coming
Glaciers, turquoise lakes and Andean forest — and the long, empty roads between them.
- San Carlos de Bariloche guide
- El Calafate guide
- Puerto Madryn guide coming
The bottom of the continent, the Beagle Channel, and the departure port for Antarctica.
- Ushuaia guide
Subtropical rainforest, the great falls on the Brazilian border, and the red canyons of the northwest.
- Puerto Iguazú guide coming
- Purmamarca & Jujuy guide coming
How the country divides up
Buenos Aires & the Pampas
Almost every trip starts in Buenos Aires, and it should. It is a walkable, grand, slightly faded European city set down in South America: the marble of Recoleta Cemetery, the gilt of the Teatro Colón, the bookshops of Avenida Corrientes and the parrillas where dinner starts at ten. Beyond the city the Pampas roll away flat and green to the cattle estancias, many of which take guests for the day.
Mendoza & the wine Andes
Mendoza is Argentina’s wine capital, a leafy, low-rise city on the plaza with the Andes on the horizon. The vineyards themselves are out of town, in Luján de Cuyo and the high Uco Valley, where the wine lodges are some of the loveliest places to stay in the country. Further north, Salta and Jujuy hold the red rock canyons and colonial towns of the Andean northwest.
Patagonia & the Lake District
Bariloche sits on Lake Nahuel Huapi in an Alpine-looking Argentina of chocolate shops, chairlifts and pine forest. A very long way south, El Calafate is the base for the Perito Moreno Glacier — a wall of ice you view from a well-built system of level walkways, which makes one of the world’s great sights genuinely accessible. Note that this is a summer country: many services thin right out from June to September.
Tierra del Fuego & the north
Ushuaia, on the Beagle Channel, is the world’s southernmost city and the port for almost all Antarctic cruises — a steep little town of tin roofs under snowy peaks. At the opposite corner of the country, the Iguazú Falls thunder through subtropical rainforest on the Brazilian border, and are hot, green and visitable all year.
Top things to do in Argentina
The experiences worth building a trip around.
Stand before the Perito Moreno Glacier
Three miles wide and towering over the water, and still advancing. The national park’s boardwalks are graded and railed, so you can take it at your own pace — and you will hear it crack long before you see a block fall.
Eat a proper asado
Argentine beef, cooked slowly over embers, is the national art form. Go late, order the bife de chorizo, drink Malbec, and do not plan anything for the following morning.
Taste Malbec under the Andes
Lunch on a vine-shaded terrace in Luján de Cuyo or the Uco Valley, with the snow line above the rows. Most wineries need a booking, and a hired driver is far wiser than driving yourself after a tasting.
See tango where it lives
The big dinner shows are fun; the milongas where Portenos actually dance are better. San Telmo and Almagro are the places to look, and many halls give a friendly beginners’ class first.
Sail the Beagle Channel
From Ushuaia, out past the sea lion colonies and the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse. Boats are small, the water can be choppy, and the light on the mountains is unforgettable.
Feel the spray at Iguazú
Two hundred and seventy-five separate falls in subtropical forest. The Argentine side has the walkways that put you right over the Devil’s Throat; give it two days if you can.
Best time to visit & getting there
When to go
The seasons are reversed. Argentine summer is December to February; winter is June to August. For a trip combining Buenos Aires with Patagonia, aim for October to early December or March to April — comfortable in the city and still open in the south.
Patagonia has a real season. Bariloche, El Calafate and Ushuaia are at their best from November to March; outside that, days are short, some hotels and excursions close, and weather can shut roads. Buenos Aires and Iguazú work all year, though January is hot.
See our month-by-month guide to the best time to visit Argentina for weather, crowds and prices through the year.
Getting there & getting around
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) is the long-haul gateway, with non-stops from Miami, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles. Domestic flights leave from the separate city airport, Aeroparque (AEP), so allow a generous transfer — they are about an hour apart in traffic.
Fly between regions. Buenos Aires to Bariloche is about two hours, to Mendoza under two, to El Calafate three, and to Ushuaia three and a half. Driving those distances would eat your holiday.
Most visitors, including U.S. citizens, enter visa-free for up to 90 days. Requirements do change — confirm the current rules with the relevant official authority before you travel.
Argentina travel FAQ
When is the best time to visit Argentina?
Argentina is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are the reverse of North America’s: December to February is high summer and June to August is winter. For a first trip that takes in both Buenos Aires and Patagonia, the sweet spots are October to early December and March to April — mild in the city, and still inside the Patagonian season. Patagonia and Ushuaia really only work from about November to March; much of El Calafate closes in winter. Buenos Aires itself is pleasant all year, though January is hot and humid and much of the city takes its own holidays.
What currency does Argentina use, and should I take cash or cards?
The Argentine peso (ARS, written with a $ sign, which can confuse). Argentina spent years with a confusing set of parallel exchange rates — the famous ‘blue dollar’. That era is effectively over: currency controls were lifted in April 2025 and the rates have converged to within a few percent of one another. In practice a foreign Visa or Mastercard is now the simplest and one of the best-value ways to pay, and the favourable MEP rate is applied automatically. Two rules matter: always choose to be charged in pesos, never in dollars, when a card terminal offers you the choice; and carry some crisp US $100 bills for small vendors, rural stops and tips. Cash machines in Argentina charge steep fees and give poor rates, so use them only as a fallback.
Do Americans need a visa for Argentina?
No. United States citizens may enter Argentina for tourism visa-free for up to 90 days, and the old reciprocity entry fee was abolished some years ago and has not returned. Your passport should have at least six months’ validity left; Argentine law is more relaxed than that, but airlines routinely enforce the six-month rule. Requirements do change, so confirm the current position with the U.S. Department of State or the Argentine consulate before you fly.
How many days do you need in Argentina, and how do you get around?
Argentina is enormous — roughly 2,300 miles from the subtropical north to Tierra del Fuego. Do not plan to drive between the highlights. Ten to fourteen days is a comfortable first trip: three or four nights in Buenos Aires, then two of Mendoza, Bariloche, El Calafate or Iguazú, linked by domestic flights of two to three-and-a-half hours. With a week, pair Buenos Aires with one other region and leave the rest for next time. Rushing Patagonia is the most common mistake we see.
Is Argentina safe, and do I need to rent a car?
Argentina is a welcoming country and Patagonia in particular is very safe. The realistic risk in Buenos Aires is petty theft — bag-snatching and distraction scams in crowded places such as San Telmo market, the Retiro area and La Boca. Keep your phone out of sight on the street, and use a booked radio taxi or a ride-hailing app rather than flagging a cab down. You do not need a car in Buenos Aires, Ushuaia or El Calafate, where taxis and hotel transfers cover everything; a car is genuinely useful only for the Mendoza vineyards and the Bariloche lake circuit, and even there a driver or a tour is the easier choice. Check your government’s current travel advice before you go.
What is Argentina best known for?
Steak and Malbec, tango, football, and some of the most dramatic landscape on earth. In one country you can walk up to the calving face of the Perito Moreno Glacier, stand in the spray of the Iguazú Falls, taste Malbec in the vineyards of Mendoza with the Andes behind you, sail the Beagle Channel from the world’s southernmost city, and end the evening in a Buenos Aires steakhouse at ten at night, which is when Argentines eat.
Ready to plan your Argentina trip?
Compare hotels, flights and tours across Argentina — booked through Trip.com.
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