Argentina Tours with Flights from €1,900

The standard Argentina itinerary is Buenos Aires → Iguazu → Mendoza → El Calafate/Patagonia → back to Buenos Aires, 12-15 days. You start with 2-3 nights in Buenos Aires (Recoleta, San Telmo, a tango show, a day trip to Tigre or a gaucho estancia), then fly 1h50 north to Puerto Iguazu for 2 nights at the falls (Argentine side one day, Brazilian side the next if visa-free).

From Iguazu you typically loop back through Buenos Aires for a connection, since direct regional flights are limited. Next stop is Mendoza (1h50 west) for 2-3 nights of Malbec tastings in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. Some itineraries swap Mendoza for Salta in the northwest if you prefer red-rock landscapes and colonial architecture over wine.

Then south to Patagonia: Buenos Aires-El Calafate is 3h15 direct. Two full days cover Perito Moreno glacier (the one that actually calves on command) and a transfer north to El Chaltén for 2-3 nights of day hikes to Laguna de los Tres and Fitz Roy viewpoints.

Budget €2,300-€3,300 per person for the 12-day version with a mid-range operator. Includes accommodation, all internal flights (4-5 of them), transfers, park entries, a handful of guided days, and most breakfasts. Lunches and dinners run €15-€45 per meal — Argentina is not as cheap as it was three years ago.

If Patagonia is the reason you booked Argentina, skip the loop and spend 10-14 days in the south. Three routings work.

The W-Trek in Torres del Paine (Chile) is the marquee trek: 5 days, 80km, sleeping in refugios or camping. You fly Buenos Aires-El Calafate, bus 5 hours across the border to Puerto Natales, do the W, then cross back to El Calafate for Perito Moreno before flying north. Operators like Chile Nativo, Swoop Patagonia and EcoCamp run the refugio version for €1,600-€2,400 per person for the 5-day trek alone, not including the Argentina bookends. Book refugios 9-12 months ahead for December-February.

Route 40 self-drive or small-group tours run El Calafate to Bariloche via Los Glaciares, Perito Moreno National Park (not the glacier — confusingly the same name) and the Cueva de las Manos. 7-10 days, €1,800-€2,700, for travellers who want big skies and empty road rather than set-piece trekking.

The Southern Lakes region around Bariloche and San Martín de los Andes is the softer Patagonia: alpine lakes, trout fishing, Swiss-German chocolate shops, day hikes rather than multi-day treks. 5-7 days, €1,300-€1,900. Good for families or travellers who want the scenery without hauling a 60L pack.

Argentina has two operator categories: the international small-group names and the local specialists.

Intrepid, G Adventures, Exodus and Explore run mature 10-15 day Argentina and Argentina+Brazil itineraries. €1,900-€2,900 for 10-12 days before flights. Reliable pacing, English-speaking local guides, mixed hotel standard. G Adventures has the strongest Patagonia catalogue including Buenos Aires-to-Santiago crossings via Torres del Paine. Intrepid's Premium line upgrades hotels and adds private transfers for €600-€1,000 extra.

Local specialists are worth considering for anything beyond the standard loop. Say Hueque (Buenos Aires-based) builds custom itineraries with better estancia and winery access than the international operators. BA Cultural Concierge runs private Buenos Aires days — tango history, Jewish Buenos Aires, asado in a private home — that the group tours skim over. Tangol and Hi Travel Argentina handle Patagonia logistics for smaller budgets.

For serious Patagonia trekkers, Swoop Patagonia (UK-based but Patagonia-only) and Chimu Adventures are the specialists. They book refugios early, handle the Chile border crossings, and pace the W-Trek and O-Trek correctly.

The split to think about: Buenos Aires wants a cultural guide, Mendoza wants a wine driver who knows the producers, Patagonia wants a fit mountain guide. Few operators do all three equally well, so hybrid bookings (international operator for the loop, local specialist for add-ons) are common.

Argentina is long enough that no single month works everywhere. The headline rule: November to March is austral summer and the only realistic window for Patagonia trekking.

December-February is peak Patagonia season. Torres del Paine refugios are fully booked, El Chaltén trails are busy, and prices run 20-30% higher. Days are long (sunset near 10pm in January), weather is still windy and cold at altitude, but the trekking infrastructure is fully open. November and March are the shoulders: fewer crowds, same trails, marginally more weather risk.

Mendoza harvest season runs late February to mid-April. This is the best time for wine travellers — most producers open their doors, Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia happens in early March, and the vineyards look like the postcard versions. April is beautifully quiet with autumn colour.

Buenos Aires is year-round. Summer (December-February) is hot and many porteños leave for the coast; winter (June-August) is cool and grey but culture programming peaks. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable.

June-August is winter. Bariloche opens for ski season (Cerro Catedral, decent intermediate terrain, cheaper than Chile or Europe). Patagonia wilderness largely closes — refugios shut, El Chaltén hikes are snowed in, Perito Moreno is still accessible as a day trip from El Calafate. Iguazu is fine year-round but July-August weekends draw Brazilian school-holiday crowds.

Buenos Aires has two airports and you will use both. Ezeiza (EZE) is 35km south, handles international arrivals and departures. Aeroparque (AEP) is 10 minutes from the city centre and handles almost all domestic flights — Iguazu, El Calafate, Mendoza, Bariloche, Salta, Ushuaia. When your tour operator lands you at EZE and the next day flies you from AEP, build in the 1-hour cross-city transfer.

From Europe, the direct options are Iberia (Madrid-EZE, daily, 13h), Air Europa (Madrid-EZE, daily, 13h), and Lufthansa (Frankfurt-EZE, 5 weekly, 13h30). KLM routes Amsterdam-EZE with a Santiago or São Paulo stop. Off-peak returns run €600-€900 from Dublin, London, Amsterdam or Frankfurt via Madrid. Peak (December-January, July-August) pushes to €1,100-€1,400.

From North America, LATAM runs Miami and New York to EZE direct, Aerolíneas Argentinas runs Miami-EZE and JFK-EZE, and American runs Miami and Dallas. 10-11 hours. Off-peak returns €700-€950, peak €1,100-€1,300.

Internal flights are essentially required. The Buenos Aires-El Calafate bus is 40 hours. The flight is 3h15. Aerolíneas Argentinas and Flybondi cover the domestic network; JetSmart is the third option on main routes. Book internal hops through your tour operator — they get better fares and you avoid paying non-resident pricing. Key airports to know: FTE (El Calafate), MDZ (Mendoza), IGR (Iguazu), BRC (Bariloche), SLA (Salta).