From Villa Traful, we arrive at the end of the afternoon in San Martin de los Andes, a nice little village. It is also the beginning or the end of the road of the 7 lakes (it depends in which direction we drive). If the village is very crowded in winter for its ski resorts, in summer, it is taken by storm for the road of the 7 lakes or the hikes. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Almost all the signs in the city are made of wood like this: We are staying at Cabañas Duplex del Chapelco (600AR/night, link Agoda). We are entitled…

We continue the 7 Lakes Road from Villa la Agostura to Villa Traful. Part 1: Travel Diary Part2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary The first part of the road to Villa Traful is paved, with many viewpoints (mirador) on the different lakes crossed. We visit them at the same time as the tourist buses, which enables us to locate the miradores and visit them just after their departure. A sign clearly indicates where we are and the distance to go before the next watchtower. A lot of people take pictures of these signs (including me) to better organize their pictures after… because… uh… how can I say… the 7…

From Bariloche, we take the small road along the lake (limited between 60 and 80km/h) to go to Villa la Agosturawhere we booked a night. Villa la Agostura is the starting point or the end point of the road of the 7 lakes (ruta de los siete lagos). Lonely Planet ranks it among the 20 things to see in Argentina. Argentines don’t really understand why it takes up to 3 days to drive along this 72km road. “It’s just a beautiful road,” they tell us. But when we tell them that we really want to stop at each of the lakes, spend a night in Villa la Agostura, another one…

It’s a shame to sum up Bariloche to its super boring city center, we give it a second chance by exploring its surroundings by car. Direction the hotel Llao Llao (a super known hotel in Argentina), being near the Circuito Chico, a 27km circuit very known by the cyclists. Part 1: Travel DiariesPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diaries As soon as we leave the city center, beautiful landscapes offer themselves to us, we find this side “Swiss village” which makes the fame of Bariloche. With Christmas decorations, it’s even prettier. Apparently there is a 21km race today. But cars are still allowed to drive through the park. Hotel…

This is the first part of our stay in Bariloche. The 2nd part can be viewed here Part 1: Travel Diaries 26 hours by bus? Never again! We had the bad idea to book a 24H bus from El Chaltén to Bariloche. We have already made 16 hours of bus to go from Ushuaia to El Calafate so we thought that 24h was easy. Already, it starts badly: two very young French people who are missing a lot of things (travel experiences, life experiences and especially politeness) are just behind us. Only sleep makes them stop talking and regularly kick the front seat (if you followed correctly, it is OUR…

We leave El Calafate at 7:30 am for 3 hours drive to El Chaltén. If we learned one thing in Argentina, it is that the price of the buses isn’t always proportional to the distance traveled. The bus costs 500$AR/person, whereas to drive 5 times this distance (El Calafate – Ushuaia), you only pay 2 times the price El Chaltén is a hiking paradise in Argentina, just like Torres del Paine in Chile. But unlike Torres del Paine, El Chaltén offers day trekking options, making its routes much more accessible to Sunday hikers When we buy the ticket (at Taqsa, always, it’s our favorite bus company), we are given a…

The trip Ushuaia – El Calafate takes 18 hours, with a ferry to take and 2 border crossings (indeed, you go from one city in Argentina to another city in Argentina, but you must pass through Chile). Taqsa is the only bus company offering this direct route Contrary to the drivers of Bus-Sur who do not explain anything about the administrative procedures, with Taqsa, as soon as we arrive at a border, we are the first to queue up and pass them. To enter Chile, it is necessary to fill out a form and one of the drivers comes to see each one of us to tell us what to…

Part 1: Travel Diaries Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diaries Departure at 8:30 am from the bus terminal of El Calafate with the company Taqsa (we only take that from Ushuaia, the service and the bus are good). 500$AR/person round trip, transportation only and without guide. It is unfortunately the rate here, with a difference of more or less 50 pesos according to the schedules Be careful, to go to see the Perito Moreno glacier, you have to go to El Calafate, and not the city Perito Moreno which isn’t at all in the right place. The same goes for Fitz Roy, there is a town with that…