Last Updated on 04/30/26 by Rose Palmer
I planned a three-week trip for my husband and me to Argentina and Chile to see Iguazu Falls and the highlights of the Patagonia region. Not knowing if we would ever go back, we took our time exploring each area. Many tours offer similar, shorter itineraries, but it was easy to see the sights independently, and it allowed us to do it on our own schedule with some built-in downtime.
My husband had always wanted to try fly fishing in Patagonia, so I designed this itinerary to include three days of fishing for him. And, since I was already at the bottom of South America, I added an Antarctica cruise after Patagonia, but that’s a different story.
Tips for planning an independent Patagonia itinerary
We took our trip in February, which was summer in Patagonia, and it was also the region’s busiest month. I started planning this trip the previous November, which turned out to be a little too late to find reasonably priced accommodations. Lesson learned.
Because both Iguazu and Patagonia are highly touristed destinations, we found that almost everyone we interacted with spoke some basic English. Google Translate helped when we got into a language bind.
Getting around independently was not difficult. The airports were easy to navigate, and announcements at the airport and on the plane were in both Spanish and English. The bus system between Argentina and Chile was well-run and efficient.
Driving in Chile was also easy with very little traffic, except in Puerto Natales, where finding parking was nearly impossible. Patagonia is undeveloped, which is what makes it so beautiful. This also meant that gas stations were few and far between, so we filled up the gas tank wherever we could.
I have T-Mobile as my cell carrier and get international coverage worldwide as part of my basic plan. But I knew that a GPS signal would be spotty in Patagonia, so I downloaded offline Google maps of the area before leaving home.
Day 1 – fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fly: Our trip started with a flight from the East Coast via Miami, followed by an overnight flight to Buenos Aires.
Day 2 – arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fly: The US flight arrived in the early morning at EZE (Ezeiza International Airport) outside of town. I had prebooked an airport transfer via Viator, which was waiting for us as we exited the terminal, and drove us to our hotel in the city.
Activity: We spent the afternoon strolling and people watching in the nearby Plaza San Martín Park.
Stay at: NH Buenos Aires Crillon, located in the affluent Retiro neighborhood. This was a solid hotel in a good neighborhood that was more than adequate for the one night we were there.
Snack: Gelato and cappuccinos at Rapanui, around the corner from the hotel.
Dinner: Huacho Argentinian restaurant, a block from the hotel. I made reservations for 5:30 when they first opened because I knew we would not be able to stay up late after an overnight flight. The steak and the fish entrees were huge portions. The dessert was really good.
Day 3 – fly from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Iguazu Falls, Argentina
Fly: The morning flight to Iguazu left from the domestic AEP (Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery) airport midmorning, located along the city’s waterfront. The hotel ordered us a taxi for the quick 10-minute drive to the airport. The flight was on Aerolineas Argentinas, which I booked directly on the company website. By lunchtime, we arrived in Iguazu at the Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport or IGR.
Activity: It was quite hot in the middle of the day, so we spent the early part of the afternoon by the hotel pool. Around 3:30, we headed into the park and walked the upper trail around the waterfalls.
Stay at: Gran Melia Iguazu inside the Iguazu National Park. I had prearranged with the hotel for a pickup and transfer from the airport. I also pre-purchased our National Park entrance tickets via the website, which we had to show when we entered the park on the way to the hotel.
This was a really lovely hotel with wonderful views toward the Devil’s Throat section of Iguazu Falls. I had stayed here on my first visit to Iguazu and was happy to be back.
Breakfast: grabbed at the airport
Lunch: Gran Melia Iguazu restaurant. We ate here for all our meals. The food was very good, and the bottle of Argentinian Malbec wine they recommended was excellent.
Dinner: Gran Melia Iguazu restaurant.
Day 4 – in Iguazu National Park, Argentina
Activity: late morning start for the tram to the Devil’s Throat trail. The overlook over the Devil’s Throat was very impressive. Spent the rest of the afternoon cooling off by the pool and enjoying the spa.
Stay at: Gran Melia Iguazu.
Breakfast: Gran Meliá Iguazú restaurant, which offered a very extensive buffet.
Lunch: Gran Melia Iguazu restaurant.
Dinner: Gran Melia Iguazu restaurant outdoor BBQ.
Day 5 – in Iguazu National Park, Argentina
Activity: spent the morning relaxing by the pool. After lunch, we walked down to the Lower Trail.
Stay at: Gran Melia Iguazu.
Breakfast: Gran Melia Iguazu breakfast buffet.
Lunch and Dinner: Gran Melia Iguazu restaurant.
Day 6 – Iguazú National Park, Argentina to El Calafate, Argentina
Fly: We spent the whole day in transit getting from Iguazu to El Calafate in Argentina’s Patagonia with a transfer in Buenos Aires. I booked the flights directly on the Aerolineas Argentinas website. The flights were all on time, and the planes were both full. All announcements were made in both Spanish and English.
Stay at: El Galpón de Glacier . The hotel was on a farm outside of town in a very pretty and quiet setting. Our rooms were a bit rustic but clean and provided everything we needed. I had prearranged with the hotel for a driver to pick us up at the airport.
Breakfast: Gran Melia Iguazu breakfast buffet.
Lunch: made sandwiches at breakfast and also grabbed some fruit, which we ate on the bus.
Dinner: El Galpón de Glacier also had an on-site restaurant with a nice menu featuring regional dishes, which were freshly prepared in their kitchen.
Day 7 – in El Calafate, Argentina
Detailed post about our time in El Calafate: Two Days in Los Glacieres National Park – The Best of Argentina’s Patagonia Region
Activity: It was overcast with occasional light rain throughout the day. The hotel set us up with a driver who took us to the Perito Moreno glacier area. We had 3 hours at the glacier, which was plenty of time to walk the yellow and red trails with their impressive views of the glacier.
Stay at: El Galpón de Glacier
Breakfast: A very nice buffet at El Galpón de Glacier with lots of choices.
Lunch: snack at Perito Moreno park.
Dinner: El Galpón de Glacier
Day 8 – in El Calafate
Activity: Booked the All Glacier Cruise Tour to Upsala Glacier and Spegazzini Glacier with Solo Patagonia SA. The hotel set us up with a driver who picked us up early and took us to Puerto Bandera to catch the 9 AM boat for a full-day tour to the glaciers.
It was a beautiful, partly sunny day with fluffy clouds. We had beautiful scenery with mountains and some snow on top, and then icebergs started showing up, some very large. We stopped at a big one and got very close for photo ops, and then went to see the Upsala glacier from far away. Close-up views of the Spegazzini glacier were next. The final stop was the nearby Refugio for lunch.
Stay at: El Galpón de Glacier.
Breakfast: El Galpón de Glacier with lots of choices; made sandwiches at breakfast and grabbed some fruit for lunch
Lunch: picnic at the Spegazzini Refugio with views of the glacier.
Dinner: at El Galpón de Glacier
Day 9 – bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales
Bus: I reserved an 8 AM bus to Puerto Natales on the Busbud website. Our hotel set up a driver to take us to the Terminal de Ómnibus de El Calafate, where we picked up our bus for the 6-hour ride to Puerto Natales.
The bus ride was ok. We reserved the premium seats on the first level, and while the seats were large, the space was still cramped. We went through Argentina’s passport control, climbed back on the bus, and drove on to Chile’s passport control. The whole border transfer took a little over an hour.
We arrived at the Puerto Natales bus station as scheduled, around 2 PM. A local airport transfer van was available, so we purchased tickets (credit cards accepted) and took the shuttle to the airport, where we picked up our reserved rental car from Europecar.
Stay at: Weskar Patagonian Lodge. It was an easy drive to the hotel from the airport. The hotel was on the outskirts of Puerto Natales, off Hwy 1, the main road in this region.
The room was adequate, but it was on the third floor with no elevator. It was also quite noisy during the night with the highway so close.
Breakfast: at El Galpon de Glacier
Lunch: made sandwiches at breakfast and packed them for the road, along with some fruit. The bus company provided a bottle of water.
Dinner: at the restaurant at Westkar Lodge. The food was just ok, but the chocolate cake for dessert was very rich with lots of icing.
Day 10 – drive to Punta Arenas
Drive: It was an easy 3-hour drive from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas, though with a relaxing lunch stop, it took us longer.
Activity: The drive was easy with no traffic, and we took our time, stopping frequently to photograph the scenery and wildlife. We saw our first rhea birds (which look like smaller ostriches) and guanacos.
Stay at: Aparthotel Quillango in Punta Arenas. Even though the hotel was about a half mile from the center of town, I was attracted by having a 2-bedroom apartment and the included breakfast. Since we were staying three nights, it was nice to have the extra room along with a small kitchen and on-site parking. The rooms were clean and provided everything we needed.
Breakfast: complimentary buffet at Westkar Lodge.
Lunch: About midway between Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas, Café Restaurant Morro del Tehuelche was the only option for a sit-down meal. This family-run cafe was cozy and offered a diverse menu with many local dishes made in their kitchen. The service was warm and friendly.
Dinner: We had a large lunch and weren’t super hungry, so I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches in the apartment from the breakfast items in the fridge.
Day 11 – in Punta Arenas, tour to the King Penguin Reserve
This post describes in detail our tours to see the two penguin colonies near Punta Arenas: Two Days With the Punta Arenas Penguins.
Activity: The Full Day Tierra del Fuego & King Penguins tour started at 7 AM when the tour van picked us up at our hotel (and dropped us off back at the hotel at the end of the day at about 10 PM).
This was a very long 16-hour day, most of it spent in a van, on a ferry, or waiting for the ferry. Fortunately, it was a small group of 15 in a small van, though all the seats were filled. It was a partly sunny day, which made it very pleasant to visit the penguin. The sanctuary was very nice, and we were very fortunate in that the king penguins were quite close for about an hour.
Stay at: Aparthotel Quillango.
Breakfast: The hotel staff left us a big meal in the fridge every day: yogurt, milk, juice, eggs, bread, ham, cheese, cookies, coffee, and tea. This ended up being breakfast and lunch each day.
Lunch: Our tour stopped for a hot lunch at the Route 257 Restaurant. We had a choice of salmon, lamb, or chicken served with a salad, rice, and a soda. The food was ok, but since we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere, I wasn’t going to be picky.
Dinner: We ate the sandwiches we made from our apartment’s breakfast items as we waited for the ferry in Porvenir.
Day 12 – relax in Punta Arenas
Activity: After the long day yesterday, we appreciated having a day with no planned activities. We slept in, went for a walk around the neighborhood, and just relaxed at the apartment.
Stay at: Aparthotel Quillango.
Breakfast and Lunch: ate items left for us in the apartment fridge.
Dinner: We walked a couple of blocks to Pizza Plaza Puq, where we shared a very good, freshly prepared pizza. At the chocolate shop next door, we also picked up a large box of chocolates, which we enjoyed for the rest of the trip.
Day 13 – in Punta Arenas, tour to see Magelanic Penguins
Activity: We had an extremely early 6:30 AM start at the company’s offices for the Walk with Penguins on Magdalena & Marta Island tour. The hotel called a taxi for us because we did not want to have to worry about finding
This was a typical large bus tour that took us to a small speedboat, which was cramped and not comfortable. We had 1 hour to walk the trail around Magdalena Island to see the Magallanic penguins. Then we did a quick drive-by stop at Marta Island to see seals and cormorants. The tour ended back in the center of town.
Stay at: Aparthotel Quillango.
Breakfast: ate items left in the apartment fridge.
Lunch: This was a Sunday, and we had a hard time finding anything open for lunch. As we walked back to our hotel, we passed by The Chocolate Cafe. Thick, dark hot chocolate and churros warmed us up – maybe not the healthiest, but very tasty.
Dinner: I made scrambled eggs with ham and cheese from our leftover breakfast items back at the apartment.
Day 12 – drive to Torres del Paine National Park
I described our time in Torres del Paine in detail in the post Three Days in Torres del Paine From a Non-Hiker’s Perspective.
Activity: We took our time driving from Punta Arenas back to Puerto Natales and then to our accommodations just outside the Torres del Paine National Park. We filled the gas tank as we passed through Puerto Natales since there were no gas stations inside the park.
From Puerto Natales, it was another 90-minute drive on mostly unpaved roads to Pampa Lodge. It was a wet, rainy, and cold day, and visibility was not the best as we drove through the park. Our first views toward the mountains at the Mirador Grey overlook were foggy and very grey.
Stay at: Pampa Lodge in Torres del Paine.
Breakfast: ate items left for us in the Aparthotel Quillango fridge.
Lunch: Once again, we stopped at Café Restaurant Morro del Tehuelche, where we enjoyed the hot food and the friendly service.
Dinner: We ate dinner at the Pampa Lodge restaurant, Restaurant Don Pasqual. We ate many meals here during our three-day stay and liked everything we tried, plus the views were fantastic.
Day 13 – in Torres del Paine
Activity: It was another cloudy and rainy day, and visibility was low. I was coming down with a cold and appreciated a day of rest. My husband went out for a drive but came back fairly quickly and said he couldn’t see much. It was nice to just hang out and relax in the lounge, and by afternoon, the mountains peeked out of the clouds.
Stay at: Pampa Lodge in Torres del Paine.
Breakfast: buffet at the Pampa Lodge.
Lunch and dinner: at the Restaurant Don Pasqual.
Day 14 – in Torres del Paine
Activity: The morning dawned sunny with lots of fluffy clouds. We spent the day with a leisurely drive through the Torres de Paine Park up to the Salto Grande viewpoint. The scenery was spectacular, and we stopped at every viewpoint and pullout to take it all in.
Stay at: Pampa Lodge in Torres del Paine.
Breakfast: buffet at the Pampa Lodge.
Lunch: We stopped at Restaurant Pehoe Barbeque, where the food was just ok, but there weren’t many restaurant options inside the park.
Snack: Just a little further from our lunch spot, we stopped for dessert and coffee at Hosteria Pehoe.
Dinner: at the Restaurant Don Pasqual.
Day 15 – Torres del Paine and Puerto Natales
Activity: We retraced our drive from the day before (which only took 30 minutes without stops) and continued past the Cascada del Salto. We continued exploring the different roads in the park using Google Maps as our guide. I had no cell service in the park, but using the offline Google maps, I could see the roads, so we just explored and continued to stop at the many overlooks.
Mid-afternoon, we headed out of Torres del Paine and drove back to Puerto Natales and our hotel for the next week.
Stay at: The fly fishing tour company booked us into the Simple Patagonia, so I just added a few more days before and after. I am so glad I did because we really loved our stay here. This was a small, family-run, boutique hotel that provided lots of extra little touches. Our rooms were spacious and came with wonderful views of the lake and the mountains in the distance.
The hotel also had the added advantage that it was 10 minutes outside of Puerto Natales, so we didn’t need to deal with the traffic in town.
Breakfast: buffet at the Pampa Lodge.
Lunch: Picnic with sandwiches we made at breakfast.
Dinner: at Simple Patagonia. We ate dinner at the hotel every night, not just because it was convenient, but also because the food was good. I especially loved the different baked brie starter variations.
Day 16 – Puerto Natales
This post describes our time in Puerto Natales in more detail: Discovering Things to Do in Puerto Natales, the Gateway to Torres del Paine in Chile’s Patagonia.
Activity: It was an overcast and rainy day. After a leisurely morning, we drove down the road to the Singular Hotel to see the Refrigeration Museum.
Stay at: Simple Patagonia.
Breakfast: buffet at Simple Patagonia.
Lunch: La Escondida down the street from our hotel.
Dinner: at Simple Patagonia.
Day 17 – Puerto Natales
Activity: We went to explore Lake Sophia and the Milodon Cave.
Stay at: Simple Patagonia.
Breakfast: buffet at Simple Patagonia.
Lunch: skipped.
Dinner: at Simple Patagonia
Day 18 – Puerto Natales
Activity: My husband spent the day fly fishing, and I went for a drive into Torres del Paine National Park again.
Stay at: Simple Patagonia.
Breakfast: buffet at Simple Patagonia.
Lunch: made a sandwich at the breakfast buffet.
Dinner: at Simple Patagonia.
Day 19 – Puerto Natales
Activity: While my husband went fly fishing again, I drove into Puerto Natales to window shop and have lunch.
Stay at: Simple Patagonia.
Breakfast: buffet at Simple Patagonia.
Lunch: Santolla for excellent king crab.
Dinner: at Simple Patagonia.
Day 20 – Puerto Natales
Activity: I had scheduled the all-day tour Cruise to the Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. Walked around town for a bit instead and then packed up to leave the next day.
Stay at: Simple Patagonia.
Breakfast: buffet at Simple Patagonia.
Lunch: sandwiches purchased in town.
Dinner: at Simple Patagonia.
Day 21 – Leave Patagonia
Our trip to Patagonia came to an end. My husband flew back home, and I took a bus to Ushuaia, Argentina, where I continued my travels with a cruise to Antarctica.
We both really enjoyed this trip and were pleasantly surprised at how well it all went. The transport and the transfers went more easily than expected, the hotels were very nice, and all the food we had was quite good. And of course, the scenery was spectacular.
Thanks for visiting.
Rose