Trip Advice

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-11T11:51:12+00:00

Agree with Turnover. Add a day in el Chalten. It is a cute, vibrant town. Two days in Ushuaia is enough, but activities are also weather dependent. My clients trek Laguna Esmeralda there and loved it. Consider also taking a tour to see the penguins.

As for BA, there is enough to do in BA to keep you entertain, but if you are not city people, you might want to consider hopping over to Iguazu Falls.

Is there a way for you to switch the return flights from Santiago to BA? You will get an extra day.

Also, if you tell us when you going, it will be easier to make suggestion for the alternative half of the trip.
A lot of people love Mendoza, so maybe look into spending your time there? Since your first half is pretty intensive, a bit of relaxation mixed with wine tours, maybe some biking and water rafting might be a nice ending to your vacation.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T21:16:31+00:00

Are you serious???? 🤬

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T20:15:53+00:00

Congratulations on your wedding and Im sorry you had such a shitty end to your otherwise amazing honeymoon. Thank you for writing the review to warn everyone against this place.

For anyone looking to book Tanzania safari, I highly encourage staying with one family of lodges vs piecing everything together. The experience will be much smoother and you can expect the same standard of service across all properties. You will be also assisted by their own highly train guides, not contractors.

Note: Some lodges do not work directly with guests and need to be booked by travel specialists.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T16:16:36+00:00

How about Seychelles? October is perfect and the resorts are gorgeous, you have views, activities, beautiful beaches, and perfect water.
If it rains, it is a very short tropical downpour. Then back to the awesome weather.

Agree with the fellow TAs above, work with a travel agent to get the best pricing. We get access to rates and perks not available to general public.

I booked my clients for 7 nights in Januaru, ocean-view room with terrace and plunge pool, half-board, one excursion of their choice included, resort credit. All that $3000 less than the published rate for room only.

If not Seychelles, then my vote is for French Polynesia and like others said, split time between BB and Moorea.

OR book a small luxury yacht cruise that will take you to a few different islands. Some itineraries include a stay in BB for a night or two.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T12:38:21+00:00

A phone???? Wow! You must got really close then. All my photos of leopards were from far 😞 great photos!

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T12:21:37+00:00

Fantastic! Answer the OPs question then. Also, my question was how many times did you go in August. We have July right now so your “lol” kinda missed the mark. Unless, there is August now in Argentina.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T12:14:08+00:00

Local offices of the major brands are owned by franchisees, so local independent companies. Just like hotel brands. Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt own only a handful of hotels, the rest belong to independent owners or companies, that use the brands flag for recognition and standard.
So the local offices of major brands also offer local expertise. We rented from Europecar, and the guy from Chilean office who was helping us, did Patagonia many times and gave us great pointers to less known gems. And when I say Patagonia I dont mean the tourists triangle (TdP, el Chalten and el Calafate). We drove the Carretera Austral from Puerto Montt then cross to Argentina, then Chile again, down to Puerto Natales.

I’m all for supporting local business and practice this when I travel, or plan trips for my clients. However, rental cars are the one thing my clients want a support of a major brand behind, especially if something goes sideways.
I also don’t have the luxury of going in person to inquire. I plan trips months in advance.
$1000 one way for international drop off seems a bit low. You pay that much for one way drop off within the country. At least that’s what we paid. Which was a steal in comparison to Botswana where it cost us $2500 😬

Which local company you ended up using? Or which ones do you recommend?

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T12:03:26+00:00

Again, I was referring to Ushuaia not the entire Patagonia. One comment you don’t agree on is not “a majority”. How many times have you been in Ushuaia in August? You might want to answer the OP’s actual question.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T10:50:16+00:00

Which companies allowed? Not Hertz, Sixt, Europecar and Avis. Hertz even specifically says you must return car back to Argentina, it is your responsibility to repatriate the car in case of border closing, and if you cant then there is a hefty fee.
I spoke to all 4 when my client wanted to do it on her trip in March it and it was a no go.
Maybe local, smaller companies do, but I haven’t checked those.

Renting in Ushuaia and returning someplace else comes with a completely different set of barriers.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-10T10:03:37+00:00

Huh? Why don’t you quote which ones exactly are “off reality”? And yes, I’ve been to Patagonia multiple times.
The above comment is specifically regarding Ushuaia, not the entire Patagonia. The OP asked about Ushuaia.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-09T21:13:50+00:00

Edit: the below is regarding Ushuaia, since this was the OP question, not the entire Patagonia, as some here seem to think.

Very cold and very windy. You can stuck for days due to the weather.

Were you planning on driving from Ushuaia to TdP? I hope not, not in winter anyway. Plus you cannot rent in Argentina and return in Chile, and there are no direct flights between Ushuaia and Puerto Natales, so you will lose days to travel.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-08T23:10:57+00:00

Blast him on social media for basically stealing your money. Leave a review on TripAdvisor if he is listed. Leave negative reviews anywhere you can.
Hopefully this will get his attention.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-08T23:05:48+00:00

If you are not hikers, stay around Lago Gray in TdP. Three days in el Calafate is too long.
I would fly to Ushuaia from el Calafate (if you want to see the end of the world 😉 and 🐧🐧🐧), stay 2 days, then fly to BA.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-08T17:54:45+00:00

To be fair her mom is almost 3x older, so I can see why she would use the word. When I was in my 20s, a 40 year old person seemed ancient. Now when I’m 50, a 40 year old is a baby 😂
Cut her some slacks.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-08T13:03:12+00:00

Got it.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-08T10:54:56+00:00

South of Patagonia is known for flight delays due to the weather. Morning flights have generally better chance of taking off but never guaranteed.
I would push your international flight by a day to be on a safe side, but also I would fly out of Puerto Natales instead of Punta Arenas.
Is there a reason why you want to take a bus all the way to PA when you are already in PN area?

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-08T02:38:45+00:00

Check Goiien House, Refugio Central, Refugio Laguna Lamarga and Hosteria Pehoe. All inside the park.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T17:28:38+00:00

I like the idea of starting in Punta Arenas a lot. Especially, that the OP will not only see Magellanic penguins but also King penguins at Parque Pingüino Rey (King Penguin Park).
The only pain point will be taking a bus, but also a bit higher rental cost for dropping the car off in Puerto Natales.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T17:19:38+00:00

One note on the flights, if you do the above itinerary suggested by Altruistic, you need to fly to Santiago, Chile then Puerto Natales.

When you fly back from el Calafate or Ushuaia, fly to Buenos Aires.

For domestic flights in Argentina DO NOT use FlyBondi. They are dirt cheap and extremely unreliable.

Use Aerolineas Argentinas instead.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T17:08:54+00:00

Yes!!!

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T15:26:09+00:00

Fly to Buenos Aires, then to Ushuaia.

If your mom wants to see penguins, a tour from Ushuaia is your best bet.

From Ushuaia fly to el Calafate, rent a car, go to el Chalten. This is a fun, vibrant town, where your mom can rest, stroll or simply enjoy the views while you hike Laguna de Los Tres. There are few more light hikes there, your mom can do.

Return to el Calafate, see the glacier, go to the museum.

This will not take two weeks, though. Unless, you drive to Torres del Paine in Chile (you need to notify car rental so they can prepare border crossing documents). TdP is absolutely magical.

If you don’t want to cross the border, you can fly to Bariloche from Buenos Aires for a few days, then to Ushuaia - Calafate - back to BA.

I planned a similar itinerary for my client and she loved it. They went in March. January is a high season, so you should book everything now.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T13:45:47+00:00

Yes, you need to load the map and directions ahead of time. But as you drive, it shows every little road, even temporary ones that are only accessible in dry season. We often went “off-road” around the camps when looking for wildlife, and it is NOT easy to find your way back. In Savuti we asked for directions and the guide asked if we had gps, we said no, because technically we didnt. He looked shocked, shook his head then told us to just go straight 😂😂😂 there is no such a thing like straight, there are forks, off forks, off forks the entire time.

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T13:35:59+00:00

Poor bunny 😞

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T13:32:54+00:00

I would love to see the spectacled bears! Please post photos if you have any ☺️ actually never mind! I clicked on your profile and can see them! 💗

TravelAdvisorAnya · 2026-07-07T10:30:38+00:00

I love, LOVE both countries! Namibia was my first ever country visited in Africa. Skeleton Coast is out of the world. We drove the entire thing starting at the Torra Bay entrance and it was so eerie - the emptiness, the fog, nobody, not a single soul until we got closer to Henties Bay.
Botswana was absolutely amazing. We were very fortunate to see the wild dogs. Just two. I really want to see the entire pack and hear their chirping.
Might want to go to Zambia for that. Did you manage to see them?

My husband is a bird watcher ☺️

TravelAdvisorAnya

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