Argentina travel guide

Getting there

Most international flights land at Buenos Aires' Ezeiza (EZE) airport, with domestic flights from Aeroparque (AEP). Ferries cross the Río de la Plata to Uruguay, and land borders connect with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay.

Best time to visit: Oct–Apr for Patagonia and the south; Mar–May and Sep–Nov for Buenos Aires.

Flights: see the cheapest month to fly to Buenos Aires, with live one-way and return fares from your nearest airport.

Tougher months: No bad time – but Patagonian trekking is limited from June to August, and Buenos Aires can be hot and sticky in January.

Weather by month in Buenos Aires

• 30°J●
• 29°F●
• 26°M●●
• 23°A●
• 19°M●
• 16°J●
• 15°J●
• 18°A●
• 19°S●
• 22°O●●
• 25°N●
• 28°D●

Average daytime highs in °C; dots show how rainy the month is (one dot dry, three dots wet).

Time zone: America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires, America/Argentina/Catamarca, America/Argentina/Cordoba, America/Argentina/Jujuy. Compare with your local time.

Visas: in our passport dataset, 90 of 198 other passports can enter Argentina without arranging a visa first (visa-free or visa on arrival), 0 need an e-visa or electronic authorisation, and 108 need a visa in advance. Check your passport.

Background: Visa policy of Argentina (Wikipedia).

Official advisory: Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions (U.S. Department of State, updated 2026-07-10). Read the advisory.

Stay

Most trips to Argentina are based around Buenos Aires, Iguazú National Park or El Calafate & Los Glaciares. Pick a base for your main interest, then add day trips rather than moving hotels every night.

Typical daily budget: about US$40–60 for a backpacker and US$100–180 mid-range, per person.

Connect

Plug types: C, I. Voltage: 220 V. Check your own devices on the plug and currency checker.

Calling code: +54.

Mobile data: set up a travel eSIM or check your roaming plan before you fly, so data works as soon as you land.

Do

• Buenos Aires (Capital · culture & nightlife): A sophisticated, late-night city of leafy barrios, ornate cafés, bookshops and tango halls.
• Iguazú National Park (Misiones · waterfalls & rainforest): One of the world's great waterfall systems, wrapped in subtropical jungle full of toucans and coatis.
• El Calafate & Los Glaciares (Patagonia · glaciers): Base for Perito Moreno Glacier and boat trips across ice-choked lakes in a vast national park.
• El Chaltén (Patagonia · trekking): Argentina's self-styled trekking capital, with trails leading straight from town to Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre.
• Bariloche (Lake District · lakes & mountains): An alpine-style town on Lake Nahuel Huapi, loved for summer hiking, winter skiing and its chocolate shops.
• Mendoza (Cuyo · wine & Andes): Leafy wine capital at the foot of Aconcagua, the highest peak outside Asia.
• Salta & Jujuy (Northwest · colonial towns & canyons): Colonial plazas, Andean culture and multicoloured canyons such as Quebrada de Humahuaca and Cafayate's gorges.
• Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego · end of the world): The southernmost city of its size on Earth, gateway to Beagle Channel cruises and Antarctic expeditions.

Things to do

• Feel the spray at Iguazú Falls. Walk the catwalks to the Devil's Throat, where hundreds of cascades thunder into a misty gorge on the Brazilian border.
• Dance or watch tango. Join a neighbourhood milonga in Buenos Aires and watch locals of every age glide across the floor until the early hours.
• Hike around El Chaltén. Trek to the base of Mount Fitz Roy, whose granite spires glow pink at sunrise above glacial lakes.
• Watch Perito Moreno calve. Stand on the boardwalks near El Calafate as house-sized chunks of ice crash from the glacier's face into Lago Argentino.
• Taste Malbec in Mendoza. Cycle between vineyards beneath the snowy Andes and sip the country's signature red at family-run bodegas.
• Share a Sunday barbecue. Settle in for a long, slow barbecue of chorizo, chicken and grilled provoleta cheese, the heart of Argentine social life.
• Drive the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Wind through a UNESCO-listed valley of rainbow-striped hills, adobe villages and cactus-dotted slopes in Jujuy.
• Spot whales off Península Valdés. See southern right whales, elephant seals and Magellanic penguins along a rugged Patagonian coastline.

Eat and drink

• Empanadas – baked pastries filled with chicken, ham and cheese, or sweetcorn
• Dulce de leche – sweet milk caramel
• Malbec – famous red wine from Mendoza

Talk

Twenty basic Spanish phrases with a simple sound guide. Say them slowly; a smile does the rest.

Basic phrases: pronunciation is approximate and the list has not yet been reviewed by a native speaker. Capital letters mark the stressed syllable where that applies. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Money and safety

Currency: Argentine peso (ARS). Currency and plug checker.

Tipping: About 10% in restaurants..

Emergency numbers: 911 police · 107 ambulance · 100 fire.

• Exchange rates and payment rules change often; check current advice on whether cash, cards or transfer services give the best rate before you go.
• ATMs can have low withdrawal limits and high fees, so plan cash needs ahead, especially in small Patagonian towns.
• Watch for pickpockets and bag snatchers in busy areas of Buenos Aires, especially on buses, in La Boca and around Retiro and Constitución stations.
• Keep phones out of sight on the street; snatch-and-run thefts from café tables and pavements are common.