Patagonia Road Trip

[GMXam]

We just completed our Patagonia road trip via rental car from BA to El Calafate and back. We have an ACA Región Patagonia book, a Ruta 40 map, and several miscellaneous maps from some of the cities we visited if anyone is planning on doing this trip. PM me if you are interested in these maps/book.

One recommendation: always, always, always check this website for the status of the roads the night before you set out for driving. (http://www.vialidad.gov.ar/) It is a lifesaver from those 40-100km ripio (rocky dirt road) drives due to construction.


This was our itinerary Oct 27 through Nov 19:
Neuquén
San Martín de Los Andes (Waypoint: Villa La Angostura)
Bariloche (Waypoints: El Bolsón, Esquel)
Perito Moreno (the town) (Waypoints: Cueva de las Manos, Gobernador Gregores)
El Chaltén
El Calafate (Waypoints: Glaciar Perito Moreno, Rio Gallegos, Puerto Santa Cruz)
Puerto San Julián (Waypoints: Caleta Olivia, Comodoro Rivadavia)
Puerto Madryn
Bahía Blanca
...and back to BA

Also, since we were traveling during the non-peak season it was really easy to find places to stay last minute. We only made reservations with more than one day advance notice in San Martín de Los Andes and Bariloche (both made more than two weeks in advance).

If traveling via road trip during peak season, make sure you plan your route in advance and negotiate your arrival/check-out dates so you aren't out that money should you decide to change your plans midway (we did many times in order to stay longer in certain places). We payed in cash in all but one of our stays. In all but three of those stays, I was asked for identification and given a resident rate (yes, many places are now charging a different rate if you do not have a DNI as proof of your residency; from hostels, to city-funded hotels, to regular hotels).

The car we rented gave us 450-550km per tank, so our trip only required 1 stop between most destinations. Aside from the first day (11 hours), we drove no more than 9 hours to each destination. Not bad split between two drivers. Sandwiches made in the morning were the typical lunch on driving days (1 jar of organic peanut butter lasted us the whole trip...bought at New Garden in BA).

You'll see beautiful blue waters which brightly contrast against any shade of land surrounding them, from the rich orange in Neuquén, to the green in Bariloche, and the dark colored white-capped Andes further south. Be prepared to be awestruck. The air is clean and scented with the trees, water, and plants. I, obviously, loved it. Hopefully, you enjoy it, as well.

 

[TomAtAlki]

Great description. Thanks for the tips. We've driven about half of that loop and maybe do the whole (including Ushuala I hope) next year. This year we fly.

A suggestion for when coming back to Buenos Aires is to stop at Penisula Valdez and Las Grutas.


Tom

 

[GMXam]

Neuquén from BA:
This was our first driving day. We started at 1pm and arrived in Neuquén around 2:30am.

Recommendation 1: leave as early in the day as possible. Although we had no problems with finding gas in the evening, this is not a guarantee that you will. Also, fauna at dusk become a real hazard, especially if you don't know these roadways well enough to bypass the terribly maintained ones. Ruta Nacional is "supposed" to be better maintained than Ruta Provincial but this is not a given.


Recommendation 2: take the desert route from Ruta 152 (at Ruta 143). If you don't, you're in for 100km of slalom driving with craters (not potholes...craters in the earth). If you're driving this route after dusk, you have the added adventure of evading fauna. On the other hand, I slept really well after this driving adventure; so if you'd like to be extremely exhausted after only 3 hours of driving, don't take the desert route. I'm not exaggerating about the craters in the earth. London2baires can attest to this as a backseat passenger...

Had we had an extra day: I would have visited a bodega. It turns out that this area is known for their Pinot Noir. We were told it's also a good area for fishing, but I can't attest to this nor provide any further info than just that (second hand info from the guy who sold London2baires his fishing license).

This was just a stop for sleep.

 

[GMXam]

Neuquén to San Martín de Los Andes:

5 hour drive. Like others have said, this drive is pretty boring until the last 2 hours of the stretch. Not much wildlife was to be seen. Lots of desert shrub and dirt. And then the beautiful blue water wakes you up.

The town is pretty small, relaxing, and safe. Everyone waves or says hi from their cars. The cashiers are quicker (why this is a measure for me, I don't know...). Chocolate tastes so much better here. Shops close from 1pm to 5pm (or within this range), so if you need to rent a bike, buy some food not from La Anonima (the big grocer), or do any sort of transaction with any vendor do it before or after that time frame. Some cafes and restaurants also close but we found a few that did not.

The goods:
Cafe: Corazón Contento (good food options, largest tartas I've seen for an individual serving, great hot chocolate and teas)

Hangout Restaurant: Pizza Cala (although a touristy place, the pizza is good, and they have a hot chili oil sauce for the pizza, you have to ask for it)

Best Restaurant [possibly in Argentina, for us]: El Masón (run by a couple, she's the chef, he's in charge of service, awesome food, everything we ordered between 4 of us was great)

Almacén: Can't remember the name but it is on General Roca across from the City Hall, delicious salames and quesos.

Excursion: A boat takes you on a full day trip stopping in four different areas across Lago Lacar (Quila Quina, Cha Chin, Hua Hum, and Santa Teresita). The hiking you do is mostly easy, one easy to moderate to the Cha Chin falls. Thankfully, we had great weather for this. Warning, if you feed the gulls following the boat, they will poop at some point...we saw someone get bombed...poor guy.

Other activities: there are some hikes along either side of the Lago Lacar that we wished we had more time to do. Quila Quina is a great spot for walking through cypress trees, on hidden beaches, through the camp ground, and along the roads. We came across cows, horses, birds and their baby birds (keep your distance, they are protective). I bought a bottle of homemade Licour de Sauco and a jar of homemade smoked cheese in spiced oil from the vendors next to the Quila Quina Beach dock. Both were delicious. We also rented bikes to ride up to the Mirador on the south side of Lago Lacar (Thanks, Harry, for waiting for us...I'll be in better shape next time!). Great views of the lake and the town from above.

Had we had more time here: I would have rented a kayak (and a wetsuit) and taken it out on the lake to Quila Quina and back; maybe relax on the beach if it was warm enough for swim suit or even shorts and tee shirt.

We had some snow and rain while there as well as a couple of days of cool sunshine. This was such a great start to our trip, being such a pleasant town to just exist in. Wish we had more time there.

 

[GMXam]

Correction on the restaurant: El Meson de la Patagonia

Also, we stayed at this apartment while in San Martín de los Andes. It was perfectly located, clean, well equipped with what we needed for our stay, and a very welcoming and hospitable owner who took us for a bike ride up to Mirador Arrayan. Thanks, Harry! We had a great time in SMA.

 

[Noruega]

GMX, thanks for the great description and all the tips and ideas! Very useful. Sounds fantastic!!

 

[rrptownley]

Good tip on checking the rutas before heading out.

We used a newly purchased YPF map to guide through a detour between the Rio Negro and Rio Colorado, it described the Ruta Provincial 232 as asphalted and in good condition.
What followed was a herculean drive over trenches, chasms, dust bowls, all in 40 celsius desert-like conditions with no other sign of life around, no other traffic nor homes. In our VW Gol I was very worried about punctures or over-heating and having no help within 100kms at all.


El Meson de la Patagonia is run by my friend's parents, I love that place!

 

[lucha54]

GMX, gotta ask you about Bolson and Esquel next time we meet!!

 

[GMXam]

We felt the same way, RichardRPTownley. Thankfully, we learned from that first day. Unfortunately, we were unprepared for the Ruta 40 detour option...when there is a detour sign, it is not your usual detour that takes you on another paved road option even if there is one close by; it's a rocky dirt road they create beside the road being maintained/constructed. 40km later, the GPS falling twice and restarting due to the constant vibrations, and this is a first I've ever experienced: your vision has to readjust when you come to a stop due to the adjustment your eyes had to make to watch for sharp rocks and camouflaged dips within 10-15 feet of the road your are driving over. That was pretty fun for about 30 seconds while my eyes readjusted. Nothing like road trip adventures!

Almost there, Lucha! Lots to say...

 

[RichardP]

Thanks for all the great info. Can I ask what car rental agency you used?