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SCL-El Calafate-Perrito Moreno->Ushuaia and back

SCL-El Calafate-Perrito Moreno->Ushuaia and back

Old Apr 10, 2015, 5:58 pm
  #1  
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Join Date: Apr 2015
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Talking SCL-El Calafate-Perrito Moreno->Ushuaia and back

Hi there!

I'm planning a budget trip in early Oct from Santiago de Chile to El Calafate (to see Perrito Moreno) and then to Ushuaia.
I'm not sure whether it would be cheaper:
1) Fly to Punta Arenas then by bus to Puerto Natales and then via bus to El Calafate. Once there I'd go to Perrito Moreno and then to Ushuaia.
2) Fly to Buenos Aires -> then to Calafate and by bus to Perrito Moreno and eventually to Ushuaia.

Any recommendations would be helpful as I'm also interested in budget hotels and buses.

Cheers,
Ina
whizgeek is offline  
Old Apr 10, 2015, 6:59 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Paris, France
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Posts: 757
Originally Posted by whizgeek
Hi there!

I'm planning a budget trip in early Oct from Santiago de Chile to El Calafate (to see Perrito Moreno) and then to Ushuaia.
I'm not sure whether it would be cheaper:
1) Fly to Punta Arenas then by bus to Puerto Natales and then via bus to El Calafate. Once there I'd go to Perrito Moreno and then to Ushuaia.
2) Fly to Buenos Aires -> then to Calafate and by bus to Perrito Moreno and eventually to Ushuaia.

Any recommendations would be helpful as I'm also interested in budget hotels and buses.

Cheers,
Ina
Actually the glaciar is called Perito Moreno, with a single 'r' - Perrito with two 'r' means 'small dog'

In order to get from Santiago to Ushuaia you'd have to fly via Buenos Aires, which may add quite a lot of time and possibly money. Both Aerolneas and LAN fly the route, check their websites for prices, and bear in mind that foreigners have a special price (i.e. more expensive than residents) in domestic Argentine flights.

There are buses from El Calafate to Ushuaia via Ro Gallegos. The bus company is called TAQSA, they have the average Argentine long-distance buses, which means they are quite comfy. Prepare for a whole-day roadtrip. There's no point in staying in Ro Gallegos, which is probably Argentina's dullest city.

What seems to be problematic from your first itinerary is that you would be going north from Punta Arenas to El Calafate and then turn south to Ushuaia. You could fly to Punta Arenas, then cross to Ushuaia, then back to Puerto Natales via Punta Arenas and finally cross to El Calafate. In any case you would have to enter Chile to leave the Argentinean side of Tierra del Fuego by land (the only ferry over the Strait of Magellan is in Chilean territory).

Two bus companies link Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, Tecni Austral and Tolkeyn. Again, the journey takes a whole day (approx. 12 hours).

Your overland itinerary is feasible and you'll definitely enjoy it, the landscape in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego is among the most beautiful in the world. This said, we are talking about at least a whole week. Distances in Patagonia are huge even by Argentine or US standards - let alone for Europeans.

I couldn't comment on hotels or hostels. I did a very similar trip some 10 years ago and haven't been back since, so probably things changed quite a lot. That time I flew from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia on an Argentine Air Force Fokker 28, stopping in Mar del Plata, Trelew, Comodoro Rivadavia and Ro Gallegos. That was fun.

Excursions in Ushuaia used to be a rip-off, and I assume they still are. Make friends with people at the hostel and rent a car together. It's definitely cheaper and you get to see more.
Marambio is offline  

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