10 Things to Do in Ushuaia, Argentina: Tips for Tourists

On January 17, 2010, In Fun, Other Destinations, Travel, By Vanessa

Background of Ushuaia, Argentina: Ushuaia is the gateway to Argentina’s Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and very near Cape Horn.  At the very base of Chile and Argentina this city of 70,000 is only about 450 miles from Antartica!

There are tons of things for tourists to do in Ushuaia, Argentina.  Here are a few things to do for tourists:

1. Artisan Fairs

Right at the base of the port there are a few artisan fairs with homemade penguin chess sets, knit wool caps and more.

2. Prison Museum

Ushuaia used to be a prison compound.  Now their old barracks are a museum for tourists.

3. Maritime Museum

This is also in the military prison and exhibits the story of Ushuaia and how the Argentine navy played a huge part in its development.

4. End of the World Museum

This is a pretty cool tshirt.  You can also see how the indigenous people lived and eventually perished in the Ushuaia area.

5. Sea Wolves Island

You can get a boat to sail around the Beagle Channel to see the lobos, or Sea Wolves on Sea Wolves Island.

6. Beagle Channel

We highly recommend getting a catamaran on a clear day and seeing the channel as well as some of the Tierra del Fuego.

7. Bird Island

You can also stop and see bird island to see some national birds and penguins in the area.

8. Tierra Del Fuego National Park

This is a stunning reserve with native rabbits, birds and wilderness.  You can go camping or take a tour around the park.

9. The Martial Glacier

This is a bit outside of Ushuaia but the chairlift can take you from the base to the top.

10. Ushuaia Center

Ushuaia is an adorable town with great little houses and restaurants known for very very fresh seafood. Take a drive or walk around town if you can.

Traveling Tips for Ushuaia, Argentina:

*Currency in Ushuaia is the Argentinian Peso

*Yerba Mate is famous in Ushuaia

*10% tip is customary at restaurants

*Ushuaia is famous for their chocolate!

*Ushuaia is a tax free zone for tourists…great for gifts!

Tourists Cruising to Ushuaia, Argentina

If you are cruising to Ushuaia, the shore excursions can be a little pricey. As long as there are not a ton of cruise liners in port, there are always taxi driver tour guides waiting at the port entrance that you can take for much cheaper and on your own time.

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Top 10 Things to Do in Puerto Madryn, Argentina: Tips for Tourists

On January 17, 2010, In Fun, Other Destinations, Travel, By Vanessa

Puerto Madryn is on the Eastern coast of Argentina and has amazing wildlife. It is a relatively new city and the area has more sheep than people, but has some beautiful sites. Tourists can spend one or two days here (you need a car or van) because everything is very spread out.

1. Punta Loma Natural Reserve

This is about 15 miles outside of Puerto Madryn, but has tons of great sites for wildlife spotting.

2. San Lorenzo Estancia

San Lorenzo Estancia is great for tourists visiting Puerto Madryn! It is the land of the penguins.  You can travel there and see a beach full of the little waddling cuties.  They also have great authentic Argentinian lunch and Mablec wine.

3. Tehuelche Monument

This is a statue on top of the hill overlooking the bay and is dedicated to the indigenous Tehuelche people.

4. Puerto Madryn Paleontology Museum

This is a great little museum that has a wonderful display of dinosaur fossils to check out.

5. Punta Tomba

This is another area for penguins—approximately 2 million inhabit these beaches.  The area is a little farther south than Puerto Madryn but if you are a penguin lover, totally worth it.

6. Gaiman

This is a sweet little town on the Chubut river.  You can visit a number of cute tea houses in this area as well as see some structures similar to the original colonial style.

7. Puerto Madryn Ecocenter for Tourists

Another thing that tourists can do in Puerto Madryn is visit the Ecocenter. Patagonia has a rich oceanographic ecosystem and this museum and research facility helps conduct this research.

8. Valdes Peninsula

This is a famous peninsula northeast of Puerto Madryn and has many beautiful sea birds and sea elephant to see.

9. Bird Island

Take a catamaran out to Bird Island to see the coast line as well as some gorgeous native birds to this area.

10. Doradillo Beach

This is a great place to go whale watching.  Of course, it depends on the season, but the area is perfect for spotting all kinds of migrating whales.

Puerto Madryn is really building up their tourist industry and we highly recommend spending a day or two exploring the area.

Cruising to Puerto Madryn

If you are cruising to Puerto Madryn and wondering what to do or if you should take one of the boats shore excursions in Puerto Madryn, I would recommend hiring a local tour guide and having him take you in a smaller car to many of the areas.  There is a lot of driving here and the motorcoaches have to go slow over the mostly gravel roads and take much longer.  With a guide/driver you can visit more places in a faster pace.

We loved Patricio Escobar who is an amazing guide and naturalist for this whole area.

Tour Guide Information for Puerto Madryn: [email protected], 15321924 (cell)

Also be sure to check out some of our other articles on cruising tips and tricks.

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Buenos Aires 101: An Online Handbook for Tourists

On December 31, 2009, In Fun, Other Destinations, Travel, By Vanessa

For every destination we go to we write the following three articles, which you should check out if you are going to Buenos Aires!

__Things to Do in Buenos Aires

__Tips to Travel to Buenos Aires

__Buenos Aires 101: An Online Handbook for Tourists

If you are traveling to Buenos Aires there are a few things you should know.

Background to Buenos Aires:

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.  Many call it the Paris of South America because it has European style architecture and streets.  It is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent. It is a very fun and romantic city with a population that tends to stay up all night, eat three hour meals and spend a ton of time in cafes.

Airport (EZE)

(0)11 5480 6111

The Buenos Aires airport is about an hour outside of the city (depending on traffic which can be a bear!). There are two terminals, but you can easily walk between them.  The airport has parking spaces available in a multi-storey covered parking garage and an open-air parking lot, next to Terminal A. There is no distinction between long- and short-term parking at the airport. Spaces are subject to availability; reservations are cannot be made. You can also rent a car from Alamo, Avis, Hertz and Localiza, located in Terminal A Arrivals. Telephone and Internet access is available in Terminal A Departures and Terminal B Arrivals. Mobile phone hire and services are available in Terminal A Arrivals and Departures.

Airlines

Delta, American, Air Italia, LAN Chile and of course, Argentinian air all come to Argentina.

Accommodation Locations

There are a few different areas you can stay in Buenos Aires:

1. Puerto Madera

This is a very business area.  There are a ton of restaurants, but not much shopping.  You can walk to historical landmarks, but this is a business and tourist area so there is not much nightlife or local culture.

2. Palermo Soho

Pricey, but awesome.  This area is filled with shops, restaurants and parks.  It is hip and young but can be a bit noisy at night and you will no see any historic landmarks or churches.

3. Avenida De Mayo

There are a good number of restaurants and sites in this area.  It is an exciting street with subways connecting pretty much everywhere.  Can be a bit trafficy.

4. Recolleta

This is a great area with some nice outdoor antique markets.  Highly recommend it although not much to do at night.

We do not recommend staying in: La Boca, San Telmo or Palermo Hollywood.

Type of Accommodations

Hotels

There are some nice, decently priced hotels in Buenos Aires, the Hilton in Puerto Madera is beautiful, but Buenos Aires is not known for its service.

Boutique Hotels

We would not recommend highly staying in some of the smaller boutique hotels, they are not as charming as they look, often do not have a concierge or breakfast and you need a key to get in the front door at night.

Apartments

We stayed in an apartment and loved it.  Make sure you are going with a company not Craigslist.  You want to make sure that there is a contract and a cleaning crew before you arrive.  Our apartment (in one of the best areas, kitchen, dining room, bed, fold out couch, internet and bathroom) was $400 US per week to give you an idea.

Couch Surfing

Argentinians are wonderful and we have heard some great things about couchsurfers here in Buenos Aires.  Make sure that they come endorsed and certified and they are in a central area otherwise you will spend a lot of money on cabs.

Buenos Aires Location Handguide:

Local Cuisine: Meat, Pasta and Pizza abound! You also have many sweets featuring Dulce de Leche.  You must try some empanadas.

Drink Specialties: Yerba Mate is all over and Argentina has a great signature red wine called Malbec.  Torrontes is also a signature white wine only grown in Argentina.

Currency: The Argentinean Peso.

Useful Words and Phrases when Traveling in Argentina:

Che-informal hello

Chau- informal goodbye

Chorro- Thief

Tacho- another word for taxi

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