Beautiful City, Excellent Food: 36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina

A beautiful sunset, large mountains, and a nice town square. What more can you ask for? Photo by: Evan Berman

In case you were wondering, El Calafate is pretty far south! Photo by: Evan Berman

The next city I visited in South America was El Calafate, Argentina. As I mentioned in a previous article, El Calafate was chosen for several reasons. Chief among them, there is an airport serving Buenos Aires directly and the city is in close proximity to Perito Moreno Glacier. However, there is reason to spend time in the city beyond merely connecting onwards.

As a reminder, Argentina provides the ability to nearly double your purchasing power through the Dollar Blue. Every time I reference two prices in USD, the lower amount is the Dollar Blue conversion rate and the higher amount is the official rate.

The recap of this incredible city is part of the larger South American Adventure. For more information on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

24 Hours in New York, NY

Flight: CHS-JFK in Delta Comfort+

New York Hotel

Flight: JFK-SCL in LATAM Economy+

W Santiago Hotel

Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura

3 Days in Santiago, Chile

Osaka Santiago, Chile Restaurant Review

Flight: SCL-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: AEP-FTE in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentine Patagonia

El Calafate Hotel

36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina (This Article)

Restaurants in El Calafate

Flight: FTE-USH in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: USH-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

2 Hours in Ushuaia, Argentina

Buenos Aires Homestay

2 Days in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Flight: AEP-SCL in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: SCL-MIA in LATAM Business Class

Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation

Flight: FLL-CHS in Silver Airways Economy Class

Conclusion

Trip Summary:

Patagonia has long been an area I have wanted to visit. El Calafate was the city that I chose to make my home base for this period of time and I was glad that I did! Yes, it is more touristy than some may prefer, but the flipside is that everyone speaks perfect English.

The highlights of El Calafate included:

El Calafate is named for the calafate berry that grows in this region of Southern Argentina. Legend has it that anyone who eats this berry will return to the area. I had a calafate berry glaze, I wonder if that still holds true?!?

Flight Info:

I flew Aerolíneas Argentinas from Santiago to El Calafate via Buenos Aires on Flights AR 1281 and AR 1876.

The flights were relatively uneventful and offered terrific views, especially over the Andes Mountains and nearing El Calafate. Read more details about the flight from Santiago to Buenos Aires here and the flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate here.

Price: The entire trip cost $531.60 and I used the $300 travel credit from the Chase Sapphire Reserve as well as 15,440 UR Points to pay for the flight. As such, I paid $0 in “real money.”

Points Earned: 501 Delta SkyMiles (179 from the SCL-AEP flight and 322 from the AEP-FTE flight)

Lodging Info:

I stayed 2 nights in El Calafate in a beautiful boutique hotel, Hostería Koi Aiken. The view was incredible– from my window, I could see the plants beginning to bloom in early springtime as well as the deep blue water of Lago Argentino.

Price: $171.36 ($149.22 after Citi Merchant and AmEx offers).

Points Earned: 50 AmEx Membership Rewards Points, 485 AAdvantage Miles, and 606.8 Citi ThankYou points ($6.07)

Airport Details:

As mentioned above, I flew into FTE, the airport serving El Calafate. This tiny airport has only domestic flights to roughly 30 destinations in Argentina.

I will review FTE in a separate article. Per Flight Connections, the main airline that flies there is SkyTeam Member Aerolíneas Argentinas. Low Cost Carriers Air Labrador and Felix Airways also fly from El Calafate.

Surprisingly enough in an airport that has only 7 (!) gates, there are no lounges.

Transportation Details:

Rideshare:

As mentioned before, Lyft does not operate in South America. In El Calafate, Uber was not present either. So, the only option for ground transportation is taking a taxi. Taxis drivers in El Calafate operate as independent contractors– every time that I got out of a taxi, the driver would hand me a business card with his information and tell me to call or text any time I needed a ride.

I love the picture of the Condor on this card. Photo by: Evan Berman

Airport:

I had not yet exchanged dollars for pesos and had to pay with a credit card and the inferior official rate. At least I earned 3x UR points on my purchase!

The fare from the airport to the city center was 3,600 pesos ($22.04 via official transfer rate or $12.63 had I used pesos at the rate I later exchanged at, 1:285) according to this driver. Ramon offered his business card and encouraged me to send a message via WhatsApp for all my transportation needs.

The return ride to the airport was only 2,000 pesos, which I added a 500 peso tip to since I had messaged the driver to pick me up and he had previously driven me, not accepting a tip. 2,500 pesos comes to $15.34 or $8.77. Pretty good for a 15 mile drive!

Rides in town:

Any taxi ride in town was ridiculously cheap! It was 550 pesos ($3.37 or $1.93) from my hotel to La Trinchete, a highly regarded bar that has unfortunately been permanently closed. The taxi back from a restaurant on the east side of downtown was 950 pesos ($5.83 or $3.33 at Dollar Blue rate). The taxi to Laguna Nimez was 650 pesos ($3.99 or $2.28).

Food & Drink:

I give a brief description of the restaurants that I ate at– find the full recap of each on the restaurants article here.

Don Pichon:

The parking lot of Don Pichon featuring many more local cars than elsewhere in town! Photo by: Evan Berman

Don Pichon is a local’s spot. Away from the touristy part of downtown, I am confident that I was the only person in the restaurant who spoke English as a first language– and the quality of food proved that! The meat at this parrilla lived up to its reputation!

La Zaina:

A great restaurant, both the quality of food and decorations are excellent! Photo by: Evan Berman

La Zaina is on the far side of town, but I highly recommend everyone stop here. Despite being out of the famous lamb, I was delighted by the trout I ordered!

Don Luis:

This was a great way to end my time in El Calafate. Photo by: Evan Berman

One of several in town, this Don Luis is near to Laguna Nimez. I stopped in for a quick bite before heading out of El Calafate.

Activities:

Laguna Nimez:

Despite the clouds, the day (and scenery) was beautiful! Photo by: Evan Berman

One of the great things that come with visiting a place in Patagonia is that there are lots of opportunities to see wildlife. Laguna Nimez is on the outskirts of downtown El Calafate, a gem for nature lovers in the know. The entire experience took about 1 hour 30 minutes. I pride myself on being efficient, but I loved taking my time when walking through this beautiful slice of protected land.

Price: 2,500 Pesos ($8.77 or $15.34)

Points Earned: None, paid with cash

Flamingos everywhere! Photo by: Evan Berman

Photo of the Trip:

Not only is Laguna Nimez beautiful but they clearly have a sense of humor! Photo by: Evan Berman

In Laguna Nimez, we were helpfully told that this area of the park is where Shrek lives!

Total:

Price:

Food and Drink: 21,650 Argentine Pesos ($75.96)

Transportation: 7,250 Argentine Pesos ($25.44)

Flights: $531.60 (I used the $300 travel credit from the Chase Sapphire Reserve as well as 15,440 UR Points so it was $0 out of pocket)

Hotel: $173.49 ($149.22 after using various offers)

Activities: 2,500 Argentine Pesos and $275 ($255 out of pocket) ($263.77)

Total Price: 31,400 Argentine Pesos and $448.49 ($558.67)

Points Earned:

Food and Drink: None, cash used for dining

Transportation: 24 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (only 1x because of coding)

Flights: None, award flight

Hotel: 50 AmEx Membership Rewards Points, 485 AAdvantage Miles, and 606.8 Citi ThankYou points ($6.07)

Activities: None, paid in cash

Total Points: 50 AmEx Membership Rewards Points, 24 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, 485 AAdvantage, 607 Citi ThankYou Points

Adios, El Calafate! I hope to be back soon. Next up: a brief stop in Ushuaia, Argentina before heading to Buenos Aires.