I’ll review our itinerary to Argentina and Chile and the miles/points we used on different segments. I’ll review what we did well about planning while touching upon the aspects we could have done differently. Everyone’s purpose for a trip is different, but my wife and I had one main goal: To make the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile our priority. We had six full days in Argentina, so our goal was to make the most of it. Here is a recap of our memorable trip to this beautiful part of the world:

Getting There:

Non-stop flights to Buenos Aires, Argentina, depart from NYC, Newark, Miami, Dallas, and Houston. We traveled during the busy holiday season and would not use cash to book this ticket. Round trip airfare was at least $1,300 a person on American, United, and Latam Airlines. United Airlines was charging 70k miles one way from Newark or Houston for this trip. American Airlines was charging over 70k miles from JFK, Miami, and Dallas (DFW). We caught a huge break when we searched for a one-way trip from Miami on British Airways. They only charged 25k miles per person from Miami to Buenos Aires via American Airlines. Since they are One World partners with American Airlines, we used British Airways Avios (BA’s mileage currency) to fly on American. Since neither my wife nor I had ever visited Miami, we figured we’d use our JetBlue miles to fly from Albany to Ft. Lauderdale and escape the ensuing blizzard that was en route to Albany, NY. This allowed us to spend two days there and enjoy the city. The flight to Buenos Aires departed on the 24th from Miami during the evening.  A one-way ticket on the same flight would have cost us over $1,900 per person (!). We got significant value on this redemption, possibly one of our best ever. British Airways is a transfer partner of several credit card companies (Chase, AMEX, Capital One, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bilt, etc), so it’s one of the easier mileage currencies to accrue.

Day One: Buenos Aires

Our flight landed at 6:45 am, and this would be our only full day in Buenos Aires. I tried to sleep as much as possible, but anyone who travels economy class knows you can’t sleep well when sitting for that long. My wife and I were both tired and our hotel, Dazzler Polo (part of the Wyndham portfolio of hotels) was all the way on the other side of town. We just hoped that even if the hotel didn’t let us check in early, they would at least hold our bags until the 2 pm check-in time. Once we got our luggage, we hailed an Uber (more on this later) and took the nearly 1-hour ride to the other side of town. By the time we got to the hotel, it was 9 am. I walked to the front desk and told the lady we just arrived from Miami and kindly asked her if there was any possible way she would let us check in early. She quickly checked her computer and said a room was available and she would give it to us. This was a HUGE deal.  It allowed us to take a much-needed 2-3 hour nap and still have the entire day to explore the city. Since it was summer in South America, sunset was not until 8:10 pm.  So, a massive shout out to the lady at Dazzler Polo for helping us salvage that day. The hotel itself was fantastic, and I booked it using a hotels.com gift card that I redeemed using Ibotta (you can read about that app here).

The complimentary breakfast was far better than what you would get at American hotels.

This hotel is located in the northwest part of Buenos Aires, in the neighborhood of Palermo. We took the subway and got off at the last stop (Catedral) to visit some of the main sites near the city center. The subway system is straightforward to use, and if you need help, the employees will gladly assist you.

Once we got off the subway at the Catedral station, everything we wanted to see was a short walk away. Plaza de Mayo is a beautiful central plaza with a pink building called Casa Rosada, the statue of San Martin, and the Catedral Metropolitana. Many picture opportunities will present themselves here. Walking further into the hip and trendy Puerto Madera neighborhood, you’ll find the Puente De La Mujer or Women’s Bridge. This neighborhood also has many restaurants and brunch spots and is lively at night. We happened to be there during Christmas, so most places were closed.

The best way to explore any city is by walking. Could you get around between some of these sites using a taxi or Uber? Sure you can. Speaking of Uber, I prefer using it for long distances in Buenos Aires. A taxi was also an option, but with Uber, you’re locked into a fare, and you know approximately how much you will be paying before you step into the car. With a taxi, there’s always that chance that we might be taken advantage of as foreigners. The app worked seamlessly; a one-hour ride from one side of the town to the other cost about $25 USD. The taxi company quoted me double that price. But most of the time, we walked around and saw many of the sites we wanted.  We loved Buenos Aires, and now it was time to get back to the hotel and prepare for the flight to El Calafate the following day.

Day Two: Buenos Aires to El Calafate

I booked this flight using Chase Ultimate Rewards points on Aerolineas Argentinas. El Calafate is the gateway city to the Patagonia region of Argentina. Had I used cash, the flight would have cost $450 round trip per person. Again, I was set on not paying cash airfare. As a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card holder, I got 1.5 cents per point for booking flights. This cost us 30k points per person for this roundtrip from Buenos Aires to El Calafate. This trip was taken from Buenos Aires’ other airport, Jorge Newbery International Airport, located on the north end of Buenos Aires, about 1.5 miles from the Dazzler Polo. It’s much smaller than their main airport, and I chose it because of the cheaper fares to El Calafate. The total flight time was about 2 hours 45 minutes. Once we got there, we booked a round-trip transfer with VES. It’s a smaller bus that took us to our hotel and dropped us off at the airport while flying out of El Calafate. The total for two people was 480 pesos, or about USD 26.  This was far more cost-effective than taking a taxi, and Uber did not offer service here. Here’s a tip: Request a window seat and sit on the plane’s right side (Any seat that is F). This will give you spectacular photo opportunities as you land in El Calafate. You can see an example below.

I booked a hotel named Picos Del Sur for our stay at El Calafate. For $56 a night, this hotel offered complimentary breakfast and free WiFi and was just a quarter mile from the city center, where all the shops, restaurants, and cafes are located. The staff was fantastic and super friendly, and the premises were adequate. The breakfast was okay, as most of their offerings were high-carb items such as sweet croissants, muffins, toast, cereal, etc. Most of these hotel stays were paid via hotels.com gift card via Ibotta (I love that app).

Day Three:  El Calafate

For any of you who might travel to Patagonia in the future, let me give you some advice: Throw the weather forecast out the window. This is one of those places where you can try to plan around the weather, which means absolutely nothing. We saw days where torrential downpours were forecasted only to see clear skies (much to our delight). The weather here changes hourly because the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are separated by just a few hours’ drive.  On this day, we decided to stay in El Calafate and explore the town and nearby places. One gem we encountered was the Laguna Nimez Reserve. This place is a sanctuary for flamingos, owls, birds of prey, and other unusual birds I had never seen anywhere else. The entrance fee was 150 Argentinean pesos or roughly $8. The entire circle around the sanctuary takes about 90 minutes to walk and offers fantastic views of Lago Argentino and the mountains in the background. If you’re in El Calafate, I highly recommend it. For the second half of the day, we walked around the city center and checked out the town vibes. El Calafate has many lovely boutique shops that are worth checking out.

Day Four: Perito Moreno Glacier

We booked a tour to Perito Moreno Glacier on this day with Hielo & Aventura. You can visit their website and see everything they offer right here. They picked us up from the hotel at 7:30am, and we went on the 90-minute journey to Parque Nacional Las Glaciares.  The first stop was a scenic overlook for about 10 minutes. This spot provided a glimpse of the awe-inspiring scenery yet to come. The second stop took us to the multiple viewing decks before the glacier. We saw a few smaller chunks of glacier calve off into the lake, which was incredible. The third thing on the agenda was the boat ride to the southern face of the glacier so we could actually hike on it. If you’re coming to Patagonia, I highly recommend doing this activity. For you Game of Thrones fans, it felt like we were north of the wall in wildling territory. The scenery is incredible and unlike anything I have ever witnessed. The ice has a lovely shade of blue, and even the water in certain crevasses seems to have a deep blue color. This activity costs about $180 per person, including pickup and drop-off from your hotel. As a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card holder, I applied my $300 annual travel credit for 2018 for this excursion, effectively bringing our cost down to about $60 combined for two people.  That’s a hell of a way to use the travel credit. Something to keep in mind: There is an entrance fee to Perito Moreno that is separate from the tour cost. It’s 500 Argentinean Pesos (equivalent to about $27 USD). The park ranger will collect that fee at the park entrance, and from what I remember, they don’t accept any other currency.  Be sure to exchange your currency before you get there. My wife and I booked the 90-minute hike for this trip rather than the 6-8 hour hike. In retrospect, this is one of the things we wish we had done differently. It wasn’t as challenging as we initially thought, and if you’re physically fit and have done longer hikes before, the longer hike might be of interest to you. Just be sure to dress in layers for either one you may choose. Even though they give you snow clamps, it’s still important you have a decent pair of hiking shoes for this trek. Merrell, Keen, Columbia, etc would all suffice. They also require gloves so you don’t cut yourself on the jagged ice if you fall. Sunglasses are a great idea if you’re there on a sunny day since the glare reflecting off the glacier can sometimes be blinding.

The boat ride to the glacier is also incredible; you can view it for yourself. It does get windy, and there will probably be rain at some point, so it’s best to wear waterproof clothing and a raincoat.

Day Five: El Chalten

On day five, we did a day trip to El Chalten, about 3 hours north of El Calafate. El Chalten is known for its hiking, scenery, and Mt. Fitz Roy. Unfortunately, Fitz Roy was hidden by clouds for the entire day we were there. But we still didn’t pass up the opportunity to hike a few trails. Some of the trails are moderately challenging and require much steep climbing. You will get wet, muddy, and messy, which might be painful if you’re not physically fit. But on a clear day, the reward at the end is majestic postcard-worthy views of Fitz Roy. The best thing about El Chalten? It’s one of the few places to access the trails without paying an entrance fee. If you’re into camping, it’s a very popular spot to set up camp.

Day Six: Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile

A trip to Patagonia is not complete without a visit to Torres Del Paine National Park on the Chilean side. This entire day’s journey costs about $250 per person (including pickup and drop off from the hotel). Luckily for us, my wife is also a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card holder, and we were able to apply her $300 travel credit for 2018 to this excursion. This brought the excursion down to a reasonable $100 per person. The tour bus picked us up at 7am, and off we were. The drive from El Calafate to the Chilean border was about two hours. Once there, you must get off the bus twice before crossing into Chile to be checked by Argentinean authorities and again when you’re in Chile. Once there, you get your passport stamped by Chilean border patrol and declare anything that must be declared (don’t be that person). Our tour group had about 30 people, and crossing into Chile took about 45 minutes. Once we were cleared, the journey to Torres Del Paine took about 90 minutes. We were fortunate to have a mostly clear day when we arrived. If you have a clear day, you can see the famous towers. We stopped at the first four viewpoints for pictures before stopping at another point for lunch. They provide lunch, but unfortunately, they don’t offer vegetarian options. This was the biggest issue with this tour operator, and I conveyed to them that it was unacceptable, given the exorbitant cost of the tour itself.  Luckily, we bought plenty of granola bars and Gatorade, which was sufficient. After lunch, we stopped at a few more viewpoints for spectacular photo opportunities.  Anywhere you stop in the park, there will be an opportunity for a fantastic picture. The last stop was a 90-minute hike (very easy and straightforward) that gave us panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. We also saw guanacos, a species related to the camel and llama.  I took a video of the hike, which you can view below.

Day Seven: Flight Back to Buenos Aires and New York City. 

This was the conclusion of our memorable trip to Patagonia. Our flight back to Buenos Aires departed at 11:35 am and arrived at around 2:10 pm.  To get back to Buenos Aires, we flew Aerolinas Argentinas as we did when we arrived.  For the flight to New York City, we redeemed American Airlines miles for seats on American Airlines. The redemption was 57.5k miles per person, and although it wasn’t a great redemption value, it was better than United, Delta, and other options we had.  We grabbed steak at Al Rawshe, near the smaller airport where we had landed. Argentina’s number one exports are beef and steak, which they do well. And trust me, the steak at Al Rawshe was phenomenal. We then took an Uber to their larger airport and headed back home. Another tip when flying out of El Calafate: Sit on the right side of the plane just as you would when you fly into El Calafate. You get incredible views of the turquoise-blue Lago Argentina upon takeoff and ascent. You can view the video below.

Should I take my kids to Patagonia?

If your kids are interested in the outdoors and can hike moderately challenging trails, I recommend bringing them to Patagonia. You could also carve out a trip for toddlers, but I would not recommend certain activities or excursions for children under eight. Being on a bus from El Calafate to Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile for nearly the entire day would probably make most toddlers impatient. If you want to bring toddlers to Torres Del Paine, you will be better served staying on the Chilean side of Patagonia in the town of Puerto Natales. From there, it is about a two-hour drive to Torres Del Paine, and you don’t have to deal with passport control.

Where can I see Penguins in Patagonia?

If you’re staying in southern Patagonia or near the town of Ushuaia

While we didn’t get to visit areas of Patagonia that have penguin colonies, there are a couple of places that you can visit to see them. If you’re staying in southern Patagonia or near the town of Ushuaia, Isla Martillo is one of the top spots for an up-close encounter with penguins. Situated in the Beagle Channel, this island is easily accessible from Ushuaia, Argentina. Travelers heading to Antarctica should take advantage of the opportunity to visit this thriving colony at the southern tip of Patagonia.

Home to thousands of Gentoo and Magellanic penguins, Martillo offers a chance to observe these unique birds in their natural habitat—nesting on rocky ridges, waddling along the shore, and diving into the water in search of anchovies and sardines. If you’re lucky enough, you might even spot an Emperor penguin that has wandered up from Antarctica.

If you’re staying in Punta Arenas, Chile, or Chilean Patagonia

Twenty kilometers off the coast of Punta Arenas, in the Strait of Magellan, lies Isla Magdalena—home to Chile’s largest penguin colony and one of Patagonia’s most significant Magellanic penguin rookeries. This island hosts over 120,000 tuxedoed residents who migrate from Brazil, Uruguay, and Peru each summer to lay their eggs and raise their chicks. They are very inquisitive, people-friendly, and will approach humans in a laid-back manner. As a friendly reminder, do not touch the penguins or any wildlife during your stay in Patagonia.

When is the best time to visit Patagonia?

December through February are the peak summer months in Patagonia and the southern hemisphere. The average high in El Calafate is in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), and it can go as high as the mid-70s. Temperatures during the night can dip into the 30s.

What should I bring to Patagonia?

A robust pair of hiking boots (Merrell, Keen, Columbia, etc.), waterproof windbreaker, and a thicker jacket that can insulate you from wind and temperatures in the ’30s but is versatile enough to wear while hiking ( think Northface, Patagonia, Arc’teryx, Columbia, Nike, Lululemon, etc.). I would also bring waterproof pants that have a built-in thermal layer. If you aren’t going to be in elevation, getting one or two hiking shorts is also advisable during the summer months. We packed plenty of granola bars so we wouldn’t have to shop for them in Patagonia, but it goes without saying that on any hike, you should carry plenty of protein bars or granola bars. Also, bring several bottles of water on the hike. It is always better to have more than not have enough. Since you will be in one of the world’s most beautiful areas, I strongly recommend bringing a nice camera.