Safari to Argentina

When to travel to Argentina?

Argentina is a land of remarkable climatic diversity, stretching from subtropical jungle in the far north to glacial wilderness in the far south. Because of this span of latitudes and elevations, the best time to visit depends on what you want to experience.

Dec-Feb : Summer

The December to February period is the peak summer in southern Argentina.

Patagonia’s trails are fully accessible, with long daylight hours, warmer temperatures, and generally reliable conditions for trekking in Los Glaciares and Torres del Paine. Wildlife is active, including nesting birds and sea mammals in southern regions.

In the northwest, the high Andes are hot, with occasional afternoon thunderstorms.

Iguazú Falls is at its highest water flow, creating dramatic mist clouds and a spectacular, immersive experience.

Peninsula Valdés offers good wildlife viewing, with southern right whales starting to appear offshore.

Mar-May : Fall

The March to May period represents fall in Argentina, with milder weather and lower visitor numbers.

In Patagonia trails are starting to close down.

The high Andes around Salta are ideal, with clear skies, dry conditions, and pleasant daytime temperatures.

Iguazú Falls has moderate water flow and the walkways are less crowded, providing excellent photographic opportunities.

Peninsula Valdés remains active, with elephant seals and sea lion breeding visible and orca beach-hunting occasionally observed.

Jun-Aug : Winter

The June to August period represents the winter in Argentina.

Patagonia is effectively closed.

Northern regions are at their driest and clearest, making the high Andes perfect for exploration.

Iguazú Falls experiences lower water levels, reducing spray but still offering spectacular views.

Peninsula Valdés is at its peak for southern right whale peak, and elephant seals are abundant on the beaches. Orca hunting is less frequent during this period, but wildlife activity remains rewarding.

Sep-Nov : Spring

The September to November period represents the spring in Argentina.

Patagonia is starting to reopen for trekking, though early spring can be windy and some higher trails remain snow-covered. Wildlife is active, birds are nesting, and the forests and valleys begin to green.

The high Andes enjoy dry, crisp weather ideal for exploration.

At Iguazú Falls, the water flow increases again with spray obstructing views, but creating dramatic photo opportunities.

Peninsula Valdés features active elephant seal fights, and orca beach-hunting becomes more predictable in Oct-Nov, making it a spectacular time for marine wildlife observation.

Getting there

Argentina has one main port of entry for international flights, namely the capital Buenos Aires, which is situated on the coast, in the northeast corner of the country.

Most visitors tend to simply transit through Buenos Aires to properly start their trip somewhere else around the county, with Iguazú Falls being a very popular first stop.

It’s actually often more convenient to reach Iguazú Falls via Sao Paulo in Brazil, connecting to the airport on the north side of the falls and crossing the border to start an Argentina trip from there.

When combining Argentina and Chile in trips, there are international flights across the border between Mendoza and Santiago, but otherwise this connection is usually done by road.

When combining with Peru there are flights from Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Iguazú Sur to Lima, but (frustratingly) usually no direct flights to Cusco.

Internal flights

All of the key regions within Argentina can be accessed by frequent, reliable and cheap internal flights from Buenos Aires.

It’s also reasonably easy to connect places around the country without having to route back through Buenos Aires. There’s a very useful connection across the north of the country between Iguazú Sur and Salta. It’s also usually possible to route up and down the Andes between Salta, Cordoba, Bariloche, Los Glaciares and Ushuaia. There are even occasional direct connections between the latter two and the Península Valdés.

Road connections

Within each region the majority of connections are made by private road transfers.

In a few locations, these overland routes extend over multiple days to become private guided overland safaris, most notably in the Salta region to the northwest.

We also regularly connect by road across the border into Chile, from Los Glaciares to Torres del Paine, Mendoza to Santiago and Salta to both San Pedro de Atacama and up into Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

We do not recommend the use of any public road transport such as buses, coaches or taxis.

Boat connections

We occasionally use ferry boat services to cross the Andes between Bariloche and the Los Lagos area of Chile.

Boat cruises

The very southernmost part of Patagonia, around Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn, are best explored by means of short 3-5 night cruises. There’s a number of excellent boats working these routes, offering the chance to explore remote fjords, glaciers, islands and forests, all of which are described in the Ushuaia section.

There is also a wide range of cruises heading south from Ushuaia to Antarctica.

interesting options year-round, but Nov-Mar in Patagonia