Argentina, Chile & Patagonia Highlights — Self-Launched

Land at Ezeiza (EZE), take the Tienda León shuttle or the public bus 8 into the city and check into a hostel in San Telmo or Palermo. Pick up a SUBE card for the city's buses and metro, get cash from an ATM (the blue-dollar/market rate situation changes often — check the current best legal option), and spend the evening walking Plaza de Mayo and the Puerto Madero waterfront. Cheap dinner of empanadas and a lomito in San Telmo.

🚌Tienda León airport shuttle ~£9, or public bus ~£0.50 with SUBE card

🛏Hostel dorm, San Telmo or Palermo (~£14/night)

• →Airport shuttle into the city
• →Self-guided Plaza de Mayo & Puerto Madero evening walk

Join a free (tip-based) walking tour of the centre — the main operators run English tours daily from Plaza de Mayo and Palermo and cover Casa Rosada, Avenida 9 de Julio and the city's history. In the afternoon explore the San Telmo antiques market and Art Deco streets, then take a local bus to La Boca for the Caminito street. Optional paid add-ons: a Recoleta Cemetery and Palermo street-art tour (~£20) or a group tango class at a milonga (~£18–£25 bookable direct or via GetYourGuide).

🚌Public buses and metro on SUBE card ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm, Buenos Aires (~£14/night)

• →Free tip-based city walking tour
• →San Telmo antiques market & Art Deco streets
• →La Boca / Caminito
• →Optional: tango class in a milonga

Slow day in the city: Recoleta Cemetery (free to walk, small entry for some sections), the Floralis Genérica, and the Palermo Soho/botanical garden area. Do as the tour does and have a proper Argentine parrilla lunch — a bife de chorizo with wine in a neighbourhood parrilla runs £12–£18, far less than the tourist-strip steakhouses. Evening: drinks in Palermo or a free tango show at a milonga.

🚌Metro and bus ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm, Buenos Aires (~£14/night)

• →Recoleta Cemetery
• →Palermo Soho & Bosques de Palermo
• →Parrilla steak lunch

Fly Buenos Aires (AEP) to Ushuaia (USH) — Aerolíneas Argentinas and JetSMART both run the route; book early for £60–£110 one way. The approach over Tierra del Fuego is spectacular. Check in at a hostel in the centre, then walk the waterfront and the old presidio museum area. Optional: king crab dinner at a local marisquería (centolla is genuinely pricey — budget £25–£35).

🚌Domestic flight AEP–USH ~£85

🛏Hostel dorm, Ushuaia centre (~£18/night)

• →Flight to Ushuaia
• →Ushuaia waterfront walk
• →Optional: king crab dinner

Morning: take the regular shuttle or local bus from Ushuaia to Tierra del Fuego National Park (park entry ~£12) and walk the Costera and Hito XXIV trails — easy lakeside and forest hikes, no guide needed, and pack a picnic. Afternoon: join a shared Beagle Channel catamaran (book via GetYourGuide/Klook or directly at the Ushuaia port, ~£40–£55) to see sea lions, the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse and the bird colonies.

🚌Park shuttle bus ~£10 return; boat included in excursion

🛏Hostel dorm, Ushuaia (~£18/night)

• →Tierra del Fuego National Park hiking
• →Beagle Channel catamaran trip
• →Optional: End of the World train

Fly Ushuaia to El Calafate (often via Buenos Aires — check one-stop routings on Aerolíneas; fares £90–£160). Alternatively the long bus route via Río Gallegos takes ~11–12 hours and costs ~£50 but eats a full day. On arrival settle into a hostel in El Calafate, walk to the Laguna Nimez nature reserve at the edge of town (entry ~£5) for flamingos and birdlife, and buy groceries for the next days.

🚌Domestic flight USH–FTE ~£120 (check connections)

🛏Hostel dorm, El Calafate (~£16/night)

• →Flight to El Calafate
• →Laguna Nimez nature reserve birdwatching

Full day at Los Glaciares National Park. Book a shared day tour through GetYourGuide or a local agency (~£40–£55 including park entry and the hour-plus of boardwalk viewing), or take the regular Cal Tur/TaQsa day bus (~£25–£30 plus ~£15 park entry) and do the free balconies on your own. Optional add-on: the shared minitrekking on the ice (~£150) or the boat in front of the glacier wall (~£35–£45). Pack a picnic lunch.

🚌Shared day bus/tour to the glacier ~£30

🛏Hostel dorm, El Calafate (~£16/night)

• →Perito Moreno Glacier boardwalks
• →Los Glaciares National Park
• →Optional: glacier boat trip or minitrekking

Take the regular cross-border bus El Calafate–Puerto Natales (Bus Sur / Turismo Zaahj, ~5 hours, ~£22–£28) — a straightforward border crossing at Cerro Castillo. In Puerto Natales, get your park tickets for Torres del Paine and book any shared transport to the park at the bus terminal or online. Evening: walk the waterfront promenade and eat in one of the town's cosy cafés.

🚌Cross-border bus ~£25

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Puerto Natales (~£15/night)

• →Cross-border bus to Chilean Patagonia
• →Puerto Natales waterfront walk
• →Buy Torres del Paine park ticket & plan logistics

Join a shared day excursion from Puerto Natales (~£35–£50 incl. transport and guide; park entry ~£25 extra) or take the regular 7:30am bus to the park and hike the Base of the Towers trail yourself (~19 km, 8–10 hrs). A full-day alternate is a shared minibus tour hitting the Mirador Cuernos, Nordenskjöld Lake and the Salto Grande viewpoints. Return to Puerto Natales for dinner.

🚌Shared park transfer/day tour ~£40

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Puerto Natales (~£15/night)

• →Base of the Towers (Mirador Las Torres) hike
• →Salto Grande & Cuernos viewpoint

Second day in the park focused on Grey Lake — walk the Grey beach and viewpoint trails to see floating icebergs, or add the shared boat across Lago Grey (~£80–£110, book direct with Grey III or via an agency). Many budget travellers instead do a full-day minibus tour covering the park's highlights. Optional: stay out at a simple refugio/estancia inside the park (book ahead — this is where costs jump). Return to Puerto Natales.

🚌Shared park transfer ~£35

🛏Budget guesthouse, Puerto Natales (~£15/night)

• →Grey Lake & Grey Glacier viewpoints
• →Optional: Grey III glacier boat
• →Optional: guided full-day park tour

Take the regular Bus Sur coach Puerto Natales–Punta Arenas (~3 hrs, ~£10–£14). In Punta Arenas do a self-guided walk of the colonial palaces and Plaza Muñoz Gamero, the cemetery with its cypress avenues, and the waterfront views across the Strait of Magellan. Book tomorrow's Isla Magdalena penguin trip tonight (seasonal, roughly Oct–Mar).

🚌Bus Sur coach ~£12

🛏Hostel dorm, Punta Arenas (~£15/night)

• →Bus to Punta Arenas
• →Self-guided colonial centre & cemetery walk
• →Strait of Magellan waterfront

Morning/afternoon ferry excursion to Isla Magdalena to walk among thousands of Magellanic penguins (~£75–£95 booked direct with the ferry operator or via GetYourGuide; seasonal). Alternative if outside penguin season: a trip to Isla Marta sea lion colony or the Reserva Nacional Magallanes trails. Evening: seafood dinner — centolla is a Punta Arenas speciality, budget £20–£30.

🚌Ferry excursion (transport included)

🛏Hostel dorm, Punta Arenas (~£15/night)

• →Isla Magdalena penguin colony ferry
• →Optional: Reserva Nacional Magallanes hike

Fly Punta Arenas to Santiago (~3.5 hrs; LATAM/Sky, £70–£140 one way — book early). Check into a hostel in Barrio Lastarria or Bellavista, then join a free tip-based walking tour of the historic centre or self-guide Plaza de Armas, the cathedral and the Mercado Central. Optional: ride the funicular up Cerro San Cristóbal for sunset (~£4) or Santa Lucía hill for Andes views.

🚌Domestic flight PUQ–SCL ~£100; airport bus ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm, Santiago (~£16/night)

• →Flight to Santiago
• →Free city walking tour or self-guided historic centre
• →Mercado Central
• →Optional: Cerro San Cristóbal funicular

Take the Turbus/Pullman bus Santiago–Valparaíso (~1h45, ~£7–£10). Stop off or detour in the Casablanca Valley for a small winery tasting — several wineries (e.g. Emiliana, Casas del Bosque) offer walk-in tastings ~£12–£25; otherwise book a wine-tasting day tour via GetYourGuide. In Valparaíso, ride the historic funicular and wander Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción's colourful streets and street art. Stay in a Valparaíso guesthouse.

🚌Coach Santiago–Valparaíso ~£9; local buses ~£2

🛏Budget guesthouse, Valparaíso (~£18/night)

• →Casablanca Valley winery tasting
• →Valparaíso cerros and street art walk
• →Historic ascensor (funicular)

Last morning in Valparaíso: the fish market, the port, or a coffee on Cerro Concepción. Bus back to Santiago (~£9) and transfer to Arturo Merino Benítez airport (SCL) for your flight home. Departure airport and flight are booked independently — the original package included a return flight from Frankfurt, which is the single biggest chunk of its advertised price.

🚌Bus Valparaíso–Santiago ~£9; airport bus ~£4

🛏—

• →Valparaíso morning walk
• →Bus to Santiago
• →Departure