For easy access to the wilds of Patagonia, El Calafate serves as a central place to begin your exploration. Flights arrive in town from many places but for people traveling from Australia, flying from the Chilean capital, Santiago is the cheapest and least time consuming
Many would ask, why not just spend your time in the Chilean half of Patagonia, the answer being – price. Chile, despite its beauty, is far more expensive than Argentina, and Australia for that matter, due to many reasons that are too off topic to discuss, just rest assured your Aussie dollar will go further in Argentina, especially if you follow my guide to accessing the Blue dollar.
If you’ve spent time in other parts of Argentina, especially the north, El Calafate will appear outrageously expensive. Welcome to Patagonia.
Even in the winter mornings of June, El Calafate was bustling with tourist busses picking up their clients from hotels, it must be crazy here in the busy warmer months.
Unlike El Chalten, only around 30% of businesses had shut up shop for winter, though many had reduced hours.
Adequate eating options were available, some looked incredible with prices to match. Our favorite meal was at a pub called . Nothing amazing, just decent meals at a reasonable price.
One thing I must mention for wine lovers is the brilliant local store – The Wine Shop. I spent a couple of hours in this store over 2 nights sampling many local wines. Staff are passionate about Argentinian wine and have an extensive range from all the usual wine regions plus a few I’d never heard of. Staff were happy to open multiple bottles of wine I wanted to try. Check it out.
Perhaps the most popular reason to visit El Calafate is to head out to the nearby Perito Moreno Glacier, which is stunning, but the city also serves as a cheap way to day trip across the border to the legendary Torres del Paine.
Getting to Torres del Paine from El Calafate can only be done via a tour but will save you more than $1000 USD over doing traditional 4-day hike from the Chilean side. Local companies Patagonia Chic and Patagonia Dreams appeared to be decent options.
While El Calafate is a nice enough town, it is also one of the most expensive in Argentina. For this reason, most people would spend no more than a week in town. That said, El Chalten is nearby, as are you next Patagonian adventures.