After spending a few nights with friends in Buenos Aires, it was time to set off on our own and start exploring Argentina. Many people had recommended that we should visit the wine region around Mendoza, and tempting as it was (we do enjoy a bottle or two of Malbec!), we decided, in the end, to head to Patagonia. But where to begin, Patagonia was vast. Turns out, the Circuito Chico was a great introduction.

We knew we should visit the Perito Moreno Glacier and see Ushuaia at the end of the world, but we had three weeks to explore. We weren’t going to be able to do any serious trekking now as Iberia had lost our luggage on our flight over. Yes, we were allowed to buy a few items, but trekking gear was expensive. Jonathan and I are both tall and have big feet, so replacing goods in Argentina wouldn’t be easy. So, after browsing photos on Instagram, we decided that Patagonia’s Lake District seemed an excellent place to start.
First Stop: Bariloche, Gateway To Argentina’s Lake District
Unfortunately (or fortunately, if like me you don’t like flying) the promo flights from Buenos Aires to Bariloche were full by the time we were ready to book. The only flights available were more than $300 each for a two hour
Buenos Aires to Bariloche By Bus
We arrived early at the somewhat chaotic Retiro Bus Station in Buenos Aires. We had a little trouble with being allowed to board the bus with our camera equipment, but we didn’t want to put expensive equipment in the hold nor risk losing another bag.
Finally, we boarded and relaxed into our seats. Just as our bus was about to leave, the bus conductor came on and told us we were on the wrong bus and needed to move. Yikes, two Via Bariloche buses were leaving around the same time. We ran down the platform, another intense discussion with the next bus why we were not putting our camera bag in the hold, and we were off.

Seats were comfy on the bus, and you could stretch out. Food was really, really bad so bring water and snacks with you. Also, try and use the onboard toilet towards the beginning of the trip, by the end, it’s a rather scary experience.
Quite a few buses were leaving for Bariloche from Buenos Aires. Most took 24 hours, ours on the schedule said 20 hours 40 minutes. It still took 24 hours; I think they have the 0 and the 4 in the wrong place on the bus timetable.
When we left the city, the landscape was flat as far as the eye could see. Only farms and a few cattle to be seen. Twenty hours later, the scenery hadn’t changed much at all. The last couple of hours as we started to approach the Bariloche, the views from the bus window was a lot more interesting. Lakes, mountains, a little wildlife, and the occasional small town.
Top Tips For Overnight Bus Travel :
Always check the departure board for platform numbers!
Bring water and snacks with you!
Bring your valuables, and that includes camera equipment inside the bus with you.
For checking out bus schedules, ticket prices, we recommend the Platform 10 website.
Having expected to arrive in Bariloche just before midday, we actually pulled into the bus station at 4:30 pm.
Local buses were waiting at the bus station to ferry people into town, but by now we were both suffering from bus-itis and jumped in a taxi. It was just $3 to our guesthouse in the centre of town.
That evening we strolled around the town of Bariloche. It’s not the prettiest of places, but there were plenty of bars and restaurants, and the walk by the lake was quite pleasant. The pedestrianised shopping street, however, was slightly tacky and reminded us a bit of Andorra.
What, No Cars in Bariloche?
The next day, we decided to rent a car and go and explore the Lake District. We checked on Kayak – no vehicles available. We walked into town, every car rental place had a sign in the window, ‘No cars available.’
Well, we could always take local bus 20 down to LLao LLao. Umm, looking at Jon’s face, it wasn’t going to be easy getting him on another bus for a while. But at least he was beginning to understand why I had been nagging him that we needed to book stuff in advance when travelling Patagonia in high season. We usually travel out of season and can go with the flow.

Top Tip – Travelling in high season in Patagonia, you need to be a bit more organised than we were. No need to book way in advance, but if you’re like us, and don’t like to be too rigid with plans, do try and book at least three days in advance.
See also:
- What To See And Do Around El Calafate, Argentina
- Things To Do In Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
- The Things You Own End Up Owning You Essay
- Argentina Lake District And The Route of the Seven Lakes
- The Complete Three Weeks Buenos Aires and Patagonia Itinerary
- Punta Tombo Argentina Nature Reserve
- Ushuaia, Patagonia – Traveling To The End Of The World
- Gaiman – A Little Bit Of Wales In The Heart Of Patagonia
Feeling a bit disheartened, we asked our guesthouse owner if he knew any rental companies. He grimaced at the task but phoned around. When he asked about car rental availability, we could hear laughter at the other end of the phone, but then on phone call number four, the tone of the conversation changed. We could pick up a car the following morning.

To celebrate, we had dinner at Alto el Fuego. Jon declared this the best steak meal he had ever had. It was huge, even by Argentinean standards, so we were planning to share. However, Jon likes to eat his steak so rare that it’s almost mooing. I had one mouthful, gagged, then stuck to the rice and vegetables, but the wine went down very well.
Time To Explore the Circuito Chico
We picked up our car; our Patagonia adventure was about to officially start. The car was a bit of an old banger. The alarm would go off at random. We would lock ourselves in the car; we would lock ourselves out of the car, and we could even drive the car without the key in the ignition. But we had a car.
We headed west out of town, following the Circuito Chico. It’s a stunning 60 kilometres drive on asphalt road all the way. Now, we could appreciate why people came to Bariloche. The views were just incredible. Snow-capped mountains and crystal clear waters greeted you at every bend. You need at least four hours to complete this circuit because I can guarantee you’ll be pulling over every other minute to admire the view.
The Circuito Chico is clearly marked, or you can pick up a map of the area at the Bariloche Tourist Board which is located in the Centro Cívico. The Centro Civico is supposed to make you feel you’re in a Swiss Alpine Village. It didn’t, but it’s prettier than the shopping street.
Top Tips – Rent a car; the scenery is stunning. Pre-book if you are travelling in high season.
If you don’t have a car, it’s possible to do much of the Circuito Chico on Bus 20, but of course, the bus won’t stop when you want to take a photo.
There are some lovely looking walks to do around here, plus it’s also possible to take a boat tour on the lake. We didn’t do either as we were just so excited to finally have a car.
On the drive, just next to the Restaurant Punto Panorâmico which you’ll pass en route, there’s a food truck with great pintos and pulled pork sandwiches. The Punto Panoramico next door looked lovely too and rates highly on Trip Advisor, but we didn’t try there.

After a fabulous day exploring and not wanting to spend another night in Bariloche, we decided to stay in Playa Bonita which is just west of Bariloche. The town had great views of Lake Nahuel Huapi and was a little prettier than Bariloche. It also had river beaches, filled with bikini-clad sun worshipers, that was a sight we hadn’t expected to see in Patagonia. You live and learn, eh?
We then enjoyed happy hour at La Cerveceria Kunstmann which brews its own beers, followed by pizza at the very chilled Cerveceria Mandela.
A Cable Car Adventure in Bariloche
The next morning, we took the Cable Car up to the top of Cerro Otto. The cable car takes 11 minutes to travel 2000 metres and moves at three metres per second and costs 600 pesos per person (Approx $15) and has terrific views over the lakes and mountains.
The coffee shop/ restaurant at the top of Cerro Otto is a revolving restaurant. Haven’t been in one of those for years but prices for coffee and a light breakfast are quite reasonable, although it wasn’t anything fancy. But it’s a pleasant place to enjoy coffee and a chance to see all around without having to move.
At the summit, there were some clearly marked walking trails. We just did the 30-minute mirador trail. Nice and easy with fantastic views over the lakes. One of the fun highlights at the top was watching the paragliders. Have you ever tried paragliding? Looks fun, but I know I would be way too nervous to do that.
How To Get To The Cerro Otto Cable Car

The Cerro Otto Cable Car is located about five kilometres outside Bariloche. If you don’t have your own transport, there’s a free shuttle bus that operates from Bariloche several times a day.
By now, it was time to move on from Bariloche and experience more of Argentina’s Lake District.
Next Stop: Villa La Angostura to drive The Route of the Seven Lakes ( Ruta de Los Siete Lagos)
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This trip sounds amazing. The over night bus to Bariloche is something I can relate to and you give some good, practical advice here. Especailly about the toilets!
Thank you. Yes, toilets on all modes of transport get scary after a while lol
Looks like such a lovely place to visit and I bet the views of Lake Nahuel Huapi were gorgeous. That sucks that there were no cars available. I guess it’s not surprising during the high season, so it’s best to do a little bit of planning to avoid a situation like this 🙂
Got the car in the end, but yes, you need to be organised travelling in high season.
Such stunning photos – including that one of the Argentinian steak feast. I honestly haven’t research much on where to go in Argentina, so interesting to read about areas that aren’t Buenos Aires
That steak was insanely huge lol
Thanks so much for all your practical tips for visiting Petagonia in peak season. We too generally try to avoid the crowds and go to places just before or after the peak season but we do plan ahead. The tips will be super helpful for when we go to Petagonia.
I can’t believe we didn’t realise it was peak season, some travellers we are lol.
This place looks incredible! I’ve never been but it’s on my list and I really hope I can visit either this year or next.
The Lake District is gorgeous. Go!
Beautiful! I’m hoping to do this trip in November so I’ll keep this post in mind when I put together my itinerary. That steak looks unreal, I don’t think I’d be able to enjoy a better steak after that.
If you love steaks, this is the place to go !
Oh no!!! Sucks to hear about the lost luggage, but hopefully you got some good money from it! That steak looks SO DELICIOUS. I need to go to Argentina just for some delicious meat! Great choice taking the overnight bus instead of those insanely expensive flights too. Huge win!
Still in negotiations with Iberia lol.
If you’re a steak lover, Argentina is definitely the place to visit.
Wow the lakes look gorgeous! I’m not sure I would be brave enough to take a 24 hour bus trip, thats so long! Good to know these tips about visiting Patagonia, I wouldn’t have expected everything to be so booked up. Bariloche sounds like a good starting place for a Patagonian adventure!
One 24 hour bus trip was enough, we flew to all the other places lol
Beautiful views! I just watched an older Top Gear episode where they traveled here, so it was nice to see the places come to life in your post! It sounds like the bus ride took forever, glad I was not on it!
Oh didn’t realise they went to Bariloche. I’ll have to look up that episode:)
I would *love* to do a big trip around Argentina one day, and going via car for part of it sounds even better. Maybe I’ll be able to recreate part of this trip someday 🙂
I hope you do get a chance one day 🙂
This makes me so sad that we didn’t get to visit Bariloche. Though i’m not jealous of that 24hr bus ride. I remember the horror of turning up to bus stops in South America and trying to figure out which bus to go on. Glad you finally found the right bus and had such an epic adventure
Only a short flight from Buenos Aires though!
Patagonia has been on my bucket list for the longest time. I honestly did not know much about Bariloche but this post has made it clear that I need to plan a stop there. And yes, I will make sure to book everything in advance 😀 Thanks for the great post!
Yes, it’s definitely worth seeing. We hadn’t heard much about this region before we went either 🙂
Amazing post! Love the detail as I plan on heading to Patagonia next year! I might have missed it, but what time of year were you there? Pics look like summer so I’m wondering if Jan or Feb?