Must-Do Activities in El Calafate

Gorgeous mountains, ice glaciers, arid plains, cool blue rivers and lakes. This is just some of the stunning scenery you can expect when you travel to El Calafate and the surrounding areas in Southern Argentina. 

Argentina is truly blessed with marvelous scenery and the Patagonia area does not disappoint. An adventures’ playground, there are countless outdoor activities to keep you busy. Everything from mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, trekking and rafting.

In late December 2018, my brothers and their partners travelled to Buenos Aires to visit me (and Argentina!). And while we explored the city of Buenos Aires over a few days, we were all really excited for a “side” trip we had planned to go to El Calafate on January 1st. We spent 3 days in El Calafate but I think the ideal time would be 5 days. Then you could really explore the area properly and get a few extra hikes in. 

But no matter how much time you’re able to spend in El Calafate, these are four activities you can’t miss while you’re there!

#1 Los Glaciares National Park

Los Glaciares National Park is the largest protected park in Argentina and plays host to tens of thousands of tourists each year. Many people travel to Argentina just to get up close and personal with the glaciers here. 

Los Glaciares National Park covers more than 2,800 sq. miles but certainly the highlight of the National Park is the Perito Moreno Glacier. While you can drive in, many people also use a tour company, which will drop you off at the top of a hill where a network of sidewalks begin. Take all the time you need to walk down and around the wooden walkways to get your perfect view and photos of Perito Moreno Glacier. 

Top Tip: The further down you go, the better view you’ll have of the glaciers. The only negative part is that you have to walk back up to the tour bus or your car! But it’s not too bad, probably only 4 or 5 stories. 

To be so close to the glacier was incredible. Personally, I had seen glaciers from the air before but they were nothing like this. Perito Moreno Glacier is a huge wall of ice that protruded from the water and went on as far as your eye could see...back towards the mountains. Its presence was so commanding all you can do is stare in awe at it. Watching ice break off and fall into the water was a pretty cool experience too. Each time a piece of ice would begin to break off, the cracking noise was as loud as thunder. 

If you’re planning a trip to Argentina, you really can’t miss travelling to Los Glaciares National Park to view the Perito Moreno Glacier. 

Along with the glaciers, there’s plenty of other scenergy to enjoy while you’re there. Many people also opt to bring a picnic lunch with them and go on a hike after viewing the glaciers. 

We chose to go on a glacier trek with our afternoon...

#2 Trekk on a Glacier 

Trekking on a glacier is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you’ll never forget. If you’re in El Calafate, you must do this! Your tour will pick you up and drive you to an area where you’ll board a boat to cross the Brazo Rico, a small extension of Lago Argentino. The boat ride lasts about 20 minutes and you’ll be treated to some great views of the glacier you’re about to walk on!

When you dock on the other side, the guides will take you to some benches where you’ll get fitted for crampons. They’re basically spikes that get tied onto your shoes to give you a better grip on ice. And don’t worry, you can wear either boots or tennis shoes when hiking. Some of us were worried about that but tennis shoes worked just fine. Once everyone in your group gets their crampons put on, you’ll gather at the foot of the glacier. The guides will give you specific instructions on where you can step, how you’ll move in a singular line, and other safety information. Once that’s out of the way the trekking starts!! 

The actual hike on the glacier lasted about 45 minutes and included plenty of time for photo ops. Our guide also took us by a small pond (in the middle of the glacier) of gorgeous blue water that we could dip our water bottles in to fill and drink. At the end of the hike, the guides treat you to a whiskey on rocks. The rocks being ice from the glacier you’re standing on! It was so stinkin cool, it’s hard to even put into words. Hopefully my photos will do it justice. 

#3 El Chalten

I highly recommend you stay more than one day, but we did a day trip from El Calafate to El Chalten to hike. It was an awesome day trip however it was a lot of driving. Like 2.5 hours each way or 213km. Luckily we weren’t driving since we hired a taxi van service to take us (and other passengers) both ways. But we were still in a small van with 10 people for 2.5 hours each way. And that’s a lot of driving in one day, especially when you’re hiking all day too! 

When you arrive in El Chalten, the town is pretty small and most people there are tourists that are staying for a week or two to hike. It seemed like there were countless hikes you could do in the area. We chose one that was a 5 hour hike total and took us up to Laguna Capri, which had a beautiful vantage point of Cerro Fitz Roy. Hiking up to see Cerro Fitz Roy was gorgeous. The trail was a good incline, not too steep and there were so many breathtaking views throughout the hike. There were countless lookout spots, forests and rivers to enjoy on the hike. 

After your hike, there are lots of small restaurants open and ready to serve your growling stomach! We had an extra hour so we stopped in a restaurant and got some burgers, loaded fries and beers. They were perfect after our full day of hiking. 

If you decide to stay in El Chalten, there are many hostels to choose from in town. It’s definitely a good “hike, stay and eat” place to hang out for a few days. 

#4 Enjoy Downtown El Calafate

El Calafate is a super cute town with lots to keep you busy when you aren’t enjoying the surrounding scenery. 

Restaurants

There are lots of restaurants to choose from in downtown El Calafate. You’ll have your pick of traditional Argentine foods - steak, empanadas, fish, milanesa, etc. There are also a few great pizza spots. We tried Memphis Parrilla Resto Bar one night and it was great. Be warned that the restaurants were all packed when we went out each night. You will probably want to make a reservation for dinner. We ended up at the pizza joint that night because we couldn’t find a restaurant with availability to seat us...but it was still delicious! 

And speaking of dinner time, don’t forget in Argentina dinner normally starts at 8pm or even 9pm. You may be able to find a spot that opens earlier but traditionally restaurants will close from 4-8pm. 

Bars

You’ll find plenty of bars to grab a beer or glass of wine before or after dinner. We tried La Zorra Taproom. It’s a microbrewery with local craft beer. Argentina isn’t exactly known for it’s beer (wine is a different story!) but Andrew and my brothers said this beer was pretty good. 

Plaza Pioneros

Plaza Pioneros is at the end of the main street in downtown El Calafate and it’s a great plaza and lookout point. There are around 6 stories of stairs but once you get to the top you’re treated with distant views of El Calafate and beyond. It’s a great place to snap a pic. 

Shopping 

There are a lot of cute shops in El Calafate where you can purchase souvenirs. And there are shops that have hiking clothing and gear however I recommend purchasing everything you need back home. 

It’s well known here that the quality of goods in Argentina is not very high but the prices are! So you don’t want to be stuck purchasing a winter jacket that’s low in quality and high in price. Come prepared with everything you’ll need and stick to buying souvenirs. 

Logistics

Flying

The flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate (FTE) was 3.5 hours. A bonus for this flight is that this domestic flight goes out of the Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery airport (AEP) which is located in the middle of Buenos Aires. So it’s super quick to get there from anywhere in Buenos Aires. This airport is also much smaller and doesn’t require as much check-in time to navigate. 

Getting Around

When you arrive in El Calafate, you can easily catch cabs everywhere you need to go. But if you are doing a lot of self-travel or sightseeing without guides/excursions I recommend getting a rental car. The town of El Calafate is not very close to the natural attractions you’re likely going there to see. We had planned guided tours for our days there which included hotel pick-ups. So we found we didn’t need our own car the entire time. 

Hotel

We stayed at the Kau Yatun Hotel which is an old estancia turned into a hotel. It felt very “Argentine” and was perfect for our 3 night stay there. It is located on the outskirts of El Calafate but not out of town. We were a little isolated (at the end of a road in a residential neighborhood) but it was only a 15 minute walk to get to the downtown area.

The hotel did have an in-house restaurant which was nice for the days you were too tired to go out to eat for dinner. They also provided a sack lunch for your excursion if you requested one the night before. This was really helpful because many of the local tours are all-day and ask you to bring your own lunch. We ordered a sack lunch for our day hiking trip to El Chalten. They easily fit in our backpacks and were delicious. 

As you can see, a trip to El Calafate is a must do if you’re in Argentina. The glaciers are beyond words and something you do not want to miss while you’re here. If you’re short on time, I highly recommend doing these 4 activities and your trip will feel complete.

Also planning to visit Buneos Aires? Then check out this activity list I created with over 50 activities you have to do while in Buenos Aires!