💰 My Argentina Trip Cost: Budget Breakdown (2025)

💰 Trip Cost	Affordable
💵 Typical Budget	$50-$150/day
🍀 My Budget	$113/day
✈️ Trip Total	$1,132
🗓️ Trip Length	10 days

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Is Argentina Affordable To Travel To?

Argentina is an affordable destination globally but is considered one of South America’s more expensive destinations.

• Many of the iconic attractions have expensive fees or require tours.
• Local food is affordable but many mid-range restaurants are expensive.
• Accommodations are relatively affordable, but mid-range hotels are not as cheap as in other parts of South America.
• The country offers cheap modes of transportation, but travelers generally need to take flights to access different regions.

About My Trip

To give context to the expenses below, here’s what you need to know about my trip:

• I spent 3 weeks in Argentina, but I only include costs for the 10 days I traveled like a tourist (and not a nomad) for this cost breakdown. I visited Buenos Aires, Bariloche, El Calafate and El Chaltén.
• My trip was in late February and early March, during the end of the high season, when things are more expensive.
• I traveled with other people, which allowed us to split costs like housing.
• I’m a mid-range budget traveler. I don’t aim to travel on a budget, but I’m intentional about my spending.
• I finance my trips and don’t receive sponsorship.
• All expenses are per person and in US dollars, converted from Argentina’s currency.

🇦🇷 Planning a Trip to Argentina: 12 Practical Things To Know

Total Cost

• $1,508
• $1,132
• $113

A mid-range budget traveler can expect to spend $80–$150 per day in Argentina.

Budget Breakdown

Here’s a breakdown of my expenses by travel category:

Category	Cost	% of Total	Daily Budget
✈️ Flights	$398	26%	–
🏠 Accommodation	$266	18%	$27
🍖 Food	$399	26%	$40
🚗 Transportation	$376	25%	$38
⭐ Entertainment	$68	5%	$7
Total	$1,508	100%	$113

Flight Cost

• $398 (I usually fly from the US, but for this trip, I flew into Argentina from Colombia)
• I flew to Chile afterward, but a flight back to the US would have been around $300–$400

A round-trip flight between the US and Argentina costing under $500 is considered cheap, as international flights typically cost between $600 and $1,100.

Accommodation Cost

• $266
• $27

The accommodations I stayed at:

Accommodation	Total Cost	Cost per Night
Buenos Aires Airbnb	$54	$18
Bariloche Airbnb	$86	$29
El Chaltén Airbnb	$106	$35
El Calafate Airbnb	$21	$21

My accommodation budgeting tips:

• Stay outside central locations – I stayed near popular neighborhoods, but often 10-15 minutes outside the central areas. I found it helps reduce my accommodation costs significantly. For example:
  • Bariloche – Instead of staying in the happening downtown area, I stayed a bit south of it and took 10-minute walks to get to the center.
  • Buenos Aires – Palermo is a lively tourist area for visitors to stay, but Palermo Hollywood is generally more affordable than Palermo Soho.

I list popular neighborhoods for tourists to stay in within my Argentina trip planner.

Food Cost

• $399
• $40

My most affordable meals:

Meal	Location	Cost
Two empanadas	Punto Empanada (Bariloche)	$5
Savory crepe	Açaí Natural (Buenos Aires)	$11
Mixed meat shwarma wrap	Shawarma Shtex (Bariloche)	$14

My most expensive meals:

Meal	Location	Cost
Steak, fish, and mushroom entrees	Niño Gordo (Buenos Aires)	$61
Rib eye and vegetable entree	Alto el Fuego (Bariloche)	$37
Steak and pasta	Isabel Cocina (Calafate)	$34

My food budgeting tips:

• Avoid touristy restaurants – As is true in many other places, local restaurants are more affordable. I found that the price difference between local restaurants and touristy restaurants is significant (e.g., an expresso-based drink can cost $2 or $5).
• Eat empanadas – You’ll find empanadas everywhere in Argentina. They typically cost $1-$3 per empanada and you’ll likely need to eat 2-3 of them per meal.

I review 20+ places I ate at and share how much I spent at each one in my Argentina trip planner.

Transportation Cost

• $376
• $38

The transportation I used:

Transportation	Total Cost	Cost per Ride
Domestic flights	$175	$87
Bus	$83	$17
Uber	$62	$6
Car rental	$56	–

My transportation budgeting tips:

• Take the Subte in Buenos Aires – Buenos Aires is known to have a well-connected and efficient metro system. Each ride costs about $0.80 and the Subte card is less than $2.

• Rely on the bus in Bariloche – The bus is a bit of a hit or miss in Bariloche, but taking Uber and relying on the bus is, on average, still cheaper than renting a car.
• Rent a car in El Calafate – If you’re traveling with two or more people, renting a car to get to the famous Perito Moreno Glacier will be cheaper than relying on tour transportation.

Entertainment Cost 

• $68
• $7

The activities/attractions I did:

Attraction	Location	Cost
🧊 Perito Moreno Entrance Fee	Patagonia	$40
🚲 Circuito Chico Scenic Bike Ride	Bariloche	$30
⛰️ Laguna de Los Tres Hike	El Chaltén	Free
⛰️ Laguna Torre Hike	El Chaltén	Free
💧 Chorrillo del Salto Hike	El Chaltén	Free
🏖️ Playa Serena	Bariloche	Free
⛰️ Cerro Campanario	Bariloche	Free
🐇 Palermo’s Ecopark	Buenos Aires	Free
🌸 Floralis Generica	Buenos Aires	Free
📚 El Ateneo Grand Splendid	Buenos Aires	Free
🎨 La Boca	Buenos Aires	Free

My entertainment budgeting tips:

• Take advantage of the outdoors – Argentina has a lot of pricey attractions, but it also has a lot of free parks and hikes (as you can see from my list above).
• Start hikes early – Some of the hikes in Patagonia are very expensive, but if you get to the trailhead before the rangers show up or are willing to take a long way around, you may be able to skip paying the entrance fee. This is what I did for Laguna de Los Tres and Chorrillo del Salto.

🏆 My Ratings for Argentina’s Attractions

Cost Breakdown by Destination

Below are my trip expense breakdowns for the places I visited during my trip.

Buenos Aires

• 3 days
• $230
• $77

Buenos Aires is considered the most expensive city in Argentina, especially in luxury neighborhoods like Puerto Madero and Recoleta. The fine-dining and food scene makes it expensive, but the city also offers a lot of free things to do.

Bariloche

• 3 days
• $327
• $109

Bariloche is a popular destination for local and international travelers, making it an expensive place for food and accommodation. But it has a lot of free natural attractions, especially if you’re willing to skip the cable car rides and hike up the mountains for the views.

El Chaltén

• 3 days
• $373
• $124

El Chaltén is the hiking capital of Argentina. The food is extremely expensive since it caters to travelers, but many of the hikes are completely free.

El Calafate

• 1 day
• $178
• $178

Visitors go to El Calafate primary for the famous Perito Moreno Glacier, which means the town caters its services (food, accommodation, guided tours) around that attraction. This makes El Calafate very pricey compared to other parts of Argentina.

Do You Need Cash?

• Argentina has an excellent credit card infrastructure, so you’ll rarely need cash.

My tips on using cash:

• Argentine pesos is the official currency. USD is often accepted in tourist areas, but newer, undamaged bills are preferred.
• Carry about $20–$30 USD at any given time. I spent $4 in cash during my 3-week trip. Of the 79 payments I made, 3% were done using cash primarily to tip or shop at smaller businesses. That said, there were two instances where paying in cash would have saved me a few bucks.
• Tipping is customary in Argentina. 10% is typical at restaurants, and it’s usually automatically added to the bill (you will have to decline or ask for the “propina” to be removed if you don’t want to pay it).

⛰️ 10 Days in Argentina: A Unique & Active Itinerary