As I am Canadian, I went to the 'reciprocity visa' website, and prepaid my $75 and printed two copies. This was necessary prior to arrival at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires. Flight was smooth from Vancouver through Dallas and on to BA. Upon arrival in BA, discovered that the Manuel Tienda buses that supposedly go every 30 minutes are pretty unreliable (the next one was in 3hours time), and that taxis at the 'official' rate of 5.8 pesos to the US dollar would run 240 pesos to Centro ($48). So I took the number 8 bus, which took 2 hours. Despite the frustration of trying to get into the downtown area of BA from the airport, I did enjoy my next 4 days in the city, exploring Centro, La Boca, San Telmo, Palermo and Puerto Madero. La Boca can be reached by the number 29 bus, which drops you off right in front of the tourist streets. The bus also goes from La Boca all the way through the city to Belgrano, via downtown and Palermo. It's like a cheap city tour bus, but at the grand total of 3.50 pesos. Stayed 2 nights in Palermo, and 2 nights in San Telmo.
From BA, I bought an overnight bus ticket (from a travel agency on Calle Defensa) to Puerto Madryn (approx. 18 hours), which left early evening, and arrived late morning. You get a snack, and then a late night dinner with wine if you purchase a 'service' seat at minimal extra charge. Flights on this segment were super expensive, but the bus was fine, and seemed faster than it sounds (and the seats go 3/4 of the way down).
Stayed at La Tosca hostel in Puerto Madryn, although there are a couple of other hostels around the corner (it's a small town). Rented a bike for the afternoon and rode out to Punta Loma to see the sea lions. Very long ride, but it was a nice sunny day (although quite windy). Booked a tour of the black and white dolphins (boat for 1.5 hours) and then the penguins. This was a great trip, well worth it for the (following) day. Next day, I was able to book a mid-morning tour of Punta Ninfes, which is a great climb down the cliffs to the elephant seals. Amazing. We were only 4 people (I was able to negotiate mid-morning instead of afternoon due to another evening bus I had booked for 6pm to Rio Gallegos). Buses do not go directly to Calafate from Puerto Madryn, and flights are expensive once again. Buses can also be sketchy in terms of being on time in this area of the country (mine was 1.5 hours late, making me miss the connecting bus to Calafate, and another couple I met said their bus was 5 hours late, and then they had to wait 8 hours for the connecting evening bus to Calafate which put them into Calafate at 1am). Much to my surprise, the entire town of Rio Gallegos turned out for a Happy Spring parade that evening, which was a blast.
Next morning, I took a bus to Calafate from Rio Gallegos (4 hours). Stayed at America del Sur hostel, which was great, and seemed to be the most popular place in town. The town itself is quite charming, lots of little shops, and nice viewpoints to the distant mountains and Lake Argentina.
Booked a tour to Perito Moreno Glacier for the following day at the hostel, and then walked around town, and to the shores of the lake that afternoon. Had a nice steak dinner in town that evening. The following day, the 'mini-trekking' tour to the Glacier was great (800 pesos). You take a bus, then a boat to the glacier, then do the hike for 1.5 hours, return boat and return bus to the balconies to overlook the glacier, and then back to Calafate. Full day with great photo opportunities. Next morning, took the 3 hour bus to El Chalten, arriving mid-morning, checked into Patagonia Hostel, and did a 7 hour hike to Poincenot and back. Ate at a great little restaurant in town (some were still closed). Next morning, did an 8 hours hike to Cerro Torre, which puts you at a frozen lake and the bottom of a distant glacier and the rock peaks. Both of these hikes were great. Took the early evening bus back to Calafate (on time), and stayed overnight in Calafate.
Next morning, went to airport for 1.5 flight to Bariloche (booked online the day before for slightly more than the price of a 28 hour bus ticket). Note that each bus segment of about 16-18 hours worked out to be about 400 pesos. Also note that if you use a credit card for any purchases such as flights, hostels or tours, they charge you in US dollars at the 'official' rate. Unofficial rate for US dollars in cash (blue market) could get you about 9 pesos to the dollar instead of 5.8 pesos to the dollar. If you are doing a lot of tours and buses, your US dollars go very very fast.
Bariloche was a nice city. Walked the downtown main streets, and had dinner at the hostel. Next morning, took a local bus to Cerro Campagnario for vistas, and then walked over to the bike rental place, and did the 26 km bike ride around the area, which was quite tough. Then met friends of friends (ex-pats) for drinks at Antares, a great bar downtown. Ended up at a barbecue with them later, and overnight at hostel. Just a heads up about a lot of these hostels: they are 'party' hostels, particularly the chain ones, and they tend to get louder and louder as the evening progresses. So the noise is not necessarily from the patrons, but from the people that run the hostels (i.e., loud music until the wee hours).
Next day, flew to Mendoza (1.5 hours) (booked online with Aerolineas Argentinas; half empty flight, took off 15 minutes early from the runway!). Took cheap taxi into the downtown area, and walked around the pleasant city, and had a nice dinner at Casa de Milanesa in the restaurant/bar area, which is quite interesting. Pre-booked 2 tours from hostel for next 2 days. First was the Gaucho Experience, highly recommended (about 300 pesos). Horseback riding was good (2 hours), and then the asado and nighttime fire with the group. The second tour was the half day Wine Tour, which was alright (180 pesos). Could have been much better (2 basic wineries, and one olive oil place). It's all in the timing, as there were only certain days that the 'bike and wine tour' were available (apparently a much better tour). Mendoza was a nice average city, a different perspective on an average city in Argentina.
Next evening, took the overnight bus to BA (on time), and then walked from the bus station to the Buquebus terminal to board the boat to Colonia, Uruguay (1 hour). Stayed one day here, easily walkable, very small. Following day, took 4 hour bus to Montevideo for 2 days, and then 3 hour bus to Punta del Este for 2 days, and then made my way back the whole way to BA in one go (about 7 hours, starting early in the morning). Yes, the visa that gives you 3 months allows you to get back into Argentina from neighbouring countries like Uruguay with no additional cost.
Spent the next 2 days exploring other parts of BA on foot such as Belgrano and Las Canitas, and the parks.
All in all, very good trip. It is very expensive with the 'official' exchange rate, and as a single traveler, if you don't like dormitories (which are reasonable), they will charge you for 2 beds in those double rooms that are available. I would suspect that in-season, these would be harder to come by than they were in September/October in the popular places. Also be aware that the popular places fill up incredibly fast in BA, so I would advise to choose one earlier than later.
