Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia was incredible. Before we went, I only booked the trip because it was another place in Argentina to see. I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy it or how wonderfully it would contrast with the rest of Argentina until we experienced it.

In Argentina, there is a four-day weekend to celebrate Carnival in February so we took advantage of the long weekend to check out Ushuaia. We left Buenos Aires on a super early 6am flight and landed around 11am. Upon arrival, from the plane window you could see the gorgeous blue, almost clear waters of Ushuaia Bay and mountains everywhere. The quaint town of Ushuaia was wedged perfectly between the mountains and the bay. As soon as I saw it from the air I knew this weekend would be special.

Arakur Ushuaia Hotel

We had arranged with our hotel to have a taxi pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel. Typically when we travel to more remote places I like to have airport transportation set up ahead of time since I never know what the airport setup will be. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a cab and many places don’t have Uber; Obviously if you’re going to Paris or Johannesburg this isn’t an issue. Having transportation setup ahead of time also just makes our arrivals much smoother, if you can afford the extra cost, I recommend it. We stayed at the Arakur Ushuaia hotel and it was perfect! It sits on top of a high hill overlooking the town of Ushuaia and all it’s gorgeous scenery. Our room had a great view overlooking the ocean, twice daily cleaning services and was perfect for a long weekend. Each day after our activities we would arrive back at the hotel, put on our swimsuits and spend from 5 - 7pm in the outdoor hot tubs and heated pools enjoying the views. We also booked a massage one night and it was a great way to unwind after a day of hiking.

El Viejo Marino

We left Buenos Aires very early in the morning and when we arrived in Ushuaia, we were ready to lunch! Once we checked in and got our luggage settled in the room, we headed back to town to try a restaurant on our list. (Before we travel someplace, I like to create a list of restaurants in the area that look good or have good local food/reviews. I will also put a google map pin in google maps so I have the location saved. This way, I’m not stressed and scambeling during the trip to find good eats.) We took a taxi into town and walked into El Viejo Marino. Now as I mentioned, I had looked at reviews beforehand and folks said to get there early because a line forms almost instantly at opening.

Well, we got lucky because we were able to grab a table immediately and order quickly. The menu consists of many different crab dishes and side options. Crab is huge in Ushuaia, which makes sense since with their geographical location. And it’s cheap too! We both chose a crab parmesan dish, which was huge chunks of crab meat covered in parmesan cheese. It was heaven. Cheesy and gooey but at the same time kind of light since it was crab meat. Ahhh, take me back! I snuck a peek at some other patrons' dishes and they looked good as well, but they’re mostly known for the crab, so do yourself a favor and get a crab dish! As you’ll see through this bog, eating crab was a huge part of our trip to Ushuaia...YUM!

HeliTour

Later that afternoon, we got ready for our helicopter tour. Yep, you heard that right! A helicopter! We decided to book a helicopter tour for our first day since the weather forecast was showing it would be the most sunny day while we were visiting. We booked through the company HeliUshuaia and it was wonderful. The package included a round trip from your hotel to the hangar, safety orientation, the flight, AND a champagne stop on top of the Andes! At 3:30 in the afternoon, we were picked up by the company taxi and taken to the hangar to sign in and watch a quick safety video. After, we got straight on the helicopter and took off. The views of Ushuaia Bay were amazing. We could see all the boats and cruise ships and also the beautiful hues of blue water below us that was impossible to see from sea level. We passed over the Olivia River Valley and then saw the Laguna Esmeralda. The rivers and lakes almost looked like a frosty color; they were so perfect and untouched. After passing the Cerro Castor (a favorite Argentine skiing area in the winters) the helicopter touched down on a mountain. We had about 20 minutes to sip a glass of champagne while exploring and snapping pics. It was only my husband, me and one other person so all we could hear was the wind and it was an amazing opportunity to reflect on the fact that we were at the end of the world on a mountain.

I live for moments like that. Where I’m doing something super unusual and life altering and just taking a moment to reflect on where I am in the world and how hard I’ve worked in my life to get there. Anyway, I’ve digressed….

After taking selfies and enjoying the views, we climbed back into the chopper, continued to enjoy the amazing views of surrounding Ushuaia and headed back to the hangar. If you’re going to Ushuaia and you have some extra fun money, you will not be disappointed by splurging on a helicopter tour.

For dinner, we enjoyed a light dinner in the hotel lobby bar area. They had small plates and salads on the menu and we chose to share a cheese plate and delicious crab empanadas. Now, we’ve had empanadas ALL OVER Argentina, in fact we make a point to get them everywhere, even though we have them in Buenos Aires because they’re always a little different in each region. But we had never had crab empanadas and they were so delightful; my mouth is watering as I type this...QUE RICO!

Hiking Glacier Martial

The second day of the trip, we decided to take it slow with a hike and then do some town exploring. Well, we thought it would be an “easy” hike, but it turned out to be a rather intense hike towards the top. But of course, the view was worth it. We took a taxi to the edge of the hike and popped in a small cafe for a quick medialuna and coffee/water. Honestly, it wasn’t particularly great but it was the only cafe at the foot of the trail so I imagine they get a lot of business. After we had full tummies we headed up the mountain. The trail started off very wide, about 30 feet across for the first ⅓ of it. As we got higher, we started to see more of the mountain and streams and the trail narrowed. At about the halfway point, the trail veered in two direction, a shorter and flater route or a longer and higher route. Well, shocker, we took the longer one. Most other people were doing it also so we didn’t think it would be too bad. The trail was gorgeous and the weather wasn’t even that good; I imagine it would be breathtaking on a sunny day. The streams and valleys and flowers were so beautiful. And in the distance there was a thin waterfall coming from the top of a mountain. The hike was somewhat difficult at times as the incline was pretty steep but we kept at it and were rewarded by amazing views of Ushuaia town and bay.

Back at town after the hike, we popped into a few shops along Avenue San Martin but since it was Sunday, most places were closed. We also went to the Museo del Fin del Mundo. It was small but packed with a lot of history and information. I liked learning the history of the indigenous people and how the arriving settlers changed the area. Most of the information plaques were in spanish and english so there was no problem understanding.

In general, english was much more common in Ushuaia than in Buenos Aires. The town is so focused on tourism from the Antarctic cruises that they really must offer english. Most of the foreigners we met were from Europe, USA, and Australia and were stopping in Ushuaia for a day or two before getting on a cruise.

Tierra del Fuego National Park

On our final day, we decided we wanted to head into Tierra del Fuego National Park so our hotel helped book a tour company. The tour was a good size - only 8 people in the van. Most of them decided to take a train ride in the park and the remaining three (us included) did a small hike and toured the southernmost post office in the world. The post office was quaint and mostly a gift shop on the inside but it is still an operating post office. You can purchase postcards or letters and envelopes there and mail them back home to friends and family. If you plan on doing this, I recommend bringing a lot of pesos with you - more than you think you’ll need. We were going to send a postcard to each of our families but were short on pesos. The postcards were around $7 USD each (but in pesos) and that was before the shipping stamps costs were added. It’s a fun memory, but don't forget your pesos!

Once the rest of our crew was done with their train ride, we picked them up and headed further into the park. We stopped by several lakes and trails and we took time to walk around and enjoy the scenery. Overall, it was a real low key day. Unfortunately, we had cruddy weather but if it’s sunny out I would recommend taking a picnic lunch and spending more time in the park. Also, we booked a tour company but it’s probably better to hire a taxi driver from Ushuaia and go at your own pace. All the taxi drivers are familiar with the park grounds and the highlight areas (lakes and trails) to stop at. This would not only give you more say over where you spend your time in the park but also save you money.

The next morning, we had to head back to Buenos Aires. Ushuaia was such a great long weekend trip. If you’re travelling around Argentina I highly recommend a few day stopover here. As someone who has been all over Argentina I can say Ushuaia has its own unique style and hospitality. And the seafood is the best and cheapest in all of Argentina. There were also other activities that looked fun but we didn’t have time to do, such as walking with penguins on Martillo Island or sailing the Beagle Channel.

There’s something mysterious and magical about being at the end of the world - I hope you get a chance to experience it. I hadn’t really had a great desire to travel to Antarctica but when we were in Ushuaia and I had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to go. There’s something about being so close to the ice continent yet so far that made it get under my skin. I’m hoping once Covid-19 blows over we can book a cruise and get another day to explore even more of Ushuaia. But even if you can’t do a full Antartica trip, “just” going to Ushuaia is worth the journey to del fin del mundo.

Considering moving to Argentina? Find out what we like and dislike about living here.

Moving to or visiting Buenos Aires? Be sure to check out this activity list I created with over 50 things you have to do when you’re in Buenos Aires!