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Aerial view from a plane over the snow-covered high Andes around Aconcagua, ridges and glaciated valleys stretching to the horizon under a clear blue sky.

The distance check
Same scale, real times

3,436 km Iguazú to Ushuaia

How big is Argentina?

  • Equal-area maps in kilometres
  • Door-to-door times
  • The one-week test
Start

Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, about 3,700 km from north to south. On a map of South America it looks manageable. Put it over Europe or the USA at the same scale and the problem with “Iguazú, Patagonia and Ushuaia in a week” becomes obvious.

Same scale.(01)

Both maps use an equal-area projection in kilometres, so sizes and distances compare fairly. Drag Argentina around, or use the buttons, to move it.

Compare with

From Iguazú to Ushuaia is 3,436 km in a straight line: about Madrid to Moscow.

Real times.(02)

Straight lines are not how you travel. Almost every domestic flight goes through Buenos Aires, so getting between two regions often means two flights and a change of airport.

Typical times between the main stops. Door to door includes getting to the airport, waiting, connections and the drive at the other end.
JourneyStraight lineIn the airDoor to doorUsual route
Iguazú → Ushuaia3,436 km5 h 25about 11 hIguazú → Buenos Aires → Ushuaia
Buenos Aires → Ushuaia2,374 km3 h 30about 6 hBuenos Aires → Ushuaia
Buenos Aires → Iguazú1,065 km1 h 55about 4 h 30Buenos Aires → Iguazú
Buenos Aires → El Calafate2,081 km3 h 15about 6 hBuenos Aires → El Calafate
Buenos Aires → Mendoza984 km1 h 55about 4 h 30Buenos Aires → Mendoza
Buenos Aires → Bariloche1,345 km2 h 20about 5 hBuenos Aires → Bariloche
El Calafate → El Chaltén121 km–about 3 hEl Calafate → El Chaltén
El Calafate → Ushuaia564 km1 h 20about 4 hEl Calafate → Ushuaia
Salta → Mendoza960 km1 h 50about 4 h 30Salta → Mendoza (direct flight not every day)
Bariloche → El Calafate1,027 km1 h 55about 5 hBariloche → El Calafate (direct flight not every day)
Iguazú → El Calafate3,140 km5 h 10about 11 hIguazú → Buenos Aires → El Calafate
Puerto Madryn → El Calafate1,006 km5 h 15about 11 h 30Puerto Madryn → Buenos Aires → El Calafate
Salta → Ushuaia3,345 km5 h 35about 11 h 30Salta → Buenos Aires → Ushuaia

And by road?

  1. 01

    Buenos Aires → Iguazú

    Overnight buses take about 18 hours.

    1,300 km · about 16 h

  2. 02

    Buenos Aires → Mendoza

    Paved road most of the way.

    1,050 km · about 13 h

  3. 03

    Buenos Aires → Ushuaia

    Several days, and a ferry across the Strait of Magellan through Chile.

    3,100 km · about 40 h

  4. 04

    Bariloche → El Chaltén

    Two long days on Ruta 40, much of it remote.

    1,300 km · about 17 h

  5. 05

    El Calafate → Ushuaia

    Crosses into Chile and back, with a ferry crossing.

    900 km · about 13 h

  6. 06

    Salta → Cafayate

    Through the Quebrada de las Conchas.

    190 km · about 3 h 30

  7. 07

    El Calafate → Perito Moreno glacier

    Paved road most of the way.

    80 km · about 1 h 15

  8. 08

    Puerto Madryn → Puerto Pirámides

    Paved road most of the way.

    100 km · about 1 h 15

The one-week test.(03)

Tick the places you want to see and how many nights you have. We start and finish in Buenos Aires, find the quickest order, and count the days you would spend travelling.

Places

How we count: a door-to-door journey of up to 5 hours costs half a day; anything longer costs a whole day. We allow 2 hours around each flight and 3 hours to change planes. Times are typical, not guaranteed: schedules change by season.

An empty, straight Patagonian highway runs through low steppe toward the jagged snowy Fitz Roy massif under a blue sky.

Now join the dots.

Tell us roughly what you have in mind. We will reply with honest advice on what fits.

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