How to: Be a Boss in Bariloche

Chelsey’s Backpacking edition

CHELSEYS FIVE KEY POINTERS (to any backpacker in Argentina (more specifically coming from the US of A baby)):

1. Hostel World or booking.com for every single booking!
2. T-mobile (covers you internationally so there’s no need to change your phone number or pay extra fees)
3. Charles Schwab Debit Card! No foreign transaction fees and every time you take money out of an ATM you get the ATM rebate fee back at the end of every month! BEST TRAVEL CARD THERE IS! NO STRESS ABOUT LOSING MONEY WHEN USING ATMS!
4. Use ONLY AND ALWAYS Western Union for cash pullouts (double the rate with USD.) Easy to make an account and even easier to send yourself money to pick up.
5. LOCAL MUST TRYS: cafe con leche y dos medialunas, alfajors, mate, local malbac wine, local chocolates, and dulce de leche in any form

Recommend time? No more than 4–5 days if you're going during the skiing season.

Place of stay:

• Tangoinn Hostel (wouldn't recommend): Did NOT love this place. The kitchen was pretty bad to cook in. Barley any utensils. Cute employees cook you breakfast in the morning but it remains pretty basic.

NOTE: In Bariloche, I didn’t do much other than ski, rest, cry, eat, and walk around the city…But here’s some spots to hit!❤

Activities:

You wanna shred?

• Cerro Cathedral: I’ve been skiing my whole life and I must say this has to be one of the best mountains I’ve ever skied on. I was even able to rent all new Burton equipment at the mountain so no need to carry anything! The ski pass cost me ~$17 USD for one day. Sometimes, mountains can make me feel vulnerable but when I got to the top of this mountain I literally started crying. When I say the view shook me, the view really shook me.

• How to get to Cerro Cathedral: there’s one bus that takes you in and out on the hour and gets PRETTTTY FULL. Ask ANYBODY what number bus it is and they can tell you. I recommend waking up early to get in line and then giving yourself some time to get in line for the way home. OR you can meet up with a few people and take a taxi which is always easier and less stress.

veggie guiso from Cerro Cathedral mountain!

• Llao Llao: This is a great hike. You can take either side of the route and end up at the Cerveza Patagonia Factory with a breathtaking view of the river. This is THE spot to end at because this is exactly where the bus picks you up to take you back to downtown Bariloche. After that hike, you’ll want a few beers and empanadas!
• For the Llao Llao hike, keep in mind that as you walk the main route, there will be trails that bring you to different viewing points of the lake. So as you’re making the circle or semi-circle route (featured below) there are a ton of small trails on the way extending the 2 hr 45 min hike that's stated below. I did the exact route that is dotted below and it was plenty of time in nature and walking. It's for sure an all-day activity and so rewarding with the on-tap Patagonia beer afterward.

• Feria de Artesanos y Emprendedores: There are TWO adorable artisanal markets right near the main road. It’s filled with handmade crafts that are relatively cheap and local to Bariloche. Bought my favorite Bob Marley colored winter hat here and was even able to add a fluff to the top of it! :)

Hungry?

• Rapa Nui Cafe: This spot is awesome! It is a cafe, restaurant, ice cream store, fast food pick up, chocolate store, and ice skating rink all in one! 100% make a stop here even if you're not hungry or interested in buying anything. The ice cream is out of the world here!

• Museo del Chocolate Havanna: This is a cozy little spot that overlooks the river. Here, you can take coffee, food, chocolates, and even pay additional for a tour of the factory!

• El Reino de los Chocolates: Translated into English as “The Chocolate Kingdom,” this was one of the most beautiful chocolate stores I've ever seen! You do not need to buy anything to walk the store! It's right on Mitre Street which is THE street of Bariloche! I recommend walking up and down this street and going into pretty much every store! It’s sooooo cute
• Huang Ji Xhong: I get that you're in Argentina but there's always a moment when we crave other foods AND THIS IS YOUR SPOT! Such an amazing, very cheap, not super touristy Chinese restaurant in the heart of Bariloche. I loved everything I ordered especially the appetizer dumplings. They only served the dumplings for lunch but we begged and they brought them to us hehehe. They were cooked to perfection!

ANNNDDDDDD from gorgeous Bariloche, I took a 32-hour bus to even more gorgeous El Calafate!

Paz y amor, chelsey