When I took my cruise to Antarctica last year Atlas Ocean Voyages had us all meet in Buenos Aires before flying to Ushuaia so it seemed like a no-brainer to spend a few days exploring the city since I had never been!
The cruise was quite expensive ($7k regularly $14k!) so it was important to me to minimize my other costs. My friend and I flew from Seattle to LAX on Alaska Air using my yearly $122 companion fare. In LAX I had a 4- hour layover which I passed in the Amex Centurion Lounge and the Star Alliance Lounge (the later was *much* nicer).
I had booked Copa Air business class thru United for 88k transferred from Chase + $6.85. The flight didn't leave until 1am but Copa biz has the 737 Max with lie flat beds so I basically just got onboard and went to sleep for 6 hours! I had a short layover in the Panama airport which I spent in the Copa Club upstairs lounge. Then another 7 hours to Buenos Aires, again with a business layflat. The only disappointing thing on Copa was the food- it was really not very good.
*pro-tip if flying Copa biz on your own, book the aisle seat so that you don't have to climb over anyone to get out!
On the advise of one of my travel groups I had booked my airport pickup with Cesar Zelaya who has a tour company in BA. This worked out really well as I landed at 10pm and he was already there and waiting for me! I ended up using his company 3 times on this trip, highly recommend!
Atlas Cruise was putting us up at the Hilton Buenos Aires the night before departure so I just stayed there the entire time. I got checked in to a nice big room & headed to the bar for a burger, martini, and to catch a bit of the Oscars.
After breakfast at the hotel, which was complimentary since I'm Hilton Gold, my friend Caitlin met me and we headed to the San Telmo neighborhood for a tour of El Zanjón. This elaborate set of tunnels under the city streets were discovered in 1958 when the new owner of the mansion set about doing some restorations.
It was a short walk from here to the San Telmo Market. This is a great lunch stop as the market has a ton of stalls selling all sorts of deliciousness. We did a lap before deciding on De Lucia Tapas where we sat up at the counter and (over) ordered plates of croquettas, tortilla, zanahorias (carrots), etc and washed it all down with a couple of beers. Such a fun and tasty meal!
After lunch we headed to BA's colorful La Boca neighborhood. Historically these buildings were a mashup of colors because the working class who lived here used whatever paint was leftover from the nearby ship port. The residents were typically European immigrants, most from Genoa, Italy. In the 50's a local artist encouraged people to continue and it ended up drawing tourists to the area.
This is also where tango originated and if it hadn't been raining we probably would have seen tango in the streets. And if it is a game day, the local football club Boca Juniors have a very large fan base so you would definitely hear the cheers.
Just as the rain stopped we grabbed an Uber to Plaza Mayor and walked around the famous square known for its political demonstrations. If it had been a Thursday we may have seen the Madres de Plaza de Mayo; Argentine mothers wearing white head scarves, who have been walking the square weekly since 1977 in silent protest of the more than 500 children who went missing at the hands of the military junta dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.
It's easy to spot Eva Peron's balcony in the Casa Rosada at one end of the Plaza. The other end gives you views into nearby downtown.
The architectural all over BA is absolutely stunning! There are mixes of Spanish Colonial, Baroque, Neoclassical, Brutalism, Modernism, etc. And a walk from Plaza Mayor to the Puerto Madero really shows off all the different styles. The Puente de la Mujer pedestrian bridge is a bit of the cherry on top!
That evening, Caitlin and I had a wonderful dinner at tiny Julia. 8 team members, 22 seats, beautiful presentations of traditional-with-a-twist dishes like this prawns, vanilla sour cream, and lime.
After-dinner drinks were had at Floreria Atlantico, a lovely cocktail bar which has been on the scene here for years racking up lots of awards and press. As it's really no secret anymore, I'll tell you that to find the bar you must first go into the flower shop at the address. They'll help you out from there.
Quiet and calm upstairs, but downstairs was packed! We waited for a bit before getting seats at the bar and also waited for the seemingly sole menu in English to make its way to us. But once we settled in we had a great time and stayed for a couple of rounds of expertly made cocktails.
Buenos Aires is a super international food city. Italian and Spanish influences are everywhere, and there is a particular food culture here called Porteno that is actually a blend of the two, vs being one or the other.
I started my 2nd day with breakfast at the hotel and got to try the Argentinian classic medialuna. This a horn shaped sweet roll made with either butter or lard and a cross between a croissant and a brioche. Delicious. I also had an alfajores, which I had seen everywhere the day before. These shortbread sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche are the national snack and they are so decadent! Breakfast of champions!
In the Barrio Norte neighborhood, Caitlin and I explored El Ateneo Grand Splendid. This bookstore, housed inside a historic theater from the early 1900's is Argentina's largest bookstore carrying over 120,000 books! It's an incredible shop and was even awarded the world's most beautiful bookstore by NatGeo.
There's a coffee shop on the stage and 3 floors of books to explore, not to mention the frescoed ceiling and ornate balconies to check out. Stunning.
Lunch was at 1 Michelin star Don Julio Parrilla. Parrilla means grill and this restaurant specializes in grass-fed Argentinian beef (they also have a vegetarian menu). Arriving at the world-famous location with its signature green & white awning we were offered glasses of sparkling wine while the team took care of seating everyone. There were also mini empanadas being passed but I didn't want to spoil my lunch!
We were seated in a smaller room that was connected to the outside terrace which was nice as it was quieter. We missed being able to watch the kitchen & grill action however. As we looked over the menu we were offered empanadas again and this time accepted, my first Argentinian empanada and they were delicious!
I know there are widely differing opinions on Don Julio; many say best steakhouse in the world, currently #10 on The 50 (name changed from 50 Best), others say overhyped and overpriced. Well we had an absolutely fantastic 3 hour lunch here and I personally would say don't miss trying it.
I enjoyed a stellar Chenin Blanc from Argentina producer Michelini i Muffato. Chenin is an unusual grape in the country, the signature white grape is Torrontes, and I loved that they were using a Coravin as I was only having a couple of glasses. We also had our first provoleta, the grilled sizzling provolone cheese of the Porteno culture. Um, yes please!! And of course a perfectly cooked and especially flavorful bife de chorizo similar to NY Strip cut which we had along with a green salad and fries. Dulce du leche ice cream and coffees to finish. Our bill was about $150 for the both of us.
We had planned on walking off our lunch at the Recoleta cemetery but by the time we got there it was closed! So we headed back to the Palermo/Hollywood area and had a couple of drinks at Tres Monos which is just down the street from Don Julio.
The bar is inspired by punk rock so it tends to be a bit loud and chaotic, but at 5:30pm on a Tuesday it was pretty chill. They sent us shots, served us very good cocktails, and also explained that they run a bartending school and a bar consultancy program. All ingredients used here are local so the team creates their own spirits too. Currently they are #10 on The 50 bar list.
We then had an absolutely lovely walk to our next destination #26 on The 50, CoChinChina. I really liked this spot! It's a restaurant and a bar with multiple areas to choose to sit in. We sat up at the bar which is always my favorite. Drinks were fun, creative, and delicious. Service was top notch! Highly recommend!
Caitlin and I both had very early mornings the next day so we said our goodbyes. She was taking a boat to Uruguay and I had a 3am bus to the airport to head to Antarctica!
After Antarctica my friend Gail and I had one night & one full day in the city before flying home. We had arranged for Cesar's company to pick us up again and this time were staying at the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. This gorgeous property is housed in the Palacio Duhau which was built and lived in by the Duhau family from 1934 until 1995 when they sold it and it became part of the Hyatt portfolio.
I had booked the room for 25k per night (normally $697!) and then used my Hyatt card for incidentals as I had a bi-annual $50 statement credit still available.
After a drink at the hotel's tony Oak Bar with it's garden-view terrace we headed to El Preferido de Palermo which has been serving classic Italian dishes since 1952. It's a great space and we sat at the pass with a full view of the kitchen. Food was excellent, especially this gigantic milanese of mine!
The next morning we set out for a big walk around a few neighborhoods including Recoleta, Bellas Artes, and Palmero. We walked thru an artist fair, saw a crazy old ficus tree, and had some more of delicious provoleta with lunch at La Ferneteria.
We continued our walk to and through the Botanical Gardens which was absolutely gorgeous! It's really the perfect place to just wander and enjoy.
And then we took an Uber to the Cementerio de la Recoleta and went in search of Evita. This cemetery is very similar to the ones in New Orleans or Paris, it is a little city and you definitely want a map in order to find who you are looking for. We found one online and found Eva without much work (psst her last name was Duarte and she is in the family crypt). But there are so many beautiful burial spots here, give yourself some time to explore!
Our flight back to the states was at midnight so we had booked our room for 2 nights so that we had it the entire time- another bonus to booking with points as I don't feel like I'm "wasting money" by not actually sleeping in the room! We got back to the Park Hyatt, got cleaned up, finished packing, and headed out for dinner at Roux.
Another delicious meal! Roux reminded me of a French bistro- small room, lots of locals sitting close to each other, great food and presentation, lovely small wine list.
Then we met one of Caesar's drivers (we had scheduled in advance) back at our hotel and made our way to the airport.
I was so impressed with Buenos Aires, not only is it gorgeous but there are a crazy number of parks all over the city and it is surprisingly quiet! Drivers don't honk and we didn't encounter any construction or other city noise makers. It's a big, beautiful, and peaceful city and I'm really surprised that more people don't talk about how fantastic it is!
We flew home on Copa in biz class, I wasn't able to score a seat with points so opened a new card and purchased it to work on the SUB. Sometimes that is how it goes!
Having left the area of the South Shetland Islands the night before, we then had 7 days of sailing through the Southern Sea in the Antarctic Peninsula onboard the Atlas World Navigator. It would be too lengthy to detail every single amazing thing we saw and experienced so I will highlight each location instead.
Luckily our expedition crew kept a big board with a list of all known wildlife that would be possible to encounter and checked each species that was seen. The ship did not announce wildlife sightings, unless something was very extraordinary, because it would have been constant announcements!
By the end we had seen 29 different species of Antarctica wildlife, including 6 species of seals, 3 species of whales, 3 species of dolphin, 3 species of penguins, 6 species of petrals, and various albatross, cormorants, gulls, & skua.
We made a total of 11 expeditions, 6 on land and 5 by Zodiac, which surpassed all my expectations!
Day 4: "Good morning, good morning..." I was woken up by Expedition Leader Jonathan's whisper from the in-room speakers. It was very early, the sun was barely up, he was acknowledging that but saying that the ship was sailing thru a field of HUGE icebergs on our way to the Antarctic peninsula and there were mimosas to go along with the sighting up on the deck.
I chose to enjoy the view of these giants from my room. They were so massive, and so many, it looked like we were sailing past some giant cliffs!
Later that morning our group loaded into Zodiacs and cruised Hope Bay, our first destination at the tip of the Antarctic Sound. It was a stunning day to zip around!
The Esperanza science station is here, owned by Argentina, it is a permanent, year-round home to researches and their families; they even have a school. This is also the birthplace of the first person born on the Antarctic continent!
We were all thrilled to see our first elephant and weddell seals as well as another leopard and fur seal as well as more gentoo penguins!
In the afternoon the ship sailed to Gourdin Island. This small rocky island is home to all 3 of the northern Antarctic penguins: gentoo, chinstrap, and Adelie. We started with a Zodiac cruise around 1/4 of the island, checking out lots of smaller icebergs- the variation of colors, shapes and sizes was just awesome!
Then on our way to the island we had a few rafts of penguins racing our Zodiac!
Because of its location, this island takes the brunt of the extreme weather of the Antarctic Sound- high winds, heavy swells, shifting pack ice- it's rare to get to land there, but we did! You also have to be either with the Government or an IAATO Member vessel, so again, good to book with a cruise company with that status.
As soon as we disembarked on the gravelly beach we saw a big fur seal having a snooze just feet from us. Gail and I set out to hike up the steep hill to get a better look of the surroundings and also check out the various penguin colonies. As they would do before each hike, the guides had already marked out a trail with orange cones to protect both us and the wildlife.
Gentoo penguins
Chinstrap penguin
Adelie penguins
We would not be going as far south as where Emperor penguins live and the other two breeds in the region are very rare so it was awesome to see all 3 on one island!
After the day's Expedition Recap, we settled into the Dome Lounge with cocktails and spent a couple of hours just watching the parade of massive icebergs float past. This area, the Trinity Peninsula, is known for these giants including the famous A23A.
Day 5: "Good morning, good morning..." We were now sailing south along the west coast of the Palmer Archipelago. We anchored at Eckener Point and the morning was spent in the Zodiacs (no place to land around here) amongst A LOT of humpback whales!
We also took the Zodiacs through an icefield which was very cool!
In the afternoon we boarded the Zodiacs again for a short trip to Palaver Point on Two Hummock Island. True to its name, Palaver Point is home to huge colonies of chinstrap penguins and they make quite a ruckus!
This was a more difficult landing, or rather disembarking, than our others as we had to scramble over the large wet boulders and the sea was fairly rough. There were almost a dozen fur seals snoozing as we made our way from the rocks to the snowpack.
I hiked up the steep, snow-covered hillside to get some fantastic views of the glacier. This whole area really screamed "bottom of the world" to me! And we had more humpback whales very close to our Zodiac on the way back to the ship! It was beautiful.
I warmed up in the hot tub afterwards, the day's high had been 33F and the low 32F so it felt nice to have a hot soak!
Day 6: "Good morning, good morning..." Up until this day we had been landing and hiking on islands. But today we would be on Continental Antarctica! And it was spectacularly sunny! We were also offered a laundry special for $40 so the whole day was exciting! :)
Besides the included excursions on the World Navigator, people could sign up for kayaking and/or overnight camping at additional costs. We chose not to do either but the folks who did the kayaking really had a great time and had some incredible close-up whale experiences! The folks who did the camping said it was the coldest night of their lives!
Our Zodiac landed near the concrete footing remains of the old British Cape Reclus hut which was located here back in the late 50's. Immediately we set out with poles to hike up the snowy slope.
Once on top of the ridge we followed the trail around to an area they call the iceberg graveyard. The bay here is shallow and the big icebergs get stuck and slowly melt. The sound of them melting, moving, and breaking up was awesome. And so beautiful in the sunlight!
We continued on to the point where one of the Excursion Guides had brought his Antarctica flag and took our photos. It was absolutely thrilling to be standing there ON ANTARCTICA! Truly something I never thought I would get to do.
From the point we had to hike back up to the ridge before descending to the landing site and while a few folks were catching their breath one person sat down. Immediately one of the Excursion Guides came over and reminded them that you are not allowed to sit, or have any of your gear touching the ground, to prevent spreading pathogens (like avian flu) and introducing foreign microorganisms to the ecosystem. We never brought anything that could fall out of our pockets, like snack wrappers, etc. also.
We passed a lot of weddle and fur seals sunning themselves on the rocks and on the way back to the boat there was one chilling on an iceberg. You could also hear whales calling and the glaciers cracking! Unreal!! And we had a minke whale swim up next to our Zodiac, the only one we would see.
That afternoon we anchored at Recess Cove so we could all go do a Zodiac cruise. For me, this was the most stunning of all the stunning scenery that we saw. It felt like a movie set.
We saw soooo many humpback whales on our outing it was fantastic! I saw my first breech off in the distance, and we also hung out with a whale that was sleeping (called logging)! And sometimes you could hear them calling as they were diving like in this video!
We were so close to so many! And then back on the ship there were more and more humpbacks! I honestly could not even guess how many we saw this day!
Another excursion that was offered complimentary was a Polar Plunge. Just like it sounds, they tether you to a line and let you jump into the icy Southern Sea fed by 5 surrounding glaciers. I chose not to go and have zero regrets!
Sunsets were around 8pm and we had some real pretty ones!
Day 7: "Good morning, good morning..." We were up early for an 8:30am landing at Damoy Point. Our first stop was the site of the old British Antarctic Survey hut. This time we got to go inside the tiny building; I can not imagine living out here! It is now a historical monument.
Then we hiked up the glacier behind the hut to the old landing strip that they used to bring in provisions when the sea ice made it impossible to come in from the water. This was all last used in 1993.
That was a very interesting excursion and hike!
Back in the Zodiacs, we were zipped to the other side of the bay to Port Lockroy aka the Penguin Post Office!
This is one of the most visited sites in Antarctica! The research station had been abandoned in 1962, and in 1996 the UK decided to restore it. They also created the southernmost post office in the world and a small museum about the station. Our ship was the last to get to drop in mail as it was closing for the season, anything left would not be processed until Oct!
Besides the cute museum Port Lockroy is home to 1,500 gentoo penguins. On this small crop of rock they are very close together and they really stink!
As we were leaving to go back to the ship, there was an announcement that the expedition had to be cut short for the others and all Zodiacs had to return immediately because of pack ice coming in. The crew did a great job of moving quick and then our ship hightailed it out of the bay as to not have any issues.
And that was all before lunch!
These stations are in the Neumayer Channel, an S-shaped 15 mile passage that has some of the most incredible scenery in the region. It's also know for the sea ice and pack ice which can form a solid barrier that even cruise ships can't get thru!
We spent the next 2 hours sailing thru this dramatic 1 1/2 mile wide passage, the views were just unreal the entire time! This was also the point where we had turned and were heading back north and it was the first time in 7 days that we saw another ship!
But this day wasn't done showing off quite yet, we were on our way to False Island when an announcement was made that there were Orcas in the distance! As I mentioned previously, the ship does not make wildlife announcement unless it is something rare! Also as mentioned this was the time that my slip on sheepskin sandals were very handy! Gail and I flew out of our room with the rest of the passengers and ran up to the deck.
They were across the channel but there were like 8 of them all spread out and closing in on a humpback whale which was coming our direction! It was quite exciting, the whale was pretty far from them and once next to our ship it breached! The boat we had seen earlier was much closer to the Orca pod and they sent their kayakers out for an up close & personal! It was amazing just to watch!
We did finally anchor in False Bay where we boarded our Zodiacs for a last 1-hour cruise around. And what a cruise it was! It the aquamarine waters were millions of krill. And with those krill were 5 to 7 whales feeding! It was incredible to see their huge mouths open and filter the krill through their baleen plates.
A little bit about krill... wildlife in Arctic and Antarctic conditions (whales, seals, birds) are the only things that survive on krill. However these little shrimp-like creatures are easy to scoop up in HUGE nets and make cheap pet food, omega-3 dietary supplements, and farmed salmon feed (one more reason to not eat farmed salmon). Check to make sure you aren't supporting the industry unless you are also coming up with an alternate food source for whales. I'm looking at you Norway!
We just couldn't have asked for a better day! Back in our room we lowered our big window and continued to watch & listen to 3 humpback whales right outside! While sitting in our cushy chairs with a glass of wine, 'natch.
The Expedition Recap that night was PACKED with interesting info about everything we had seen that day!
That evening we headed back into the Drake Passage and although it would still be considered more of a Drake Lake I realized I hadn't changed my Scopolamine patch the day before and I did end up feeling a bit nauseous. You need a prescription for the Scopolamine patches and I highly recommend them to ward off motion sickness. I had gotten an extra so I could try one out at home to make sure I didn't have any side effects (I didn't). I put the first on during the flight down to Ushuaia and changed it 3 days after. When I didn't change the next one in time I really felt the sea. It was too bad as Gail and I had booked a special Chef's tasting menu dinner and I ended up having to leave the table and go to my room. At least I got to enjoy some champagne before I started feeling unwell.
Day 8: "Good morning, good morning..." We were at sea all day and the Drake was letting us know it. No crazy waves but enough movement to knock a few things around, 10 foot / 3 meter seas.
I spent a very lazy day mainly in the cabin watching lectures broadcast from the auditorium; Endurance 22 with our Assistant Expedition Leader Chad Burtt who was on the team who found Shackleton's shipwreck (!!), I mean tell me your Princess Cruise has this kind of talent!! Whales & Dolphins with Holly Selman, a marine mammal expert who is a member of ORCA protection charity, and one on Pinnipeds with Alejandro (Alex) Sands, expedition guide and diving instructor.
We had a last group dinner with the friends we had made onboard and then I headed back to bed to watch a movie. Those rolling seas had me conked out!
Day 9: "Good morning, good morning..." Another full day at sea, we were still in the Drake Passage but as we got closer to the Beagle Channel things were much calmer. And it was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for hanging out in the Dome Lounge for some whale watching. And there were SO MANY WHALES!
I had packed a fabric book bag in my suitcase which was great for carrying my Kindle, journal, glasses, etc. around on the ship. Each cabin had a pair of really good binoculars for us to use so we would throw those in there too. Easy to corral all my "toys".
This was the day we handed out tips. Even though they were included in our booking we did end up giving some extra to the crew members who we felt went out of their way for us - our cabin steward (butler), bartender and bar waitress, room service waiter, dining room waiter, and dining room captain. I had brought about $300 in cash, broken down in $5s, $10s & $20s for sublimental tips. I also bought a book on penguins written by Fernando Tarapow, one of the expedition guides and law professor from Argentina. Having a little cash made it very easy.
There was one last lunch on board, one last Recap with the entire expedition team presenting their fave moments, Captain Filipe Sousa had a little goodbye cocktail party, and then we arrived in Ushuaia for the night. This was done purposely as the weather on the Drake was going to get really bad in the next 24 hours and our Captain did not want us to be stuck in it. And neither did we!
Gail and I decided to have an early dinner on the ship before heading out to explore the town. To be honest we didn't find a lot to do there besides shop for souvenirs which we didn't need. There's also a Hard Rock and an Irish Bar!
We headed back to the ship and met up with our friends for last drinks in the bar before heading off to finish packing as our luggage would be picked up from the hallway at 1am.
Day 10: "Good morning, good morning..." Now get off!
Well not quite, but if you've been on any kind of cruise you know they get you off pretty early! We had breakfast in the dining room and then sat around with some mimosas until our group disembarked at 10am.
Our flight was late so they took us all on a little bus tour around the town so that the crew could do their job in peace. And a good thing we had come in early the night before because news of the Drake Passage was that all ships scheduled to leave that evening were not allowed to sail because of the treacherous weather!
We hung out in the Priority Plus lounge in the tiny airport for about 3 hours with some other onboard friends before finally flying to Buenos Aires on the FlyBondi charter. Again, a very basic experience.
It had been truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and I really couldn't have imagined a more perfect expedition! Here is the map of where we ended up going thanks to incredible weather and the World Navigator team wanting to give us all everything and more!
I honestly can not recommend Atlas and this ship more highly! Got questions about this trip? Drop a comment or DM me on Instagram.
