Argentina San Martin de Los Andes S 40.17502° W 71.40421° Camping Los Lolen on the shores of the lake. We got directions from the tourist information center. Follow highway 234 south for about 4 km to a right turn that heads down hill to the beach. There was a sign at the turn for the camp ground. Clean toilets, and a promise of hot showers.
Argentina Lago Villarino S 40.44597° W 71.54462° We camped near the outflow of the Lago Villarino on the Western side of the road in an open meadow where the sign indicated free camping (the letter L inside a tent symbol). The spot had great views of mountains to the East and West and the company of cows and sheep.
Argentina San Carlos De Bariloche S 41.09593° W 71.50485° We are at a campground called Huenei Roca in a village/area called Colonia Suiza on the shores of Lake Perito Moreno.The grounds have toilets, electricity, hot showers, and I even found enough wood for a camp fire on which to cook the first good steak we have had since leaving the US. The grounds are well protected by trees, which is a good things since it is very windy and cool.
Argentina Llao Llao S 41.05807° W 71.53180° Hotel Llao Llao near Bariloche - you can't miss it. A very nice and very expensive place.
Argentina El Bolson S 41.96791° W 71.52727° Camping Refugio Patagonico a camping ground and hostel close to town. Good modern showers and toilets, no electricity for the vehicle. They were a bit difficult about where we could park - not on the grass; even though other campers were parked on the grass. The result, we basically camped in a parking lot.
Argentina Bariloche S 41.13264° W 72.36214° The Hotel Tirol for three days. The entrance to the parking lot was tight. There is an outdoor parking station across the road that would have no size restrictions.
Argentina Bariloche S 41.20765° W 71.34188° Camping Selva Negro about 2.7 kms west of Bariloche proper on the uphill (Southern) side of the road. Quite a narrow steep driveway, but plenty of turn-around room at the top. Good toilets and showers, electricity, wifi (near the bar), laundry service onsite. On the way to the border today as we entered Entre Largos from the west we saw a sign advertising the sale of compulsory Argentine vehicle insurance. For those who have not already got it - check this out.
Argentina Lago Rivadavia S 42.64820° W 71.67337° We camped at Tres Bahias camping ground midway down Lago Rivadavia in Parque Nacional Los Alerces. Access was via a 1.4 km narrow, soft, and at times steep little road. We were right next to the lake. There was an amenities block with toilets and hot showers no electricity. It seems that this part of Argentina has three types of campgrounds
  • Libre - free with no facilities not even pit toilets.
  • Orginazado - Organized, which have all facilities, including hot showers, electricity and even a shop.
  • Agreste - which we translate as rustic or primitive. We are not sure if all agreste will be the same as Tres Bahias.
Argentina Estacion Telken S 46.81383° W 71.72531° About 30 kms down Ruta 40 from Perito Moreno we found a farm or sheep station called Telken that offered cabanas and camping. It was a nice place, hot showers, cooking building, electricity 20:00 - midnight and most of all trees that sheltered us from the wind.
Argentina Ruta 40 S 47.23662° W 70.93457° Somewhere on Ruta 40 we found a place to pull off with a little hill to give some protection from the wind. About 60 km down the road from where we stopped is the town of Bajo Caracoles, described in our guide book as "a cross roads of insignificant importance with roads leading in all directions apparently to nowhere" - that's how we felt about the camping spot we found - it was in the middle of no-where. In the 15 hours we were there we saw maybe 12 vehicles.
Argentina El Chalten S 49.32480° W 72.89002° Camping El Refugio, El Chalten - its not much to look at, a few shower/toilet blocks, many tents on a lower level that does not have vehicle access and a rather run down timber cooking shelter, but its going to be home for a couple of days at least. The showers are hot.
Argentina El Calafate S 50.33608° W 72.25857° Camping El Ovejero in El Calafate. The area set aside for motor homes is simply a dirt parking lot, but there is access to hot water for washing cloths or dishes, good showers and free wifi in the admin/restaurant building.
Argentina El Calafate S 50.33567° W 72.26648° We stayed in a hotel tonight so that we could work on our US tax returns.
Argentina Tolhuin S 54.52570° W 67.23291° Our guide book told us of Camping Hain in the little town of Tolhuin, it also told us about a wonderful little Panaderia. The campground is on the shores of Lago Fagnano and provides electricity, toilets, hot showers, and a cooking hut with wood fire. The tent sites have substantial structures to protect the tents and fires from the fierce lake winds.
Argentina Ushuaia S 54.81237° W 68.34991° Camping La Pista Del Andino - is a Club Andino establishment on the hill side above the town. Has everything, toilets, hot showers, electricity, wifi in the refugio and if we had wanted we could have left our vehicle here and gone home for a while. The Tiger would have been in good company as there were a number of European vehicles awaiting their owners return.
Argentina Ushuaia S 54.81237° W 68.34991° Hain in Tolhuin. We were here last Sunday.
Argentina Rio Gallegos S 51.62821° W 69.61866° We camped in the parking lot of a large religious shrine at the junction of Highways 3 and 5. We certainly would not have found this place, nor particularly the entrance, without the information provided by the www.travelin-tortugo.com - thanks guys. It's an amazing place. There were parking lots on both sides of the river and each had a large building in which people have left flowers and all kinds of religious articles. On the northern side of the river was a very elaborate staircase to another complex of shrines on top of the hill. At the base of the hill were a set of picnic tables, each with a large sheltered fire place and concrete pad on which to park. BUT - there were no toilets !! Close by on the northern side is a camping area called Club Pescazaike for anyone that needs services.
Argentina Parque Nacional Monte Leon S 50.35622° W 68.88463° We are in the parking lot at the Lion's Head lookout in Parque Nacional Monte Leon about 30 kms south of the little town of Comte. Luis Piedra Buena, and a further 20 kms along a good gravel road into the park. A bit north of us is an official campground with toilets. Our spot is on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and has no facilities.
Argentina Puerto San Julian S 49.30606° W 67.72057° Camping Municipal San Julian, on the beach front and subject to the sea winds (not breezes), has all the facilities. The shower building is even heated.
Argentina Puerto Deseado S 47.75522° W 65.88755° Another Camping Municipal. We do not recommend staying in this campground. We heard from other campers that recently women had been attached in the showers.
Argentina Pampa Salamanca S 45.26623° W 67.30248° A gravel pullout on the side of the road. Not too many heavy vehicles overnight.
Argentina Puento Piramida S 42.57419° W 64.27756° The Municipal Campground in the small village of Puento Piramida is right behind the beach in a stand of large bushes and trees. Even with this protection the wind is annoying. Pay (expensive) showers and only at night, water and electricity.
Argentina San Antonio Oeste S 40.54970° W 64.87408° We pulled off the road into a clearing with a small shrine a few kms north of the town.
Argentina Bahia Blanca S 38.73297° W 62.31461° The Municipal Campground is on the city bypass. Nice setting, electricity in the large white concrete pillars, showers have hot water but no cold water ?? - makes for a difficult shower. It's a free campground??
Argentina Bahai Blanca S 38.70051° W 62.33317° The ACA Motel (Automobile Club of Argentina) on the Bahai Blanca ring route.
Argentina Monte Hermoso S 38.98682° W 61.35058° Camping Americano on the beach south of the town. Follow the signs, it's about 5 miles from the town along the roads behind the beach. Great huge, place. In peak season this campground could handle thousands. Electricity, very hot showers, wifi (in the bar and some camping spots), onsite laundry service and minimarket, and a pool that costs extra. It's situated in a loverly gum tree (thats eucalyptus to non Aussies) forest.
Argentina Santa Isabella S 38.18439° W 57.67685° Camping The Horneros, Sanata Isabella is alongside highway 11 north of beach resort town of Miramar on the way to Mar Del Plata. It's a bit inland from the beach and is another one of those Argentine camping resorts, like Americano - but a lot more run down. This one also seems to have closed for the season. The pool was empty, the bar closed, wifi turned off, and even the showers were not heated any more (they offered to turn on the hot water for us if we waited an hour for it to heat.)
Argentina Dolores S 36.31685° W 57.69827° A YPF/ACA gas station and all night restaurant near the town of Dolores. No showers. The place has a large picnic area next to the gas station. El Griego is at S 38° 05.743' W 57° 36.195, the turn off from highway 11 is at S38° 06.679' W57° 35.065'
Argentina Beunos Aires S 34.59309° W 58.37127° We spent the night in the parking lot in the Puerto Madera area of the city. There is a lot of parking in the area. We found the lot by chance when we first got into the city. The attendants seemed to know that we would want to stay the night.
Argentina Buenos Aires S 34.61849° W 58.37827° Today we moved into the apartment we had organized through the accommodation company named ByTAregentina The place is in the San Telmo district, an old, somewhat bohemian style area, old buildings, cobbled streets, dog droppings, lots of cafes and craft stalls. The apartment is a loft style place with the most amazing ceiling that looks like it is drooping under its own weight. Hope there are no earthquakes in BA.
Argentina Buenos Aires S 34.61847° W 58.37827° A few weeks ago, during our research on where to park in Buenos Aires I found the website of a motor home rental company called AndeanRoads - their website AndeanRoads. Through email we introduced ourselves to one of the principles of the company - Cristian - and arranged to leave our Tiger at their facility while we were in Buenos Aires.
Argentina Buenos Aires S 34.61847° W 58.37827° Tonight we are back at the parking lot in Puerto Madera where we spent our first night in Buenos Aires. It's a bit of a shock to be cramped back in the Tiger and serenaded by the roar of heavy trucks.

Brazil Visa

The Brazilian visa turned out to be pretty straightforward, but along the way was plagued by poor and misleading information. Just for the record
  • an appointment is necessary, and must be arranged by phone. We used the tourist office in Santa Fe Ave to make the call for us.
  • an application form must be filled in. This is best done using the computers in the Brazil consulate office. You don't need a copy of the application just the number that is displayed on the screen after you have finished filling in the form.
  • you will need to show a return ticket, or if driving a rough itinerary to prove you will leave eventually.
  • you will need to show a credit card and may need to show bank statements, to prove you have the funds to support yourself.
  • you will also need a single passport photograph, and
  • of course you will need cash (pesos) to pay for the visas.
Argentina Formosa S 26.11589° W 58.22879° We stayed at the Esso service station north of the town of Formosa just before the Policia Nacional check point. The parking lot was muddy from recent rain. The restaurant had wifi (slow) and clean toilets with showers that we did not try.
Argentina Calchaqui S 29.92802° W 60.29509° A road side picnic area with tables and fire places. No other facilities. We had the company of some locals for a few hours since it was Saturday night. It looked like the local lovers lane. But good enough for a one night stop.
Argentina Cordoba S 31.36104° W 64.26312° Camping Municipal Cordoba is about 13 km from town towards the west. Its a big camping, picnic and general recreation area in a park called General San Martin. We had some trouble finding it so here are some, hopefully helpful, directions. Follow Colon west from the city (if you are in a vehicle you cannot travel along Colon, its one way into the city for much of its length, you need to travel along Duarte Quiros, it will eventually merge with Colon at which point Colon is two-way). Stay on Colon for some distance. At the round-about just after Wal-Mart at GPS S 31° 32.669' and W 64° 15.997' turn right towards Villa Allende and the Airport. If you a sharp observer you will notice a sign saying 1.5km to Parque San Martin. At the round-about GPS S 31° 22.597' W 64° 15.325', turn left (270° around the circle) up a small road to a sporting complex, pass the pink mansion on your right. Keep traveling past a complex of buildings - might need a left turn - to a sign to Camping Municipal and a right turn GPS S 31° 22.359' W 64° 15.682'. Drive a bit further and you are there.
Argentina Mina Clavero S 31.72507° W 65.84736° There are a number of campgrounds in this tourist town, but we could only find one of them, Camping Los Rios, that was open. Seems like the tourist season is well and truly over. The place is OK, quite large, has electricity BBQs and hot showers (but only for specified hours).
Argentina Parque Nacional Sierra de las Quijadas S 32.49549° W 67.00288° PN Sierra de las Quijadas has a small campground just before the lookout and walking trails. It has a few picnic tables, toilets, a snack bar during the tourist season and not much else. It was a wonderfully quiet place with spectacular star gazing, and a full moon.
Argentina Mendoza S 32.89027° W 68.88327° We got a list of accommodation from the tourist information office in Ave San Martin, it included about a dozen camping grounds in the north east corner of the metro area. Finding one proved to be a bit of a navigational challenge, plus some were closed. We eventually got to Pilmayken which is located in a park complex. We were the only guests, the manager had to light the wood fires that heat the shower water just for us. There was electricity, water, picnic tables and clean toilets.
Argentina Mendoza S 32.85497° W 68.89637° We moved to a different campground today, it's called Parque Suizo. It's a bit further out of town, is more secure and shady. Has all the usual facilities even internet via wire in the office.
Argentina Aconcagua S 32.81203° W 69.94317° Just east of the settlement of Puente Del Inca there is a Parque Nacional entrance and a 2 km road that leads to a parking lot and the start of the trail to the base of Aconcagua. We stayed the night in the parking lot at an altitude of just under 10,000'.
Argentina The Andes S 32.78298° W 69.61299° On the Argentine side of the border on the road between Mendoza and Santiago there were many rough tracks leading off the highway into river beds or river banks. We picked one that would get us a a good distance from the road and make us a little less obvious.
Argentina Dique Avalo S 31.47712° W 68.57856° We camped at Camping Municipal Dique Avalo, in a nice stand of Eucalyptus trees with a wonderful view of the Andes to the west. There was water, electricity after a little search, toilets but no hot showers. In the summer months there would also be swimming in the irrigation canal/dam. The signs suggested that there would even be life guards.
Argentina Difunta Correa S 31.72782° W 67.84757° Beside the highway a little east of the township of Defunta Correa. There was plenty of camping in the town with picnic tables, but the desert seemed like it would be a bit less trashy.
Argentina Ischigualasto S 30.16287° W 67.84202° The guide book says that there is informal camping at the visitor center of Parque Provincial Ischigualasto, but it did not look informal to us. There were signs for a camping ground, electricity, free wifi, toilets and probably hot showers at some time of the day - though we could not work out when they would be hot. More Spanish would be a good thing. There was a strong wind through out the night which would have made this a less than comfortable place for tent camping.
Argentina Talampaya S 29.78500° W 67.99381° We camped at the visitors center of Parque Nacional Talampaya. Its a pretty basic camping area, picnic tables, water, toilets and sometimes hot showers.
Argentina Londres S 27.69954° W 67.16670° Just near the town of Londres on the way to the archaeological site El Shincal is a municipal balneario and campground, built on the site of an old mill. It's a nice treed site with picnic shelters, fire places, water, swimming in the summer, toilets and electricity. The place is a bit run down but still pleasant.
Argentina Amaicha Del Valle S 26.59495° W 65.91348° We stayed the night at hostel Pacha Cuty. It's along San Martin from the square. A friendly place with hot showers, nice kitchen and warm company. We parked in the street outside. It was a bit of a squeeze to get under the trees and far enough away from the center of the road. Would not work for a vehicle larger than ours. We discovered later that there are two campgrounds in town, at least one looked open.
Argentina Amaicha Del Valle S 26.58940° W 65.91982° Returning to Amaicha we decided to try one of the campgrounds. It's on the road between the square and Ruta 40. A nice place, electricity, clean toilets and hot showers.
Argentina Cafayate S 26.08012° W 65.97669° On the southern edge of town are a number of campgrounds. We picked the one that had other guests and was obviously open for business. Nice hot showers, electricity, tables and fire places.
Argentina Cachi S 25.12184° W 66.16666° Camping Municipal, at the top of the hill on the south side of town. As you enter from the south along Ruta 40, continue until there is an uphill turn to the left. A really nice campground, campsites are bordered by hedges, electricity, clean toilets, hot showers, and a heated swimming pool ( that is 7 pesos).
Argentina Salta S 24.81368° W 65.41840° Another camping municipal, this one called Carlos Xamena. On the southern side of town just east of the main entrance highway 68 which turned into Avda Paraguay, take an exit onto Chile and then 2nd right into Avda Republic Del Libano. Has electricity, clean toilets, hot showers, and in the summer the most amazing swimming pool, the largest pool we have ever seen. A kidney shaped pool at least 300m long.
Argentina Salta S 23.79157° W 66.02187° North of San Antonio de los Cobres on Ruta 40 beside Salinas Grande, we just pulled off the road and parked near an old falling-down adobe house.
Argentina Tilcara S 23.57601° W 65.39991° In the town of Tilcara was El Jardin camping ground. Treed campground with tables, fire places, the most interesting portable barbecues, electricity, hot showers. It's right at the T intersection at the end of the street after crossing the bridge into town.
Argentina Salar De Olaroz S 23.53437° W 66.64611° About 200 yards off highway 52 in a slight depression, east of the salar.