Hey all. Well, it’s the last Sunday of the month again, and so far it’s fair to say 2022 has been nothing short of a complete disaster. So with my thoughts on what I would choose to be ‘Destination of the Month’, I wanted to find a place that was completely removed from all the craziness of the world right now, to find a place where it was cool, relaxed, beautiful scenery and I guess, as far away from Eastern Europe as his humanly possible. And thus, I settled on the town of Bariloche, or known by its full name, San Carlos de Bariloche, in the stunning region of Patagonia, Argentina.

We are talking about a region of mountains, lakes and scenery as far as the eye can see. And boy, it’s quite out of the way. We are talking a 24 hours bus ride from Buenos Aires – which is what you would do if you were a masochist I guess. Yes, I did! I also flew back to Buenos Aires which took and hour or two and is both possible and desirable unless you love the long road journey like I do.

Bariloche is just a postcard of perfection. But arriving it’s very interesting, and it some ways reminds me of Melbourne in the 1970s/early80s when we would go down the Mornington Peninsula with most of the roads only dirt roads, and those that were sealed were sandy on the side.

Bariloche is a great place in the summer and the winter. For skiiers and winter sports enthusiasts, it certainly has plenty of options for fun in the snow. I was there in December when I went there, and that is the Southern Hemisphere summer, and although it was far cooler than Buenos Aires or anywhere else in Argentina than I went, it was a very pleasant temperature and it was sunny every day.

There are plenty of accommodation options, and I stayed in the Green House Hostel – you can read my review HERE. You’ll find plenty of options for all budgets, which is great. There’s an exclusive golf club, and the town has a beautiful little centre with a square and a bunch of buildings which might make you feel like you’re in Switzerland. Oh, you’ll even see the odd Saint Bernard! The shopping strip is a great place for souvenirs and the like too.

Houses are really designed for the climate, you’ll see a bunch of chalets and houses built with large logs. What you might like to do is take a chairlift up the Cerro Catedral (it’s a mountain) and check out the views and restaurant at the top.

Otherwise the area has lakes and hikes, around said lakes, which is the best summer activity for the area. I did a couple of hikes in and around the lakes and let me tell you, the scenery is as beautiful as you might ever hope to see. There’s an exclusive gold club and expensive resort type places too.

And the air is clean and pure, you have all you need nearby but you are far removed from the rest of the world. And if you want to explore more of Patagonia, well this is the perfect starting point to head south as Patagonia is a large area stretching down to nearly the Tierra del Fuego, in both Argentina and neighbouring Chile.

Personally, I couldn’t think of a better place to be right now, can you? Thanks for popping by today, take care wherever you may happen to be, and May the Journey Never End!