The Best Hostels in Argentina for Backpackers

Keen to hike and adventure? This laidback hotel is located in the backpacker base of El Calafate – gateway to the brilliant blue Los Glaciares National Park. Staff can arrange tours of surrounding Patagonia, ranging from conventional sightseeing trips to high-octane adventures on kayak and horseback. You’ll be in the company of a mixed-age crowd, in rooms sleeping no more than four with ensuite bathrooms.

Spread across a timbered, lodge-like building, this El Calafate hostel has a classier feel than most. Warm lighting illuminates exposed-brick rooms, which range from six-bed mixed dorms to an apartment with a kitchenette and dining table. Arrange airport shuttles through the helpful, English-speaking staff, who can also sort out tours to Perito Moreno and other Patagonia highlights at a backpacker-friendly discount. Breakfast is included and the restaurant serves Western classics, including burgers and pasta dishes, with an occasional side of live music.

Two blocks from the iconic Avenida 9 de Julio and a short walk from the Obelisco and Plaza de Mayo, this outpost of the Millhouse Chain is perfectly positioned for both short and long stays. Brush up on your Spanish with in-house lessons, volunteer to teach English in a school or just kick back with a luminous cocktail from the bar. The parquet-floored rooms come in private en-suite doubles or dorms that sleep up to eight guests, with female-only options available.

This adults-only Gorilla Hostel boasts more amenities and tours than most hotels – like a currency exchange service and hair straighteners. Make the most of its location in central Mendoza, Argentina’s wine capital and ask the front desk to help organize trips to local vineyards and Gaucho experiences, which includes horseback riding and tucking into barbequed food. Back at the hotel, where mixed and female-only dorms sleep up to eight, events include asado and pizza nights and a disco three nights a week.

Hostal All Norte feels more like a boutique hotel than a hostel. The homely breakfast room opens onto a bougainvillea-ringed garden with patio table, while colorful dorms, decked out with patterned textiles and dark-wood furniture, sleep up to four guests. Bathroom facilities are shared and include multiple showers and toilets. Here, you’re just minutes’ walk from the starting point for the vertiginous Tren a las Nubes tourist train.

This red clapboard hostel, in the backpacker hotspot of El Chalten, is just 300m (984ft) from the trailhead, leading to the natural wonders of Los Glaciares National Park. Prepare your adventure fuel in the full kitchen and borrow a lunchbox if you’re in need. The hostel offers a tour, exclusively for its guests, including a van ride to Lago del Desierto and a cycle on the hostel’s mountain bikes. Dorms sleep up to four, with private rooms and a five-person cabin is also available.

Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, is best known among travelers as the jumping-off point for Antarctica trips. This hostel overlooks the Beagle Channel, home to dolphins and other endemic species. When you’re not lounging around your six-bed dorms or double room, make the most of the hostel’s activity roster, including riding dog sleds over frozen valleys, trekking Tierra Del Fuego National Park, driving a 4×4 by Patagonian lakes and spotting penguins from a sailboat.

Well-placed for asado, market-hopping and tango lessons, the Art Factory in San Telmo sets you up for a quintessential Buenos Aires experience. Housed in a classic Art Nouveau building, the rooms pop with graphic artwork, while a hammock-slung terrace is ideal for a midday siesta. Dorms sleep between four and eight guests, with private doubles also available. Evenings are best spent in the bar area, with a billiards table and occasional live music, or holed up in the library with a book.