San Carlos de Bariloche, or Bariloche for short, is an adventure town in the Lake District of Patagonia. Patagonia is a large region in the south of Chile and Argentina and can be broken up into a few areas based on the landscape and the activities that go with that landscape. Towards the north of the region is a landscape that has many mountain lakes nestled in the Andes mountains. Bariloche is located on one of these lakes and is the hub to explore other lakes in the region.
Because it has been labeled as “Little Switzerland”, it has grown over the centuries in a European style due to the influx of European immigrants, especially German ones, over the years. The German influence goes beyond the architecture of the town: it can also be found in the food, private education schools, and local skiing culture.
Getting Around Bariloche
Bariloche can be explored with or without a car. We were often warned that if you have a car, make sure to leave nothing visible in the vehicle when parked, especially overnight. We did most of our trip using public transportation but decided to rent a car to explore the Route of the 7 Lakes. (There are ways to do this without renting a car and we can get into that in the section about this particular activity).
Walking Around Bariloche
The center of Bariloche is focused around a street named Mitre and is about 10 blocks long. This street is lined with shops for anything you might need, including chocolate (yes, this is a need), tourism agencies for all the things to do in the area, clothing stores for different activities, grocery stores, kiosks, restaurants, and souvenir shops.
In addition, many people stand along this street looking to exchange dollars, euros, or Chilean pesos into Argentine pesos. This is definitely where you should exchange your money if you need pesos to maximize your money. This is the same as Florida Street in Buenos Aires and you can read more about the reason to exchange your money with these people here.
I would recommend walking down Mitre and taking in the energy of the town. In the evenings, the street is full of tourists enjoying the different attractions. The street, Mitre, dead-ends into the main square of the town, with buildings that include the tourism office of Bariloche, which can give you even more information about the activities to do in the area.
This main section of Bariloche should be enjoyed by foot and is one of the areas where you should stay if you are visiting Bariloche.
Public Transportation in Bariloche
Bariloche is a large town with a strong public transportation system. You can find bus routes through Google Maps by inputting in your starting location and end destination. The buses in this town can get you anywhere from the east to the west. You can even take the bus from the main bus station to the center of town if you are arriving in Bariloche by bus.
We used the buses to get to our boat trip from Puerto Panuelo, to get to the bike rental for the Circuito Chico, and to the Aerocilla Cerro Campanario. It was often the easiest and most direct way to get to our destinations.
To take the bus, you need to obtain a “Sube” card. This is the same card as in other major cities in Argentina, such as Buenos Aires, and you can continue to use that card here. If you do not already have one, you can buy them at different kiosks throughout the city (just look for the “Sube” sign in the window of the shop). The card costs a flat fee but you don’t have to pay any additional fees to load money on the card.You do need cash to purchase the card and load up the card.
Renting a Car in Bariloche
You can always rent a car in Bariloche. There are also some places within the town to rent cars as well. In addition to the international brands (Hertz, Alamo), you can find local or South American-based companies that are often more affordable. We used Localiza, a Brazilian company, for our rental for the weekend. They had great service and automatic vehicles available for our needs!
Activities in Bariloche
The following are different activities to do in and around Bariloche along with the amount of time to dedicate to each activity.
The German Walking Tour - 3 hours
There is a lot of mystery, intrigue, and false narrative around the German and Nazi presence in Bariloche. This two hour walking tour, developed and led by Diego, through Bariloche discusses the history of the town, the effect of immigration on the area over the centuries, and ultimately, the few Nazis that found their way here.
You can read more about this tour and other tours led by Diego here. You can also book the tour here.
Circuito CHico - 1 Day
This is a 17 mile (27 kilometer) loop to the west of Bariloche and a great way to explore the landscape on your own. While the loop is beautiful, it’s the extra detours within the loop that make it extra special. You can visit a former Swiss colony, stop at a few breweries, and hike up to an incredible view of the lakes. In the summer, you can rent a bike to do the whole circuit from Circuito Chico Adventure.
I would recommend renting e-bikes to make the loop a little easier and give you the time and energy to do and appreciate the little bonuses. You can just show up to the shop to get a bike, but, to ensure availability, you can reserve bikes by messaging the company on WhatsApp.
Isla Victoria + Los Arrayanes National Park - 1 Day
Just off the coast of Bariloche is an island with a beautiful forest of beautiful myrtle trees (arrayanes) with a cinnamon colored bark. To visit this forest from Bariloche, you need to go on a tour, either through Cao Cao or Turisur. Both companies provide the same tour at the same price. With this tour, you get to walk through the Arrayanes forest and relax on Isla Victoria with a beautiful beach. Of the options provided by both companies, we opted for the longer schedule, which allowed us to go on a short hike at the Isla Victoria and relax at the beach for a few hours.
We used the bus system in Bariloche to get from the center of the city to the Puerto Pañuelo boat dock.
Camino de los Siete Lagos - 1+ Days
The Route of the 7 Lakes is a picturesque road between San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura just north of Bariloche. It is famous for its beautiful views of lakes and mountains.
There are a few options for doing this route. If you do not want to rent a car, you can reserve a day-trip tour group to drive the route. If you do have a car, you can drive the route yourself and stop at the viewpoints of the 7 lakes and other features at your own leisure. The route takes about 2 hours to drive so the round trip could be done in one day.
Lastly, you could stay overnight in San Martin de los Andes and take your time on the drive between Bariloche and San Martin. From San Martin, there are other areas to explore and activities to do, including seeing/hiking volcanoes, kayaking, fly fishing, and more.
Aerosilla Cerro Campanario - 3 hours
If you want another great viewpoint of the Bariloche area and surrounding lakes, this one is an easy chair-lift ride away. We would recommend getting there right at opening or a little before. There are large tour-buses that stop here and the line can get long.
To get to the start of the chair-lift, we took the bus from the center of Bariloche and it was very easy to access.
Food to Explore in Bariloche
Breweries
Bariloche has a number of breweries that range from small local productions to international acclaim. This aligns with its European heritage. These breweries can be found along the coast of the lake and on the Circuito Chico. We visited a few while we were doing the Circuito Chico. The breweries include: Patagonia (internationally known but started here), Manush (one location in the center of Bariloche and one along the lake), Cerveceria Blest, Berlina Brewery (near the Swiss colony in the Circuito Chico), and more!
Lamb, Trout, Smoked Meat, and More
The Bariloche region is known for its local trout, lamb, and smoked meat, especially deer.
When driving through the country-side, you will see many sheep farms, used both for their wool and meat. The lamb is a national delicacy. The trout, while not originally native, is fresh from the local lakes and rivers. It is often served grilled or smoked in a variety of dishes. Finally, deer is a popular meat in the area and is often served in stews or smoked.
Due to the European Alpine influence, you can also find restaurants that serve fondue or goulash.
The following are some restaurants we recommend in the area:
- Familia Weiss – local traditional fare
- Punto Empanada Centro – empanadas that can be filled with local meats and fish
- La Fondue de Betty – San Martin de los Andes restaurant with Fondue (it’s closing at the end of September 2024 but there are other fondue places in both San Martin and Bariloche)
Chocolate
Bariloche is the chocolate capital of Argentina. As it was advertised as “Little Switzerland”, more and more European immigrants came to the area, bringing skills with them, including chocolate production. There are a number of famous chocolate shops that have been around for decades because of this. We tried Rapa Nui but another popular one is Mamuschka. There are a number of other ones throughout the center of Bariloche and you cannot go wrong whichever place you try.
Where to Stay in the Bariloche Area
Center of Bariloche
The center of Bariloche is full of restaurants, bars, chocolate shops, and tourism agencies. It is convenient for people who want to do a lot of different activities during their time in Bariloche. It’s also the right place if you do not have a car. There are a number of hotels, hostels, and short-term rentals that make this area incredibly convenient.
Villa Llao Llao and Villa Campanario
The area to the west of Bariloche is great to take advantage of being in a beautiful and peaceful area of the lake district. While it may be further from restaurants, it may feel more relaxing to stay away from the hub of the town. There are some nice hotels and short term rentals here but it may be beneficial to have a car while staying in this area.