Argentina

Argentina works as either a city break or a continental odyssey. Buenos Aires has the energy and food of a top-tier capital at South American prices. Add Mendoza for Malbec and Andes views, Patagonia for mountain drama, Iguazu for waterfalls, the northwest for high-altitude desert.

Buenos Aires sets the rhythm: coffee and medialunas late morning, a long parrilla lunch, dinner at ten, dancing after one. Base in Palermo or Recoleta and walk most of it. From there the country opens up by plane — two hours to Mendoza's vineyards, three to El Calafate and the Perito Moreno glacier. Steak, wine, and city pleasures cost a fraction of what they would in Europe; the flights between regions are where the budget actually goes.

The economy is the catch. Inflation makes prices a moving target, and you'll spend real effort on exchange rates and cash logistics. Distances are brutal — Buenos Aires to southern Patagonia is roughly Madrid to Moscow, so a two-week trip means cutting regions you wanted. English is thin outside tourist zones, and phone-snatching in BA is real. None of it matters much once you're at a sidewalk parrilla at midnight; few countries deliver this much for the money.