A Digital Nomad Guide to Bariloche

Bariloche Visa

Currently, there are 4 categories: Temporary Visas, Temporary Residence Visas, Permanent Visas, and Nationality.

In general, both work and student visas must be requested in Argentina by the employer or by the university. You have to be patient because the procedures can take time. In addition, immigration laws are quite complicated, so it is necessary to inform yourself step by step. The most common documents required for visas are:

• Passport with a minimum validity of one year, from the date of issuance of the visa
• Current passport size photos
• A valid birth certificate internationally
• A certificate of good conduct issued by the police
• A complete medical report
• An affidavit that there is no criminal record, which will normally be signed in front of the Consul
• The payment of fees corresponding to the visa application.

Regarding Temporary Visas, these will not be necessary for some nationalities, as long as the reasons for visiting Argentina are for tourism or business. They are the most requested and the most widely issued, they are valid for one year, and are issued for the following reasons: work, studies, pensioners, for investments, for medical treatment, or cultural exchange programs.

Tourist Visa: They are issued by the General Directorate of Migration and a series of papers must be presented, among which a completed and signed application, a valid passport, a return ticket to the country of origin, two passport-size photographs, economic solvency, and the corresponding payment of fees.

Visa for artistic, religious, cultural, technical, or professional activities: This type of visa, for those nationalities that need it, is issued for 15 days, extendable to another 15. The required papers are the same as in the previous section, plus a letter from the institution for which they work, specifying the reason why these people are sent to Argentina.

*Information collected from https://vivirenn.com/requisitos-vivir-argentina/

Culture and Food in Bariloche

In Bariloche, you have the ideal combination: unique and exquisite flavors from the Patagonia region and the most natural ingredients. You can choose from hundreds of places where you can taste the regional gastronomy of Bariloche, learn about its history, and experience the exquisite combination, which generates different sensations, such as tasting a salmon or a rainbow trout in front of the incredible landscapes of the lakes that surround the mountains, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Artisan smoked cheese fondues ideal for a cold Patagonian night, a spicy and warm goulash (it is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices) and traditional or rainbow trout, wild boar, deer, and smoked cheeses They are worthy of being tasted. Red, white or black meat! sautéed with typical local mushrooms, trout in Papillote, with white wine or black butter, pasta stuffed with local food, Patagonian lamb (without a doubt for me, the best dish in all of Patagonia) grilled or the traditional barbecue expertly prepared, then they leave the place for desserts: mousses, sweet cakes, homemade ice creams, pancakes, and Suzette crepes, colored with natural sauces of raspberries, Boysenberries, blackberries, elderberry, and musket.

Fine wines from cold areas and Cavas from Río Negro are the ideal excuse to learn about the particular characteristics of regional production.

Not to be missed due to the particularity of the preparation is the curanto, cooked underground, on hot stones, and wrapped in nalca or maqui leaves, which allows you to enjoy an ancient tradition of the region.

For breakfast or snack time, you can choose between a stuffed braided bread, a hot buttered roll, and a variety of regional sweets, or luscious slices of lemon tart, mousse tarts, cheesecakes, black woods, or apfelstrudels. homemade. To accompany nothing better than a hot chocolate or a special coffee.

Different, the draft beer, of regional hops, (an incredible trend towards craft beer grew in the city in recent decades, which led Bariloche to be a producer of hops) seduces you to taste a small table of smoked products They share their presentation with regional meats and homemade patés. As a setting, an incredible mountain nature, large windows overlooking the lake, the informal table in front of the heat of a fire, good service, and typically European atmospheres, will serve as a pretext for recreation and relaxation of well-deserved rest in Bariloche.

In the city, chocolate is the most precious, it is characterized by having the best chocolates in all of Argentina, ideal whatever the weather. The most famous houses sell tons of chocolates per day! Imagine eating a bar of tasteful chocolate on top of a snowy mountain overlooking the Andes! Not bad, right?

Bariloche Nightlife

Night tours are the quintessential attraction for tourists arriving in Bariloche. On these tours, you can ride a snowmobile or quad bike to a picturesque mountain retreat where we welcome you for a delicious dinner. These three most desired tours from Bariloche are: “Nordic Night”, “El Refugio”, “Arelauquen”, among others.

If you are more into gambling, the local Casino is your place, from tables of blackjack, poker, and roulette, but do not bet all your money!

 There are tons of alternatives to make your nights in Bariloche as special as your days!

Bariloche’s nightclubs are one of the main meeting points for young tourists in search of the most fun nights in the region. In the center of the city, on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, numerous nightclubs offer vibrant music, psychedelic lights, and dance floors for all tastes, so that you know them, here is a list of the best known:

Cerebro

The Cerebro bowling alley has an avant-garde décor with two dance floors. The main track with rock music, pop, and another track with electronic music. It also has four bars, a lounge, reserved, robotic lighting, laser, giant screens, and 16 thousand watts of sound power.

Grisú

The Grisú disco is one of the most beautiful clubs in Bariloche due to its location next to Lake Nahuel Huapi with beautiful views of the sunrises. The bowling alley has different lanes and every night thousands of young people have fun while playing rock, pop, disco, electronic and Latin music.

Genux

The Genux bowling alley is a nightclub with futuristic architecture where live shows are offered. It has a capacity for 1,400 people, digital sound, intelligent lighting, and laser.

Roket

The Roket nightclub has an impressive structure with five floors and three dance floors each with different musical styles. It also offers 5 bars, VIP sector, digital sound, laser, and complex lighting system.

By Pass

The By Pass bowling alley is another of the classic nightclubs in Bariloche. By Pass has two dance floors, three bars, a VIP area, a giant screen, robot lighting, and a unique laser in Latin America.

* Information collected from turismobariloche.com.ar

You cannot leave the city without having done a bar tour of all the craft breweries that inhabit Bariloche, they are all over the city and they all have something special, I recommend a few:

• Berlina km12
• Patagonia
• Manush
• Beerland
• Kunstmann
• Lowther
• Wesley
• Dagda
• Kosten
• Punto Birra

The center of Bariloche is the busiest sector to go out at night. A little higher than the Civic Center (behind the Nahuel Huapi National Park Administration building), there is a concentration of bars and craft breweries (Manush, Blest, Antares, Berlina, Bachmann, etc.).

San Martín Street is one of the busiest at night and has several restaurants, where the Bariloche Casino is also located.

Things to do in Bariloche

The simple fact of sitting down to write what can be done in Bariloche makes me feel a strange sensation, southern Argentina has a special magic, as I mentioned earlier.

But to focus a bit on what can be done in this destination, let’s start with the winter season.

Bariloche has one of the best-known ski/snowboard and even snowbike centers in the world of sport.

We can found two main ski/snowboard centers in Bariloche Otto hill and Cathedral, I’m going to focus on the second one: 

The hill of the cathedral, has tracks with different difficulties, from beginners to experts; differentiated by colors:

• Green: beginners.
• Blue: intermediate.
• Red: advanced.
• Black: Experts.

Cerro Catedral has 34 elevators between cabins; double, triple, quadruple, and sextuple chairlifts; magic carpet and drag mean.

As I said, Bariloche is a stay and distribution center, it is a tourist corridor recognized for its ski slopes, everyone uses it as a base for the different nearby Patagonian points.

But it is not the only point of winter sports, very close to Bariloche, in San Martin De Los Andes and in Villa La Angostura, we can find the Chapelco hill (San Martin De Los Andes) and Cerro Bayo (in Villa La Angostura).

Bariloche city is besieged by Lake Nahuel Huapi, the freshwater lake, located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park, which has an area of ​​530 km2, is 770 m above sea level, and has a maximum measured depth of 464 m.

In the summer season, the lake hosts extreme sports and adventure tourism, which makes it an excellent resort. From kayaking to windsurfing to fly fishing, you can do it all on the lake!

The lake depression consists of several glacial valleys carved out along Miocene faults and valleys that were later dammed by moraines.

Its seven branches are called:

• Blest (36 km²)
• Huemul (21.5 km²)
• De la tristeza (18,5 km²)
• Campanario (7,9 km²)
• Machete
• De la esquina
• Última esperanza.

 It is connected to other smaller lakes such as Gutiérrez, Moreno, Espejo, and Correntoso. The deep blue waters are home to several islands, including Victoria Island with an area of ​​31 km² and Huemul Island.

* Information collected from NatGeo Travel.

In Nahuel Huapi there is a crazy story that became a myth, the story of Nahuelito:

At the beginning of the 20th century (and following an ancient aboriginal legend) the rumor of a giant creature that lived in the deep waters of the lake was present. The creature is known locally as Nahuelito. The reported sightings predate Nessie and The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle).

The local Mapuche called another creature the Cuero (leather) for its soft skin. The neighboring lake Lago Lácar has also been the site of accounts of another creature, more consistent with a plesiosaur, with Aborigines describing it as a sea cow with teeth around it. (Do you dare to go in search of these creatures?).

If you want to go out for a few laps by car, bike, motorcycle, or hitchhiking, I recommend the path of the seven lakes, this is what it calls a section of National Route 40 in the province of Neuquén, Argentina.

The section joins the towns of San Martín de Los Andes and Villa La Angostura in the Province of Neuquén and owes its name to the fact that seven lakes can be seen during its journey.

It has a length of approximately 107 km where the typical characteristics of the Patagonian Andes region can be appreciated: extensive forests, snowy hills, and lakes.

This road crosses two national parks: the Lanín and the Nahuel Huapi.

The lakes that give the path its name, in order from San Martín de Los Andes to Villa la Angostura, are:

• Lácar
• Machónico
• Falkner
• Villarino
• Lago Escondido
• Correntoso
• Espejo

In Bariloche we can also find large numbers of both German and Swiss, what’s more, there are German neighborhoods and the famous Colonia Suiza, home to the best beer factories in the Andean country.

It is very common for tourists to visit the Llao Llao hotel, in 1999 the hotel became a member of The Leading Hotels of the World and has won many important awards since its reopening, including “The Best Hotel and Resort in the interior Argentine “in 1999.

It has incredible views of Lake Moreno, golf courses, and incredible architecture worth visiting.

You should also take tea at Cerro Otto, which at its top has a rotating confectionery, which allows you to see in detail from a panoramic view the entire city, lakes, highest peaks, and beautiful landscapes worthy of Patagonia.

The city is also known for its clubs, during July, August, and September, it is the headquarters of student tourism from all over the country and parts of Latin America, this undoubtedly made the clubs in the city fashionable. Although they are intended for the youngest, they open every day, a different one, thus creating a vast offer.

Now comes one of my favorite parts, for which I love this city and its surroundings, adventure tourism:

From fly fishing, descent on mountain bikes, kayaking through different waterfalls, and above all eternal trekkings that put you to the physical test, for me it was pure adventure and a moment of ecstasy!

• Ascent to the Tronador hill.
• Trekking to the myrtle forest.
• Victoria Island.
• El Bolson.
• Cascada Santa Ana.
• Espejo Chico.
• Playa Yuco.
•  Lago Hermoso.
• Pileton Del Manso.
• Refugio Frey.
• Pampa Linda.
• Playa Muñoz.
• Playa Bonita.
• Cerro Capitan.

It should be noted that some of these natural attractions are not found in Bariloche, but it is pertinent to do them, get to know them, and explore them, they are worth every step that is taken in each one of them!

As you can see, in this city and all its surroundings, you will not have time to get bored, it is full of activities to do, from bars, bowling alleys, to fishing in almost frozen waters, a whole afternoon skiing in winter or 13-hour trekking that they place you on the most spectacular peaks you will ever see!

Best Time to Visit Bariloche

The climate of Bariloche is the oceanic Mediterranean, with abundant winter rains in the form of snowfalls, many snowfalls! Cold temperatures that freeze some of its lakes! A low annual temperature range and a high daily range, especially in winter!

However, in summer they usually reach 35 ° C and in winter down to -25.4 ° C.

Summers are dry, mild, and short, with precipitation concentrated in winter in the form of rain, sleet, and snowfall. But the Pacific Ocean winds cool down after passing through the Andes mountain range, also depositing their moisture there, which makes the summers extremely dry!

As the text above explains, summers are super hot! Ideal for water sports! Or make ascents to its highest peaks! In summer it usually gets dark at approximately 9.30 pm.

During May and June, the highest rains occur, reaching monthly averages of about 130 mm.

During June, July, August, and September it is sure to see torrential snow falls that dye the entire landscape in white! The accumulation of snow in the city can vary from 10 cm, reaching 50 cm in the harshest winters.

The month of November stands out for the strong winds, which can have gusts of up to 100 km / h !!

So that you can take the dimension of the cold that can get to be in the city, on July 16, 2017, the lowest minimum temperature in its history was registered at 4:22 in the morning, with an absolute mark of -25.4 ºC, and a thermal sensation of -29 ºC, an absolute historical record.

Bariloche for Families

The city of Bariloche is fully prepared for you to move or visit it with your family!

As I told you in some other post, in Argentina you have public schools, which do not have any registration or enrollment cost or monthly fees, and private schools that do have monthly and registration costs.

It has a large number of kindergartens (the monthly cost of a kindergarten is about $ 65 per month) primary schools or colleges for boys, as well as secondary schools, sports clubs, and extracurricular activities!

I leave you a list of these:

Primary school

College of the Sun

4243 De Los, Av.de los Pioneros 5AV

Elementary School No. 295

August 2, 1404

Nicolás Levalle Elementary School Number 278

La Paz 550

School 320

José María Sobral 180 

Dr. Ángel Gallardo / Middle school

Laprida 1300-1398

La Semilla School, Waldorf Bariloche High School

Av.de los Pioneros 6200

Colegio Castex / Middle School

Almte Brown 99

The prices of elementary and secondary schools in the city are approximately between $ 100 and $ 130 depending on which one you choose!

Universities

Comahue National University / Public university

Quintral 1250

RED Pascal Bariloche / Private university

Gallardo 424

University of Río Negro

Miter 630

National Technological University / Public university

Fanny T. de Newbery 111

21st Century University – CAU BARILOCHE

Bartolomé Miter 434

Balseiro Institute

Av. Exequiel Bustillo 9500 · In Bariloche Atomic Center

CITECDE University Study Center

Villegas 360

As you will see, you also have public or private universities, there are some like Balseiro that offer many opportunities to be awarded a scholarship and to attend, but the others have a cost of approximately $ 150 per month.

Leaving the study area, in Bariloche we find endless activities to do as a family or alone, such as:

• Practice skiing or snowboarding
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Golf
• Taekwondo
• Mixed Martial Arts
• Trekking for kids
• Climbing
• Reading clubs
• Language courses
• Local flora and fauna courses
• Cooking courses for the little ones
• Cultural centers for children

Living in Bariloche

Bariloche Transportation

Logically, the means of transport in the city is the car, most of the locals are transported in their vehicles since, the distances in Patagonia are long, you also need it urgently to carry your ski or snowboard equipment when you go to the mountains!

Beyond that, the city is connected by bus lines, with the company My bus or its application you can travel the entire city and connect through different lines to more distant points. The most traveled lines are the following:

Line 10: Bus Terminal – Centro – Colonia Suiza.

Line 20: Bus Terminal – Centro – Llao Llao.

Line 21: Bus Terminal – Centro – Bº Covibar and 2 de Agosto.

Line 22: Bus Terminal – Centro – Peninsula San Pedro.

Line 50: Control1 – Downtown – Villa Los Coihues.

Line 51: Control1 – Downtown – Km. 15,500 of Av. Bustillo (Bº Don Orione).

Line 55: Downtown – Cerro Catedral

Line 70: National University of Comahue – Downtown – Bº Las Victorias.

Line 72: Downtown – International Airport

There is a line called “Pioneers Tour” that connects the entire city and leads to access to the cathedral hill, and its route is as follows:

Bus Terminal, Avda. 12 de Octubre, Diagonal Capraro, Moreno, Morales, Neumeyer, 20 de Febrero, Belgrano, 20 June, Avda. De los Pioneros, Barrio Melipal, Cerro Otto Cable Car, Access Route to Cerro Catedral, Cruce Virgen de las Nieves, Cerro and Villa Catedral.

The good thing about the bus lines in Bariloche is that the cards with which they are paid are SUBE (same as in the capital of the country) so if you have a previous balance in your stay in Buenos Aires, you already have covered by what minus a few trips!

The price of a bus ticket is $ 6.40 but it also depends on the distance you travel. The rate that I just put is that of line 21 that runs throughout the city from the city’s airport, so if you use it to move within the city the price will be much lower.

You can also take taxis or remises within the city and move wherever you want, this, being a pure tourist means of transport, is usually expensive, precisely from June, the fare of a taxi went from cost $ 7 to cost $ 9 approximately (in Argentine pesos it cost $ 80 to $ 100).

So my recommendation if you visit Bariloche or any point in Patagonia is without a doubt that you rent your vehicle!

The rental prices of a medium vehicle for 4 people are around $ 25 to $ 38 per day depending on the date since in high season they are higher.

Fuel is another factor to take into account the liter of super gasoline $ 74.30; infinia $ 88; diesel $ 82.50; diesel infinia $ 98.50.

I know that it may not be the cheapest way to move from one place to another, but undoubtedly it’s the most comfortable! You can leave your things in the car, or have your timetables! 

* information collected from https://www.rionegro.com.ar

Fitness and Health

Speaking of health and fitness in the area, there are many gyms, they are not extremely necessary, since you can train in the different squares of the city or go to the mountains or the lakes to do extreme or adventure sports, or simply do push-ups and squats. on the shore of Nahuel Huapi!

People in Bariloche are usually very proactive when it comes to staying in shape, you usually see a lot of people running and exercising, in this destination you can do many sports.

 I do not think it is necessary to mention in this section that the sports par excellence are skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, snorkeling, trekking, climbing, and all kinds of water and mountain sports.

But going back to the most everyday sports, you can do everything in the city, such as conventional weightlifting gyms, through yoga gyms and CrossFit boxes, martial arts centers, soccer fields, tennis courts, sports fields. golf, paddle tennis courts, polo fields, skateparks, or incredible bike parks, recently remodeled with views of the lakes.

There are also groups of runners that go out on the weekend, and they do amazing hikes the last few days!

Like bird watching or fishing groups going out for days in search of nature!

I fulfill the obligation to leave you a list of the best-known gyms in the area!

• Skeip

Ada Maria Elflein 336

Phone: + 54294443-1530

• Total Gym

Roque Saenz Pena 118

Phone: + 54294443-7717

• Point Fitness Gym

1. Exequiel Bustillo 12435

Telephone: +54 9294451-1697

• Vertex 7

Roland 555

Phone: + 54294442-5027

• Jakabol Crossfit

Club Arrayán, Otto Meiling

Phone: + 54294455-7474

Bariloche Insurance and Medical Care

As we already told you in our previous posts, health in Argentina is public, which makes things much easier at the time of an emergency, but you should also bear in mind that time and comfort will not be on your side if you go to a public hospital, so I recommend that you take out travel insurance or a prepaid one to be more comfortable and safe, in addition to that they cover all the needs in difficult times of pandemic (Covid-19) like the ones we are experiencing.

Moreover, if you feel symptoms related to this disease you should: 

• Isolate yourself until the suspicion is confirmed or discarded.
• Alert people with whom you have had contact for 48 hours before the onset of symptoms as they must also isolate themselves.
• Contact the health system in your jurisdiction.
• If the infection is ruled out, you can discontinue isolation.
• If the diagnosis is confirmed, you must maintain isolation until medical discharge and follow all the recommendations of the health team.

As always, I leave you a list of health centers in the city if you have any unforeseen medical problems.

• Sanatorio San Carlos (Private Hospital)

Address: Avenida Exequiel Bustillo 1000

Pje. Gutierrez 980

Miter 124

Open 24 hours

Phone: + 54294440-9800

• SEAS (Public Medical Center)

Address: Vice Admiral O’Connor 730

From 9 a. M. At 3 p. M. (Request an emergency call)

Phone: + 54294452-6100

• Zonal Hospital Dr. Ramón Carrillo (General Hospital)

Francisco Perito Moreno 601

Open 24 hours.

Phone: + 54294442-6100

Make sure you are fully covered by reading our full Digital Nomad Travel Insurance guide.

Jobs in Bariloche

The most accessible jobs in Bariloche, clearly are seasonal jobs, ski or snowboard instructor, lifeguard or working in rental houses for snow equipment, or in the ascents of the chairlifts. If you have some of these skills, it will not be difficult for you to find a job, besides being Argentina, they are very well paid.

Speaking with a friend who works as a snowboarding instructor, he told me that in Argentina an instructor usually earns by the hour:

Experienced: $ 18 to $ 22 and a novice from $ 12 to $ 16 depending on the center, also comparing it with Chile, it is still far behind in the consideration since in the neighboring country the hourly salaries are approximately an experienced instructor from $ 24 to $ 26 and a novice $ 15 to $ 17.

The other positions that we can find are very specific to the area, such as mining engineers, civil or industrial engineers, junior engineers in Bariloche have an average salary of $ 1,350 per month according to INVAP (NVAP SE is an Argentine company that provides design, integration, construction, and delivery of equipment, plants, and devices).

The most common salaries, as a cashier in supermarkets or hotel receptionists, have an approximate salary range of $ 800 per month.

As you have noticed, it is advisable to keep or get a remote job so as not to depend on a salary in Argentine peso! It is clearly less than a salary in dollars or euros, and simply visit Patagonia as a tourist or as a freelancer and stay a few months!

Check out our Digital Nomads Jobs Postings to find the best jobs available for Digital Nomads.