Should you visit La Plata or Puerto Madryn?
Which city is more affordable and which is best for your travel style? If you're trying to figure out where to go next, comparing the travel costs between La Plata and Puerto Madryn can help you decide which place is right for you.
La Plata
Just over an hour from Buenos Aires, the bustling university city of La Plata is notable for being South America's first planned city. Indeed, also known as the City of Diagonal, La Plata's intricate grid system includes diagonal streets that run through it, contributing to easy navigation but confusing intersections.La Plata is the Capital of the Province of Buenos Aires, the main Argentine state, so you will find lots of elaborate government buildings alongside leafy green plazas in this laid back as well as active city. La Plata is a happening university town with a population of over 700,000. You can walk the width of it in under an hour, stopping at trendy craft beer bars, local music joints, and great restaurants along the way. Also, football is a religion in Argentina and if you're looking for some local atmosphere, La Plata is the place to go! Two of Argentina's biggest football teams, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata and Estudiantes de La Plata challenge each other each year. If you are around during that special day for the city, you will witness thousands of fans wearing the relevant colours heading off to watch the match and parade by calle 7.
Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn is mostly known as the gateway to Peninsula Valdes, welcoming tourists who come for whale watching. The Peninsula Valdes is a nature reserve designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site; 97 km long and 63 km wide, it is connected to the continent by an isthmus of 35 km from which we can see both gulfs, San Jose at north and the Nuevo at south.
Which city is cheaper, Puerto Madryn or La Plata?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in La Plata is $62, while the average daily cost in Puerto Madryn is $101. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each city. Below is a breakdown of travel costs for La Plata and Puerto Madryn in more detail.
Accommodation
Double occupancy rooms typically run around $50 in La Plata For nicer amenities and a premiere location, you can expect to pay a bit more.
If you're traveling alone, you may be able to find a budget hotel or hostel for around $38. But for two people in a standard two-person hotel room in Puerto Madryn the cost is $76 on average.
Food
On average, meal and food prices in La Plata cost around $24 per person, per day. While this price can vary widely by location, the type of restaurant, and the amount of food ordered, a typical meal often costs around $9.60.
Food in Puerto Madryn costs travelers about $41 per day on average. Restaurants can vary significantly in price, so choose wisely if you're trying to save money. Fast food and street stalls are typically your cheapest options, which sit down restaurants can be significantly more expensive.
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Food
Meals for one day
La Plata $24
Puerto Madryn $41
Typical Food prices in La Plata
Here are some examples of typical meal expenses from previous travelers to La Plata:
Local Transportation
Public transportation tends to be much less expensive in La Plata than paying for a taxi or private car service, as is expected. Typically, people spend $18 on transportation in La Plata on average per day.
While taxis and private drivers typically cost much more than public transportation, people usually spend around $24 per day to get around in Puerto Madryn.
Hired Cars and Shuttles in La Plata
Also for La Plata, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
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La Plata hotels to El Palomar Airport (EPA) - Departure Private Transfer:
$75
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Puerto Madryn
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Puerto Madryn:
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Puerto Madryn Airport Private Transfer:
$138
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Puerto Madryn Trelew Airport Shuttle Transfer:
$15
Is it cheaper to fly into La Plata or Puerto Madryn?
Prices for flights to both Puerto Madryn and La Plata change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Entertainment
Sightseeing expenses in La Plata, including the cost of admission tickets for day tours, museums, and attractions, usually cost an average of $16 per day, per person.
Activities, things to do, and other forms of entertainment usually cost around $42 per person, per day in Puerto Madryn. This cost includes the price of admission tickets to attractions and museums as well as daily tours.
Typical Entertainment prices in La Plata
For La Plata, here are some examples of average entertainment and activity prices from previous travelers:
Typical Entertainment prices in Puerto Madryn
Some typical examples of activities, tours, and entrance ticket prices in Puerto Madryn are as follows:
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Whale Watching for Two
$3.13
Tours and Activities in Puerto Madryn
Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Puerto Madryn are as follows:
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3-Day Atlantic Patagonia Wild Nature Experience at Bahia Bustamante Lodge:
$421
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Chubut Welsh Colonies Tour:
$64
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City Tour and Sea Lions at Punta Loma from Puerto Madryn:
$29
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Cruise Shore excursion to Punta Tombo:
$100
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Cruise shore excursion to Peninsula Valdes:
$120
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Discover Valdes Peninsula Day Tour:
$99
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Excursion Sib Tour to the valley of the Chubut river:
$113
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Florentino Ameghino Dam Day Tour:
$152
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Full Day Tour to Florentino Ameghino Dam from Puerto Madryn:
$75
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Full Day Tour to Punta Ninfas from Puerto Madryn:
$110
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Patagonia Ranch and El Pedral Penguin Colony Tour from Puerto Madryn:
$125
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Peninsula Valdes & Estancia San Lorenzo Full Day Tour:
$155
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages can often be a significant portion of a traveler's budget, and the costs can vary greatly from person to person. In La Plata, the average amount that a visitor spends on alcoholic beverages per day is $8.69.
The average person spends about $23 on alcoholic beverages in Puerto Madryn per day. The more you spend on alcohol, the more fun you might be having despite your higher budget.
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between La Plata and Puerto Madryn, we can see that Puerto Madryn is more expensive. And not only is La Plata much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. So, traveling to La Plata would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in La Plata and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Puerto Madryn would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Puerto Madryn than you might in La Plata.
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