My trip to Argentina in April was planned super last minute. I had not only rolled and sprained both ankles in Danang, Vietnam, but I suddenly realised as time passed, that it would be super cold or possibly snowing if I went hiking in Patagonia at the end of May. Therefore, I pushed my travel plans one month ahead.
I booked the flight to Argentina last minute, maybe a month before, but I still managed to grab a decent one-way flight deal. I paid around USD$1000+ (SGD$1410) for the flight, although it had 2 connections, I thought it was still doable. However, the overall flight time was still close to 30 hours. I thought that splitting up the long travel time on the flight into 2 stops might be better.
Most flights from Singapore usually fly to South America with one layover in Europe. However, those flights were out of my budget when I was booking them. Of course, you may also want to break up your trip with an actual trip to Europe somewhere, where you can take a bit of rest and explore your stopover city.
Here’s how I booked the flight –
I searched on Google flights for the best connection and timings. I don’t have any airline preferences and usually just book the ones that are the cheapest. I do like the feature that Google Flights has when it comes to legroom, so that I can see which airlines or planes have the widest legroom.
This was my flight itinerary:
SIN> DOHA on Qatar Airways – 8 hours 10 minutes, Airbus A350-900
Layover – 2h 55 minutes
DOHA> Madrid on Air Iberia – 8 hours 5 minutes, Airbus A330-200
Layover – 4 hours 5 minutes
MAD > Buenos Aires on Iberia Airlines – 12 hours 40 minutes, Airbus A350-900
As usual, Qatar Airways was fantastic and the Doha airport is super modern and international. Iberia Airlines was a hit-or-miss. The food was actually quite decent, although being a European airline, it was mostly sandwiches. However, the customer service was quite lacking. The toilets were not very clean. I also saw a kid knock food onto the aisle – not only did all the flight attendants not pick it up, they all deliberately walked around it! Did they not care at all..?
The good thing about the flights was that I had the entire row to myself both times but still did not manage to sleep well. I mean, I can understand why Iberia Airlines isn’t the most popular…
If you want to search and book affordable flights for your trips, you may want to check this out:
With my HSBC Travel One credit card, I have 4 free passes annually to airport lounges, courtesy of the Dragon Pass programme. So for both my stopovers, I used my passes and went to relax at the lounge.
At the Doha airport, I had access to Al Maha Lounge – South at the Main Terminal, International Departures.
The lounge was very crowded with people and not all that great to me. The food was quite limited, with mostly Middle Eastern-style appetisers and dips like hummus and baba ganoush. Because it was also quite big and crowded, the lounge was generally quite noisy, which was too much for me. I did manage to score a seat at a quiet corner of the lounge and tried to get some rest.
At the Madrid airport, I had access to the SALA VIP Neptuno lounge in Terminal 4. I think I lucked out with this lounge. It was very early in the morning, so there were much fewer people and it was much quieter. They had the usual breakfast foods and ready-made sandwiches but also a huge variety of bottled and hot drinks. The sofa chairs were very comfortable. But best of all, there was a nice, clean shower that I could use. It was the first time that I have ever taken a shower in an airport lounge, but it was super clean and had a private toilet as well. The towels, soaps and shampoo, and even a hair dryer were all provided. For someone who was on a very long travel journey, it was a Godsend at this point! I remember being very grateful for my travel credit card during this layover! Honestly, I really don’t like doing long-haul flights (must be leftover trauma from my college days), but having travel perks like lounge access makes long haul flights much, much more doable.
If you don’t have a travel credit card with lounge access, you can also purchase a lounge access subscription to these airport lounges all over the world. One of the best subscriptions is the Priority Pass membership, where you get access to over 1600+ lounges internationally. If you fly frequently, I highly recommend getting a membership! It is a lifesaver to relax for a few hours in a comfortable lounge seat, charge your phone and grab something to eat, away from the crowds at the airport.
When I finally got into Buenos Aires, I flew into Ministro Pistarini International Airport or Ezeiza International Airport (EZE). There is another airport in the city itself too – Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP) which is much closer to the city. If you want a shorter commute into Buenos Aires, it may be helpful to book flights from this airport instead.
In Buenos Aires, I had booked one night at a basic hotel before continuing onto my journey to Patagonia, which involved another 5 hour domestic flight. I booked a random hotel around Palermo, which was probably a mistake. I should have booked something closer to the airport, but it was nice to finally sleep on a real bed again after 30 hours of travelling! If your end destination in Argentina is Buenos Aires, you can book a hotel here through Agoda. I booked Infinito Hotel in Buenos Aires, which is a boutique hotel close to Alto Palermo, the shopping mall.