Frozen Fingers and Free Wifi: A Budget Student's Survival Guide to Neuquén in Winter
okay so i literally just got off a bus that took 7 hours from bahía blanca and my hands are still numb typing this but my phone says 4.86 degrees and feels like 4.86 degrees which is just cruel because like... whatés the point of a feels like if it´s the exact same number
Quick Answers
Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: only if you´re into that whole "patagonia but cheaper" thing. the museums are decent, the coffee is cheap, but honestly you could sleepwalk through the main drag and not miss much. not a destination, more of a stopover.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: laughably cheap for a city this size. i paid 2500 pesos for a hostel bed that had actual heating, which is basically a miracle. meals under 1500 if you stick to the mercadillo spots.
Q: Who would hate it here?
A: anyone who needs sunshine to function. it´s grey, it´s damp, it´s 93% humidity outside which sounds fake but my hair is literally proof. also if you need things to be "cute" or "aesthetic" just go to bariloche instead.
Q: Best time to visit?
A: honestly? don´t. the summer months (december-february) are apparently less miserable. i came in winter because student fares were cheaper and i regret every single choice that led to this.
so yeah i´m here in neuquén, which is like... the biggest city in neuquén province? that sounds redundant but whatever. someone told me it was a good stopping point between buenos aires and the really pretty parts of patagonia and they were technically correct but in the same way that a rest stop on a highway is "good."
first impression: it´s cold. obviously it´s cold, it´s july, i knew this intellectually. but my blood is spanish/italian and has never experienced anything below 15 degrees celsius in my entire life so this feels like a personal attack from the atmosphere.
i found a hostel near the bus terminal because i am nothing if not predictable. 2500 pesos a night, which is like... $2.50 USD? wild. the wifi works, the shower has hot water, there are other backpackers here so i have people to complain to. that´s really all i need.
local told me: "the best asado is at el porteño, but you´re a student so go to mercado central instead. same meat, quarter the price" - i listened and she was right, asado for 1200 pesos, that would be like $1.20 back home
okay but here´s the actual useful stuff:
food: if you want cheap, go to the mercado central. it´s like a big indoor market with tons of little counters. i had empanadas for 200 pesos each, which is nothing. the choripán stands around the central plaza do a solid sandwich for 400-600 pesos depending on how greedy the guy seems.
tripadvisor says this place has decent museums but i haven´t been to any yet because i arrived yesterday and have been primarily focused on not freezing.
the weather: it´s 4.86 degrees. it feels like 4.86 degrees. the humidity is 93% which i didn´t even know was possible outside of a rainforest. there´s a weird mist going on that locals apparently call "neblina" which sounds romantic until you´re actually walking in it and can´t feel your toes. the pressure is 1016 which is apparently normal? i don´t know what any of that means honestly, i just know my ears feel weird.
the tourist vs local thing: pretty easy to spot the difference here. tourists are the ones actually looking at their phones for directions, locals are the ones walking with purpose even though it´s -2 outside and why is anyone walking with purpose in this weather? the tourist areas are mostly around the riverfront, there´s a walkway that´s kinda nice if you catch it on a less miserable day.
safety: i felt fine walking around at night? but i also have that thing where i look vaguely annoyed all the time which apparently makes people leave you alone. the hostel guy said the area near the bus terminal is fine, the area towards the university is fine, just don´t go too far east after dark and i quote "you´ll know when you cross the point of no return because it gets very sad."
here´s the thing nobody tells you about neuquén: it´s not trying to be a destination. it´s a working city. there´s a石油 industry thing happening, there´s farming, there´s just... life. and honestly? that´s kind of refreshing after the chaos of bsas.
yelp has some restaurant recommendations but honestly just walk around and pick places that have people in them. that´s my whole philosophy.
i met a guy from mendoza who said this city is basically "a gas station between good places" and i think that´s unfairly harsh but also not totally wrong. if you´re coming here specifically to see things, you might be disappointed. if you´re passing through and need a cheap place to sleep and eat for a few days, it works perfectly.
the bus route 3861061 (lol random number) goes to san martin de los andes which is apparently the pretty part i should have gone to instead, and honestly next time i will. someone in my hostel said the lakes there are insane and i believe them because everything in patagonia seems to be either a lake or a mountain or both.
specific advice for other budget students:
- get a suba card for public transport, it saves money
- the free walking tour starts at 10am from the main square, tips are optional but appreciated
- there´s a 24/7 bakery on rivadavia that saved my life at 2am when i needed something warm
- the hostel wifi is better than most cafe wifi, just stay there
i keep thinking about how my friends back home are posting beach photos and i´m here with frozen snot and 93% humidity somehow at the same time. but also i paid $12 for three days of accommodation so who really wins here
reddit thread about neuquén that i found useful before coming - lots of locals in the comments which is better than tourist stuff
lonely planet page for when you need more structured information than my rambling
the best thing about this city might be how unpretentious it is. there´s no "you MUST see this" energy. it just exists. sometimes that´s exactly what you need when you´ve been traveling for 3 months and can´t remember what your bed at home feels like.
i leave tomorrow to go further south, finally towards the actually pretty part ofu00e9n. but i´ll remember neuquén as the place where i learned that 4.86 degrees is survivable, that 200 peso empanadas exist, and that sometimes a city doesn´t have to be special to be exactly what you need.
or maybe i´m just cold and hungry and everything seems profound. either way.
hostelworld for booking if you need actual practical help instead of my existential rambling