Your bag is stuffed with chocolate and maté, and it’s time to think about heading to the Capital of Argentina, Buenos Aries.
Bariloche is a special place and we certainly felt sad to leave the mountains and the lakes behind us.
There’s a couple of different routes, one is certainly faster than the other. Let’s have a look at your options and what suits your budget!
How to get from Bariloche to Buenos Aries
Leaving Bariloche is not easy, it’s a place that captures your heart, being surrounded by powerful mountains and all that epic nature, well it’s hard to walk away from, Patagonia’s magic certainly leaves a lasting impression.
Alas, it’s time to get to the city and explore Argentina’s epic tango scene, tasty cuisines and colourful streets. How should you get there? It all depends on your budget and if you’re in a rush.
There’s two choices to get from Bariloche to Buenos Aries, let’s jump right in!
The Fastest Route: Flying from Bariloche to Buenos Aries
Bariloche has a convenient airport close by called San Carlos de Bariloche Airport (BRC), it’s only 8km away and takes around 20-30 minutes to get there. There’s a couple of ways to get to the airport:
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- Taxi: You can get a taxi from Bariloche to the airport, either flag one down or order an Uber, it will cost around 3,000 to 4,000 ARS.
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- Airport Shuttle: The shuttle is cheaper than a taxi, usually around 1,500 to 2,500 ARS per person, it can take a little longer depending on how many times it stops.
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- Bus: The bus is the cheapest option but it can take up to an hour as it will stop a lot, it will only cost you 300 ARS or maybe less, depending on where you’re getting it from. Be sure to have money on your Sube card for the bus.
The airport has domestic and international flights, the companies that fly to Buenos Aries are Aerolineas Argentina, JetSMART, Flybondi and LATAM.
When we checked for flights, the cheapest we found was around $120 USD, they can have even cheaper flights if you book in advance.
Check out our article on Bariloche for more information on getting around and what to see and do!
The Cheapest Route: Bus from Bariloche to Buenos Aries
Argentina is pretty big and the southern part of the country is classed as the Patagonia Steppe, a semi desert, so the landscape is pretty flat. There is a bus that drives all across the country, covering a whopping 1,575 km/ 978 miles, it’s certainly the longest bus journey we’ve ever taken.
How Long Does it Take
Our bus took 23 hours in total and apart from some stops to pick the occasional person up, our drivers were on a mission, they didn’t even stop anywhere for morning poos! We have to say that the thought of it was intimidating and daunting, but it was actually a really smooth journey and it went super quick. The seats are super comfy and recline back to 180°which helped a lot.
Different Bus Companies
There’s a few different bus companies that do this route, Via Bariloche, ViaTac and Chevallier. We went with Via Bariloche, it was super comfortable and we would highly recommend.
Each company offers different departure times, if you take an afternoon bus you can arrive early morning in Buenos Aries, which means you have the whole day to explore. We left at 2pm and arrived at 1pm the next day.
How Much Does it Cost
Prices range from $80-$90 USD, you can book directly at the bus station or on Busbud, if you book in person using cash, you get a 20% discount.
Prices for the bus used to be cheaper but with Argentina’s financial crisis, everything’s pretty expensive. Wherever possible we always try and get a bus, through not only a fear of flying but also trying to cut down our carbon footprint.
Tips for the Journey
For such a long bus journey, 23 hours isn’t for the light hearted, you’re going to need to have a few things to hand to make your time more enjoyable, here’s what we recommend:
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- Noise Cancelling Headphones: We use these for our teaching jobs and honestly they have been such a game changer for travelling, there’s nothing worse than being on a bus overnight and hearing someone snore or make weird grunting noises, I can’t stand to hear anything so I put on my headphones, turn on the noise cancelling and I’m good for the night. You can also go old school and pop in some earplugs, but nothing beats the noise cancellation headphones, they really blocks all external noises out!
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- Preparing Food: I don’t know about you but I’m not nice to be around when i get hungry, I need regular intervals of food throughout the day or beast mode is activated. So we usually prepare some wraps or even pasta, we use the clear vegetable bags from the supermarket to fill up with pasta that we’ve prepared. Food on the road is very expensive and in our case the bus driver didn’t even stop once for food or number 2 toilet breaks. So make a big meal because you’re going to need dinner, breakfast and lunch. Also, bring enough water to last and snacks, lot’s of snacks!
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- Jumpers and something for a Pillow: It doesn’t matter what time of year your travelling, in the summer the AC will be blasting and in the winter it get’s cold at night, you can’t have enough jumpers to be cosy and to use as a blanket or a pillow.
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- Keep valuables with you: Under the bus in the storage area you’ll dump your backpacks but be sure to have anything of value on you. We had two small bags that we took on board, one had our laptops and headphones, the other was a food bag, it’s also a good shout to bring some toilet paper and hand sanitiser, 9 times out of 10 the bus won’t have toilet paper or soap, you might even want to bring your toothbrush if you fancy a freshen up.
- Pick the top deck front seats: We always opt for the front seats on the upper deck, Rita get’s travel sickness so she need’s to be able to see the road ahead, aside from that you don’t have to worry about anyone in front and you get more leg room. With the panoramic windows, it’s really a great sight seeing bus during the day.