Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in South America and the world. There is so much to do, to see and to enjoy, that you will want to stay forever. Moving from one place to another is not a great deal, but you must have an idea of what transportation is about in Buenos Aires before getting into it. Here, a quick guide!

related post:

How To: Get from EZE to Buenos Aires to Las Leñas or Bariloche

Airports:

There are two major airports in Buenos Aires: the “Ministro Pistarini” Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) and the Aeroparque Internacional “Jorge Newbery” (AEP). If you’re coming from Europe or the US, your flight will for sure land at Ezeiza’s Internatonal Airport, which is a bit further from the center of the city.

“Ministro Pistarini” Ezeiza International Airport (EZE)

As mentioned above, Ezeiza is about 20 miles (1 hour with normal traffic) away from the city center. There are not many ways to get from the airport to the city: a taxi, shuttle or public bus. We’ll see each of them in detail.

Taxis

An easy, but expensive solution. A one-way taxi from Ezeiza to the center of Buenos Aires will cost around of $580 (USD 40). For your own safety, if you choose to take a cab, ask for one inside the airport, at any of the official stands.

Private Shuttle

In Argentina, they are called “remises”. You can take one at the airport or book your tickets online in advance here. It costs $755 (USD 51).

Shuttles

A shuttle (bus) is a more affordable option. It costs only $195 (USD 14) per person and drops you off at the Madero Transportation Center, just a few minutes away from the center of the city. A great advantage is that you can book your tickets online in advance here.

Public transport

A really cheap option, but not very practical if you have too much luggage. Bus #8 will cost you $7 (USD 0.5) and will take you from the airport to the city. But if this is your first time in Buenos Aires, I wouldn’t recommend it. You will have enough time to get to know the public transportation system afterwards.

Aeroparque Internacional “Jorge Newbery” (AEP):

If your flight comes from Santiago de Chile, Montevideo, or any Argentinean airport, check twice your boarding pass. It may land at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, which is great news. This airport is literally inside the city. Getting from here to the center is really easy, and not expensive at all.

Taxis

A one-way taxi from Aeroparque to the center of Buenos Aires will cost around of $150 (USD 10). For your own safety, if you choose to take a cab, ask for one inside the airport, at any of the official stands.

Public transport

As previously said, its a cheap option, but not very practical if you have too much luggage. All bus tickets cost around $7 (USD 0,5) and will take you from the airport to the city. You can download Como Llego BA, a free app for your cell phone where you can enter your hotel adress and the app will tell you which bus to take, and where to take it.

Public Transport within the City:

Public transport in Buenos Aires probably isn’t as good as New York’s one, but its pretty easy to understand, and will let you move around with no problems at all.

1.  First thing you must do is go to any “kiosko” of the city (there is at least one per block in all the entire city, more than 4,00o total) and ask for a SUBE card. This will cost you $25 (USD 2) and will be the payment method each time you catch a bus, a train or the subway.

2.  Secondly, you have to ask at the same “kiosko” to charge some credit to your SUBE card. This can be only done in cash and in pesos. Take into account that each bus ticket is $6.5 and each subway ticket is $4.5.

3. Third, download the Como Llego BA app to your smartphone. Once you have the app, open it and select your initial location. It may be an intersection of two streets (use the word “y” for “and”), a point of interest (such as a theater, a museum, a park or a famous building) or an exact adress. You can even save your hotels adress as a favourite location so that you don’t have to write it the next time you use the app. Next, select your final destination. The app will show you (on a map) which bus or metro you should take in order to get to your destination as fast as possible.

Taking a Bus:

Taking a bus is extremely easy. Bus stops are (most of them) well-marked. You just have to stand there, and when you see the bus approaching, extend your arm so that the bus driver can see you. The bus will stop, you will get in through the front door, you will tell the bus driver your destination, and you finally sustain your SUBE card over the card reader (don’t be afraid if your first time you cannot find it) for about two seconds. You are already on the bus!

At the moment of dropping off, you have two options. Option number one is to use Google Maps so that you know where you are and where your destination is. Option number two is asking the bus driver (or any passenger who seems will understand some English) to let you know when you must get down the bus. Once you get to your stop, go to any of the two back doors and press the doorbell next to it. That’s all.

Taking the Metro:

Taking the metro is much easier that taking a bus. It is exactly the same as any metro at any city of the world. Once you are inside the Subway station, put your SUBE card on the reader (ask for help if you cannot do it by your own) and you’ll be in the metro system!

Some Safety Recomendations:

• Doesn’t matter if you are at the metro or at a bus, try not to stand near the doors. In fact, the best is to find yourself a seat.
• Always carry your backpack somewhere you can see it. Do not take it on your back when you are on the metro or in the bus.
• The best hours to move around are from 10am till 5pm, where people is working. Early in the morning or late in the afternoon, there will be a lot of traffic and you will find it very difficult to move around.
• Try to use your cell phone or camera the less you can on the streets. It’s easy to recognize a tourist and you are a good target to be robbed.
• If you don’t underastand something, just ask; people are really nice and helpful.

Buses to Las Leñas or Bariloche:

Long-distance buses are pretty common in Argentina. If you have to travel to either Bariloche or Las Leñas, a long-distance bus is one of the best options you have. Here what you must do:

Las Leñas

1. Enter to http://www.plataforma10.com/ar/en/bus-tickets
2. In “Departure location” select “Retiro (Ciudad de Buenos Aires – Capital Federal)”
3. In “Destination” select “Las Leñas (Las Leñas – Mendoza)”
4. Select your dates (Buses to Las Leñas do not depart everyday, so you may have to try different possible departure dates). Click “search tickets”.
5. Buy and print your tickets. They will cost you aproximately $1400 (USD 95).
6. The day of the departure, call a taxi (ask the hotel to call it for you) or take a bus by opening your Como Llego BA app and select the following: From “your hotel adress or hotel name” / To “Terminal de Omnibus de Retiro”. This will tell you which bus you should take.
7. Try to get to the Retiro Bus Station 45 minutes before the departure of your bus, so that you find the bus. It is a huge station and thousands of people move from here to there everyday. The best thing you can do is go upstairs to the bus companies stands, look for yours and ask which plattform will your bus depart from. You will see your bus on the screens 10 minutes before departure time telling you the exact plataform. When you locate your plattform, just walk to it and wait for the bus to arrive.
8. Ask the driver (sometimes someone else loads the luggage to the bus) to load your things on the bus, and be sure the do it. You don’t want your skis to stay at Buenos Aires…
9. Get in, sleep, and you will wake up next morning in the middle of the Andes mountains, surrounded by georgous, snowy peaks. You arrive directly to the ski resort, so you just have to walk to your hotel and hit the mountain!

Bariloche

1. Enter to http://www.plataforma10.com/ar/en/bus-tickets
2. In “Departure location” select “Retiro (Ciudad de Buenos Aires – Capital Federal)”
3. In “Destination” select “Terminal de San Carlos de Bariloche (San Carlos de Bariloche – Rio Negro)”
4. Select your dates. Click “search tickets”.
5. Buy and print your tickets. They will cost you aproximately $1600 (USD 110).
6. The day of the departure, call a taxi (ask the hotel to call it for you) or take a bus by opening your Como Llego BA app and select the following: From “your hotel adress or hotel name” / To “Terminal de Omnibus de Retiro”. This will tell you which bus you should take.
7. Try to get to the Retiro Bus Station 45 minutes before the departure of your bus, so that you find the bus. It is a huge station and thousands of people move from here to there everyday. The best thing you can do is go upstairs to the bus companies stands, look for yours and ask which plattform will your bus depart from. You will see your bus on the screens 10 minutes before departure time telling you the exact plataform. When you locate your plattform, just walk to it and wait for the bus to arrive.
8. Ask the driver (sometimes someone else loads the luggage to the bus) to load your things on the bus, and be sure the do it. You don’t want your skis to stay at Buenos Aires…
9. Once you arrive to Bariloche (about 20 hours later…) walk or ask for a cab to get you to your hotel.

If you have any further questions, do not hesitate in contacting me. I will be glad to help you!