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A rainy morning in Buenos Aires

A rainy morning in Buenos Aires

We rolled into Buenos Aires’ Retiro bus terminal on a damp, grey morning, after nearly 24 full hours on a bus from Puerto Iguazu. Buenos Aires was the last stop on the South American leg of our world tour, and definitely one of the most anticipated. I couldn’t wait to start exploring the city, and truthfully, to get off the damn bus.

While in South America, we traveled by bus A LOT. On such a huge continent, flights are definitely the best option, if you plan in advance. We didn’t, and had we flown, the cost of the flights would’ve blown our budget completely out of the water. Flights in South America are seriously EXPENSIVE.

Fortunately, buses are abundant and can be booked just days or hours before the date of intended travel. It helped that online accounts of bus travel in Argentina were glowing and included mentions of wine, steak and other undreamed of luxuries.

We’d already experienced the impressive bus transits across Peru and were totally stoked to get ourselves onto an Argentinian bus. Argentina is more developed than Peru, right? That means, bus travel in Argentina should be even better than bus travel in Peru, right? RIGHT?!

Wrong. An uncomfortable, long, sleepless, steeply-priced, vinegary wine and tasteless meals wrong.

Of course, we didn’t take every single bus route in Argentina, nor did we travel with every single company. But out of the 4 long-distance trips we did take, not a single one matched the service or quality of the trips we took in Peru…and were 4 times the price!

Our bus from Cordoba to Salta on Andesmar cost $170. This was in the highest class of service (cama class), and included meals (no wine), but forget about blankets or pillows. Not to mention that it took almost 20 hours to travel a mere 861 kilometres. The bus stopped and started so many times, it was virtually impossible to get even 1 hour of continuous sleep.

Our second journey, again on Andesmar, from Salta to Puerto Iguazu, required not 1 bus, but 2, because no direct route existed between the 2 cities. There was wine though. Cheap, vinegary wine. And lukewarm chicken milanesa and packaged mashed potatoes. Oh and did I mention that the bus attendant stole my Apple iTouch when I left the bus for 5 minutes. Was it worth the $325 we had to pay for the tickets? I think not!

ully flat beds on Crucero del Norte will cost you $162.50 each!

ully flat beds on Crucero del Norte will cost you $162.50 each!

Our last trip on Crucero del Norte between Puerto Iguazu and Buenos Aires was the only journey that came close to the standard set by Cruz del Sur in Peru. For $296, we had fully flat seats, individual television screens, warm blankets, pillows and decent meals. The voyage still wasn’t very restful because like I said before, there’s no such thing as a non-stop trip in Argentina, and I’m sure the bus must’ve stopped at least 300 times.

Tips for Argentinian Bus Travel

Understand Argentinian bus classes
There are 5 different classes of seats available on Argentinian buses, with characteristics that are prescribed by law. For long distance travel, Semicama (half-bed), Cama-Ejecutivo (executive bed) and Cama Suite (bed suite) are the best options. Each class increases in comfort, and of course price. Semicama will be 4 across, have seats that recline partially, and may or may not include meals and amenities. Cama Suite will have much wider seats that recline flat, a bit of privacy with curtains, blankets, pillows and meals. Cama-Ejecutivo will fall somewhere in the middle of these.

Omnilineas has a summary of these classes on it’s website.

If you can afford it, book at least Cama-Ejecutivo class for long-distance journeys. You’ll survive a night in Semicama for sure, but you certainly won’t be comfortable or too well-rested.

Book in advance
Most of the time, you can show up at the city’s main bus terminal and get a ticket to your destination right away, especially if you’re booking in Semicama. There are a lot of bus companies and many different schedules available. Sometimes it’s even better to follow this strategy, because it allows you the opportunity to check out the different buses in person.

If you’re booking in one of the higher classes, it’s safer to book at least 1 day in advance. If you’re traveling on a popular route, like Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu, the earlier you book, the better. That way you’ll have the most choice of buses and seats available, and the seats do sell out.

We mostly used Plataforma 10 to book our bus travel in Argentina. The website compiles bus services from all over the country, is easy to search and accepts foreign credit cards.

The Andesmar bus counter in Salta

The Andesmar bus counter in Salta

Do your research
Not all buses in Argentina are created equal, with some having a better reputation than others. Some of the major bus companies are: Via Bariloche, Crucero del Norte, Andesmar and Flechabus.

It’s wise to research the different bus routes before you plan your Argentina itinerary. We learned this the hard way, when we tried to travel from Salta to Puerto Iguazu. It’s not impossible to do it, it’s that there’s no direct route. Bad planning cost us both time and money.

We ended up taking Andesmar for most of our trips simply because it was the only company that serviced a lot of the routes, but honestly, I would’ve preferred not to. The price to quality ratio of Andesmar’s buses and services were nowhere close to Crucero del Norte’s.

Be prepared
Amenities and services vary greatly from bus to bus and from route to route. Even when you are booking in higher classes of service, don’t assume that blankets or meals will be provided. The best strategy is to ask in advance…something we really wish we’d done before our first ride.

On our first trip from Cordoba to Salta, there were no blankets provided, even though we were riding in Cama Ejecutivo class. A minor problem since the air conditioning standard on South American buses is ice-cold. Thank goodness I had a pashmina with me, or it would definitely have been a long and teeth-chattering journey.

Another quirk of bus travel in Argentina is the late dinner time. Argentinians eat late, and a meal likely won’t be served until 9:30 or 10pm. Bring snacks if you can’t make it till then.

And finally, bring something to entertain yourself with. There are usually televisions and movies on the buses, but on all our trips, the movies weren’t worth watching. I get nauseous reading in moving vehicles, but if you don’t, bring a book. You’ll definitely make good headway.

An iPod is my trusted travel companion, with music really helping to pass the time…just don’t get it stolen.

Watch your belongings
Being in the highest class of service, with only 6 other passengers and the bus attendant, didn’t protect me from theft. Argentina is going through a huge financial crisis, with 30% inflation and its citizens tapped out, and Apple products are major thief attractors.

I stupidly abandoned my iPod on my seat for 5 minutes and left the bus, with only 1 other passenger and the bus attendant in the cabin, and when I came back, my iPod was gone. At the time it didn’t occur to me that the bus attendant would’ve been the culprit, but given that the other passenger allowed me to search his bag, guess who was left?

Point being, watch your stuff.

And my final tip? If you can, fly 😉

Comments:

  • July 21, 2016

    I took the bus from Buenos Aires to Iguazu and had the misfortune of getting sick on the bus, it was one of the worst 20 hours of my life haha. But Iguazu was beautiful, and I love Argentina, just not their buses.

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    • July 22, 2016

      That sounds horrible! Those long bus rides are hard enough already without being sick. I was so disappointed with Argentinian buses…good thing Iguazu made the trip worth it, eh? 🙂

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      • July 22, 2016

        Totally worth it but the bus was so brutal haha… This was about 4 years ago so maybe there has been some improvement but I doubt it 😉

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  • psduffy

    September 4, 2015

    I’m booking flights now for a trip next January-March, so thank you very much for your insight. I was thinking of taking a bus from Cordoba to Salta, but now I think I’m gonna fly for a RT fare of $377 (or about $190 each way) from Buenos Aires. As for belongings, I’m getting special luggage for my side trips from Buenos Aires which consists of a carry-on-sized backpack with wheels and an attached daypack which can be separated (which would be my personal item on a plane or bus and have anything valuable in it). It was also suggested to me to travel with a plain plastic bag (especially on the subway in Buenos Aires) so thieves don’t assume it’s something valuable inside. I plan to travel while a bit paranoid!

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    • September 4, 2015

      That sounds like a great plan. Honestly, there wasn’t so much to see in Cordoba, so I don’t think you’d miss much by skipping it and just flying straight into Salta from BA. That area of Argentina was definitely our favourite! Make sure you check out Cafayate!! We loved it there! 🙂

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  • December 10, 2014

    I’m from Argentina. Quick tip for visitors. Don’t leave things unattended, specifically electronic “devices”(I don’t know how you call ’em), things like laptops, phones, cameras. Just be careful. PS. Did you go to Mendoza as well? (I’m from Mendoza )

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    • December 11, 2014

      Lol…I wish I’d read your message before I traveled by bus in Argentina!! But I honestly thought it was safe in a compartment with only 6 people in it!!! So frustrating! Unfortunately, we didn’t go to Mendoza. We wanted to, but we were there just as winter was beginning and we figured there wouldn’t be too much wine action going on at the time. I do hope we can go there one day. 🙂

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      • gmanuelpinto

        December 16, 2014

        Mhhm you’re right about Mendoza in winter. The best time to come here is in october (spring time 🙂 ) because summer can be too hot (even for me) if you’re not used to the climate. Espero que puedas venir, saludos!

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  • Susan Beverley

    April 29, 2014

    Reblogged this on Volunteer Work in Argentina.

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  • March 30, 2014

    Hey there! I simply want to give you a big thumbs up for your great information you have right here on this post.
    I am coming back to your website for more soon.

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    • March 31, 2014

      Thank you so much for that wonderful feedback. I’m so happy that the information was useful to you. Enjoy your trip!! 🙂

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  • April 25, 2013

    Oh, sorry about your iPod! We met a Czech couple who had their entire backpacks stolen from the bus in Argentina. When they stopped at a crossroads, the driver saw someone grabbing bags from the storage under the bus – apparently, someone ‘forgot’ to lock it.

    We had a good experience traveling on the buses in Argentina, so I’m looking forward to it if Peru is meant to be even better.

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    • April 29, 2013

      That is crazy! I’m glad THAT didn’t happen to us. Wow!

      Honestly, the buses were not that bad, but I think the price to quality ratio was what we were having trouble with. It’s one thing when you pay $60 for a trip and quite another when you pay $150 for it…and see a lapse in quality. Enjoy your time in Peru! 🙂

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