Getting There & Away in Buenos Aires

Land
Bus

If you’re heading out of town you’ll probably have to visit BA’s modern Retiro bus terminal (Central Buenos Aires). It’s 400m long, three floors high and has slots for 75 buses. The bottom floor is for cargo shipments and luggage storage, the top for purchasing tickets and the middle for everything else. There’s an information booth (4310-0700; 24 hrs) that will help you find the right long-distance bus company to your destination; it’s located near the escalators at the southern end of the terminal. Other services include a tourist office (4313-0187; 7:30am-2:30pm Mon-Fri) near Puente 3, on the main floor under bus counter 105; telephone offices (some with coin-accessed internet), cafés and many small stores.

You can buy a ticket to practically anywhere in Argentina and departures are fairly frequent to the most popular destina-tions. Reservations are not necessary except during peak summer and winter holiday seasons (January, February and July). And remember to keep an eye on your bags!

Retiro bus terminal is connected to the local bus system, but it’s a giant snarl and hard to figure out. There’s a nearby subte station, good if you’re destination on the subte line. Street taxis are numerous, though remises (call taxis) are generally more secure - there are two small remise booths near bus slots 8 & 9 that are open 24 hours.

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Boat

BA has a regular ferry service to and from Colonia and Montevideo, both in Uruguay. Ferries leave from the Buquebus terminal (Central Buenos Aires; cnr Avs Antártida Argentina & Córdoba). There are many more launches in the busy summer season.

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Air

Buenos Aires is Argentina’s international gateway and easily accessible from North America, Europe and Australasia, as well as other capital cities in South America.

Almost all international flights arrive at BA’s Ezeiza air-port, about 35km south of the center. Ezeiza is a modern airport with good services such as ATMs, restaurants and duty-free shops. There’s also an overpriced internet café and iffy wi-fi. For more on arriving in Ezeiza see the boxed text, opposite.

Most domestic flights use Aeroparque Jorge Newbery air-port, a short distance from downtown BA. Flight information for both airports, in English and Spanish, is available at 5480-6111 or www.aa2000.com.ar.
Airlines

Aerolíneas Argentinas (0810-222-86527; www.aerolineas.com; Perú 2). Also in Retiro (Leandro N Alem 1134).

Air Canada (4327-3640; www.aircanada.ca; Av Córdoba 656)

Air France (4317-4700; www.airfrance.com; San Martín 344, 23rd fl)

Alitalia (4310-9999; www.alitalia.com; Av Santa Fe 887)

American Airlines (www.aa.com; 4318-1111; Av Santa Fe 881)

British Airways (0800-222-0075; www.britishairways.com; Av del Libertador 498, 13th fl)

Continental (0800-333-0425; www.continental.com; Carlos Pellegrini 529)

Delta (www.delta.com; 0800-666-0133; Santa Fe 887)

KLM (4326-8422; www.klm.com; San Martín 344, 23d fl)

Lan (4378-2222; www.lan.com; Cerrito 866)

Líneas Aéreas del Estado (LADE; 5129-9001; www.lade.com.ar; Perú 714)

Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB; 4323-1900; www.labairlines.com.bo; Carlos Pellegrini 141)

Lufthansa (4319-0600; www.lufthansa.com; MT de Alvear 590, 6th fl)

Swissair (www.swiss.com; 4319-0000; Av Santa Fe 846, 1st fl)

Transportes Aéreos de Mercosur (TAM; 0810-333-3333; www.tam.com.py, in Spanish; Cerrito 1026)

United Airlines (0810-777-8648; www.united.com.ar; Av Eduardo Madero 900, 1st fl)

Varig (4329-9211; www.varig.com.br, in Portuguese; Córdoba 972, 3rd fl)