Getting around
Getting Around Argentina: Why You'll End Up Flying
Argentina stretches about 3,500 kilometres from its subtropical north to the tip of Patagonia — a scale that makes “just drive there” impractical for most itineraries, and shapes the country's transport network around domestic flights radiating out from Buenos Aires.
Updated 2026-08-15
Domestic flights are the backbone
Buenos Aires's Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport is the hub for almost all domestic flying, connecting the capital to Iguazú, Mendoza, Salta, Bariloche, El Calafate and Ushuaia on frequent routes — a genuinely different pattern from a country where you'd default to driving or a single train line. Because these regions sit so far apart (El Calafate to Iguazú alone is roughly the distance from Madrid to Moscow), flying is not a luxury upgrade on a typical multi-region Argentine trip, it's the standard method serious itineraries use, and it's worth booking these domestic legs early since routes to Patagonia and Iguazú can sell out in high season.
Long-distance buses are a genuine institution
For routes within a single region, or for travellers willing to trade time for a different kind of comfort, Argentina's long-distance bus network is unusually good by international standards. “Cama” and “semi-cama” classes recline close to fully flat, come with meal service on longer routes, and connect cities that flights don't always serve directly — Buenos Aires to Mendoza or Bariloche overnight, for instance, turns a travel day into a night's sleep. It's a genuinely different experience from a standard coach, and worth choosing deliberately rather than treating buses as the fallback option.
Ruta 40 and self-driving in Patagonia
Ruta 40, running over 5,000 kilometres along the eastern edge of the Andes, is one of the world's great road trips and the exception to the fly-everywhere rule — a rental car along sections of it, particularly around El Chaltén, El Calafate and the Lake District, gives genuine flexibility that flights and buses can't. Much of it is paved today, though remote southern stretches still have long gaps between fuel stations, so this is a self-drive undertaken with real planning, not a casual detour — the health and safety guide covers what that planning should include. Elsewhere in the country, city driving in Buenos Aires is stressful and largely unnecessary given the metro (Subte) and taxi/rideshare availability; a car only earns its keep once you're actually out in the regions.