Getting Around Argentina

The first planning decision in Argentina is not what to see but how to cross the gaps. The country runs roughly three and a half thousand kilometers from the subtropical north to the far south, and an itinerary that ignores that spends most of its days in transit.

Internal flights

For most visitors, at least one internal flight is what makes the trip possible. Buenos Aires to the Patagonian airports, to Iguazu, to Salta and to Mendoza are the routes that turn a multi day overland journey into a couple of hours.

Three things to know. Many routes connect through Buenos Aires rather than flying directly between provinces, so two regional destinations can require a backtrack. Buenos Aires has more than one airport and domestic and international services are split between them, so confirm which one your ticket uses and allow properly for crossing the city between them. And domestic baggage allowances are tighter than the international allowance that brought you, so check them once the internal flights are booked rather than at the desk.

Long distance buses

The bus network is extensive, comfortable and used by everybody, and it is not the budget option of last resort that the phrase suggests to a North American ear.

Seats are sold by class. Semi cama reclines partially; cama reclines a long way; cama ejecutivo or suite reclines flat. On an overnight route the flat option is a genuine bed and replaces a hotel night. Meals and drinks are often included.

Book ahead around long weekends and national holidays, when domestic travel moves in large numbers and capacity tightens. Terminals are places to keep a bag closed and in front of you; the safety guide names bus and ferry terminals specifically.

Buenos Aires

The SUBE card is the contactless card that covers the Subte, the city and suburban buses and the commuter trains. Buy one, load it, and you have solved urban transport in one step. Paying cash on a city bus is awkward or impossible.

The Subte is the underground and is the fastest way across the center at most hours. It is old; Line A is among the oldest underground railways in the southern hemisphere and stations such as Peru are preserved in period style, which is a pleasure to look at and a problem if you need a lift. The accessibility guide goes into that.

City buses, the colectivos, go everywhere the Subte does not and run through the night. They are the real network of the city.

Taxis and ride hailing

Avoid casual taxis. Use a licensed radio taxi booked by telephone or through an app, or have your hotel call the car. That applies most at the moments you are least inclined to be careful about it: late at night, and on arrival at a terminal with luggage. Ride hailing apps operate in the larger cities and have the advantage of recording the route and the driver.

Trains

Argentina's long distance passenger rail network is a shadow of what it was and is not a practical way to build an itinerary. The exception is the tourist railways, and the best known is the Tren a las Nubes in Salta, which climbs into the Andes and crosses the La Polvorilla viaduct, a curved steel span in high open country.

It runs at altitude, and altitude sickness is a risk in the northwest. Acclimatize before you walk high, never during, and treat a day on that train as a day at elevation rather than a day sitting down. Book it as an excursion in its own right rather than as transport between two places.

Driving

Renting a car makes sense in a few specific places and almost nowhere else. It is genuinely useful in Mendoza wine country, in parts of Patagonia where the distances between settlements are long and the buses infrequent, and along the Quebrada in the northwest. It is close to pointless in Buenos Aires, where parking and traffic outweigh any benefit.

Distances in Patagonia are longer than the map suggests, fuel stations are far apart, and some roads are gravel. Fill up when you can rather than when you need to. The weather guide explains why wind is a driving condition in the south and not just a discomfort.

The thing that will actually disrupt you

Groups of demonstrators known as piqueteros sometimes block major roads at times of social unrest, including the major routes into and out of Buenos Aires City, causing significant delays. Do not attempt to cross blockades, monitor local news when planning to travel, and follow the advice of local authorities.

The practical consequence is a scheduling one: do not plan a tight same day connection between a long distance bus and an international flight, and leave a margin on the day you fly home.

Verify Before You Travel

Domestic routes, airports and baggage rules change between seasons. Confirm the operating airport and the baggage allowance directly with the carrier once internal flights are booked.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Argentina safety and security: that terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out, that groups of demonstrators known as piqueteros sometimes block major roads including the routes into and out of Buenos Aires City, the advice to hand over cash and valuables without resistance, express kidnapping and the emptying of accounts at ATMs, the warning for La Boca outside the Caminito tourist area, for downtown Mendoza and for Rosario in Santa Fe, the advice to avoid casual taxis, and drink and food spiking. Accessed 16 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Argentina travel advice: the standing statement that no travel can be guaranteed safe, and the index to the entry, safety and health pages this cluster draws on. Accessed 16 September 2026.
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Los Glaciares National Park, inscribed 1981 under criteria (vii) and (viii), a property of 726,927 hectares in Santa Cruz Province, with Lake Argentino 160 kilometers long and three glaciers meeting at its far end. Accessed 16 September 2026.