World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Argentina’s national airline, Aerolneas Argentinas (AR) (website: www.aerolineas.com.ar), has resumed international flights, presently serving Auckland, London, Madrid, Miami, New York, Paris, Rome and Sydney in addition to regional services. Other airlines serving Argentina include Aeroflot, Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, KLM, Lan Chile, Lufthansa, Malaysian Airlines, Qantas, South African Airways, Swiss, VARIG and United Airlines.

Approximate flight times
From Buenos Aires to London is 13 hours, to Los Angeles is 16 hours, to New York is 14 hours 15 minutes, to Singapore is 29 hours 30 minutes and to Sydney is 16 hours.

International airports
Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) (tel: (11) 5480 6111), is 35km (22 miles) from Buenos Aires. There is a bus service to the city operating every 30 minutes between 0500-2300 (travel time – 45 minutes). Taxis are also available. Airport facilities include a 24-hour bank, restaurants, tourist information kiosk, bureau de change, duty-free shops and car hire (Avis and Hertz). There is also a coach connection to Jorge Newbery airport (locally called Aeroparque) for domestic flight connections.

Air passes
The Mercosur Airpass: Valid within Argentina, Brazil, Chile (except Easter Island), Paraguay and Uruguay. Participating airlines include Aerolineas Argentinas (AR) (however, flights on this airline cannot be combined with any others, as it has no agreements and its tickets are not accepted by other airlines), Austral (AU), LAN-Chile (LA), LAPA (MJ), Pluna (PU), Transbrasil Airlines (TR) and VARIG (RG) with the subsidiary airlines of Nordeste (JH) and Rio Sul (SL). The pass can only be purchased by passengers who live outside South America, who have a return ticket. Only eight flight coupons are allowed with a maximum of four coupons for each country and is valid for seven to a maximum of 30 days. At least two countries must be visited (to a maximum of five) and the flight route cannot be changed. A maximum of two stopovers is allowed per country.
The Visit South America Pass: Must be bought outside South America in country of residence and allows unlimited travel to 36 cities in the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile (except Easter Island), Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Participating airlines include Aer Lingus (EI), American Airlines (AA), British Airways (BA), Cathay Pacific (CX), Finnair (AY), IBERIA (IB), LAN-Chile (LA) and Qantas (QF). A minimum of three flights must be booked, with no maximum; the maximum stay is 60 days, with no minimum, and prices depend on the amount of flight zones covered.
For both air passes children under 12 years of age are entitled to a 33 per cent discount and infants (under two years old) only pay 10 per cent of the adult fare. For further details contact one of the participating airlines.

Departure tax
Approximately US$18. For flights to Montevideo (Uruguay) and regional flights, the departure tax is US$8. Passengers in transit and children under two years of age are exempt. Visitors are advised to check with their airline or travel agent as the departure tax is subject to frequent changes. There is also an immigration tax of US$10 on all international flights.

Sea/River
The main ports are Buenos Aires, Quequn and Baha Blanca. Ferries and hydrofoils link Buenos Aires with Montevideo in Uruguay, and there are ferry connections down the Paran River from Paraguay.

Rail
The major direct international route is from Buenos Aires to Asuncin in Paraguay. There are also direct rail links with Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. Services are often disrupted and delays can be expected.

Road
Argentina has a network of approximately 217,762km (136,101 miles) of roads, of which around 156,789km (97,993 miles) are paved. There are well-maintained road routes from Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile. Coach: Direct daily services between Buenos Aires, Puerto Alegre, So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.