El Calafate Transportation

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A lot of travellers will visit both El Calafate and Torres del Paine (Puerto Natales) during their vacation. The best way for your travel from/to Chile between El Calafate and Puerto Natales is by bus. There are a couple of companies running services between these cities. We took Cootra to cross the border between Argentina and Chile. The ride takes between 4 and 5 hours, depending the time at the two customs offices in Villa Dorotea (we needed about 1 hour to cross).
Be aware: Chile is very strict about food (fruit, veggies) crossing the border. Be sure and consume or throw away your food before the customs office.

In El Calafate buses leave from a central bus station at Avenida Julia a Roca (1 block from Avenida del Libertador); in Puerto Natales the buses leave from their own local offices (Cootra: Baquedano).

Buses leave at 8.30 am (Cootra) or 8.00 am (Turismo Zaahj) from El Calafate. (There is a connection with Chilean buses leaving for Torres del Paine in the afternoon.)
Buses leave at 8.30 am (Cootra) or 9.00 am (Turismo Zaahj) from Puerto Natales.
One way ticket = 50 pesos/ return ticket = 95 pesos.

See for schedules to El Chalten and Rio Gallegos: http://www.turismo.elcalafate.gov.ar (Transportes > Terrestres > Lineas Regulares)

There is another possibility for travellers between El Calafate and Torres del Paine NP by El Chalten Turismo (didn't use it myself, but did read a lot about it). They organise excursions to the park, but you can also take the (direct) bus service (see for more info: http://www.chaltentravel.com/transporte.asp?trans_id=7)

Some websites with more information about bus transportation.
http://www.calafate.com
http://www.turismozaahj.co.cl/programa2.html

http://www.losglaciares.com/es/calafate/traslados.html
http://www.interpatagonia.com/puertonatales/comollegar_i.html

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There is a small airport in El Calafate, 23 km east of the town. Given how far El Calafate is from the rest of Argentina, it's not surprising they've built an airport here, as otherwise only people with the time to do the long road trip would make their way down here. The easiest way to get to the airport is via a shuttle bus. Any hotel in El Calafate can arrange this - just give them of your flight and they'll arrange a pick up with the shuttle company beforehand.

There are flights to Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Ushuaia with Aerolineas Argentinas, Argentina's main carrier. I think LAN Chile also have a flight to Punta Arenas.

We had travelled down to El Calafate overland, but for the next section of our trip we had to fly as we had a deadline in Ushuaia with a ship heading to Antarctica. The flight over Tierra del Fuego offered occasional spectacular views - at least when the clouds cleared. Flights in Argentina are expensive relative to the general cost of living here and this one was no different, costing 493 pesos each.

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The journey from El Chalten to El Calafate was a fast, efficient service along a good road - a nice change from the slow 30 hour trip down Ruta 40 which we'd been on the week before. We travelled with a company called Cal-Tur and the trip took about 3.5 hours including a quick break at a shop/restaurant along the way.

The scenery at the start of the journey was spectacular, especially the peaks of Fitz Roy and Torre, and the views of the huge Viedma glacier as it flowed into Lago Viedma. As we approached El Calafate, the impressive and large Lago Argentino came into view.

I was very lucky to find a cheap flight ($80) from Ushuaia to El Calafate. I was fortunate and many others who plan late are forced to take the monotonous bus ride. There is nothing interesting about traveling through the heart of Patagonia, so plan ahead and fly.

Patagonia - the word conjures up images of travel to the ends of the earth, and for many, many travellers is a dream destination. The big attraction in El Calafate's corner of the vast province is, undoubtedly, the glaciers, with Perito Merino at the top of the list.

Whether your plans for the glaciers include rugged and strenuous activities or you're content to make your visit a more passive form of sight-seeing, there are any number of agencies who will be more than happy to take your bookings. You can do as we did and arrange most of your visit beforehand - try to leave yourself a little time to fit in some more ad hoc activities though as you will find there is more on offer than you perhaps anticipated.

We had booked both our glacier excursions along with our hotel through Ripio Turismo. They in turn used local agents Tiempo Libre, who were excellent. They were punctual and efficient, and their courier was very pleasant, making suggestions and providing information for alternative activities but not the least bit pushy. I have no doubt the vast majority of other agents are just as satisfactory but always appreciate a personal recommendation myself so am happy to hand this one on.

Surfing the net for travel bargains and booking online is quite the normal thing to do these days, usually it works just fine and there are some excellent deals to be found; however, there are no such deals available for domestic fares in Argentina, and given the level of disorganization and misinformation you are likely to encounter on your travels around the country, you may well decide to book through a travel agent - the chances are you'll need their services before you leave . We did - and were very glad of their contact and help given the confusion that could have arisen over Aerolineas Argentinas' seemingly permanent state of chaos.

I'd picked up on BwanaBrown's recommendation of Ripio Turismo on his Mendoza page. A quick email to Glenn came back with a sound endorsement, so I contacted them. Not only were they prompt in answering and extremely helpful, our travel agent here at home could not match their prices and advised us to go with them, which we did, using said local agent as a middleman, giving us the insurance of all our payments being made through our regular agent.

He's happy - he's made a valuable contact in Argentina that he'll use again.

We were happy - generally the arrangements they made for us were excellent, and the small niggles of the hotel in El Calafate were a result of our own decision.

The locals in El Calafate will tell you they owe their beautiful new airport to the country's president choosing to acquire a holiday home in the town. They may be cynical about it but they're not complaining. Before the airport opened in 2001, the nearest airport was at Rio Gallegos, 4 hours drive away. The building of the airport has been a huge boost to tourism. Flights arrive and leave daily now for Buenos Aires, Trelew, Bariloche, Puerto Natales, Ushuaia and other cities in Argentina and Chile and they are very heavily booked all through the tourist season.

Aerolineas Argentinas is notoriously unreliable in its timekeeping so be prepared to get to know the airport well but, given the distances and the state of the roads, flying is probably the best option. If you are travelling independently, be aware that flights will be full of pre-booked tour groups, large and small, so make your bookings well in advance.

Their policy of a two-tier fare system means non-Argentinians pay a premium on fares and - to add insult to injury - you'll pay more if you haven't flown into Argentina with AA as well. You really need to do your homework on these fares - or make sure your travel agent does, the difference is hundreds of dollars. I don't know what fares we actually paid as our ticket was all-inclusive BA - El Calafate - Bariloche - Iguazu - BA that, given the prices for the individual sectors, seemed very reasonable. .

The airport is very, very small and a good 20mins from town in a desert like area. Coming from the airport, your options are taking the shuttle bus to the bus station ($R 15), taxi ($R 40), or renting a car.