Buenos Aires to Patagonia: Itinerary & Route Options

Buenos Aires to Patagonia is a common route for most travelers visiting Argentina.

It’s understandable, Patagonia has all the trappings for primo “bucket list” activities. And to get there, you’re probably going to fly into Buenos Aires first. So how to get from point A to point B?

As someone who has traveled from Buenos Aires to Patagonia countless times over the past 16 years, I’ve done it all: long distance bus, road trip, and flew (to just about every major Patagonia destination).

This article will break down all your options, including a tried and tested road trip itinerary for the ambitious among us.

From Buenos Aires to Patagonia: The Where and How

First off, where and what is Patagonia?

When readers start their planning, I hear a lot of “I want to see Patagonia, I have 4 days,” or something similar.

Patagonia is the southernmost cone of South America and in Argentina that means the provinces of La Pampa, Neuquen, Chubut, Santa Cruz, and Tierra Del Fuego. It’s a massive portion of Argentina.

Then you also have Chile’s side of Patagonia, starting at around Puerto Montt to the north and moving south. But this blog is largely focused on Argentina so let’s break down our side into greater detail.

How do you see Patagonia in 4 days? You don’t. First off, break Patagonia into 3 distinct regions: northern Patagonia (think Bariloche and its surrounding lake district), coastal Patagonia (think whales and penguins in Puerto Madryn), and southern Patagonia (think El Calafate, El Chalten, and Ushuaia). This is a simplification. There is always more to see, but these are the main tourist attractions.

So, with that in mind, how to get to Patagonia from Buenos Aires?

It will depend on where you are going in Patagonia, your budget, and how long you have to work with.

Domestic Flights: Buenos Aires to Patagonia

How to get to Patagonia from Buenos Aires? The answer is almost always to fly. The distance is massive and time is usually limited.

Take it easy on yourself and book the flight.

There are three airlines that operate domestic flights in Argentina. Aerolineas Argentinas is the largest and most trustworthy. Jetsmart is a budget airline that is fairly reliable. Flybondi is a budget airline notorious for cancellations, delays, and poor customer service. Read more in my guide to airlines in Argentina.

✈️ Check flights on Skyscanner and Google Flights.

Flight changes are common across the board, regardless of the airline you fly. I say this not to scare you, but for you to be aware. Do not plan overly tight itineraries in Argentina. Allow room for error. It wouldn’t be unheard of for your morning flight to turn into an evening flight. If you’ve only given yourself 2 days in a location, that’s trip ruining.

And don’t panic. If they change your flight and it doesn’t work, then they DO let you change it for free. But if the times available are still not ideal, you’ll be in a better position if you’ve allowed yourself some cushion in your itinerary.

Patagonia is huge and the distance between each destination is immense. If you want to see more than one city in Patagonia. Fly from city to city. Rent a car in each destination and road trip locally.

For example, fly to Bariloche or San Martin de los Andes. Rent a car there and explore. Fly to El Calafate and rent a car or use taxis there. And so on.

Rental Cars & Driving Across Patagonia

The first thing you need to know about Argentina road trips is that picking up a rental car in one city and returning it in a different city is either very expensive or impossible.

For example, it cost $200 US to pick up a car in Bariloche and return it in San Martin de los Andes, 3 hours away. Basically, you have to pay for them to send an employee to pick up that car.

🚘 Check rates for rental cars here.

This is also true if you want to return it across the country. You’d basically be paying for them to fly an employee to get the car and drive it back. This is exorbitant.

This is why I suggest flying between destinations and advise against a cross country road trip, unless it’s round trip.

That said, Patagonia is stunning and I highly recommend that road trip, like our two week road trip in Northern Patagonia.

Now, if you do want to drive from Buenos Aires to Patagonia, I have an itinerary (or two) for you. I’ve done it and loved it! We live here and used our own car, crossing the country for an epic four months. Keep reading a bit to end for that route.

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Train between Patagonia to Buenos Aires

While Argentina is littered with train stations, you’ll quickly notice most no longer function. What used to be a booming train system is long abandoned and there is no train from Buenos Aires to Patagonia.

My husband talks romantically of his childhood family vacations by train. Him, with his parents and his three siblings would load their car onto the train and ride it to Patagonia where they were disembark and road trip all over the south. But all this does is age him and depress me, as this is long gone as an option.

If you do want to travel by train in Patagonia, you have one option: the Tren Patagonico crossing Rio Negro from the coast (Viedma) to the mountains (Bariloche). This isn’t fast or luxurious and I don’t really recommend it unless you’re a true train enthusiast and as I said, this is your only option.

For a smaller commitment you can take a short excursion (tourist option) from Bariloche.

Long distance buses from Buenos Aires to Patagonia

Long distance buses are a common way to get around South America, so what about Argentina?

Yes and no. Yes, they are an option. They are very comfortable with lie flat seats and a bathroom on board (cleanliness of the bathroom does decline as the trip goes on).

But no, they are not cheap. The 20 hour bus from Buenos Aires to Bariloche, for example, is 200,000 pesos (as of April 2026). For that price you can just fly and save yourself 18 hours of travel time.

I have taken the bus in Patagonia for shorter distances and really enjoyed it. From Bariloche to El Bolson, for example.

🚌 Check routes & prices on Busbud.

But I want to take a bus to Patagonia for the epic views! No, you don’t. Most of Patagonia is actually the steppe, and while I love a desert landscape, it does get old after 20 hours on a bus.

You won’t be seeing majestic views of the Andes throughout any long distance bus in Patagonia. Just fly.

Even on the trip from Bariloche to El Calafate, most of that trip is desert. You only see mountain views at the very start and the very end.

Our Buenos Aires to Patagonia Itinerary

Flying from Buenos Aires to Patagonia will be the best option for most people reading this article. But for the traveler with the interest and the time, driving is always a fun option.

I love road trips, so when we were between homes and had the opportunity we took it and spent 4 months in Patagonia.

Our route took us from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. We spent a few months in this region. To return we crossed over to the coast and worked our way back to Buenos Aires that way.

Drive straight through: The drive, if you go straight through is almost 19 hours. You’ll need to break that up. The fastest route is to go straight through and sleep one night. We have family that does this almost every year and they sleep in Piedra del Aguila. This allows them to get the bulk of the drive out of the way on day 1. They sleep and finish the final hours in the morning.

Or make it a fun road trip: We did this trip with two small children and a ton of interest in the stops along the way, so we took a week to do the drive, stopping along the way to see sights and even stay with friends in a couple of locations.

Buenos Aires to Patagonia: Our Route There & Back

Here are all the stops we took on the way there and the way back. Understand that this is a long route, but I wouldn’t change a thing. The driving WAS the trip for us.

Actually, if I were to change it I would add more stops and take even longer.

Roads were safe the entire way. The majority of the route was paved highways in good condition. Only a few chosen detours were on gravel.

• Tandil: Buenos Aires to Tandil, 4.5 hours. We spent 2 nights here. What to do in Tandil.
• Bahia Blanca: Tandil to Bahia Blanca, 4.5 hours. We spent 2 nights here visiting my husband’s best friend. Alternatively, I recommend you visit Sierra de la Ventana instead. It’s more beautiful and it’s what we did on the return trip.
• Neuquen: Bahia Blanca to Neuquen took 6.5 hours, this was a long day with the kids in the car and we stayed just one night to sleep. There isn’t much to see in Neuquen itself but there are wineries nearby, if you are interested in visiting them then stay for 2 nights.
• The final stretch was 5.5 hours from Neuquen to Bariloche.

From here we spent a month in Bariloche, a month in Villa La Angostura, and another month in the areas around El Bolson and Trevelin.

We then spent a long time working our way back across Patagonia to Buenos Aires via the coast. It was spectacular and I highly recommend it if you have the time, time being key. We took our time with a lot of stops. There is a lot to see!

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Here is the route we took back from El Bolson to (eventually) Buenos Aires:

• Gualjaina and Piedra Parada: 2 hours, many do this as a day trip from Esquel or El Bolson. We stayed 2 nights, highly recommend it.
• Los Altares: Ruta 25 crosses Chubut from Esquel to the coast, we slept in the ACA Hosteria as a halfway point. Because we drove from Gualjaina, we spent most of the day driving slowly on gravel and taking pit stops along the way. It’s a gorgeous drive so we took our time and got to Las Altares in time for dinner and to sleep.
• Alternative: In a hurry? Skip the above and drive Ruta 25 straight from El Bolson/Esquel to the coast. It can be done in one day, most locals do this.

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• Playa Union: Once at the coast we spent a few days in Playa Union to relax and go on a dolphin viewing excursion and as a base to see Punta Tombo’s penguin colony. One day is enough to see the dolphins but we wanted lazy days at the beach. A wind storm cancelled 3 days of excursions so we never saw them, next time I guess!
• Peninsula Valdes: Then we spent 3 nights on the Peninsula Valdes, alternatively you can stay in Puerto Madryn.
• Las Grutas: From here we spent 3 nights in Las Grutas, exploring the beaches in and around town. We were “busy” relaxing all three days.
• Bodega Trina, Rio Colorado: This was a niche stop for us as I love wine and my husband’s friend is the owner, but it’s a gorgeous (and unexpected) winery here with stylish tiny homes on the river. A great pit stop, 10/10 will do again.
• Sierra de la Ventana: We did 3 nights here, sleeping in the town of Villa Ventana. We were tired and just relaxed but there is a lot of hiking if you’re into it!
• Tandil: We came here again on the way home because Tandil has a lot to see – nature, hikes, and restaurants with the regions famous salami and cheese – so we came for a few more days to end this road trip.
• Back home to Buenos Aires.

That was our route and I’d do it again but with more stops. Always more, there is always more to see!