Getting around Argentina can be very challenging especially if you do not speak Spanish. We have encounter several challenges. In Bueno Aires remember that there are two different airports. The international airport EZE is located out of the city and requires a long commute to get to downtown. You can take a commuter bus, taxi or hire a Remise which is a private driver who can speak a little English. The cost for a remise s about $150 pesos one way.
The other airport is just off the Atlantic Ocean near the harbour. This airport is in town and goes by two names Newbery and Aeroparque so make sure you are clear which airport you need to fly from. The Domestic terminal also has international flights.
We chose to fly some of our trip with Aerolineas Airline which we now know why they have a bad reputation. The first flight was excellent to El Cafaten. But leaving was another adventure. Our flight to leave was at 2:00 pm. At 12:20 pm the hotel staff informed us that the transfer agency had called to say our flight was cancelled and we need to make new arrangements. The hotel staff were very helpful and told us we should go to the office in town to change our flight that it would be better than the airport. The office closes on Friday at 12:30 so we had 10 minutes. They suggest taking a Taxi. We did arrive the four blocks in time but Taxis are challenging. We got our flights changed to 3:30 pm to the International airport (EZE) and then we would have to take our luggage and get to the domestic terminal in Bueno Aires for the 9:30 pm flight to Mendoza. We were happy that the issue was easy to solve. We got our transfer to the airport at 1:30 pm.
The airport was so lined up they only had four girls working. We needed to drop off our luggage but all the flights were delayed and people where trying to get changes for the flight that was cancelled. I kept checking but no one would let us drop off our luggage we just had to stand in line. Our flight was delayed an hour but we still had not dropped off our luggage and the plane was boarding. We did deposit our bags and when going through security they were paging us for the flight. We were the third last group to board the plane. They airline needs to do a better job of problem solving when there are issues. So many frustrated people and nothing that you could do.
Now the flight was late 1 hour and we did not know if we could make it between the two terminals on Friday night. We already had the experience of rushing between the terminal when we were flying with LAN to Puerto Iguazu.
As we landed at the airport in Bueno Aires we were both surprised to see the Atlantic Ocean and the downtown buildings. The plane landed at the domestic terminal not the international terminal EZE that our baggage had been labeled. This was great news for us as we would not have made our connection. We only had 1 hour before our flight. Once be checked our baggage for Mendoza we went through security we only had 30 minutes. When it was time to board we discovered the plane was delayed 30 minutes which became an 1 hour in the end. We did not eat because we thought we would be boarding and did not have enough time. Finally we boarded and arrived in Mendoza at midnight. By the time we got to our hotel after 1 pm and the restaurants were closed. What a way to lose weight they only give you cookies on the flight with something to drink. I am so glad that we always have a granola bar in our pack. At least we made it to Mendoza for our tour the next morning.
Taxi's in any country seem to be an issue. They do not speak English and will drive you around to make more money. Even when you have someone tell them were you want to go they take you twice as far as you need to go. When we were trying to get to the airline office quickly the hotel told the driver. He drove as far as he could to the edge of the main street before coming back and showing us the office. When we finished at the office we walked back to the hotel and it only took us 10 minutes up hill. We could have walked downhill faster if we had known where the office was located, faster than our 5 minute taxi ride for $30 peso's. We had a similar experience in Buenos Aires getting to our hotel from the domestic airport. The cost was double the night we arrived than the next morning going back to the terminal.
When planning a trip just remember that things don't always going as planned. We hope our next flight from Mendoza to Santiago Chile at 6 am goes smoothly.
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