How to get there
Where is Bariloche?
Bariloche is the gateway to the Lakes District of northern Patagonia in Argentina.
Bariloche sits on the southern shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi in the Nahuel Huapi National Park. San Carlos de Bariloche is located within the Rio Negro Province of Argentina, 1,621 km southwest of Buenos Aires.
Bariloche is close to the Chile border with the Cardenal Antonio Samore Pass crossing the Andes between Chile and Argentina.
Flights to Bariloche
There are regular flights from Buenos Aires to Bariloche Airport (BRC) with LAN and Aerolineas Argentinas. The occasional flight goes in and out of Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), but most of the flights originate from the Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP – Buenos Aires domestic airport). For international travellers this is a bit of a pain because it necessitates an hour long transfer via bus or taxi from the international airport to the domestic airport.
The flight between Buenos Aires and Bariloche is only 2 hours, yet prices are generally rather high. Use one of our
flight search engines to find the best rates for flights to Bariloche.
There are also semi-regular flights between Bariloche and El Calafate and Esquel.
The airport is about 15km east of central Bariloche. There are buses between the airport and town, or a door-to-door remise or taxi costs about AR$100.
Bariloche Car Rentals
Bariloche airport and city both have lots of car rental agencies, and because of all that competition it is one of the most inexpensive places in Argentina to rent a car.
Bariloche has the big brand car rental agencies such as Thrifty, Budget, Hertz and Avis, and a compact car usually starts at about US$40 to $50 per day. SUVs or 4WD vehicles are somewhat hard to come by (especially at a reasonable price) and the cars don’t come “skierised” with roof racks or the like, but you can generally hire out snow chains for an additional fee. The obvious advantage of using one of the big brands is that you can easily pre-book a car (use one of our
car hire search facilities to look for the best rates), and work with a company that you can trust. You also have the flexibility to pick-up and drop-off the car at different destinations. We’ve used Hertz in the past, and the staff could speak English which was also rather handy.
Bariloche also has a range of small car rental operators that offer car hire at prices that are cheap, cheap, cheap. We have used
Baricoche Renta Car (in Spanish) – Moreno 115 1st floor Ph: (054) (02944). They gave us a rocking deal but it came with some cons. They seemed rather disorganised (more than usual for Argentina), didn’t speak a word of English (our problem obviously not theirs!), we had to pay in cash, and on two occasions they were nowhere to be found despite having pre-arranged the pick-up and drop-off times (probably due to the good old siesta!). Another limitation was that they couldn’t provide chains with the car, and if you’re heading to
Cerro Bayo or
Chapelco, there’s nowhere to hire chains. This may or may not pose a problem!
Bus to Bariloche
Bariloche is a major hub of the Argentina bus system so there are plenty of buses that head to Bariloche.
Buses from Retiro Buenos Aires leave frequently and the trip to Bariloche takes about 20 to 25 hours. Classes vary from semi-cama to fully reclined first class seats, and a one-way fare ranges from AR$543 to AR$717 (
convert here).
There are also various buses between Bariloche and
Villa la Angostura,
San Martin de los Andes, El Bolson, Mendoza, and Osorno in Chile.
The bus terminal is located about 3km east of central Bariloche, next to the train station on RN237 (12 de Octubre). It is accessible from downtown via regular local buses 10, 20, and 21, or a taxi is reasonably inexpensive.
Getting between Bariloche and Cerro Catedral
The
Cerro Catedral ski resort is located 20km from central
San Carlos de Bariloche; a 25 minute drive. The drive up the mountain is very easy considering that the road is wide and fully paved, and it is only the very rare occasion that snow chains may be required. There are a couple of day car parks at Cerro Catedral. Unfortunately the resort is now charging for car parking (AR$25 in 2011) – dirty dogs!
If you don’t have a rental car, the other alternative to get to Cerro Catedral is to catch a taxi (with a meter) or a remise where you can negotiate a fixed price. The latter is generally a little cheaper and will cost about AR$75, so this is a good option if there are a few of you. Taxis and remises are readily available at Cerro Catedral to get back to Bariloche.
A cheaper option is to catch one of the semi-regular buses from downtown Bariloche (AR$6). Unfortunately the buses can be really packed and there’s always the potential that you might not get on at all.
Other Ski Resorts Nearby
In addition to being home to
Cerro Catedral, Bariloche is also the gateway to other Patagonia and Lakes District ski resorts.
Cerro Bayo is located 70km north of Bariloche near the really beautiful town of
Villa la Angostura. If you want to head there for a day trip and want guiding check out
Bariloche Ski Class.
Cerro Chapelco is located near the town of
San Martin de los Andes which is a 263km (3 hours 20 minutes) drive north via R40, a fully paved road. Or if you head via Villa la Angostura and Ruta National 234 (40km of which is unpaved) it’s 192km, with the drive time being about 3 hours if road and weather conditions are good. Chapelco ski resort probably isn’t as good as Catedral, but worth visiting if you want a bit of variety.
The
Perito Moreno ski area is located near El Bolson (120km south). You’d probably only head to Perito Moreno if you also wanted to check out the infamous El Bolson market and wanted simple cheap family merriment.
Or further south is
La Hoya, a fun ski resort for off-piste riding. La Hoya is located near the town of Esquel which is 282km (175 miles) south of Bariloche.