El Calafate-Bariloche

You travel via Rio Gallegos. Its faster and cheaper.

There is no regularly scheduled bus service from Bariloche to Calafate. The alternative bus connections are:

1 ) First leg of journey, Bariloche to Puerto Madryn; takes 13 hours and costs 45.00 US$. Then Puerto Madryn to Rio Gallegos; takes 17 hours and costs 55.00 US$. Then Rio Gallegos to Calafate; takes 4 hours and costs 13.00 US$.

2 ) First leg of journey, a Don Otto bus from Bariloche to Comodoro Rivadavia; takes 15 hours and costs 42.00 US$. Then an Andesmar bus from Comodoro Rivadavia to Rio Gallegos; takes 11 hours and costs 33.00 US$. Then Rio Gallegos to Calafate takes 4 hours and costs 13.00 US$.

The one-way trip Calafate-Perito Moreno-El Chalten-Bariloche or viceversa costs 127.00 US$ plus 21.00 US$ for a single room for the one-night stay at a hotel or 33.00 US$ for a double room.

The following are previous reports:

I did it in December 2006 with Chalten Travel along Route 40. If you are into openess and the vastness of Patagonia, it is a good 2+ day trip. But to be honest, a lot of people on my bus were pretty sick of "nothingness" after a few hours. Usually there are two overnight stops...one in El Chalten and one in Perito Moreno. It is not a cheap bus ride either and forget about semi-cama or cama...the buses are very, very normal ( no video, no foot rest, etc.).

We took the Ruta 40 Chalten Travel trip from Chalten to Bariloche 2 years ago and enjoyed it so much we did it again this year ( December 2006 ). I am sorry to report that the Perito Moreno to Bariloche bus was a cooker. We were all drenched in sweat after a very long ride. I do not mind open windows, but the bus was modern and the windows would not open. For the amount they charge for this trip in comparison to other routes I would suggest taking the longer way until Chalten Travel realizes they need to improve their bus. If this was a route locals took, they would not stand for this service.

www.chaltentravel.com</a><BR><BR>Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.