Busing through Mendoza, San Juan, and Salta Areas

Hi all,

I´m having some difficulties determining how I can use public transportations (i.e. buses) to travel through and see some of the natural beauty in the Mendoza, San Juan and Salta regions without spending many hours backtracking. I was hoping to travel from Mendoza to Uspallata to Barreal to San Juan to San Agustin to Parque Ischigualasto to La Rioja. Are these connections possible to make with buses? I´m especially wondering about going from Uspallata to Barreal and getting from San Agustin to La Rioja.

Also, can one make the trip from Tucuman to Cafayate to Cachi to Salta using buses? Again, I would think there would be a connection from Cafayate to Cachi, but I haven´t been able to find anything online.

More generally, would anyone know of a website from which one can investigate these less popular bus trips?

Thanks very much!

Julia

Big bus companies join big cities. Places like San Agustin are served by small local companies which are not on the internet. You have to find out once you are in the area.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

There is no public transport from Upsallata to Barreal, and hitching is difficult in Argentina. There are busses and minibusses San Juan Barreal at rather inconvenient schedules, beware they're often fully booked.
From Cafayate to Cachi, I prefered going back to Salta and changing bus there.

There is a dail(?) bus from San Agustin to La Rioja but if I remember leaves at 3am, many more services from San Juan. 2-3 buses a day from San Juan to Barreal (times vary depending on day) but nothing between Barreal and Uspallata. There are trucks and locals also drive this route so hitching is feasible if you have time, I had to wait couple of hours for a ride from Barreal. Would be easy enough to ask around in Barreal to try and arrange something as its a small place, probably the same from Uspallata.

Avoid lacava hostel like the plague.