Hi, i was curious if anyone could tell me when using the bus system and on a tight schedule (i.e. don\\\'t have a couple days to just hang out in a random town in case buses are full) whether you can book tickets ahead of time. Especially out of Ushuaia up to Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, then to El Calafate. Has anyone done this before, and can you describe the ease of travel or if just flying to El Calafate is best. Would we be missing great scenery if we flew? THanks!!!
Reply to this Hi There,
We flew from Ushuaia to El Calafate... It cost about US$80 I think, and took an hour and a bit.
I don´t remember a lot of the scenery as I didn´t have a window seat, but a lot of the Patagonian steppe is quite dull to be honest. Miles and miles of barren desert! Not much fun in a bus for 20hours... I also think you may need to change buses in Rio Gallegos, which is a bit of a hassle.
With regards to booking buses in advance, it´s not that straight forward as there are a myriad of bus companies, each with their own websites and regulations. Your best bet would be to pay a small commission at a travel agent and get them to book it for you - try ´say hueque´or bigfoot patagonia to name a couple.
One last tip... don´t know if you´ve taken argentinian buses before, but i´d definitely recommend opting for Coche Cama or Coche Super Cama. 20+ hours without leg room isn´t much fun, and the bed services are only a few pesos more and worth the cash.
Cheers
Reply to this Thanks for the tip on the the coche cama. We actually opted to fly, it turned out to be ~170 for a ticket to Calafate, but glad to save the 20 hour bus trip. THanks again!
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