Bus – The bus station is located about 15 to 20 minutes from the Plaza del Armas (the center of town). As with most bus stations, train terminals or airports be careful of your bags and belongings. These are typically high crime areas. We met a fellow traveler who was hanging around at the bus station when she was approached by a local – he pretended to ask her directions and she put her bag down to help him and when she looked back down, he and his partner who took the bag behind her back were both gone.
This bus station services many bus companies for both domestic and international trips.
Mendoza is located about 12-13 hours from Buenos Aires and about 8 hours from Santiago, Chile (with 2 hours factored into that time for the border crossing high in the Andes). Buses range from very nice to quite low end and the prices are reflected accordingly. We recommend CATA Bus – they are clean, you pay a little more but the service is good and reliable. Some buses advertise semi-camas – their semi reclining seats typically used for overnight service. Other bus companies offer almost full recliners with blankets and these are the ideal option for overnight travel, but definitely more pricey.
An informative tourist information booth is located inside the bus station; they can offer free advice and or make hotel reservations or restaurant recommendations. Their are also a few tourist agencies within the bus station but these tend to be higher priced compared to their counterparts within town.
We recommend walking to town unless you have a lot of bags – a taxi will cost about 500 to 1000 pesos depending where you are going.
Taxis – Taxis are metered in Mendoza and we never had a problem with any of the drivers. When you first enter the car the meter will be set to about 100 pesos and will raise in price for every kilometer traveled.
Airport – El Plumerillo Airport is located about 20 minutes from the center of Mendoza. Direct flights to and from Buenos Aires and Santiago use this airport. Lan Airlines and Aerolineas Argentinas are the two primary airline carriers.
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