Difference between revisions of "Argentina"

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== Public Transport ==
 
== Public Transport ==
Buses are expensive but unbelievable nice. Fully reclining seat and food provided. If you take a bus, treat it as a hotel and save a night's hotel fees.
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Buses are expensive but unbelievable nice. Fully reclining seat and food provided. If you take a bus, treat it as a hotel and save a night's hotel fees.
  
Trains are super cheap but only serve limited routes. They are an excellent way to see the countryside and come in contact with a different segment of the population than you'd encounter on a 1st class bus. Highly recommendable.  
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Trains are super cheap but only serve limited routes. They are an excellent way to see the countryside and come in contact with a different segment of the population than you'd encounter on a 1st class bus. Highly recommendable.  
  
In the cities you generally need exact change (coins, no paper money) to pay your fare, so hold on to those 1 peso coins.
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In the cities you generally need exact change (coins, no paper money) to pay your fare, so hold on to those 1 peso coins.
  
 
== Regions & Cities ==
 
== Regions & Cities ==

Revision as of 22:25, 8 July 2010

Flag of Argentina Argentina
Information
Language: Spanish
Capital: Buenos Aires
Population: 40,482,000
Currency: Peso (ARS)
Hitchability: Verygood.png (very good) to Bad.png (bad)
More info: Hitchbase
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots
<map lat='-41' lng='-64' zoom='4' view='0' height='550' country='Argentina'/>

Argentina is a country in South America. The capital is Buenos Aires. It has borders to Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Hitchhiking culture

For hitchhikers Argentina can be divided into two parts. The North, which is pretty okay to hitchhike, and the South on which opinions vary a lot: it may be difficult to hitchhike if you get into the lonely dirt roads of the Patagonia, because population is scarce. But if you travel southward to the end of Argentina, rides may be a little bit hard, but they take you a long way along.

Argentina has a reputation for variable to long waiting times. Several hours isn't unusual overall.

It seems to be much safer, faster, and informative to ask drivers at roadside stops such as gas stations and truckstops. Standing on the road with a thumb out can last for hours, and is really a last resort. If you want to go far, go with the truckers. They will carry you sometimes over 1000 km, and leave you at a good place to continue. Just keep asking. When you're looking for a ride at truck stops, keep an eye out for Brazilian and Chilean plates. Truckers from these neighboring countries are usually much more willing to give you a ride than the Argies, who will bullshit you about the transport company having sensors in the seats and harsh fines for taking riders.

narfette hitchhiking on ruta 3, Trelew, Argentina

It's considered normal to ask the people working filling tanks at gas stations to ask people for you. If you're a foreigner, do mention it! A Dutch guy mentioned that it seems to be a lot easier to get rides.

Toll Roads

There are quite some peajes (toll passages). In the South however, these are not so good and you will just be sent away after a while.

License Plates

License plates are black, composed by three white letters and three white numbers. If you're in another country and hitching to Argentina, look for these plates!

Maps

A normal map is pretty expensive, but there is a road map containing many countries of South America for something like 10 pesos. Map24 (in Portuguese) has information about the whole of South America.

Public Transport

Buses are expensive but unbelievable nice. Fully reclining seat and food provided. If you take a bus, treat it as a hotel and save a night's hotel fees.

Trains are super cheap but only serve limited routes. They are an excellent way to see the countryside and come in contact with a different segment of the population than you'd encounter on a 1st class bus. Highly recommendable.

In the cities you generally need exact change (coins, no paper money) to pay your fare, so hold on to those 1 peso coins.

Regions & Cities

Patagonia has a single very crowded road, which is the national ruta nº 3 that goes along the coast. It is your better bet when heading South.Although there are often many kilometers in between villages, it is a well travelled road.

There are also some East-West roads, some of them being dirt, some being pavement. It is easy to get a ride on the paved road but dirt roads, however, are much harder because of the lack of vehicles.

The national ruta nº 40 goes from San Carlos de Bariloche (South) is a road that gets frequently closed off because of the bad weather and is reputed to be hellish to hitch on - fewer cars, unpaved sections and some people have said they have gone days without seeing anyone. Winding, remote mountain roads and bad weather conditions in any season but summer make it less travelled by truckers and therefore is not recommended. Gas stations are generally your best bet, although roadside hitching is possible.

    • In my experience, Ruta 40 is a moderate/difficult but possible hitch during tourist season. You'd be insane to try any other time. Your best bet on Route 40 (at least the southern bit) would be Chilean truckers. From Perito Moreno to Punto Gallegos, the Chileans use the Argentine roads for lack of similar infrastructure in their own country. Also Chilean truckers are WAYYYY nicer than their Argentine counterparts.**
SAn hitchhiking in Argentina

Safety

One word of advice is that although traffic is much heavier in the north, the routes do cross major cities, and hitchhiking is much more dangerous near urban centers. It would be advisable, if possible, to get off at the nearest pueblo and take a bus into cities such as Cordoba, Santa Fe, Rosario, etc. The same can be said for leaving. In the south there are really no big cities, and the highways all have gas stations, and the people are much more helpful. No danger there.

Border Crossing

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Eating & Drinking

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Accommodation & Sleeping

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Other Useful Info


wikipedia:Argentina wikitravel:Argentina