How to get into Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated on the foothills of the Andes, surrounded by lakes (Nahuel Huapi, Gutiérrez Lake, Moreno Lake and Mascardi Lake) and mountains (Tronador, Cerro Catedral, Cerro López). It is famous for skiing but also great for sight-seeing, water sports, trekking and climbing. Another claim to fame is its Swiss-like atmosphere and its chocolate boutiques. Look for the St Bernard dogs on display for tourists.
By car
To go by car to Bariloche from Buenos Aires takes about 22 hours. One of the best alternatives is to go to Neuquen on the first day (a distance of about 1200 Km) and then to continue the second day driving about 450 kilometers.
There is more than one route to get to Bariloche by car from Buenos Aires:
- Short route: Take “Ruta Nacional Nº 5”, then take “Ruta Provincial Nº 1” nearby Lonquimay. Then, take “Ruta Provincial Nº 18” nearby “Macachin”. Take “Ruta Nacional Nº 35” south for 22 km, and then turn right and follow “Ruta Nacional Nº 152” through General Acha and until the “Casa de Piedra” where the route name changes to “ruta provincial Nº 6”. You must follow this until the intersection with “Ruta Nacional Nº 22”, where you must turn right again through Cipolletti – Neuquen. These big cities are connected by a bridge with an Ar $0.65 toll. Follow through the "million" traffic lights until you exit the city. Approximately 32 km later, stop in Arroyito and sleep deeply. Continue driving South using “Ruta Nacional Nº 237”, which will lead you to Bariloche.
- Long route: take “Ruta Nacional Nº 3” South. Rest in Azul for 15 minutes, follow South until Bahia Blanca, rest for some time. Follow South; take “Ruta Nacional Nº 22”, set the air conditioner on and turn on your CD player; don’t travel too slowly, or you might fall asleep! Rest in Choele Choel. Drive through lots of tiny cities and through Cipolletti – Neuquen, big cities which are connected by a bridge with an A$R0.65 toll. Follow through the million traffic lights until you exit the city. Approximately 32 km later, stop in Arroyito and sleep deeply. Continue driving South using “Ruta Nacional Nº 237”, which will lead you to Bariloche.
International Passes :
Paso Perez Rosales
From Laguna Frias, precisely in Puerto Frias, west of Lake Nahuel Huapi, 41° 01´ 00” South – 72° 24´ 00” West, you will drive only some kilometres to get to Paso Perez Rosales and get to Peulla, distant 30 Km from the border in Chile, where you can take the route and then the raft in Lake Todos los Santos, distant only 120 km from Puerto Varas .
The Pass presents an average temperature of 25° C in summer and -16° C in winter.
Paso Rio Manso
At 479 metres above sea level to the west of Lake Steffen , 41° 30 South– 71° 51´ West, is this pass not suitable for cars, since it is just a horse and mountain bike trail.From Chile there is no access road either, but a trail near lake Vidal Gormaz and Cerro Torrecillas 2164 m. high.
Paso Vuriloche
This is a walking trail, not suitable for vehicles from Chile. There is a temporary frontier guard post from November to April situated exactly at: 41° 13´ 14” South – 71° 51´ 30” West. The post is in charge of Escuadron 34 de Gendarmeria.
Paso Cardenal Samoré ex Puyehue:
From Villa La Angostura, distant only 79 km. to the north from Bariloche you can take this pass following the directions on the signs.
This pass is 1314 metres above sea level (42° 29´ 07” South – 70° 25´ 91” West)and is open all year round. It is considered the second in importance in the country since it communicates directly with Puerto Montt ( a 220 km) and Osorno ( a 117km) and with all the rest of Chilean Patagonia through the Carretera Austral de Chile.
The road is almost all paved, and one must take precautions in those sectors under construction. It is an important commercial pass with quite intense transit. National Route 231 is a pebble road with an average width of 7 m. and a good general state. The distance to the limit is 4 km.
By bus
If you decide to travel by bus you can choose between different companies, such as "Via Bariloche", "El Crucero del Norte", "Andesmar", etc. The first 2 companies offer different services, where the main variable is comfort and price. You can take "supercama", which has wide and large seats. "Cama" has wide seats. "Semi-cama" has the normal distribution of 4 seats per row. "Supercama" and "cama" take as long as 19 hours (summer); "semi-cama" makes several stops and takes as long as 22 hours (summer).
Different routes to get to Bariloche by Bus from Buenos Aires are:
- Non Stop: “Ruta Nacional Nº 5” – “Ruta Provincial Nº 1” (la Pampa) – “Ruta Provincial Nº 18” (la Pampa) – “Ruta Nacional Nº 35” – “Ruta Nacional Nº 152” – “Ruta Provincial Nº 6” (Río Negro) - “Ruta Nacional Nº 22” – NEUQUEN – “Ruta Nacional Nº 22” - “Ruta Nacional Nº 237”
- Stopping: “Ruta Nacional Nº 3” - “Ruta Nacional Nº 22” – NEUQUEN - “Ruta Nacional Nº 22” - “Ruta Nacional Nº 237”
Air services
Due to the size of the country, the plane is the most suitable means of transport to cover long distance. It may even be combined with land services. Bariloche airport hosts flights from numerous spots in the country, and even from neighboring countries. In some cases they are direct flights, and in others with a stopover in Neuquén. Foreign visitors arriving at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, need to get to jorge Newbery Airport to get there the domestic flight to Bariloche.