Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
367
Internet
You'll find man y Internet cafes around town. All ha ve fast c onnections,
for about $1 (70p) per hour . Try
El Calafate Cyber,
25 de M ayo 23 (
&
02902/
492706
), or the
Cooperativa Telefónica,
Ct e. Espora 194 (
&
02902/491011
),
which has the fast est c onnections, at about $1.50 (£1) per half-hour . They ar e
open Monday to Saturday from 8am t o midnight, and Sunda y from 9am t o mid-
night.
Laundry
El Lavadero
is at 25 de M ayo 43 (
&
2965/492182
), and
Lava Andino
is at Ct e. Espora 88 (
&
2965/493980
).
Pharmacy
Farmacia Del C erro
is at A v. del Liber tador 1337 (
&
02902/
491496
).
Post Office
The main post offic e for
Correo Argentino
(the official name of the
Argentine postal ser vice) is locat ed at A v. del Liber tador 1133 (
&
02902/
491012
).
Taxi
There are a number of taxi or
remise
agencies in El C alafate. A good one is
Lago Argentino,
which has an offic e at the c orner of Avenida del Libertador and
15 de Febrero (
&
2902/491479
).
ESSENTIALS
Getting There
BY PLANE
E l Calafate's
Aeropuerto Lago Argentino
(
&
02902/491220
) is a mod-
ern complex that was built in 2000. I t's already proving to be too small, though, for the
increasing traffic. S ervice is fr om Argentine destinations only:
Aerolíneas Argentinas
(
&
11/4340-3777
in Buenos Aires; www.aerolineas.com.ar) has daily flights from Bue-
nos Aires and flights fr om Bariloche, Trelew, and Ushuaia several times a w eek. A daily
747 flight also arrives directly from Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires during
high season (all flights used to leav e fr om A eroparque, do wntown, and y ou would
have to change airpor ts). Be sure to specify which airpor t you'd like to fly fr om.
LAN
(
&
0810/999-9526;
www.lan.com) has thr ee flights per w eek from Buenos Aires, and
it's planning to offer more in the future.
LADE
(
Líneas Areas del Estado;
&
0810/810-
5233;
www.lade.com.ar) has a w eekly flight fr om Buenos Aires and w eekly connection
to Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, and B ariloche. Their flights hav e no onboar d service, and
are generally much cheaper than the other airlines.
The airport is 23km (14 miles) from the center of town, which seems like a long way
in the wide-openness of Patagonia. From the airport,
Aerobús
(
&
02902/492492
) oper-
ates a bus to all the hotels in to wn for $4 (£2.70); they can also pick y ou up for y our
return trip if y ou call 24 hours ahead. A taxi into to wn should cost no mor e than $9
(£6.10) for up to four people. There's also a handful of r ental car desks at the airpor t.
Please note that on the exit fr om this airport, all travelers are required to pay an airpor t
exit tax of $18 (£12).
BY BUS
El Calafate has a bus terminal on Julio A. Roca, reached via the stairs up from
the main str eet, Avenida del Liber tador. To and fr om Puerto Natales, Chile:
Turismo
Zaahj
(
&
02902/491631;
www.turismozaahj.co.cl) has six weekly trips leaving El Cala-
fate at 8am, r eturning from Puerto Natales at 8am.
Cootra
(
&
02902/491144
) leaves
El Calafate at 8:30am, r eturning at 7:30am. The trip takes 5 to 6 hours, depending on
how long it takes to get thr ough border-crossing procedures. To get to El Chaltén, your
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