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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