Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
368
options are
Chaltén Travel
(
&
02902/491833
), which departs El Calafate daily at 8am,
1pm (in high season), and 6:30pm; or
Caltur
(
&
02902/491842
), which has buses
leaving El Calafate at 7:30am and 6:30pm. The trip takes appr oximately 3 hours, but
travel time should diminish if the pavement project on the Ruta 40 north of El Calafate
is finally finished. To Rio G allegos, the capital of the P rovince of S anta C ruz, buses
depart E l Calafate daily at 12:30pm, r eturning at 8pm with
Sportsman
(
&
02902/
492680
) and departing El Calafate at noon and 2:30pm with
Taqsa
(
&
02902/491843
),
returning at noon and 2pm. B uy all bus tickets the day befor e, at least, to ensur e you'll
get a seat.
BY CAR
Ruta 5, followed by Ruta 11, is paved entirely from Río Gallegos to El Cala-
fate. From Puerto Natales, in summer time you can cr oss through the bor der at Cerr o
Castillo, which will lead you to the famous Ruta 40 and up to the paved portion of Ruta
11. Buses take and commercial vehicles go via Rio Turbio. The drive from Puerto Natales
is roughly 5 hours, not including time spent at the bor der checkpoint.
Getting Around
For information about transpor tation to and fr om Perito Moreno Glacier, see “P arque
Nacional Los G laciares & P erito M oreno G lacier,” later in this chapter . I f y ou'd like
to rent a car , y ou can do so at the locally o wned
Servi-Car,
Av. del Liber tador 1341
(
&
02902/492634;
www.servicar4x4.com.ar). Rates begin at $70 (£47) per day, includ-
ing insurance and taxes. To hook El Calafate with other Patagonian destinations, such as
Puerto Madryn, via rental car, try
Fiorasi Rentacar,
Av. del Libertador 1341 (
&
02902/
495330
). Rental cars may be of inter est if you're in a group of four people and want to
cover longer distances of 4 hours or more, including the drive to El Chaltén or Torres del
Paine National Park in Chile. M any roads here are unpaved. Most of the to wn can be
explored on foot, although many ne w hotels are either up a good-size hill or well out of
town, so make sure your hotel offers a shuttle. Taxis in El Calafate are reasonably priced.
More and mor e people ar e also visiting E l Chaltén in a r ental car, thanks to the r oad
improvements. Buses are frequent, though, so it's not really necessary.
Visitor Information
The city's
visitor information kiosk
is inside the bus terminal. They offer an ample
amount of printed material and can assist in planning a trip to P erito Moreno Glacier;
they're open October through April from 8am to 11pm daily and May through Septem-
ber from 8am to 8pm daily (
&
02902/491090
). All other spots that look like informa-
tion centers are travel agencies trying to sell tours.
Two good w ebsites for impar tial information ar e
www.elcalafate.com.ar
and the
municipal government's site at
www.elcalafate.gov.ar
.
12
WHAT TO SEE & DO IN EL CALAFATE
El Calafate ser ves mostly as a ser vice town for visitors on their way to the glaciers (see
“Parque Nacional Los Glaciares & Perito Moreno Glacier,” later in this chapter), but it
does present a pleasant main avenue for a stroll. As expected, there are lots of souvenirs,
bookstores, and crafts shops to keep you occupied. Heading out of town on Avenida del
Libertador, you'll pass the
Calafate Historical Interpretation Center
(Calle G. Bonarelli
s/n;
&
02902/492799;
free admission), open M onday through Friday from 10am to
9pm, with a collection of farming and ranching implements, I ndian artifacts, and his-
torical and ethnographical displays. I t's wor th a stop if y ou hav e the time. The
Los
Glaciares National Park Headquarters,
Av. del Liber tador 1302 (
&
02902/491755
),
