Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There
By Air
Although Ushuaia is remote, it is easily
reached by air from Buenos Aires and other
towns in Argentine Patagonia as well as from
Punta Arenas, Chile. Ushuaia's small airport is
located on a causeway across the bay from the
waterfront. Until recently it had a very short
runway. Combine that with the strong, erratic
winds and you can see why several planes have
been forced to ditch in the bay, including one
carrying the governor of the state. Needless to
say, funds were quickly found to lengthen the
runway and landings are far less dramatic
these days. A new airport is under construction.
Flight reserva-
tions should be
made well in
advance, espe-
cially if you
plan to travel in
December, Jan-
uary or July.
Aerolíneas Argentinas, Austral,
and
LADE
have several flights into Ushuaia each day from
other parts of Argentina. At this writing,
Aerolíneas has two flights from Buenos Aires to
Ushuaia with intermediate stops at Trelew and
Rio Gallegos. Flight time is about eight hours.
Overland/Ferry
If you have lots of time and patience, you can
reach Tierra del Fuego by car or bus, and a
ferry. Argentine buses from all parts of the
country head south on National Route 3 (NR 3),
which winds its way along the coast to Rio
Gallegos at the southern tip of the mainland.
The road continues into Chilean territory to
Punta Delgada, which is a 30-minute ferry ride
across the Magellan Strait from Tierra del
