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Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires is very likely to be the first place you encounter on arrival in Argentina. It’s a small and busy airport located 35km from downtown Buenos Aires, just a 40 minute cab journey away from the center.
Featured in this article is everything you need to know when arriving in Ezeiza airport for the first time.
Key points about Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires
- The airport is located in the district of Ezeiza, with locals and taxi drivers referring to it as Ezeiza airport, instead of its official name ‘Aeropuerto Ministro Pistarini’.- Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires was rebuilt in 2000. To pay for the costly re-construction there is a departure tax of around US$30 for international departures and US$10 for local flights.
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- If you are taking a taxi or bus at the airport, always use one of the registered companies (see below).
- Argentineans can be quite disorganized (to say the least), so make sure you arrive early with plenty of time for check in and security checks.
- It should only take 40 minutes to get to the airport, but at rush hour allow at least 1.5 hours.
- There are two main terminals - A and B. Flights with Argentina’s major carrier ‘Aerolineas Argentinas’ fly from Terminal B, with Terminal A catering for all of the other airlines.
From Ezeiza airport to Buenos Aires center
Taking a registered taxiOn arrival, there are three options to get to the city - take a taxi, a bus or hire a car.
I would strongly recommend taking a registered taxi from the airport. There are quite a few unscrupulous taxi drivers, who take advantage of tourists unfamiliar with Buenos Aires, so it’s best to stay safe and go with a registered cab.
On our first visit to Buenos Aires, I was particularly weary from the flight and was more than a little concerned about having to use my rusty Spanglish to get us to our hotel. But the airport taxi firms were really helpful, spoke English and before I knew it, I had a ticket in my hand and we were heading towards downtown Buenos Aires.
Their efficiency really took the stress out of our first visit and it was well worth the AR$75 (US$25).
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The only stress I had was choosing between the companies at the airport, VIP Cars, Manuel Tiendo Leon (phone: 4314 3636) and Transfer Express (phone: 4312 883) to name a few. They’re all based right outside the main arrivals hall – you can’t miss them.
The airport shuttle bus
Manual Tienda Leon (phone: 4314 3636) operates luxury air-conditioned airport shuttle buses. Tickets cost AR$32 (one way). They drop off or pick up at all centrally located hotels - although this can result in an unexpected tour of the city centre as they make drop offs at all the hotels.
Buses depart every 30 minutes from around 6.00am till 12.00pm from the airport. Check out www.tiendaleon.com for more details.
The local bus
If you are feeling really adventurous or are on a tight budget you can also take a local bus into the center. You will need some Spanish, a map (so you know where you are going), some loose change (around AR$1.35) and plenty of time.
Download a map of Buenos Aires here.
The number 86 leaves from the terminal to the center and will drop you off at Avenida de Mayo and the 394 runs to the central post office (on streets Corrientes and Avenida Leandro Alem) in Puerto Madero.
Hiring a Car
There are two main rental firms based at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires, ‘Avis’ www.avis.com and ‘Millet rent a car’ www.milletrentacar.com.ar.
However, driving in Buenos Aires is not easy. Argentineans tend to have a dangerous approach to driving; it’s not an easy city to navigate around or to find parking.
Buenos Aires center to Ezeiza airport
To get to the airport I would also strongly recommend taking a taxi.- You can call either of the two registered firms at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires featured above (around AR$75-95)
- Ask your hotel to book a radio taxi (around AR$65-75)
- Hail a radio taxi in the street (around AR$65-75). For safety reasons you should always hail a radio taxi (these will have a company name and telephone number on the top or on the side of the cab). WARNING – all other taxis are independent and some operate tourist scams including robbery and giving counterfeit notes as change.
Alternatively take the shuttle bus with Manual Tienda Leon (phone: 4314 3636, see details above).
These buses leave every 30 minutes from around 4.00am till 12.00pm from their Madero Terminal on the corner of ‘avenues Madero and San Martin’. Check out www.tiendaleon.com for more details.
More about the airport
Services at Ezeiza airport in Buenos AiresRebuilt in 2000, it’s a typical, modern airport with all the usual facilities and services including:
- duty free shops (in case you forgot to get a bottle of Malbec for your mom)
- overpriced restaurants
- busy cafes
- telephone booths with internet access
- gift shops
- foreign exchange
- and a business/club class lounge
A place to pick up those last minute duty free gifts
The airport’s duty free shop is a convenient place to pick up last minute souvenirs and gifts.
There is a wide selection of cigars and Argentinean wines, along side the usual duty free choices of cigarettes, liquor and souvenirs.
However its range in no way matches the awesome choice in downtown Buenos Aires, where we chose to do the majority of our shopping.
Buenos Aires domestic airport – Aeroparque
Aeroparque is Buenos Aires local airport and is the gateway for jetting around Argentina. Find out how to get there and how to make connections between Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires and Aeroparque airport.
Return from the Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires to Getting There & Away
