The city of El Calafate is located 3,000 km from Buenos Aires City and 310 km from Rio Gallegos (the capital Santa Cruz Province).

How to get there by car - Driving Directions

From Buenos Aires: take National Route 3 (Atlantic coast)
The whole way is through paved roads, with a distance of approximately 3,000 km.
From the city of Buenos Aires you should take National Route 3, across the province of Buenos Aires to the city of Bahía Blanca. Continue on Route 3 along the Atlantic coast and starting the Patagonian steppe. Once you pass Viedma (the capital of Rio Negro Province) the distances between towns are larger and you will find less road services.
On the same road you will then reach the Sierra Grande area, then Peninsula Valdes and the important city of Puerto Madryn.

From Puerto Madryn, continue driving south passing through the city of Trelew and later Comodoro Rivadavia and Caleta Olivia. Entering the province of Santa Cruz would later come to Comandante Luis Piedra Buena, and then to Rio Gallegos (the capital of the Santa Cruz Province).

From Rio Gallegos the road is paved and you should take Provincial Route 5, then National Route 40, and finally Provincial Route 11.

From Bariloche or Esquel take National Route 40 (Andes)
You should take National Route 40 south through the towns of Governador Costa and Los Antiguos.
Important: Bear in mid that Route 40 is not always passable, that it does not pass near too many towns, and that there are no road services. Before your trip take the necessary precautions and learn the status of the route.

Getting there by bus

From Buenos Aires there are different companies that travel to Calafate (Andesmar, Don Otto and El Pinguino). The trip lasts approximately 37 hours.
From Rio Gallegos, busses depart many times every day of the week and the trip lasts for about 4 hours.
Departing from southern Chile (Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas) there are one or two busses daily, depending on the season.

Getting there by plane

Calafate has an International Airport located a few kilometers from the center. At the moment, Aerolineas and Lan have daily flights from Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Bariloche and Trelew (Puerto Madryn).

Approximate flight times:
Buenos Aires - Calafate: 3 hours
Bariloche - Calafate: 1.45 hours
Trelew - Calafate: 1.50 hours
Ushuaia - Calafate: 1.10 hours