Make it stand out.
Often, companies running group trips and full charters will include flight and hotels in their package. Antarctica Travel Group has chosen to not include either of these options for various reasons. The main idea is to keep the base price of the trip as low as we could. "Included flights and hotels" are never free. Their cost is just hidden in the base price. We believe our community is comprised of well-traveled individuals who appreciate the art of "travel hacking”. We know a lot of you like to take advantage of airline miles, budget hostels, and other cost-saving travel strategies; so limiting you to have to take our chartered options would deny you the opportunity to explore all your travel opportunities.
Another reason is we know that a lot of you are quite adventurous explorers who would like to experience parts of Patagonia and South America before and after your trip. Restricting you to a charter flight would cause issues with adding extra time to your trip and that's just not our style.
With that said, that doesn't mean we aren't here to help!
Below is a guide on how to get to Ushuaia, and what to do while you're there.
Important details.
Buenos Aires International Airport Code: EZE - Ezeiza International Airport
Buenos Aires Domestic Airport Code: AEP - Aeroparque Jorge Newbery
Ushuaia Airport Code - USH
Time between EZE and AEP: 1-hour minimum.
Getting to Ushuaia.
It's important you arrive in Ushuaia a minimum of one day before your ship’s departure. This allows a buffer time for lost luggage, missed connections or delayed flights. You can book your flight home out of USH anytime after 12pm on the date of your disembarkation. A bus transfer is provided to take you to the airport or city center after your flight. With the way travel is right now…we suggest arriving in Ushuaia two days beforehand if possible.
See our article on the top 10 ways to avoid missing your trip
All international flights will arrive in EZE, but flights to USH can leave from both EZE and AEP. Flights are much more common from AEP though. EZE and AEP are 45min to 1hr 15min apart from each other, just depending on traffic. There are a number of ways to get between airports including private transfer offered in the airport, bus, taxi or Uber. We suggest Uber for it's safety and convenience, however if you're unable to book one, we suggest only hiring a taxi at the taxi stand inside the airport. The cost should be between $35 and $60 just depending which method you use and the exchange rate. I took an Uber March, 2022 and it was $4400ars which equates to about $44usd.
If you have to change airports in Buenos Aires, I suggest a MINIMUM of 4 hours between your arrival in EZE and your departure in AEP. This allows 2 hours to get you luggage and clear customs, an hour for the uber and to be at the airport an hour before departure from AEP. The same goes for the reverse when headed home and you need to transfer from AEP to EZE. Four hours is the minimum, however I would try and plan for 5 hours if possible. Another option, which most people do is spend a night or two in Buenos Aires.
Booking flights.
There are a few ways to go about this, and a few sites you can use. I personally always research my flights on Skyscanner and Google Flights, then if the price is about the same, I'll book my flight directly on the Airline of choice's website based on what I saw on the other sites. I have just found that when it comes to needing to make any changes, or have to deal with any issues that may come up with my flight, it's easier to work directly with the airline than to use a third party booking agency.
You can either book a roundtrip flight itinerary that goes from your home airport to USH and back. This is the safest way to do it because in the event you have a missed connection due to flight delays, you're covered for the cost of your connecting flight. This is my personal recommendation. However, if you're looking to save a little money, and have some time to spare...there is another option. I have found it cheaper, at times, to book a roundtrip international flight from my home city to EZE and back and then book a separate roundtrip flight from AEP/EZE to USH. This comes with risks and if choose this method, we're not responsible for any issues that come up. The main risk here is that if you don't leave yourself enough time between flights, and you have a cancelled flight or missed connection due to a delay, you will not be covered for the cost of your connecting flight because they are not on the same itinerary. I only...ONLY recommend this is you're planning a few days in Buenos Aires before and after your trip to allow for a buffer between flights.
Just a side note...if you get to pick your seats on the plane from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, book a window seat on the starboard/right side of the plane. This will give you the best view of the mountains as you land in Ushuaia.
Getting from USH Airport to the City Center
Ushuaia is a very small city. The airport is a whopping 12 minute taxi to the city center and costs less than $10. Taxis are readily available out in front of the airport and there is a 97% chance the driver will know the location of whatever accommodation you booked unless it's an AirBnB tucked away in the suburbs. Once you get your luggage, you'll clear an agricultural checkpoint and you're out the door. It's about 40 steps from the luggage pickup to the front door of the airport. From there, you'll find plenty of taxis to take you in to town. Ushuaia is safe, and I've found every taxi driver to be honest. Just make sure they turn the meter on when you leave you airport. It's a good idea to half smaller cash denominations for taxi.
Here is a map giving an idea of the size and distances. The majority of all the hotels and things to do in the city are within the red box.
If you're traveling in a group, or would like us to arrange a private pickup and transfer from the airport, we can help arrange that. We have a transportation partner with a 12 passenger van.
Where to stay in Ushuaia.
As mentioned above, the vast majority of hotels in Ushuaia are within that red box. There are a few outliers, and some AirBnB's might slight be outside the center, but for the most part everything is centrally located and within walking distance to the shops and markets. I like to use Booking.com , HostelWorld, and AirBnB to find accommodation. There are options for everyone ranging from $50 a night up to $700 a night. It just depends on what you're looking for and how long to plan to spend in Ushuaia.
A few places I've stayed and can recommend are
*Alto Andino - My top recommendation. Affordable, clean, close to city center
Hotel Albatros - In front of the port, clean, comfortable.
Hostel Antarctica - Cheap, clean, hostel/backer vibes
Hotel Tierra Del Fuego - Central, affordable, clean
Magallena - Close to everything, Apartment style accommodation, affordable.
Arakur Hotel - Luxury hotel with heated infinity pools, pricey.
Getting to the ship.
When it comes to getting to the ship, further details will be communicated to you when we have a better understanding of the post-covid protocols. However the entrance to the pier where the ship is parked is right in the middle of the city center. If we're allowed to enter the pier ourselves, you will be given a luggage drop off location and will walk to the ship yourself. The luggage dropoff and ship are 3 minutes walking. If we're still required to use busses to enter the pier (like we had to in 21/22) you will drop your luggage off at the designated location and will meet a bus at a location right in front of the pier. The bus will be included in your price.
Things to do in Ushuaia:
Ushuaia has a wide variety things to do such as visiting the nation parks, trekking, 4x4 off-road adventures and plenty of other activities. A few months closer to the trip, we'll start offering optional activities to participate in.
