Taxi From Buenos airport

[crbonfiber]

can someone tell me if a taxi is the best way for me to get from the airport in Buenos Aires to the ship? i will arrive at 5 am the day of my cruise.

Also will i need pesos to pay my fare?

 

tHANX

[ab0si]

I'd recommend taking a Remis (private car service). There are booths in the arrival hall (after exiting customs).

 

If you do take a taxi, ignoring the 6 zillion touts in the above mentioned hall. Schlep your bags out the door to the official taxi line.

 

You can pay for the Remis via credit card. Don't know about taxis .. I always have pesos with me.

[Peregrina651]

Agreed. Go out the door and get a metered radio cab.

 

Yes, be ready to pay in pesos (not dollars). You can get them from the ATMs in the terminal. ATMs dispense only 300ARS (pesos) max at a time (even if the screen lists 700ARS) but ask for 290ARS so that you get smaller bills to pay the cab the exact amount (round up to the nearest peso or two for tip). You do not want to get change from your cabbie; there are too many stories about cabbies passing counterfeit notes in the change--not that we had any problems while we were there.

 

BTW, we got excellent exchange rates using the ATMs.

 

I also suggest googling about Buenos Aires taxis. I remember finding some good info about cabs in articles on the web. Unfortunately, I did not save the links or the articles so I can't provide links or specifics.

[crbonfiber]

Thanks for the help. Any Idea of cost....car service VS radio cab?

[owl61]

can someone tell me if a taxi is the best way for me to get from the airport in Buenos Aires to the ship? i will arrive at 5 am the day of my cruise.

Also will i need pesos to pay my fare?

tHANX

 

Here is the link to Manuel Tienda Leon, remis ( pvt car) company with a desk at the airport. http://www.tiendaleon.com.ar/home/home.asp It charges 141 Arg pesos for a private car from EZE into town/pier. The company also has bus service to its Puerto Madero station for 40 pesos. From Puerto Madero to the pier is 10-15 minutes and 15 pesos by cab.Taxi Ezeiza may be cheaper from EZE to the pier than Manuel Leon, but I am sure the web site price is not currently as advertised (98 pesos). http://www.taxiezeiza.com.ar/

 

Curiously, a cab from town/pier to EZE will cost 75 pesos + 3 pesos of tolls. Why? The cab situation at EZE is complicated by an annoying scam sometimes referred to as the taxi mafia. In order to pull up to the passenger exit zone cabs need a special permit. This permit requirement was enacted to protect arriving tourists from dishonest cabbies. In fact, it has just encouraged the permit holders to conspire to charge a price significantly higher than the metered fare. To exacerbate matters the local cops will allow any taxi that pays the standard 20 peso bribe to approach the passenger exit. Some of these cabbies are problemmatically dishonest. It can be hard to know who actually has a permit and who bribed the cop on the beat. In any case never use a cab that is not a radio cab, especially at the airport. Most cabbies waiting in the official taxi line will quote a fixed price to town on the order of 135 pesos. Most airport taxis will take US$ and try to make a few extra pesos by lowballing you on the exchange rate. You can exchange currency for good rates at the Banco de la Nacion inside the terminal or use the HSBC atms there.

 

I don´t like getting ripped off so I try to beat the scammers and price gougers one of 2 ways. Exit the terminal and take a hard right. Walk 50 meters arround to where the cabs are dropping off departing passengers and hail one of the free radio cabs. Radio cabs only. The signage is easily noticeable on the roof or side of the vehicle. Using the meter will be about 75 pesos to the pier area + there are tolls of 3 pesos. Or negotiate a flat fare of 80. Do be aware that the cops on the beat will not take kindly to this as it tends to cut into their bribe income.

Premium Cab Co 5328 0000 is the largest radio cab co in BA. Most of their vehicles are the Fiat Duplo which is like a small SUV. An alternative to the previous side-of-the-terminal method is to call Premium for a cab to come get you. As soon as you exit the secured area there is a communications center (locutorio) with a bank of phones. You won´t need coins and can pay with American money although there are ATMS nearby as well. Cabs that have been called in advance are allowed to enter the sacrosanct passenger zone. A lot of Premium´s 400 drivers wait right outside the airport just for calls of this nature. Premium says that you won´t wait for more than 10 minutes for your cab to pull up to the passenger zone curb.

A ride to town/pier from EZE in a very comfortable vehicle will cost 78 pesos. If you can't speak Spanish and the Premium dispatcher doesn't speak English , ask the counter person at the locutorio to help. They usually speak English.

[owl61]

See above.

[caramelo]

We found the taxis in Buenos Aires to be very very cheap, but we were warned always to only use the RADIO TAXIS which seem to be the official ones, and it is clearly written on the side of their cars.....readio taxis.....

 

We found them as I say very cheap and we would use them definately..... but we did have to laugh......we found them very well dressed with suits and ties....... but they "avoided" taking the suitcases out of the car.....they either looked for the hotel porter to do it....or looked occupied while the client himself loaded and unloaded the suitcases in the car...... they seemed lazy in that sense..... but then expected your tip!!! But the taxis will be cheaper than a private guide............

[trixietx]

Take Manuel Tiendo Leon. They have a booth across from the luggage pick up. They are reliable, honest and they will get you a cab big enough or not, for your luggage. Tell them where you want to go and pay a flat rate.

[owl61]

but then expected your tip!!! ....

Tipping taxi cab drivers in Bs As is neither expected nor customary.

[owl61]

Take Manuel Tiendo Leon. They have a booth across from the luggage pick up. They are reliable, honest and they will get you a cab big enough or not, for your luggage. Tell them where you want to go and pay a flat rate.

Their flat rate is just about twice what the regular meter fare is ( 141 vs 78). All radio taxis are okay so unless you want to pay twice the normal fare, then you might want another option.

[Peregrina651]

Their flat rate is just about twice what the regular meter fare is ( 141 vs 78). All radio taxis are okay so unless you want to pay twice the normal fare, then you might want another option.

 

Agreed.

 

On the advice of our hotel that cabs might be very scarce at the domestic airport on New Years Day, we booked with Tienda Leon to pick us up and take us back to the hotel after our overnight to Iguazu falls. I regret that we did not just grab one of the many cabs that were there that day because Tienda Leon was twice as expensive!

[rlmlcb6]

getting ready to book airfare for ncl sun mar 28,2010. ship leaving buenos airos--so do i fly into this eze airport? once there (assuming that is closest to the pier)how far and how much to get to a hotel near the pier? and are there even hotels near the pier? is this like in downtown or something? have no clue how much a peso is at this point.

and more detailed question is--- santiago. this might be the wrong place to ask but if we dock at valipariso-- how far is the scl airport? any idea of transportation or costs there? do these places have any kind of metro system or like airport buses? med trip cities almost all had them--even Egypt. thanks in advance:confused:

[Len3]

It's about $80.00 pp if you take a taxi from where the ship docks in Valparaiso. You may want to check with the cruiseline to see what they charge for the transfer.

[Peregrina651]

getting ready to book airfare for ncl sun mar 28,2010. ship leaving buenos airos--so do i fly into this eze airport? once there (assuming that is closest to the pier)how far and how much to get to a hotel near the pier? and are there even hotels near the pier? is this like in downtown or something? have no clue how much a peso is at this point.

and more detailed question is--- santiago. this might be the wrong place to ask but if we dock at valipariso-- how far is the scl airport? any idea of transportation or costs there? do these places have any kind of metro system or like airport buses? med trip cities almost all had them--even Egypt. thanks in advance:confused:

 

All international flights fly into EZE. Suggest that since you are booking your own airfare, that you plan to arrive at least a day in advance, just in case your flight is delayed. Dare I say the S word???

 

EZE is about 40 minutes from the port. The ship will offer transfers if you arrive day of. Otherwise, you are on your own.

 

SCL is a long hour from the port. We used cruiseline transfers because we had an early flight and did not have time to do any touring on our way to the airport. It might not have been the cheapest choice but it was the easiest in terms of planning.

 

To and from the airport. Try thisw website for a start: http://www.toandfromtheairport.com/buenosaires.html#EZE

 

There are a number of threads that already deal with Valparaiso to the airport. Since many of the flights don't leave until the evening, many people will do some sort of tour that ends up at the airport. There have been many suggestions for guides and companies to deal with in these threads.

 

Still, you have plenty of time to make your land arrangements and plenty of time to read up and figure out what you want to do. Sifting through all the information available here is half the battle--but well worth it.;)

 

Have a great cruise!