Most trips to Argentina begin at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), the international airport, and the first domestic flight usually leaves from Aeroparque (AEP), the airport inside the city. Getting around Argentina after that mostly means flying. The country is big, and the places people come for, the glaciers, Iguazú Falls, the Northwest and the wine country, sit about two to four hours from Buenos Aires by air.
That is the standard answer. Our co-founder Juergen Keller adds the better one: the trip does not have to end where it began.
Long-haul flights land at Ezeiza, officially Ministro Pistarini International Airport, about 22 km (14 mi) from the city and roughly 50 minutes by car. As of October 2026, four US cities have daily non-stop flights there. Scheduled flight times:
From most other US and Canadian cities, Toronto included, you connect in one of those four cities or in a hub such as Panama City, Bogotá, Mexico City, São Paulo or Santiago.
Europe has non-stops from Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, about 12½ to 14½ hours; Madrid has the most. Flights from Istanbul and Addis Ababa continue via São Paulo, and from Dubai via Rio de Janeiro. From South Africa, change in São Paulo; from Asia, in Europe or North America; from Australia, in Santiago. As of October 2026, Auckland has a non-stop twice a week, about 12 hours.
Mendoza, Córdoba and Salta also take international flights from regional hubs such as Santiago de Chile, Lima, São Paulo and Panama City. Starting there saves a backtrack through the capital.
Aeroparque Jorge Newbery is inside the city, about 25 minutes from the main hotels. It handles most domestic flights and some regional ones, including non-stops with Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santiago and Montevideo. Ezeiza takes the long-haul flights and some domestic ones too: Bariloche, El Calafate, Ushuaia and Iguazú all have flights from both airports, so check which one is on the ticket.
Landing at Ezeiza and flying on from Aeroparque means an hour or more on the road, plus check-in. Our Buenos Aires itineraries skip that same-day scramble: Tango & Nature spends two nights in the city before flying south, and the Very Best of Argentina three.
Most domestic routes still run through Buenos Aires. Two airlines carry nearly everyone: in September 2026, AerolÃneas Argentinas flew 66% of domestic passengers and JetSMART 31%, according to Argentina’s civil aviation authority, ANAC.
A handful of legs skip the capital. Several fly only a few days a week, so the itinerary follows the flight days.
| Leg | Typical flight time | Non-stops (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Buenos Aires – Bariloche | About 2 h 25 m | Many a day, from Aeroparque and Ezeiza |
| Buenos Aires – El Calafate | About 3 h 20 m | Several a day; for Perito Moreno |
| Buenos Aires – Ushuaia | About 3 h 40 m | Several a day |
| Buenos Aires – Puerto Iguazú | About 1 h 55 m | Many a day |
| Buenos Aires – Trelew or Puerto Madryn | About 2 h 05 m | Daily; for PenÃnsula Valdés |
| Buenos Aires – Salta | About 2 h 15 m | Several a day; the Northwest |
| Buenos Aires – Mendoza | About 2 h | Many a day; wine country |
| Buenos Aires – Posadas | About 1 h 40 m | Daily; nearest the Jesuit missions |
| Bariloche – El Calafate | About 1 h 50 m | About three a week; otherwise via Buenos Aires |
| El Calafate – Ushuaia | About 1 h 20 m | Daily |
| Trelew – Ushuaia | About 2 h 10 m | Some days only; otherwise via Buenos Aires |
| El Calafate – Puerto Iguazú | 6 h or more in total | None; connects through Buenos Aires |
| Puerto Iguazú – Salta | About 2 h | About three a week |
| Salta – Mendoza | About 1 h 45 m | Most days |
Scheduled gate-to-gate times as of October 2026, rounded. Frequencies change with the season.
South in a straight line. The Very Best of Argentina flies Buenos Aires to Bariloche, then El Calafate, then Ushuaia. Every flight goes further south, and the trip ends at the bottom of the continent instead of doubling back.
Coast, Beagle Channel, glaciers. The Classic Argentina Patagonia Tour starts at Trelew airport for PenÃnsula Valdés, flies south to Ushuaia, then north to El Calafate, where you leave.
City, glacier, falls. Tango & Nature flies Aeroparque to El Calafate, on to Puerto Iguazú and back to Aeroparque. Glacier to falls has no non-stop. Treat it as a travel day.
Four regions, no return to the capital. Argentina, Land of Contrast flies Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú, Iguazú to Salta and Salta to Mendoza, all legs with non-stops, and you fly home from Mendoza.
The smaller gateways. For San Ignacio MinÃ, fly to Posadas, where our Jesuit Missions & Iguazú Falls extension starts. Salta is the airport for the Northwest and The Northern Express.
Juergen Keller has known South America for 30 years, and his first routing advice is not about airlines: “Think international! Time permitting, of course, then think about the route. Things are much easier than flying in AND out of Buenos Aires. A good route for Argentina ends or begins in either Chile or Brazil!”
That gives two shapes. From Chile, go south to Chilean Patagonia (Punta Arenas is the usual airport for Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine), take the bus to El Calafate, about five hours, and work north. Our Chilean & Argentine Patagonia Combo starts at Punta Arenas and ends in Buenos Aires. From Brazil, fly Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu, about 2 h 15 m, cross the Tancredo Neves Bridge to Puerto Iguazú and head south. Our Amazon, Pantanal & Iguazu Falls Tour ends at the falls, a ready-made first half. Entry rules differ: see the Argentina and Brazil visa pages. Juergen lays out the method in How to Plan an Argentina Trip; for the far south, see getting to and around Patagonia and how to get to Patagonia.
Juergen’s other rule: “Use buses for spectacular routes.” His favorite is Salta to the Atacama Desert in Chile, flamingos and mountains along the way; our Magic Triangle of the Andes itinerary crosses there at Paso de Jama. After wine tasting in Mendoza, his advice is to carry on to Chile by bus over the Andes. Mind the season: snow can close the Cristo Redentor crossing in winter, and in July and August 2026 it stayed shut for more than a month. Flying Mendoza to Santiago takes about an hour.
The third crossing is the lake route from Bariloche to Puerto Varas, by boat and bus across Nahuel Huapi, FrÃas and Todos los Santos lakes. Our Patagonia of Chile & Argentina tour uses it.
Juergen’s standing advice for South America: “Some routes are flown only 3 times a week and easily canceled due to bad weather and bad airport infrastructure. Leave slack in your trip!” In October 2026, Bariloche to El Calafate and Iguazú to Salta flew three times a week. He also tells travelers to stay an extra day in El Calafate after Perito Moreno and “forget about time while people watching or shopping.”
Our tour prices do not include flights; each tour page shows an “Estimated Tour Price Without Flights”. International and domestic flights are quoted separately if you ask, and a Destination Consultant can shape a custom Argentina itinerary that starts where your international ticket lands and ends where it leaves. Look at the whole map before you book the flights, Juergen says, and check the best time to visit and Argentina weather too. The season decides more of the route than the airline does.
Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) for almost all long-haul flights. Domestic flights mostly use Aeroparque (AEP), some Ezeiza.
Non-stop to Buenos Aires, about 9 hours from Miami, just under 10 from Houston and Atlanta, and about 10 h 45 m from New York.
Yes. As of October 2026, Miami, New York (JFK), Atlanta and Houston have daily non-stops to Ezeiza.
Most do. The useful exceptions are El Calafate to Ushuaia, Bariloche to El Calafate, Iguazú to Salta, Salta to Mendoza and, on some days, Trelew to Ushuaia.
From Aeroparque, add an hour or more on the road, plus check-in, to the time you allow after landing. We suggest a night in Buenos Aires first.
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