Regular buses and door-to-door shuttles connect El Chaltén with the city of El Calafate and its airport all year round, on a trip of about 2 hours 40 minutes along paved roads. Here you have the timetable, the ticket price and the companies, so you can buy or ask directly.
Updated on October 14, 2026, with data from the transport companies. Services are subject to availability: confirm the time when you buy your ticket. For all services, you must be at the terminal 30 minutes before departure.
| Departs | Airport | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | 08:20 | Cal Tur Chalten Travel TAQSA |
| 10:00 | 10:20 | TAQSA |
| 11:00 | 11:20 | Chalten Travel |
| 12:30 | 12:50 | TAQSA |
| 15:00 | 15:20 | Chalten Travel |
| 16:30 | 16:50 | TAQSA |
| 18:00 | 18:20 | Cal Tur Chalten Travel |
| Departs | Airport | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| 03:00 | 05:30 | TAQSA |
| 08:00 | 10:30 | Cal Tur Chalten Travel |
| 10:00 | 12:30 | TAQSA |
| 11:30 | 14:00 | Chalten Travel |
| 12:30 | 15:00 | TAQSA |
| 18:00 | 20:30 | Cal Tur Chalten Travel |
| 19:00 | 21:30 | TAQSA |
| 19:30 | 22:00 | Chalten Travel |
Airport: time at which the bus stops at Armando Tola International Airport; from El Calafate to El Chaltén, to pick up passengers; from El Chaltén to El Calafate, estimated arrival time.
The regular shuttle also runs every day on a fixed timetable, but door to door: it picks you up at your accommodation or the airport and drops you at the door of your accommodation at your destination. Unlike the regular bus, it does not necessarily start or end at the bus terminal, and it may stop running in winter.
| El Calafate | Airport | El Chaltén |
|---|---|---|
| Transporte Don Atilio and Transporte Las Lengas | ||
| 09:30 | 10:00 | 12:20 |
| 13:00 | 13:30 | 15:50 |
| 16:30 | 17:00 | 19:20 |
| 19:30 | 20:00 | 22:20 |
| El Chaltén | Airport | El Calafate |
|---|---|---|
| Transporte Don Atilio and Transporte Las Lengas | ||
| 05:30* | 08:00 | 08:30 |
| 09:00 | 11:30 | 12:00 |
| 12:30 | 15:00 | 16:00 |
| 15:00 | 17:30 | 18:00 |
The first column is the departure time: from then on, the shuttle picks passengers up at their accommodation. Airport and arrival times are approximate. (*) Leaves only from the El Chaltén Bus Terminal, with no pickups at accommodations.
These are the regular bus and door-to-door shuttle companies that connect El Chaltén with El Calafate and its airport. Buy your ticket or ask each one directly.
Service: Regular shuttle (door to door).
Direct door-to-door connection between El Calafate Airport and El Chaltén. We wait for you in the arrivals hall of Armando Tola Airport and take you straight to the door of your accommodation in El Chaltén. We serve all flights. Shared and private services, return trips from El Chaltén to the airport and the city of El Calafate, and local transfers in El Chaltén and El Calafate. Operating since 2004.
Service: Regular bus.
Direct connection between El Calafate Airport and El Chaltén. Passenger and parcel transport. We have several options to take you all over Patagonia: El Bolsón, Esquel, Río Gallegos, Perito Moreno, Ushuaia, Los Antiguos, Comodoro Rivadavia, Comandante Luis Piedra Buena, Caleta Olivia and Bariloche. In Chile: Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas from Río Gallegos, and Chile Chico —gateway to the Marble Caves— from Los Antiguos.
Service: Regular bus.
A Patagonian company with more than 25 years of experience and daily departures between El Calafate and El Chaltén. In season it adds daily departures to Los Antiguos, Esquel, El Bolsón and Bariloche, on sleeper buses with on-board service. All vehicles have free satellite internet.
Service: Regular shuttle (door to door).
Door-to-door service between El Chaltén, Armando Tola Airport and the city of El Calafate. Tell us which flight you are arriving on and we will take you straight to El Chaltén. We also run transfers to Lago del Desierto and Hostería El Pilar, to enjoy the majestic Mount Fitz Roy. Latest-model Mercedes-Benz vehicles, with capacity for 19 and 24 passengers.
Service: Regular bus.
Cal-Tur has more than 30 uninterrupted years of experience showing travelers the wonders of Patagonia. Its regular passenger line connects El Chaltén and El Calafate with daily departures at different times. It also runs regular departures to the Perito Moreno Glacier and other tourist services.
Updated: November 1, 2026
According to the timetable updated on October 14, 2026, there are 7 daily departures from El Calafate to El Chaltén (08:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:30, 15:00, 16:30 and 18:00) and 8 from El Chaltén to El Calafate (03:00, 08:00, 10:00, 11:30, 12:30, 18:00, 19:00 and 19:30). The regular bus runs all year round, with at least two departures a day, in the morning and in the afternoon; during the tourist season (October to April) more departures are added. On top of that, Transporte Don Atilio and Transporte Las Lengas run a regular door-to-door shuttle, with 4 daily departure times to El Chaltén and 4 to El Calafate.
Yes. Buses leaving the city of El Calafate for El Chaltén stop at Armando Tola International Airport to pick up passengers, and buses leaving El Chaltén for El Calafate stop at the airport to drop passengers off. The timetable shows the airport time for each departure.
About 2 hours 40 minutes between the El Calafate and El Chaltén bus terminals, on a 215 km (134 mile) route along National Route 40 and Provincial Route 41, both fully paved, with a stop of about 20 minutes at the La Leona roadhouse, halfway along the route. El Chaltén can only be reached by land.
A ticket costs AR$ 70.000 per person, one way (price as of October 14, 2026). Argentine students and retirees get a 20% discount (students, with their ID and proof of enrollment). Residents of El Calafate and El Chaltén get a 50% discount. In El Chaltén you also pay the municipal bus terminal fee, AR$ 2.000 per person, at Window 7 from 7:00 a.m. At the El Calafate terminal, the municipal terminal fee is AR$ 4.000 per person, paid at Office 9.
Both are shared services with a fixed timetable. A regular bus leaves from the bus terminal and arrives at the terminal at your destination, and it runs all year round. A regular shuttle is door to door: it picks you up at your accommodation or the airport and drops you at the door of your accommodation at your destination, without necessarily starting or ending at the terminal, and it may stop running in winter. On this page it is offered by Transporte Don Atilio and Transporte Las Lengas. If you would rather not share the vehicle, check out private transfers.
Yes. Some companies connect El Chaltén with destinations along Route 40 to the north, such as Perito Moreno, Los Antiguos, Esquel, El Bolsón or Bariloche, and to the south with Río Gallegos, Ushuaia and Chile (Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas). Check routes and dates directly with each company.
Yes, especially in high season (November to March). You can buy online with each company's "Buy ticket" button, or write to them on WhatsApp or with "Send enquiry": your message goes straight to the company, with no intermediaries. On the day of your trip, be at the terminal 30 minutes before the bus departure time.
Absolutely. elchalten.com is made in El Chaltén; we know every company, in several cases since they first started. When you send an enquiry to any of them, it goes to a real, verified contact.
Private transfers: minibuses, 4x4 vehicles and cars just for you or your group, with no shared ride or fixed timetable, to the airport, El Calafate and other places in southern Patagonia.