We finally made it to our last stop in South America; Buenos Aires, Argentina. The last few days have been a little bittersweet. I was thinking about all the amazing things we’ve been able to see along the way and how we got to all these places. We’ve spent approximately 14 days, 12 hours traveling on buses, planes, cars and a couple ferries for a distance of about 18,429 miles. Nearly half of this distance and most of the time was spent on the trusty public bus. South America has an incredibly efficient bus system that goes everywhere you could possibly want. Most of the buses were similar but the further south we got, the more double decker buses we came across. Bus seats were nearly always very comfortable and much roomier than an airplane, allowing you to lay at 160 degree angle and stretch out your legs.
The buses usually had a bathroom very similar to an airplane toilet, so no need to worry if you just drank that bottle of water before you started your journey. Be warned that it takes a little bit of skill to navigate the toilet at 1:30 in the morning while bumping down the windy roads of Colombia! Also your large bags will be stored under the bus and anything else, like a small backpack with your valuables, can be stored with you on the bus. I liked to sit on the same side of the bus as the door to the baggage underneath, that way if the bus stopped I could always keep an eye out for my bag walking away without me. We were very lucky and didn’t have any issues on the buses, but of course we heard some stories.
A few things we’ve learned about bus travel:
1) Be prepared to keep yourself warm! It doesn’t matter that you’ve booked your ticket in Cartagena, Colombia and it is 95 degrees with 100% humidity. The driver will blast the A/C all night long so be prepared to sleep with a nice blanket or coat.
2) Many people were super friendly and willing to help out. If you’re not sure of your stop our go to method was to ask someone on the bus if they know the stop. Usually they’d tell us and also tap on our shoulder when it was time to get off!
3) Sometimes the journey will take longer than expected, so be flexible. We had a bus ride into the amazon in Ecuador that was supposed to be 8 hours last for 22. A landslide had shut the only road into the amazon down and we ended up waiting on the road for nearly 14 hours. Luckily our friends brought a few bags of chips for the journey, otherwise I might have resorted to eating my left hand!
4) The long haul journeys will typically stop so people can stretch their legs and step away from the bus. This is always a good time to grab a snack or use the restroom. Just make sure you keep a close eye on the bus, you wouldn’t want it to leave you at the gas station in the middle of nowhere.
5) Many buses played a movie for entertainment. Action movies were very popular and even though they were in Spanish it wasn’t too hard to pick up on the plot. Sometimes we got really lucky and they had english subtitles. This was a very good way to learn a few extra Spanish words!
6) Chile and Argentina will ask for tips to load your bag onto the bus so keep some spare change handy, they will let you know if they expect a tip!
7) The locals were much better at this than we were, but the bus will always display the final destination in the window. Usually you can stand on the side of the road and flag the correct bus down as it approaches. Have your money ready when you board so you can give the driver or the attendant money after loading the bus.
We put together a spreadsheet of all our bus journeys where we went and how long it took. We were surprised by the amount of time we spent on the bus, but at the end of the day it brought us to the most amazing places in South America.
Country |
Bus To |
Flight to |
Distance KM on bus |
Distance Km on Airplane |
Time traveled |
Overnight Bus |
Notes |
Colombia |
Bogota to San Gil |
330 |
7h |
||||
Colombia |
San Gil to Santa Marta |
644 |
7h |
Yes |
|||
Colombia |
Santa Marta to Tyron national park |
13.5 |
30m |
||||
Colombia |
Taganga to Costeno Beach |
50 |
2h |
||||
Colombia |
Costeno Beach to Cabo De La Vela |
288 |
9h |
We took a bus from Palamino to Riohacha then a collective to Uribia. Once in Uribia we got a ride in the back of a truck to Cabo De La Vela |
|||
Colombia |
Cabo de la vela to Palamino beach |
251 |
8h |
We found a SUV from Cabo De La Vela to Uribia then rode in a collective to Riohacha where we caught a bus to Palamino |
|||
Colombia |
Palomino to Cartagena |
302 |
7h |
||||
Colombia |
Cartagena to Medellien |
636 |
16h |
Yes |
This bus took 5 hours longer due to protesting on the roads. |
||
Colombia |
Medellien to Guatape |
83 |
2h |
||||
Colombia |
Guatape to Medellien |
83 |
2h |
||||
Colombia |
Medellien to Salento |
248 |
6h |
||||
Colombia |
Salento to Cali |
207 |
4h |
||||
Colombia -> Ecuador |
Cali to Quito Ecuador |
723 |
2h |
||||
Ecuador |
Quito to Cuyabeno |
338 |
1d |
Yes |
There was a landslide so our bus had to wait all night until they cleared the road. |
||
Ecuador |
Cuyabeno to Quito |
338 |
10h |
||||
Ecuador |
Quito to Banos |
192 |
3h |
||||
Ecuador |
Banos to Quito |
192 |
3h |
||||
Ecuador -> Peru |
Quito to Cusco |
2500 |
5h |
||||
Peru |
Cusco to Puno |
437 |
8h |
Yes |
|||
Peru -> Bolivia |
Puno to La Paz |
263 |
8h |
This took a long time because of the border crossing to Bolivia |
|||
Bolivia |
La Paz to Uyuni |
541 |
9h |
Yes |
|||
Bolivia |
Uyuni to La Paz |
541 |
9 Hours |
Yes |
|||
Bolivia -> Peru |
La Paz to Arequipa |
635 |
12h |
Yes |
|||
Peru |
Arequipa to Nazca |
565 |
9h |
||||
Peru |
Nazca to Huacachina |
147 |
2h |
||||
Peru |
Huacachina to Lima |
313 |
5h |
||||
Peru -> Chile |
Lima to Santiago |
2467 |
|||||
Chile |
Santiago to Easter Island |
3757 |
8h |
||||
Chile |
Easter island to Santiago |
3757 |
8h |
||||
Chile |
Santiago to Valparasio |
120 |
2h |
||||
Chile |
Valparaiso to Santiago |
120 |
2h |
||||
Chile -> Argentinga |
Santiago to Mendoza |
369 |
8h |
||||
Argentinga |
Mendoza to Bariloche Argentina |
1264 |
18h |
||||
Argentina -> Chile |
Bariloche to Puerto Varas |
350 |
6h |
||||
Chile |
Puerto varas to Pucon |
321 |
5h |
||||
Chile |
Pucon to Puerto Montt |
338 |
4h |
||||
Chile |
Puerto Montt to Balmaceda |
700 |
1h 30m |
||||
Chile |
Balmaceda Chile to Puerto Rio Tranquilo |
192 |
5h |
We rented a car to travel this portion of the Carretera Austral; during the winter public buses run very little. |
|||
Chile |
Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Coyhaique |
217 |
5h |
Second leg of the Carretera Austral drive with our rental car |
|||
Chile -> Argentina |
Coyhaique to Rio Gallegos |
1152 |
2d 10h |
Yes |
We were actually trying to make our way to El Chalten, but couldn’t fid a bus down route 40 in Argentina. We had to take the route on the east side of the country to Rio Gallegos |
||
Argentina |
Rio Gallegos to El Chalten |
455 |
8h |
||||
Argentina |
El Chalten to El Calafete |
213 |
3h |
||||
Argentina -> Chile |
El Calafete to Puerto Natalas |
272 |
4h |
||||
Chile -> Argentina |
Puerto Natales to Puerto Madryn |
1435 |
1d 6h |
||||
Argentina |
Puerto Madryn to Buenos Aires |
1300 |
2h |
||||
Totals Kilometers |
14455 |
15204 |
14d 12h |
||||
Totals Miles |
8982 |
9447 |
6 Comments On South America By Bus
Lynn
Wow! So many miles. I really liked the spread sheet because it was hard to visualize where you were going, being unfamiliar with the towns. Take care you guys.
Matt Achter
We’re very good at chillin on a bus now!
Kristi
I really enjoyed this informative post! You guys are bus pros now!
Matt Achter
Thank you! We love a good bus ride, lol!
Martha Achter Fletcher
Took a trip from nogalas, mexico to the jungles of guatemala several years ago can’t forget being in Tikal, standing on a Mayan ruin and having a cloud of orange butterflies surround me in my orange outfit. it was a bumpy 4 hour trip in a volkswagen bus that kindly picked up school children as we trundled on our way. it was always the people and the exotic destination–not the long ride that made every journey worth the inconvient bathroom breaks.
Matt Achter
Martha,
You’re exactly right, it’s amazing how some of the best memories are made at the spur of the moment while traveling! Thanks for sharing your story!