Colonia Express?

[mmoon]

Can anyone give me a thumbs up or thumbs down on Colonia Express to Colonia? I've always gone over on Buquebus, which has been extremely reliable. But, I see that Colonia Express is quite a bit cheaper, especially comparing the two rapid boats. Being a little cynical about "deals" in Argentina, I'd like to hear first hand experience. Thanks.

 

[Liam3494]

Yep - Colonia Express is fine. May be hard to get the really cheapest trips they advertise, they work on a first come, first served basis, but last trip I made with them, the service was excellent, swift, and we saved about 30% on Buquebus.

Only issues I have with it are - The location of the BsAs dock for Colonia Express is a little dodgy - go by taxi, and the duty free on board is very limited, but the service was reliable, quick.

 

[Saturnine]

I second Liam. They're quite ok, and mind you, I'm saying that after having had the pleasure of going to Colonia on a nice stormy day, after waiting hours in a row for boarding as the Colonia harbor was closed. All in all, weather not being their fault, the staff was very accommodating. Not sure if you're a man or a woman, but it would really be helpful if you had a woman with you - the guys at Colonia Expres docks were doing their security check only to men, I was among the last people in line and saw how they let women pass without a word, while asking all men to open their luggage or whatever.
Oh, and yes, take Liam's advice and go by taxi, the docks are in this dodgy spot in La Boca, nothing like what you've seen when taking Buquebus in Puerto Madero.
Duty free shop - not much to buy, but still ok.

 

[La Marlina]

I have taken Colonia Express, and I was pleasantly surprised by it.

The terminal is small (when I went, the terminal was being renovated, and what was finished was lovely and modern) and there are much smaller crowds, and fewer lines.

It does the job of transporting you to your destination just fine, on a smaller, less luxurious boat. You arrive in the same terminal at Colonia as you do when you take Buquebus, so there is no downside on that end.

This is not the boat to take if you want the luxury ride with champagne and oversized leather seats, or if you want to buy a big meal and do a ton of duty free shopping. If you want to spend minimal money on a visa run, this is the boat for you!

Overall, for the price that I paid last time I used them (last April, I think and like AR$75 R/T to Montevideo during a sale) you can't beat it! They were easily half the price of Buquebus, if not an even better bargain.

Getting there - I disagree with the other opinions. You don't need to take a taxi. Take the 130 bus!! The 130 runs straight down Libertador, (which turns into Alem, which turns into Paseo Colon), and then turns on Av. Brasil, and then turns onto Don Pedro de Mendoza. The last stop on the bus is across the street from the Colonia Express terminal. The bus flies between Casa Rosada and the last stop (Colonia Express terminal). The taxi will drop you in the exact same spot as the bus does, and will cost you a whole lot more.

There is no danger in getting off the bus and walking across the street. The novio is from that neighborhood, so I've been taking the 130 bus to that stop every Sunday to visit the family for a few years now, and once six months or so on an early weekday morning to take the ferry. I've never had a problem on the 130! (or at Colonia doing a visa run, but that's another thread )

They removed the homeless people that were building a villa underneath the autopista, so as of last Sunday, the road leading to the Colonia Express looks much better and less dodgy.

 

[jantango]

I have been going to Colonia on Buquebus for more than 11 years. I tried once to get information about the location of Colonia Express and buy a ticket online without success. When I learned CE is located in La Boca, I decided to stick with Buquebus.

I bought a ticket on the fast boat yesterday to go on Friday. They increased fares a few weeks ago for the season. Weekday trips are $254; weekend $298. The boat leaves BsAs at 12:30 and returns from Colonia at 16:30 -- a perfect schedule for me.

 

[marksoc]

Jantango,your loss. I have paid less than half of those prices with C.Express, if you get the Web promo tickets it could be less than 70 ARS I think.

 

[MizzMarr]

Thumbs up.

 

[SaraOR]

The only problem with Colonia Express is that the boat is way smaller than Buquebus. That's not really a problem, except that if you're on the boat when there is a storm, you'll really feel it.

The first time I took Colonia Express, the ride to Colonia was fine, but we got caught in a large storm about 20 minutes after leaving Colonia. About one third of the people on board puked, which was really gross and is probably part of the reason there are so many stains on the seats. The stuff that they had stacked up on the duty free and the food counter went flying off with a loud crashing noise, that was also a bit scary. But the staff was great, and they sent a woman around who was giving out wet towels and bags to puke in. We survived so no worries, and service was on time. But if we were on the massive (and slow) 3 hour Buquebus, we probably wouldn't have felt the storm like that.

 

[BaltRochGirl]

seriously check the weather, I took Colonia Express and it was a stormy day, it was not a pleasant ride, take motion sickness pills early and often! Never had those problems on Buquebus, but it was cheaper and faster.