Mendoza to Bariloche - Recomendations?

[Joe]

I plan to travel to Mendoza in mid September and spend a week or two and then to Bariloche to escape the heat for the summer. This is my first trip into the provinces. I'm looking for some recommendations:

1) Most interesting, economical way to go from Mendoza to Bariloche.
- air seems to be extremely expensive for non-residents
- bus takes too long
- What about crossing over to Chile and going down to coast there? Are there interesting towns to visit to break up the long trip?

 

[soulskier]

Overnight bus would be the most direct and cheapest. You could cross over to Santiago, head south to Pucon (great town) and then cross back over at Osorno or take the Lakes Crossing to Bariloche.

 

[sunsetbue]

Visit ANDESMAR at http://www.andesmar.com/ for schedules and prices

 

[LiXueLee]

Joe, we did the bus trip from Mendoza to Bariloche last year -- a family of four plus my brother. 3 adults and 2 kids. It's a long haul, no doubt, but it's doable. The couple of problems we ran into: 1) last year in the summer there weren't any buses that offered cama service (flat beds) between the two cities , we could only find semi-cama, (we tried every bus company that serviced those routes at the time); and 2) don't sit on the bottom floor if you can avoid it, it's much louder with the engine and you can really smell the bathroom, which is a bummer for 16 hours! Suerte.

 

[Joe]

i checked out the Andesmar web site and it seems like they have the 180 degree beds on the Mendoza to Bariloche (Primera Clase) for $290. From what I can tell the 180 degree beds are always on the bottom floor. But even though you're buying first class you still have to contend with engine noise and bathroom smells?! Well I can use earplugs but for smells...

 

[Mike1]

You should try a nose plug