Versión en Español – WASI Spanish version

GETTING THERE
The WASI Training will be held in El Bolsón, Argentina  (see Google map here) a mountain town between San Carlos de Bariloche and Esquel. Keep in mind, during the high tourist season in March, more transportation options may pop up, and remember, El Bolsón is along the way to Esquel. Your port-of-entry to South America will be Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile. See below for further travel details and information on how to get to El Bolsón from either city.

You can check international currency exchange rates at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

VISA Requirements
Check  to be sure you are not required to obtain a special visa to enter Argentina or Chile (follow link for Chile or Argentina).

Entry Fee
Visitors from the United States arriving by air to Chile or Argentina are required to pay a  reciprocity fee of approximately USD$131. Once paid, it gives you a multiple-entry tourist visa for the life of your passport.

International Flights
Generally, flights to Buenos Aires are from USD$50-$200 less than to Santiago. However, if bought in advance, they are comparably priced. For example: In mid-December 2011, a normal round-trip flight leaving Mexico City to Buenos Aires runs roughly $1000 per person on CheapOair, compared to $950 to Santiago de Chile. Flights from NYC to Buenos Aires are around $750 roundtrip, and equal pricing to Santiago. $220 from Lima, Peru to Buenos Aires and those to Santiago run around $270.

The following sites, among others, will provide searches across internet sites and find the best prices: Kayak, CheapOair,  Farecompare , LAN or the Spanish site Despegar.com for flights between Latin American countries

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1. GOING THROUGH ARGENTINA
Traveling through Argentina is a beautiful adventure. Upon arriving at one of the two airports of Buenos Aires, Argentina, you must take either a bus or a small plane to ultimately arrive in El Bolsón, Argentina.
The two airports in Buenos Aires are the Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) and the Jorge Newberry Airport (AEP) also known as the Aeroparque.

• Leaving the airport:

•  Public Transportation from EZE: Take Bus 8 outside Terminal B will take you from or to EZE. Coming from EZE it ends at the Plaza de Mayo. It takes about 1.5-2 hours, but is cheap, around $2-4 Argentine pesos.
•  Public Transportation from AEP: Take Bus 33 to Retiro Bus Terminal or Bus 45 for the city center. Less travel time than from EZE, for about $2 pesos.
•  Taxis: Special taxis (Remises) run by private companies costing around $190 pesos per vehicle. One reliable, safe option (but higher price! Starts at USD$60) is Go Airport Taxi.
• Manuel Tienda León provides coaches or mini-buses from EZE or AEP to the city center and Retiro Bus Terminal, vice versa, and from EZE to AEP. Departs every half hour.

• To El Bolsón by bus: The main bus hub of Buenos Aires is the Terminal de Omnibus de Retiro of Buenos Aires. There are several daily departures from two bus companies, Via Bariloche and El Rapido Argentino that leave Buenos Aires, go through Bariloche, stopover in several towns to pick up and drop off passengers, and will go through El Bolsón. Sometimes you must select the bus whose end destination is Esquel, because the bus will pass through El Bolsón. The trip to El Bolsón will be approximately 20 hours. Complimentary meals and beverages are served by very friendly bus staff. It is wise to purchase the bus tickets in advance by a week, if possible, since March is a busy time. Passengers choose from a semi-cama seat (half-reclining) or cama seat (full-reclining). Prices range from USD$100 to USD$140.

• To El Bolsón by plane: There are two daily flights from Buenos Aires “Aeroparque” Jorge Newberry Airport  to San Carlos de Bariloche, which is the closest airport to El  Bolsón. The flights are generally expensive and best bought well in advance. The flights are operated by either Aerolineas Argentinas or LAN Airlines and can be searched by various search engines  like Aerolíneas Argentinas or Despegar.com or directly with LAN. Keep in mind that if you arrive at Ezeiza Airport, it will take 1-2 hours by bus to get to the Aeroparque.

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2. GOING THROUGH CHILE
The second option to begin your journey is to fly to Santiago, Chile to the Aeropuerto Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez (SCL). Options for getting from Santiago de Chile to El Bolson, Argentina follow:

• To El Bolsón by bus: The Centropuerto buses leave the airport every ten minutes. You can take the bus to the Santiago Metro station Los Héroes, and then on to the Terminal de Buses Santiago.  TurBus offers a shuttle from SLC to the bus station.

From the Bus Terminal in Santiago there are eight different companies that run buses to Osorno, a ride of 20+ hours. Prices range from USD$50-$100. From Santiago go by bus (www.turbus.cl or www.pullmanbus.cl) to Osorno,  there you can take other bus (www.andesmar.com.ar) directly across the Chile-Argentina border to El Bolson, Argentina, another 8-10 hours. Alternately, you can take a bus to San Carlos de Bariloche (www.andesmar.com.ar or www.viabariloche.ar) and then take other one to El Bolson.

• To El Bolsón by plane: You can fly from Santiago to Osorno, Chile and from there take a bus, or fly from Santiago Bariloche, Argentina on LAN and then take a bus to El Bolson. Be aware of the timing as Bariloche Airport is very far away from the bus station.

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WEATHER and TRAVEL CONDITIONS
Be aware that weather conditions in Patagonia can change unexpectedly and inadvertently change your travel plans! Check weather (follow this link for weather) and news for up-to-date conditions.

Keeping in mind the current condition of the Puyehue volcano’s ashes reaching Bariloche, both LAN and Aerolineas Argentinas have cancelled their flights to Bariloche until January 31, 2012. As of the beginning of January you can book your flight with Aerolineas Argentinas to the city of Esquel or Neuquen and from there a bus (already included in the fare) will take you to Bariloche.

For more updates on these flights, please check Aerolineas Argentinas: http://www.aerolineas.com.ar/arg/main.asp?idSitio=AR&idPagina=68&idIdioma=en&cmbPrensa=1149

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CONTACT
If you have any questions, please direct them to Jessica Jenks at jessica@kleiwerks.org.