Out of all my travels anywhere, I’ve found that the Best Buses in The World are in Argentina – nothing comes close! While I normally detest buses because they normally give me a great chance of scoring deep vein thrombosis, the long haul bus system network in Argentina is the only time where I’ve actually looked forward to boarding a bus. Argentina’s are the best I’d ever parked my arse on.
There is no way I can ever sleep vertically. I just can’t sleep upright in a long haul plane journey. I can’t normally do it in a bus. I normally try and go for the sleeper option in a train for a long haul trip. The endless chugging bus journeys I undertook in Australia before obtaining my first set of wheels had killed off any passion for bus travel. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find most buses in Argentina have business class seats called coche cama – which literally means ‘bed seats’.
Like so! Pretty obvious like dog’s balls really!
These premium seats fold back so the body is almost horizontal. With the devalued peso since the economic crisis of the early 2000s, the difference between the cattle class bus seats (they’re pretty good anyway – called semi-cama) and the coche cama seats is usually not that much, only a few bucks here and there. And you’ll probably need to sleep off the insane amount of great steak that you’ll eat in Argentina.
Why Does Argentina Have The Best Buses In The World?
That’s probably because it’s too expensive to fly and everyone depends on the bus network because it’s a lot cheaper to travel via bus. Argentina’s buses tend to have service levels higher than many airlines I’ve been on – as well as being a lot more modern and safer! Buses have their own attendants serving meals and drinks – amazing for me, because I’d only seen such attendants on aircraft beforehand. Attendants also play bingo on long hauls – they hand out bingo cards and call out numbers in Spanish, useful in my quest to acquire some mastery of Spanish numerals. But not Spanish Curse Words!
Bingo winners have to stick their winning ticket in the air to obtain a prize, usually a bottle of fine Mendoza malbec or cabernet sauvignon – great for alcoholics who want to improve their Spanish! I made a pact with myself to not mention this bus bingo game back in Australia, for fear of accidentally motivating grandmothers to book-out every bus seat in Argentina, for the privilege of playing bingo on a bus to win some booze for free.
Being able to sleep on a bus was great – a way to get somewhere while being a form of accommodation at the same time when travelling overnight (for example if I undertook long-haul overnight trips such as to Iguazu Falls). It dawned on me Argentines were serious about their bus travel when I saw the massive Retiro Bus Station in Buenos Aires – it housed 80 bus berths, complete with airline ticket counter-like booths for each bus company. Like buses on steroids.
The whole process is very efficient and you can pretty much travel the entire enormity of Argentina via bus because the destinations and times are excellent. Just turn up to the bus station, book your trip and off you go! And you won’t wake up like a zombie at the end of your trip!
Some companies even provide an in seat entertainment unit and wi-fi! Great for those travel bloggers out there who are addicted to the internet!
Highly recommended if you want to sample the Best Buses In The World!
For more somewhat useful articles on Argentina, see:
- Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina – a great place to chill your six pack of beer
- The Best Buses In The World
- Evitas Grave in Buenos Aires, Argentina – An Interesting Mausoleum
- Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Brazil – How To Wet Yourself
- Boca Juniors Stadium – A First Hand Experience of South American Football: La Apertura
- Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Funny Grave Site and Head Stone
- Argentina Wine Tours – Pickle Your Liver at Mendoza, Argentina
- Falkland Islands War Memorial in Buenos Aires – The Ultimate in Irony
- See Beaver Dams – In South America
- Best Steak In The World: Don’t Cry For Meat… Argentina…
- Global Financial Crisis – If you thought US Banks had an image problem..
If you’re planning a trip soon, check out my best travel insurance tips, and get a quote on some Backpacker Travel Insurance.
OMG this sounds amazing. It combines my three passions 1) sleeping 2) drinking 3) old lady past times
Those really look good. Luxury coaches.
Chile and Peru also have a bunch of hyper-tuned modern buses. If you’re lucky enough to board some…
I must just warn you: avoid FlechaBus! If you book with them, they may betray you and sell you a ticket which is actually a bad quality local’s bus for most of the way and only a small part of your trip then in an actual Flecha Bus. Of course for the price of the full trip in FlechaBus…
This happened to me, when I was booking a trip in the FlechaBus office in La Quiaca going to Salta. I had to spend over five hours in a cheap bus (Arco Iris) with neither air conditioning nor bathroom and only the last two hours were actually in a FlechaBus. When I protested before boarding that I had requested a trip in a FlechaBus, the staff at the FlechaBus office told me that I would be changing from the cheap bus into the FlechaBus after 15 minutes. Well, this was a pure lie!
If that’s what you’re looking for, well, then you sure can book with FlechaBus…
Interesting to know! Never been on Flecha bus, but every other one in Argentina has been great!