Excursion: How to do the Ruta 40 between Mendoza and Chos Malal by bus

When you do a search on a standard internet platform you will not find a bus connection between those cities.

This is the welcome to Patagonia shield! In Patagonia things work a bit differently than in central and northern Argentina. So here is the solution for this frustrating problem 🙂

Take a regular bus from Mendoza to either San Rafael or Malargüe. There you go to the office of Transportes Leader where you buy the bus ticket for the night. You can also buy the bus ticket here online and print it out, but you need to register. Even though the office in Malargüe is at the San Martin 775, the bus will leave at the terminal at 22:30.

You will arrive at Buta Ranquil at about 3am, where you can either wait at the Police station for the first bus at 7am to Chos Malal or sleep some hours in a very expensive hotel.

In Chos Malal I recommend the La Quimera. There is no reservation needed, just arrive, call the number on the door, if there is nobody there.

Why do this exhausting travel?

Well even though there is no vegan food in Chos Malal and not even a bank that works for foreign cards, it is simply a little untouristy gem in the middle of nowhere. Traveling along this part of the Ruta 40 is an exciting experience, as this is real rural Argentina.

Of course you can also take the boring bus from Mendoza to Neuquen, but I only recommend that if you are in a hurry.

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