Patagonia route 40

If you would like to travel North to South or South to North on Route 40 Between El Calafate/El Chalten and Bariloche there are a number of options, not all easily found on the online busticketing platforms.

The best known is El Chalten Bus/travel agency. They run busses from Bariloche and from Puerto Madryn to Perito Moreno (The village , not the National Park or the glacier) where you have about an hour waiting time to connect to El Chalten (or to Chile). They run from Bariloche and from El Chalten (there is a connecting bus between El Calafate and El Chalten).  They use a single deck relatively new Mercedes bus. They are the priciest option, in November 2015 (inflation runs at 30 % here) they charged 2150 pesos from Bariloche to El Chalten (350 more to El Calafate.

Then there is Taqsa/Marga. Taqsa has an internet platform and can be booked (lines checked) on Platforma 10. On the Taqsa website there is a mention about route 40. They run one bus every 4 days (23 hours) a good (if slightly older with wear and tear) doulble decker with ample legroom (semi cama that really reclines a lot) on the route 40. There is no information about this service on the internet. (other then the mention that they do route 40).

Thet also have a daily bus to El Calafate that stays on route 40 till Perito Moreno then veers back to the coast to Caleta Olivia, Rio Gallegos and finally El Calafate (where there are frequent connections to El chalten around 340-350 pesos in november 2015. The Route 40 bus (when it runs costs 1780 pesos and takes 23-24 hours to El Chalten. The daily bus takes 30 hours to El Calafate and costs slightly less 1740 pesos. The daily bus has Cama Exutivo and Semi cama. The more comfortable Cama Executivo is at the ground level so no good views. They serve meals and drinks but buy plenty of water and some snacks before you board.

It is also possible to take the daily bus from Marga to Perito Moreno and spend a night there and then connect with Cal-Tur, a company that runs a service from Perito Moreno to El Chalten, not daily, you will have to call them to find out when they run, about every other day.  But they are gone before the Marga bus has left, so unless you count on visiting Los Antiguos nearby, it is a hassle.