How do I get from the airport to Buenos Aires?

Ezeiza sits about 35 kilometers southwest of central Buenos Aires, connected by the Autopista Riccheri — a highway that's either a smooth 40-minute run or a grinding hour depending on when you land. Most long-haul flights arrive late at night or early morning, which is actually good news: the highway clears out after 10pm. Your safest first-timer option is the Tienda León shuttle bus. Their counter is right past customs, impossible to walk past. Air-conditioned coaches leave roughly every 30 minutes to Terminal Madero in Puerto Madero, and from there you can take a connecting minivan to Palermo, Recoleta, or San Telmo, or just hail a cab for the last fifteen minutes. Expect to pay around $20-25 USD — peso prices shift constantly with inflation, so confirm at the counter. The seats are a bit cramped if you're over six feet, and the overhead bins fill fast on peak arrivals, but it works.

If you want a car waiting with your name on a card, book a remis at one of the licensed desks inside arrivals — Tienda León runs one, and Transfer Express is the other you'll see. A remis is a private car with a fixed fare, paid upfront before you walk outside. Budget $45-60 USD to Palermo or Recoleta. That price includes the Riccheri toll booths, which regular taxis sometimes neglect to mention until you're already on the highway. Mind you, the licensed remis counters are the ones INSIDE the terminal, behind the barriers. Anyone approaching you in the arrivals hall with a laminated card is freelancing — walk past them. The unofficial taxi hustle at Ezeiza has been a known problem for years, and a first-time arrival at 1am is when it works best on tired travelers.

Uber and Cabify both function in Buenos Aires, though the legal situation has been, to put it politely, unresolved for years. Drivers still pick up — they'll ask you to sit in the front seat so it looks like a friend giving you a lift. From Ezeiza, head up to the departures level to get picked up; drivers won't enter the arrivals zone. Fares run $25-40 USD depending on your destination and surge pricing. It works once you know the routine, but for a first arrival with bags and the kind of bone-deep fatigue a red-eye from Miami or Madrid delivers, the Tienda León counter ten meters past customs involves fewer decisions.

If your flight lands at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP) — regional routes from Montevideo, São Paulo, Santiago, plus domestic connections — the arrival is a different story. Aeroparque sits on the Costanera Norte waterfront, barely two kilometers from the cafés and tree-lined blocks of Palermo. A taxi or Cabify to most central hotels takes 10-20 minutes and runs under $10 USD. The damp, slightly metallic smell of the Río de la Plata hits you the moment you step outside, and on autumn evenings the wind off the water carries a real chill. Grab a SIM card from the Claro or Movistar kiosk in the terminal before heading out. Do not change money at the exchange booths at either airport — the rates are punishing. Use an ATM in the city, or better yet, bring USD cash and change at a cueva in the Microcentro once you're settled and oriented.