Buenos Aires cruise terminal transfers with BlaakLane.com link the Benito Quinquela Martin terminal in Puerto Nuevo with Ezeiza International (EZE), Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP) and hotels in Recoleta, Palermo and Puerto Madero. Choose the vehicle, see one fixed fare, and meet the chauffeur where the port directs pre-arranged cars.
How to book a Buenos Aires port transfer
Enter the pickup, such as an EZE flight number or a Recoleta hotel, choose the cruise terminal as the destination, and select a class. The fare is fixed before you confirm, which removes the haggling that can come with taxis at the port gate. Book the post-cruise leg separately for your disembarkation morning. Buenos Aires trips are driven by a vetted local affiliate from the LimousineWorldwide.Directory network under the BlaakLane.com written standard, and the confirmation names operator and chauffeur.
The Benito Quinquela Martin terminal
The city's cruise terminal, named after the La Boca painter, stands inside the port zone of Puerto Nuevo, north of Retiro and close to the city centre. Ships berth at the docks nearby, and passengers move between the ship and the terminal building on port shuttles, since walking around the working port is not allowed. The season runs roughly from November to March, the southern summer, with itineraries along the coasts of Uruguay and Brazil and round Cape Horn to Chile. Background on the port is on Wikipedia.
Where pre-arranged cars wait
Vehicles enter the port zone by the access the port authority assigns for cruise days and wait in the area set aside for pre-booked cars and remises at the terminal. Once you have your bags and have cleared Argentine immigration and customs in the terminal, message the chauffeur. If port security routes private cars to a meeting point at the gate on a busy day, the chauffeur will tell you and the shuttle will take you there.
Drive times
| From the terminal to | Distance | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP) | 4-6 km | 10-20 minutes |
| Ezeiza International (EZE) | 35-40 km | 45-75 minutes |
| Recoleta | 4 km | 10-20 minutes |
| Puerto Madero | 5 km | 10-20 minutes |
| Palermo | 7 km | 15-25 minutes |
| San Isidro | 20 km | 30-45 minutes |
| Tigre | 30 km | 40-60 minutes |
The route to Ezeiza uses the Autopista Illia and the Riccheri or Ezeiza-Canuelas highways. Weekday rush hours, roughly 8:00 to 10:00 and 17:00 to 20:00, stretch it considerably.
Ezeiza or Aeroparque?
Long-haul flights from North America and Europe use Ezeiza. Aeroparque, on the river a few minutes from the port, handles domestic flights and many regional routes to Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. For flights home after the cruise, choose an Ezeiza departure in the evening; most long-haul flights leave then anyway. With a flight number, arrivals are tracked and include 60 minutes of waiting on international flights and 30 minutes on domestic ones. Pickup is at each airport's designated pre-arranged area; a name-board meet in arrivals is an add-on in selected locations only. See our Ezeiza page and Aeroparque page, and flight details from Aeropuertos Argentina.
Luggage and disembarkation timing
Ships usually dock early in the morning. Passengers leave by group, pick up their tagged bags in the terminal hall and clear customs. Book the car for your group's likely release time: 15 minutes of waiting from the booked time are included, and after that it is billed in 15-minute blocks. Cruise luggage for a South America voyage, with layers for Patagonia and the Falklands, is bulky; size the car accordingly.
Which vehicle to book
- Standard Sedan or Luxury Executive Sedan: two travellers with a large case each.
- Executive First Class Sedan (Maybach): two guests who want the quietest ride to Ezeiza.
- Standard Black SUV or Executive Black SUV: up to six with six cases.
- Sprinter Van: up to 12 with small bags, for families and groups.
- Sprinter Luxury Jet Van: seven executives with carry-ons.
- Luxury Stretch Limo and Party Bus: eight or fourteen guests for a celebration, not a luggage run.
Child seats are free on request. See the fleet.
Hotels before and after the voyage
Recoleta's grand hotels, the modern towers of Puerto Madero and the boutique hotels of Palermo are all within 25 minutes of the terminal. A night or two before sailing lets you recover from the long-haul flight. For city bookings see the Buenos Aires chauffeur page, and for what is on see the city tourism site.
A pre-cruise day in Buenos Aires
Overnight flights from North America and Europe land early, and the sensible plan is a hotel night before sailing. Porteno life runs late: restaurants fill after 21:00 and tango shows begin around 22:00, so a chauffeur booked for the evening, rather than a taxi from the street, makes a late dinner in Palermo or a show in San Telmo easy. The Teatro Colon, the Obelisco on Avenida 9 de Julio and the Casa Rosada are all within 15 minutes of Recoleta.
Private city tours by the hour
Hourly bookings run from 3 hours through the hourly chauffeur service. Favourite routes are La Boca and Caminito, San Telmo with its Sunday antiques fair, Recoleta Cemetery and the Plaza de Mayo, or Palermo's parks and restaurants. A longer day can reach the Tigre delta or an estancia near San Antonio de Areco, about 110 km away.
Ferries to Uruguay
Ferries to Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo leave from the Darsena Norte terminal near Puerto Madero, a separate building from the cruise terminal. If you are combining a cruise with a trip across the Rio de la Plata, book the car to the ferry terminal by name.
Groups and cancellation
Groups, crew changes and multi-vehicle programmes are planned by a coordinator and confirmed in writing; see cruise lines and ports and the full services list. The fixed fare includes vehicle, chauffeur and the included waiting, with gratuity billed at actual cost on the booking. Cancel free more than 72 hours before pickup; 10% applies at 72 hours or less, 50% at 48 hours or less, and 100% at 24 hours or less or for a no-show. Fare structure is on rates.
