Head Out on the Highway

Driving is the most convenient—though rarely cheap—option for getting around the province. Avis, Dollar, and Hertz have branches in many large towns and cities. At this writing, gas—known as nafta—costs around 2.60 pesos a liter, and if you plan to drive extensively, it's worth looking into renting a vehicle running on diesel, which will reduce fuel costs significantly. There are plenty of gas stations in cities and on major highways, but they can be few and far between on rural roads. A useful Web site when planning road trips is www.ruta0.com, which calculates distances and tolls between two places and offers several route options.

Be careful. Argentina has one of the world's worst records for traffic accidents, and the busy highways of Buenos Aires Province are often where they happen. January and February are the worst times, when drivers anxious to get to and from their holiday destination speed, tailgate, and exercise illegal maneuvers even more alarmingly than usual. If you're driving, do so very defensively and avoid traveling on Friday and Sunday, when traffic is worst.

Expressways and interprovincial routes tend to be atrociously signposted, so take a map, and privately owned, which means frequent tolls. There are sometimes alternative roads to use, but they're generally smaller, slower, and in poor condition. On main roads the speed limit is 80 "kph" (50 "mph"), while on highways it's 130 "kph" (80 "mph"), though Argentinean drivers rarely pay heed to this.