A new way to travel via bus in Argentina

As far as I can remember, I always loved travelling long distances across countries. In Europe, I loved travelling by land. One of my favourite journeys ever made was a train journey from Berlin to Warsaw.

Friends playing bingo on the bus

You may think those long bus rides are boring and uncomfortable. Think again. In Argentina, they aren’t!

Recently, a friend and I were travelling from the Iguazu Falls to Salta (a mere 21-hour bus journey) and to our surprise we were riding a Bingo Bus. It is a real treat that is not this rare in Argentina as most bus lines have this kind of bus. You might be curious as to why they called it Bingo Bus. Let’s start with the obvious; the bus offers bingo games so don’t be surprised if you start hearing someone call out numbers.

If you are a newbie, then don’t worry because bingo is easy to play. You just need to mark on the card all the numbers that are called out. The first one to complete the card wins that game. Also don’t forget to shout “bingo!” so everyone will know that you completed it.

Sounds fun, right? The bingo games definitely made us forget the hours you spent riding the bus and was much fun. You may want to put your earphones in case you’re not in the mood to play. But as you can see on the picture we were and I even won one of the games: a nice bottle of Torrontes, a great Argentinean white wine!

Aside from the fun bingo games, we also enjoyed the other perks offered by the Bus such as free entertainment plus food and drinks. There are stewards (like those on the airplanes) that roam around serving food and drinks as well as assist the passengers. You can also choose the kind of seat that you want and most travelers opt for the semi cama (reclining seat) and cama suite (full bed) since they are more comfortable.

I often compare the comfort of the Argentines buses to the first class in European trains, especially if you go with “cama” full bed seats. So if like me you enjoy travelling long distances then it will be another one of the perks of living in Argentina.

I have now been in Argentina for over 5 years and I have been able to enjoy some long rides (to the North East, North West and West of Argentina). I still need to go to Ushuaia by bus – nearly 50 hours from Buenos Aires — not sure if I am ready for this one though!!!! let’s hope the on-board entertainment will be as good as the one we got on that bus leaving Puerto Iguazu 😉

Note: This is part of section Living and Working in Argentina.