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A Merino Benitez Airport, 16 kilometers west of Santiago city center, can be quickly reached by taxi or metro. Passengers can also go to the airport with special vehicles that can be rented from car rental companies.

Taxi

Taxis that can take you from Santiago to Merino Benitez Airport in about 20 minutes, are applying a high tariff on weekends, holidays and night time.

Metro

With the metro that you can take from the Los Heroes metro station in Santiago you can reach the Barrancas stop which is just 10 minutes away from the airport. To use the metro you can buy tickets from the counters around the station. From Barrancas stop you have to take an 8 minute taxi ride to the airport.

Car Rental

Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Alamo car hire companies provide you the option to rent a car with or without a driver.  You can rent a car from these companies at any time, or arrange a private vehicle to pick you up from wherever you are and take you to the airport.

Airport Information

There is a four-storey terminal building at A Merino Benitez Airport, which covers a large area. The terminal building, which is undergoing renovations, is planned to be opened in 2020 with much wider features. The current terminal building has duty free shops, luggage space and parking space on the ground floor. On the first floor there are rest rooms reserved for VIP companies, on the second floor, shops, restaurants and entrance doors are located. On the third floor of the building, there is also a check-in area reserved for the customers of restaurants and VIP passengers.

You can find bank ATMs, telephone operator shops, pharmacies, travel agency shops, health care room and insurance offices spread over different floors of the building. In the terminal there is a reserved area for those who are VIP passengers. In this section you can access VIP lounges of Latam, Pacific Club, Voyage, Delta Sky Club, American Airlines and Avianca companies.

There are many restaurants, cafes and bars in the airport for travelers to meet their eating and drinking needs. These are La Pausa, Cybo Bistro, Fritz, Gatsby, Ruby Tuesday, Subway, Telepizza, Johnny Rockets, Pronto Copec, McDonald's, Cafe Danes, Bakery & Co, Cafe On Time, Cinnabon, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Tamarugo, Patagonia Cafe, Espression Lavazza , Vinum and Heineken Star Lounge.

Among the places you can shop at the airport are stores ranging from cosmetics to clothing, technology and music to jewelry. Among these are Bath & Body Works, MAC Cosmetics, Punto Musical, Samsung, MacOnline Express, Garmin, Gizmobies, Fotokina, MOW, La Cava del Vino, Kubox, Jugueteria Alemana, BirttShop Chile, Licantai, Toc's, Rumbo Sur, Piedra Linda, Sol y Mar , Piedras Australes, Jewelery Me, Swarovski and Hugo Boss.

Argentina's Lago Argentino Airport was closed in 2006, and all flights were directed to Comandante Armando Tola International Airport which was opened in November 2000. The distance between the old airport and new airport is approximately 15 kilometers. You can travel from the airport located in Patagonia region of Argentina to El Calafate city center, which is 21 kilometers away, by getting on a taxi, bus, airport shuttle or renting a car.

Taxi

You can reach the city center from the airport in about 20 minutes by taxi. Although using a taxi is not among the budget-friendly options, it is among the most preferred alternatives since they offer a comfortable travel to the city center in a short time compared to other vehicles. You can also share your taxi with other passengers.

Airport Shuttle

For traveling to the city center from the airport, you can use the Ves Patagonia minibuses that also offer service as airport shuttles. The cost of traveling to the center with these minibuses is around 10 dollars. You can get information about their departure hours by visiting the tourism information desk in the terminal.

Bus

The buses, which carry passengers to El Calafate city center from the airport, are more budget-friendly compared to taxis and private shuttles but you may have trouble if you have heavy luggage. The buses do not offer service at frequent intervals, so you may have to wait for a long time. You can get information about the departure hours of the buses from the timetable at the stop.

Car Rental

For traveling to the city center from the airport, you can get service from big companies such as Hertz and Sixt. You can also prefer one of the local companies. Before renting a car, you can make an online search for the prices of these companies. If you want, you can also make a reservation in advance. In this way, you take the road to your destination after landing at the airport without losing any time.

Hotel Transfer

You can get information about airport transfers from the hotel where you will stay in El Calafate before your flight. Most hotels in the city offer airport transfer service for their guests. Their prices vary depending on the features of the vehicle, the number of passengers and luggage. If there is a form published on your hotel's website, you can fill out this form online and find out the prices.