Most visitors who stay in and around Río Grande, on the Isla Grande’s blustery Atlantic shoreline, do so for the fishing. For the rest, this once desolate city is more a transit point than a destination in itself, but thanks to smoothly paved streets, the huge dust clouds that once blew through the wool and oil town have subsided. There are limits to beautification, though, as all the trees planted in Plaza Almirante Brown are stiffly wind-flagged.

Bus schedules used to dictate that travelers pass the night here, but recent improvements mean quicker connections to Ushuaia for overland travelers. Still, services have improved, and there’s enough to do that an afternoon spent here need not be a wasted one.

On the north bank of its namesake river, Río Grande (pop. 52,786) is 79 kilometers southeast of the Chilean border post at San Sebastián and 190 kilometers northeast of Ushuaia via RN 3, which is now completely paved (though some deteriorating segments south toward Tolhuin will soon need repaving).

Getting There

Aerolíneas Argentinas (San Martín 607, tel. 02964/422748) flies daily to Río Gallegos and Buenos Aires. LADE (Lasserre 425, tel. 02964/422968) flies with some frequency to Río Gallegos, less frequently to Comodoro Rivadavia.

Since the old terminal recently closed, bus companies now have their own offices, some of them shared. Lider (Perito Moreno 635, tel. 02964/420003) and Transportes Montiel (25 de Mayo 712, tel. 02964/420997) have multiple departures to Tolhuin (US$5, 1.5 hours) and Ushuaia (US$10, four hours). Bus Sur (Perito Moreno 635, tel. 02964/425644) goes to Punta Arenas, Chile (US$18, eight hours), Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 10 a.m.

Tecni-Austral (Moyano 516, tel. 02964/430610) goes to Punta Arenas Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:30 a.m., to Río Gallegos (US$20, eight hours) via Chile daily except Sunday at 9 a.m., and to Ushuaia (US$9, four hours) daily at 4 p.m.