Yes, I also heard this from insiders within the tourism sector in Bariloche! They probably thought it would be the right time to do this as the activity on Bariloche airport has been very low recently.....
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77 helpful votes Confirmation in a local newspaper of the province of Neuquén, under the title of "la historia de nunca acabar" (the never ending story):
That is a major bummer this is the site that I saw it on
http://www.staybariloche.com/volcano-puyehue-ash-bariloche-travel.php
It's enough to make me cancel my trip to Barlioche. 10 hr round trip bus ride to the airport and back does not appeal to my wife and I.
The bad thing is I booked my hotel and also my flight from BA to Barlicohe and then to El Calafate.
I hope Aerolineas Argentinas will let me change my itinerary!!
Will the airport re-open on 20th December? We are flying into Bariloche on 20th December and flying onto El Calafate on the 26th. We have been advised by our hotel that life goes on as usual in Bariloche and we have even had restaurant bookings confirmed. Like many other tourists, we too planned and booked our holiday months ago and we were never advised of the ash conditions over Bariloche.
were in the same boat? Is Bariloche still functioning as it has been?? We'd love to visit but if the volcano will make this area less interesting i'd rather save it for next time.
Also - are the busses from Esquel reliable? Do they meet at the airport or is there a lot of extra travel/waiting to get there.
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11 helpful votes Also, have a look at www.bariloche.org and www.sanmartindelosandes.gov.ar, then click on the various live webcams to survey the area.
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6,938 posts
71 reviews
77 helpful votes Nomad, I believe no one can guarantee the airport will reopen on Dec. 20th.
In my opinion, this has more to do with the ashes in the air than with maintenance works.
Last report of Chile's Service of Geology (2 days ago) stated that the volcano is still active:
http://www.sernageomin.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=737&Itemid=1
We were in Bariloche from 3-5 October our flight was diverted from Buenos Aires to Neuquén. They have buses lined up when you land to take you to Bariloche it's approx. 6 hours they stop half way for 20 minutes. Nice smooth bus trip. About 1 hour out of Bariloche you start to see the ash on the mountains lakes are still blue. Once in town they keep it very clean but you can see the ash on cars and piles of ashes where they have cleaned it up.
The sky is hazy from the ash you see some people with masks on but most without. The ash is in the air but you can't see it. I wouldn't like to be there more than a week breathing in the ash.
We still enjoyed our visit to Bariloche our hotel was quiet but there was still plenty of people around the township and our tours went ahead as scheduled.
Hi All,
Does anyone know how LAN and other airlines handle this?
My brother and I have tickets from Buenos Aires to Barilcohe booked on LAN in early December. While reports say that the airport will be closed through Dec. 20th, I've received ZERO notification from LAN. In fact, it appears they are still selling tickets on flights to Bariloche.
Will they fly these routes to alternative airports?
Do they wait until last minute to cancel flights?
Will they honor a ticket booked to Bariloche by putting you on a flight to Neuquen, Mendoza or Salta instead?
Many Thanks,
Brian