Freighter Travel from Buenos Aires: Routes, Lines and What a Berth Costs

Freighter travel from Buenos Aires puts you on a working cargo ship with a cabin, three meals a day and no entertainment programme — and takes you to Brazil without boarding an aircraft. This is what sails from Buenos Aires, what a berth costs and how to join the ship.

Where Buenos Aires is, and what it handles

Buenos Aires sits on the Río de la Plata in Argentina, in the city of the same name. The port works containers, grain, reefer cargo and vehicles.

The port is on the city’s doorstep at Puerto Nuevo, and Retiro station and the ferry terminal for Uruguay are both within walking distance.

Which lines carry passengers from Buenos Aires

Only a minority of cargo lines take passengers at all, and which of them calls at Buenos Aires changes from season to season as rotations are redrawn. That is the single thing most people get wrong when planning a voyage: a line that carried passengers here last year may not be running the route this year.

A freighter carries between two and twelve passengers. There is no tender, no second sitting and no alternative if the ship is full, so the practical constraint on freighter travel from Buenos Aires is availability rather than price. Tell us the month you want and we will tell you which ships have a berth.

Where you can sail from Buenos Aires

From Buenos Aires the scheduled trades run to Brazil, Europe, the US east coast and the Far East.

What it costs

A berth is priced by the day rather than by the voyage, and the fare is full board: a private cabin with a window, usually with a separate sitting area, and every meal. There is no cheaper class, because there is only one standard of passenger cabin on a working ship.

Against a flight it looks expensive. Against a cruise of the same length it rarely does, and almost nothing is extra once you are aboard — bar drinks and the occasional port fee, and that is the list. Fares from Buenos Aires move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want.

Getting to Buenos Aires

The nearest airport is Ezeiza or Aeroparque. From there, Retiro, beside the port. Plan to be in Buenos Aires the evening before your sailing date: cargo ships bring their departure forward as readily as they delay it, and a ship that finishes loading early will sail early.

Who can travel

There is a doctor on very few freighters, so most lines set an upper age limit around 79 and ask for a fitness-to-travel certificate above about 65. Deviation insurance is required — it covers the cost of putting the ship off its route in an emergency, and no line will board you without it. Children are accepted by some lines and not others.

Questions people ask about Buenos Aires

Can you travel by cargo ship from Buenos Aires?

Yes — Buenos Aires handles containers, grain, reefer cargo and vehicles, and some of the lines calling here carry a small number of passengers. Berths are limited to a handful per sailing and are usually booked months ahead, so availability rather than price is the real constraint.

How much does freighter travel from Buenos Aires cost?

A freighter berth is priced by the day rather than by the voyage, and it is full board: a private cabin, every meal, and no second class. Fares move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want rather than working from a published table.

What is a freighter cabin like?

Larger than a cruise cabin and plainer. You get a private room with a window or porthole, a desk, a bathroom and usually a separate sitting area. There is no entertainment programme, no pool attendant and no wifi worth the name — which is the point for most people who choose it.

How do I get to the port?

Fly in to Ezeiza or Aeroparque, then continue to the quay — Retiro, beside the port. Lines normally ask you to be in the port city the night before sailing, because a ship that finishes loading early will sail early and it will not wait.

Read next

• Freighter travel from Auckland — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Melbourne — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Fremantle — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Southern hemisphere freighter routes — how Buenos Aires fits the wider picture.
• Read about freighter voyages in the Mediterranean.
• Read about what shore leave is like in port.

Ask us what is sailing from Buenos Aires — tell us your month and we will tell you what has a berth.