How to Drive to Ushuaia From Brazil: 3 Routes

Ushuaia is the "southernmost city in the world," and driving there from Brazil is a dream that fits a long vacation, a short sabbatical, or a retirement with time on its hands. The good news: there is more than one way. And each way tells a different story.

We gathered the 3 routes most used by Brazilian overlanders, with the stops worth making, the stretches of pavement and the stretches of ripio (dirt road), and what to expect in terms of time and bureaucracy.

In short: you can go along the Argentine Atlantic coast (faster and paved), through the Andes via Ruta 40 (more scenic on the Argentine side), or by mixing the Chilean Carretera Austral with Ruta 40 (the most beautiful and the longest). All of them end in the same place: the ferry crossing of the Strait of Magellan and the arrival in Tierra del Fuego.

What every route has in common

Regardless of the path, three things apply to all of them:

• You cross at least 3 countries: Brazil, Uruguay (optional) or Argentina, and almost always Chile on the final stretch.
• Crossing the Strait of Magellan is mandatory. There is no bridge. It is a ferry that leaves from Punta Delgada (ARG) or Punta Arenas (CHI) and takes about 30 to 45 minutes. A reservation helps, but is not always necessary.
• You enter Tierra del Fuego through Chile and leave through Chile, even when heading to Ushuaia (Argentina). That means two customs offices in the same day. The car must have up-to-date documents and active Mercosur insurance.

And one thing nobody tells you: the wind in Patagonia is a force of nature, no exaggeration. Gusts of 80 to 100 km/h are routine. This affects fuel use, comfort, and time. Planning short stretches near El Calafate and in Tierra del Fuego is smarter than trying to do 600 km in a day.

Route 1: Atlantic, the fastest, almost entirely paved

Leave Brazil through Chuí (RS), cross Uruguay (or enter Argentina directly via Paso de los Libres, depending on where you are), take the Argentine Atlantic coast, and head south.

Path: Brazil, Uruguay (optional), Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Bahía Blanca, Viedma, Puerto Madryn, Comodoro Rivadavia, Río Gallegos, ferry, Tierra del Fuego, and Ushuaia.

Road time: about 12 to 14 days of driving at a comfortable pace (300 to 500 km/day) one way only. For a round trip without repeating the route, count 30 to 40 days.

Important tip: this route also works very well as a return path for those who went via Ruta 40 or the Carretera Austral. Since it is the fastest and paved, you save 1 to 2 weeks on the return and still see regions you missed on the way down (Península Valdés, the Atlantic coast). For long crossings, doing route 2 or 3 on the way down and route 1 on the way back is the combo most used by those who have done it.

Stops worth making:

• Mar del Plata: to sleep, eat well, and breathe the coast.
• Península Valdés (near Puerto Madryn): southern right whale season from June to December, penguins, elephant seals. It charges an entry fee and requires a vehicle to get around inside the reserve.
• Petrified Forest (Santa Cruz): a 150-million-year-old time capsule in the middle of nowhere.
• Río Gallegos: the last big city before the crossing to the Strait of Magellan. This is where you resupply everything: fuel at brand-name stations, a big supermarket to stock up on supplies that will last until Ushuaia (and in Tierra del Fuego prices skyrocket because of the isolation), a tire shop if a tire showed signs of trouble on the way down, and a real repair shop if something broke. After Río Gallegos the cities turn into small villages with limited options until Río Grande, on the other side of the crossing.

Why this route: almost all pavement, reasonable gas stations, cell signal for most of it. It is the safest option for those testing a long car trip for the first time.

It captures less of the essence of Patagonia. If you want mountains and glaciers, this route does not deliver. It delivers the ocean.

Route 2: Andes via Ruta 40, the most scenic on the Argentine side

Enter Argentina through the northern passes (Paso de los Libres, Bernardo de Irigoyen, or directly via Foz do Iguaçu), head down toward Mendoza, and join Ruta 40, Argentina's longest road, with 5 thousand kilometers from north to south.

Path: Brazil, northern Argentina, Mendoza, San Carlos de Bariloche, El Bolsón, Esquel, Perito Moreno (town), El Calafate, El Chaltén, Río Gallegos, ferry, and Ushuaia.

Road time: 18 to 22 days one way only, with decent stops. A comfortable round trip: 45 to 60 days, dropping to 35 to 45 if you return via the Atlantic route.

Stops worth making:

• Mendoza: wineries, asado, a base for crossing into Chile if you want to detour through Santiago.
• Bariloche and the Seven Lakes Route: a tourist classic, but it deserves it. Autumn (April and May) has absurd colors.
• Cueva de las Manos (Santa Cruz): 9,000-year-old cave paintings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in a canyon in the middle of nowhere.
• Perito Moreno Glacier (Los Glaciares National Park): one of the few glaciers in the world that is still advancing. Go on a sunny day and stay to watch the blocks falling.
• El Chaltén: the national capital of trekking, base of Cerro Fitz Roy. Even if you do not hike, it is worth driving there.

Why this route: it gives you all of Argentine Patagonia, with glaciers, mountains, and steppe. It is the "classic itinerary" that shows up in the photos.

Be careful: stretches of Ruta 40 south of Perito Moreno (town) have heavy ripio and gas stations more than 200 km apart, many of them without fuel available at the end of the day or closed outside business hours. Cell signal disappears for long stretches. Fill the tank whenever a station with fuel shows up, even if you still have a third. Waiting to refuel 50 km ahead is exactly how you end up on foot. And calculate your range conservatively: Patagonian wind easily cuts fuel economy by 30%, and what looked like 600 km on a full tank becomes 420.

Route 3: Carretera Austral and Ruta 40, the most beautiful and the longest

This one is for those with 60 to 90 days who want to drive the wildest landscape on the continent. It combines the Chilean side of Patagonia (the Carretera Austral) with the Argentine side (Ruta 40), because the Carretera Austral ends in Villa O'Higgins and has no road continuity to the south. You need to go back and cross into Argentina.

Path: Brazil, Argentina, cross into Chile (Bariloche and Puerto Montt), Carretera Austral (Puerto Montt, Chaitén, Coyhaique, Villa O'Higgins), back north and cross into Argentina through some pass (Río Mayo, Coyhaique to Perito Moreno), Ruta 40 south, El Chaltén, El Calafate, Río Gallegos, ferry, and Ushuaia.

Road time: 30 to 40 days one way only with honest stops. Round trip: 70 to 90 days, dropping to 55 to 70 with a return via the Atlantic route.

Stops worth making:

• Pumalín Park: Valdivian forest, volcanoes, fjords. Donated by Doug Tompkins, now Chilean heritage.
• Queulat Park: the Ventisquero Colgante (a glacier hanging off a cliff) is a movie scene.
• Marble Chapels (Capillas de Mármol): marble caves sculpted by the water of Lake General Carrera. Only by boat. Another movie scene.
• Villa O'Higgins: the end of the road. Literally. From here, continuing south means taking a ferry and trekking without a car (pedestrians cross to El Chaltén, cars do not).
• Lake O'Higgins: the point where the Carretera Austral ends.

Why this route: nobody who does it regrets it. The combination of fjords, glaciers, temperate forests, and steppe is unique in the world.

Double caution: Chilean ferries on the Carretera Austral require reservations well in advance (weeks, in high season). Fuel is even scarcer than on Ruta 40. And leaving Villa O'Higgins by car means going back the same way to where you can cross into Argentina.

Paperwork and bureaucracy: the minimum to avoid surprises

For any of the 3 routes, have:

• Passport (an ID card works only within Mercosur, but a passport simplifies things).
• International driver's license or a valid Brazilian license with translation (good practice).
• Original CRLV vehicle registration (a copy is not valid at some stations).
• Notarized exit authorization from the country, if the car is not in your name.
• Mandatory Mercosur insurance (Green Card).
• Warning triangle, reflective vest, fire extinguisher, and safety cones. Argentina and Chile check this at roadblocks.

The complete checklist of documents to cross borders details what each country asks for. Crossing a border is easy most of the time: 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the post and the time. The small Andean passes are much quicker than Paso Cristo Redentor or Chuí, which have historic lines.

Which one to choose?

• A window of 3 to 4 weeks: route 1 (Atlantic). You arrive, see the essentials, and head back.
• A window of 6 to 8 weeks, wanting "postcard" Patagonia: route 2 (Ruta 40) on the way down, Atlantic on the way back. Glacier, El Chaltén, Bariloche.
• A window of 2 to 3 months, wanting scenery few people see: route 3 (combined Carretera Austral) on the way down, Atlantic on the way back. It is the most tiring, the most expensive in fuel and ferries, and also the most unforgettable.

Planning yours? GT Overlander helps you build the route, with community-validated waypoints along the way: gas stations, campgrounds, repair shops, and everything you need to make your trip even more unforgettable.