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Ruta 40 in the Puna
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Resources: Plan your Road Trip

Plan your Ruta 40 trip

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To plan and organize your trip along Ruta 40 you have to know key facts about it: Where is it? How long is it? What are its main attractions? Where will you stop to spend the night? What is the road like? Paved? Unpaved? When is the best time to travel?
This page will provide useful inks and brief introduction to each these questions so that you can start to plan your road trip.

Old rusty Ruta 40 road sign
An old Ruta 40 road sig in Patagonia, El Calafate, Santa Cruz

Useful stuff for planning your Road Trip

Resources for your Ruta 40 Road Trip

Ruta 40 is an amazing highway, a challenge in itself, from the Puna highlands in the North to the solitary Patagonian steppes in the South it has plenty of attractions to visit, things to see and do.

Here you will learn more about Ruta 40 and all that it has to offer as well as important information that you need to know in order to plan your trip.

Maps

Maps are important to get your bearings when planning a trip. They give you a reference frame.

We have prepared many maps which you can find at our "Maps" webpage:

See Ruta 40's Maps

Ruta 40 La Juguetería near Sey, Jujuy
Ruta 40: ‘La Juguetería’ (The Toy Shop) in Sey, Jujuy

Road Sections

We have prepared detailed itineraries that cover the whole of Ruta 40. We divided it into "sections", each section is a leg of the highway, and it includes all description of the road: its altitude, difficulty, road conditions, type of paving (or lack of it), mileage, historic sites, landmarks, main towns, attractions, service stations, lodging and much more.

See Ruta 40's Ruta 40: Road sections

Below are links to each section from South to North along Ruta 40:

Map of Argentina showing the aligment of Ruta 40

Ruta 40’s alignment across Argentina

Volcano in la Payunia, Ruta 40, Mendoza
Volcano in la Payunia Malargüe, Mendoza

Gas Stations on Ruta 40

This highway crosses very solitary regions for instance the northern Puna plateau has few inhabitants, villages are mere groups of houses with a church, health post and some stores, service stations are scarce.

Patagonia is another example of great distances and few gas stations. That is why we list all the places either on, or close to Ruta 40 so that you can keep your petrol tank topped up.

See Ruta 40's Service Stations

ACA gas station in El Bolsón, Río Negro
The ACA gas station on Ruta 40 in El Bolsón, Río Negro

Road Conditions

Roadworks and road closures can alter your trip. The road surface (is it paved or not?), and if the weather (floods, snow, ice or rain) has cut or blocked Ruta 40. Learn about it at our Road Conditions webpage.

See Ruta 40's Road Conditions

Ruta 40 is mostly paved. The long, dusty, bumpy gravel segments of Patagonia were almost completely paved a few years ago. However there are some unpaved sections and we list them in our "Paved - Unpaved" webpage:

Visit our page on the paved and unpaved legs of Ruta 40, with maps and full information:

> > Paved and Unpaved Sections

Flooded ford on Ruta 40 in San Juan
Flooded ford on Ruta 40, San Juan
Diario Movil

Plan your Trip

Planning your trip is part of the fun: you travel with your mind, anticipating the pleasures and thrills that you will experience during your actual vacations.

We have prepared a page full of advice on how to plan your trip, and also a Free e-Book with tips, suggestions and check-lists.

Plan your Trip along Ruta 40

The Best Tips to Plan your Road Trip

Free E-Book


A beginners guide to planning a relaxing road trip

This is what you will find inside:

A step by step guide

  • When to travel
  • How to calculate your budget
  • How to define the length of your trip
  • Getting to your Road Trip
  • A Check list
  • Don't forget the Side Trips!
  • What to Pack
  • Over plan it or go with the flow?
  • Hotel bookings

When to Drive Ruta 40?

Ruta 40 Can be visited all year round however some periods are better than otehers: you wan't to avoid the cold snowy weather in the South or the rainy season in the North. Keep away from the high season crowds and higer prices and learn when is the best time of the year to drive along Ruta 40.

Ruta 40 with snow, in winter Rio Olnie, Santa Cruz, Patagonia
Ruta 40 in Patagonia, a winter snowfall, Río Olnie, Santa Cruz

Accommodation

Finding a place to spend the night or stopover for a few days during your Ruta 40 road trip is an important part of your trip planning process.

Our accommodation webpage has some tips on booking your hotel rooms. We also include links to hotels in each of our "Ruta 40 section" pages and the individual town webpages.

Ruta 40, Accommodation

Booking.com

Tips for Happy Holidays

A relaxed vacation is about having fun and avoiding uncomfortable situations. This page has useful suggestions about Argentina, how to keep safe, drive safely and keep out of trouble.

We also include some fun tips to unwind and get the best out of your Ruta 40 Road Trip.

Ruta 40, Tips & Advice for your trip to Argentina

Water over the salt flats and man standing on it
Salinas Grandes with water on it, Jujuy

Renting a Car

You can visit many towns along Ruta 40 by flying to them from different parts of the country. You can also take buses along many sections of Ruta 40, however a Road Trip means that you should do the driving, and that means renting a car.

Our "Car Rental" page has some useful tips on renting a car and the option for online car rentals.

Visit our page on Car Rental in Argentina

> > Car Rental

 

 

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Road Trip Journeys
Liniers 440, B1602 Florida Buenos Aires, Argentina

E-mail: info©turismoruta40.com.ar

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TurismoRuta40
Ruta 40 (Argentina) Online Travel Guide: Information on accommodation, sights, attractions and destinations. Itineraries, tours and resources for planning your Route 40 Road Trip.

Updated on V.12