Transport in Argentina has a vocabulary of its own, and several of its words are not the ones a Spanish course teaches. This glossary explains the Spanish terms you will read on our pages and hear at the airport, at the bus terminal or on the road.
Vehicles and services
- Traslado: a transfer, meaning a trip agreed in advance from one point to another, with a driver.
- Remis: a car with driver ordered from an agency, at a price agreed before setting off. It cannot be hailed in the street.
- Remisería: the agency that provides remis cars.
- Taxi: a metered cab that can be hailed in the street. In the city of Buenos Aires taxis are black with a yellow roof.
- Chofer: the driver. A remis driver is also called a remisero.
- Combi: a passenger van. The word is also used for shared fixed-route services between towns of Greater Buenos Aires and the centre.
- Colectivo: a city bus.
- Micro: a long-distance bus running between cities.
Airports and terminals
- Ezeiza: the everyday name of Ministro Pistarini International Airport, which is outside the city, in the district of Ezeiza. It is the airport for long-haul international flights.
- Aeroparque: Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, inside the city on the Río de la Plata riverside. It handles domestic flights and some regional ones.
- Cabotaje: domestic flights.
- Terminal de ómnibus: a bus station for long-distance services. The main one in the city of Buenos Aires is at Retiro.
- AMBA and Gran Buenos Aires: AMBA is the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, that is, the city plus the surrounding municipalities of Buenos Aires province. Those municipalities are known as Gran Buenos Aires or the conurbano, and are divided into zona norte, oeste and sur: north, west and south.
- Barrio cerrado or country: a gated residential community with a staffed entrance. The resident has to authorise the driver’s entry at the gate.
On the road
- Autopista: a motorway. The main roads into Buenos Aires are toll motorways; the Riccheri motorway leads to Ezeiza airport.
- Peaje: a toll. Your quote says whether tolls are included in the price.
- Hora pico: rush hour. On working days it runs towards the city in the morning and away from it in the late afternoon.
- Feriado: a public holiday. When one falls next to a weekend it makes a long weekend, a fin de semana largo, and the roads to the coast and other holiday areas fill up.
Booking and luggage
- Cotización: a quote, the price we give you for one specific trip before you book. It is per vehicle.
- Seña: a deposit, a part payment made in advance to hold a booking. If a trip needs one, the quote says so.
- Valija: a suitcase.
- Baúl: the boot of the car. Its size decides how many suitcases fit, which is why we ask how many you have.
Borders
- Paso fronterizo: an authorised point for crossing by land from one country to another.
- Migraciones: immigration control, the check on people leaving one country and entering the next. Every passenger shows their own document.
- Aduana: customs, the check on luggage, goods and vehicles at the border.
If you come across a word on the site that is not in this list, ask us through the contact page.