Buenos Aires public transport: tickets, passes and apps

For almost every visitor the answer is the SUBE card. It is a stored-value card, not a pass: you load pesos onto it and tap once per journey. The same card works on the Subte (metro), the colectivo bus network and the urban trains, which is why it beats any single-mode ticket.

There is no day pass, no tourist travelcard and no zone-based ticket for the city. Fares are flat per ride, so the only decision is how much credit to load. Load a little more than you think you need — top-up points are common but not everywhere, and a card with zero balance will not let you board.

If you are in Buenos Aires for two or three days and mostly walk, one SUBE with about ARS 5,000–8,000 loaded covers a normal trip with room to spare. Longer stays or a hotel far from the centre: load more.

Fares rose sharply through 2024–26 and the numbers below are 2026 estimates, not fixed prices. Treat them as a band and check the current figure at a station booth or kiosco before you load.

The practical point is that city transit is cheap by US or European standards: a full day of Subte and bus rides usually costs less than a coffee in a tourist café. Airport transfers are the exception and cost many times a city fare.

Buy a SUBE card at a kiosco, a Subte station booth or certain post offices. You may be asked for a passport or ID number to register it; registration is what lets you recover a lost balance, so do it if you can.

Top up in cash at kioscos, station booths and some pharmacies, or through the official SUBE app if you have a local payment method. Foreign cards often fail in the app, so cash top-up is the reliable route for a short visit.

Tap the card once on the reader as you enter the Subte or board the colectivo. On buses you tap at the front; on the Subte you tap at the gate. Keep the card away from your phone case if it interferes with the reader.

Contactless bank cards and phones are accepted on some Subte gates and some bus readers, but coverage is uneven and a failed tap at a busy door is a bad moment. Carry SUBE as the default and treat contactless as a backup — check before you rely on it.

Buenos Aires city transit is effectively one zone. The Subte and colectivos charge a flat fare wherever you go inside the city, so you do not need to plan around zone boundaries.

The urban trains are the exception: they run out into Greater Buenos Aires and the fare steps up with distance. If you are only moving around the centre, Palermo, Recoleta, San Telmo and La Boca, you will stay in the cheapest band.

For day trips beyond the city — Tigre, La Plata, Adrogué — check the train fare and timetable separately, and keep enough SUBE balance for the return leg.

Neither airport is on the Subte. Ezeiza (EZE) is about an hour from the centre by road; Aeroparque (AEP) sits in the city and is much closer.

From EZE the options are the official airport bus to the centre, a remis booked at the official desk inside arrivals, or an app car. Avoid drivers approaching you in the hall — use the desks or an app.

From AEP, a taxi or app car to Palermo or Recoleta is short and cheap; the airport bus also runs to the centre. If you are connecting to a domestic flight, AEP is the airport you want, not EZE.

For a first arrival, a pre-booked car or the official bus is the low-stress choice. Once you have SUBE loaded, the city itself is easy.

Keep your phone inside your bag on the Subte and on crowded colectivos, especially at rush hour. Pickpocketing is the main risk on Buenos Aires transit, not the fare system.

Rush hour is roughly 07:00–09:30 and 17:00–20:00. If you can shift a journey by an hour, the difference in crowding is large.

The colectivo network reaches places the Subte does not, and buses run late into the night. Learn one or two lines near your hotel and you will use them more than the metro.

Carry small notes for top-ups; kioscos rarely have change for large bills. And keep a little credit on the card at all times — a zero balance means walking.