Showers gone from Priority Pass/VIP Lounge at EZE?
 

I've gone through so much information here and online that my head is about to explode. I know I'm not the first one to ask this, but I've been trying to find out whether or not there are showers at EZE.

I think the answer is "there are no showers at EZE", but I've seen information online to the contrary. I tried going right to the airport website which links to a page for Aeropuerto VIP lounge, but it appears to be a dead link. So, I think the answer is that there *used to be* showers there, but not anymore? :confused:

Here is what I've found at several places online regarding the VIP lounge:
If I go to the Priority Pass website I only see a reference to the PP lounge in Terminal A and the UA RCC. There is nothing there about a lounge in Terminal B and it does not list showers as a feature of the Terminal A Arrivals International lounge.
Maybe I'm misreading this, and there are showers, but in the domestic departures terminal? That wouldn't make much sense, since they are more useful arriving than leaving.

Even if there were showers in the domestic terminal (Terminal B), would I even be able to leave the international terminal and transfer there to use them, assuming they even existed?

Options for dinner before 11pm flight at EZE?
 

I know from reading here that it's important to get to EZE at least 3 or 4 hours early. I also know that there are no good places to eat there. Some people have suggested that if you get to EZE before the evening rush that it's not too painful getting through security.

Is it worth it to go early, have dinner at the airport and just sit at the lounge? Or would you recommend having one last nice dinner in BA, maybe around 6pm, then heading to the airport around 7pm or so? Is the food at EZE so terrible? UA might serve food on my flight, but since it's so late, I think I'll just go to sleep as soon as I can.

EZE has no "domestic terminal." Most domestic flights are at AEP.

The PP lounges, as you have said, are the horrible SALA VIP, and the nice when it isn't crowded UA RCC. Neither is remarkable. I rather enjoyed the RCC a few days ago in the late afternoon when I was the only person there :D

I believe that you can shower in the Admiral's Club, but its on the departure side, past security and immigration.

What airline and class of service.....?? If you are flying up front, then 3 hours before the flight is IMO way too much.

I try to have a last dinner in town before heading to the airport. The problem is eating dinner at 6 pm in Buenos Aires! You generally need one of the continuous serving places, often in the Microcenter, that serve a lot of tourists.

I often hit La Estancia on Lavelle in such situations. I think any "farewell" meal in BA should be beef. :p I first ate at La Estancia 20 years ago and pretty much ignored it until recently, until a local said "it may be touristy, but the food and prices are still good -- and I go there when I want to eat at odd times." The advice was correct -- the bife is very good, and the prices are good. (My "beef" with them is their medicore and slightly overpriced wine list, but nobody's perfect). BTW, for similar reasons, I recommend the restaurant to families, who don't want to take their kids out for dinner at 9 pm.

Just remember that it can be time consuming to check in and clear security at EZE. You definitely want to be there at least 2 hours in advance. I don't think you need 3 hours, even without elite status.

We're flying in C, so maybe just 2 hours would be enough? How bad would traffic be on a Saturday evening from downtown BsAs to EZE? I'm counting backwards from our 11pm flight. Would leaving our hotel at 9pm (near the Abasto Shopping Center) be too late? Should we leave at 8pm instead?

Leave at 8pm.Travel time to the airport should be less than an hour on a Saturday evening. Elite UA checkin will be very fast (it usually takes me less than 10 min). That leaves you plenty of time to pay the exit tax and pass through security and immigration.

John

Ditto what John says above.... ^

time needed at EZE
 

When I was there last month, I was advised to be there at least two hours early and that I would use those two hours, but then check-in, airport tax and security took a combined total of 15 min. EZE seems to be one of those places where a difference of 15 minutes in showing up in the airport can mean a difference of an hour in getting through the lines-- the crowd kind of materializes all at once.

If for whatever reason you don't have a meal in town and need to eat at the airport, do so before security. It isn't great (and as it's in an airport is obscenely overpriced), but at least there is hot food served on plates. The post-security options are soul-suckingly bad, especially in Terminal A. You can cross over to the Aerolineas terminal without leaving the secured area, but the options awaiting you there are really no better.

I have a question for any Argentine residents (or anyone else who might happen to know this): I am trying to find traffic statistics, specifically for 9 de Julio in BsAs. I know the Argentine government isn't always great about releasing statistics, but I also don't know much about how it's organized and have no idea where to look/what ministry handles this. I'd like to find out how many cars/vehicles a day it carries, on average, if such data exists. Thanks in advance.

So an 8PM departure from downtown for a 11:45pm departure from EZE? I've budgeted 100 pesos each way for the taxi and a few hundred for eating and drinking my way through the city. Should that suffice for a good drinking (most important) and eating (almost, but not quite, as important)?

Cheers,

-Andrew

I recommended an 8pm departure for a 11:05 flight ...

Try to contact the Buenos Aires City Government..... they may have some figures put together.

And if they are as reliable as the statistics released by INDEC, they'll be about as useful as a chocolate fireguard :D Did you know that 50 cars an hour pass along 9 de julio in the hora pico?!!!

I agree that the INDEK numbers are 200% garbage... but remember that Macri runs the city Government so I would be more confident of something they would be able to provide.