Argentina on an Australian Licence — The Side Switch, a Required IDP & Patagonia's Distances

The biggest change for an Australian driver in Argentina is the side of the road. Australia drives on the left; Argentina drives on the right, and reversing that instinct is what most often catches visitors out in the first day or two — pulling out of a service station, joining a roundabout that now flows the other way, or glancing the wrong direction at a junction. Take your first hour somewhere quiet rather than central Buenos Aires, which is intense even for locals, and be deliberate at every turn until it stops feeling backwards.

The paperwork is non-negotiable here. Argentina requires an International Driving Permit alongside your Australian licence and passport — this is a genuine requirement, not a recommendation, and it must be arranged in Australia before you travel because you cannot get one locally. Police and rental desks do check. You can confirm exactly what you need with the Driving Permit Checker.

Once you are moving, the speeds are generous: motorways run to 130 km/h, rural roads to 110 and towns drop to 40. The long-distance national routes are good, but Patagonia is the thing to plan around — distances are vast and remote, and petrol stations can be hundreds of kilometres apart. Fuel up whenever you reach one, even half-full; the upside is that fuel is cheap, around $0.88/litre. Speeding fines vary by province at roughly ARS 10,000-30,000 (≈ €10-30), and you can sanity-check a penalty with the Speeding Fine Calculator.

The drink-drive limit is 0.05, the same as home, so that is one fewer thing to recalibrate. Your car should carry a warning triangle, reflective vest, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher, and the emergency number is 911. Download offline maps before any long leg, because mobile coverage thins out fast away from the cities.

The full country detail is on our Argentina driving guide. For an Australian the verdict is clear: sort the IDP early, give yourself a quiet first hour to learn the right-hand side, and treat Patagonian fuel as something to top up at every chance.