Work has been mentally and somehow physically draining me, and NY’s winter made me crave heat – so our last trip was 13 summer days in Argentina (and Chile, and Brazil, and Uruguay), but here are my recommendations for 4-6 March Days in Buenos Aires
Quips
- Aerolineas Argentinas – 6 flights. On the 2nd night of our trip I received an email 6 hours before our flight that said “your flight was cancelled”. There was nothing about a rebooking and no ability to contact because the helpline was closed after hours. We grabbed an uber to the airport and proceeded to stay up all night changing our proceeding 4 flights, car rental, and 4 hotels. The international flight televisions sucked, the food was bland, the pilots tended to land at super high speeds (yes, it was scary). Can’t say I loved this airline.
- Argentina’s biggest export? Not wine, or beef – soya beans!
- The greatest number of immigrants into Buenos Aires came from Poland, Spain, and especially Italy (4 million Italian immigrated before 1920). One of our tour guides said the majority of people in Argentina retain Italian traditions, but unfortunately not the language, and more people speak English than Italian.
- Most popular cocktail: Fernet – a bitter Italian liquor mixed with Coca Cola
- Coldplay got so big in Argentina that the country created the tourist dollar, which became the blue dollar (and for now, has greatly benefitted tourists in the exchange rate). Using credit cards was accepted nearly everywhere, but if you do want some cash – trust Evan’s research – Western Union was the safest and offered the best rate by far. So download the app, send yourself some money, and pick it up at a Western Union in BA. If you’re visiting soon, remember they give out STACKS of money – their largest bill is 2,000, which is little more than $2, and those are hard to come by.
- Ubers in Buenos Aires in March 2024: about $6-$7 for a “comfort ride” across the city (30-40 mins).
13 March Days in Argentina, Our Itinerary
- 4 Days in Buenos Aires – including a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay
- 6 Days in Patagonia – including 1 day in El Calafate, 2 Days in Torres del Paine, and 2 Days in El Chalten, 1 day of travel in between
- 2 Days in Iguazu Falls
Do I recommend this itinerary? Honestly, no. I’d say pick your poison. If you love waterfalls, do Iguazu, spend more time in Buenos Aires, skip Patagonia and maybe make a stop closer – like Mendoza? If you’re a nature lover and enjoy hiking, Patagonia is a dream, and you can do Iguazu later in life. I have no comments on Bariloche, Mendoza, or Juju/Salta, but can safely say they’re all on my to-do list.
Buenos Aires is such a large city that you won’t get bored for weeks – you can cover a lot of highlights without any day trips in about 4 days, but even a week will have you busy morning to night.
Recommended Itinerary for 4-6 March Days in Buenos Aires
Day 1: La Boca/Caminito and San Telmo neighborhood (blue markers on map)
We did a walking tour of La Boca (the city of the displaced people) and even though the town was as touristy as we expected, its colors are vibrant, the energy ecstatic, and has a great history. Currently, La Boca only hires people who live in the area. This made up for the souvenir shops and crowds, which didn’t phase us the way they did in other places we visited, like Guatape in Colombia. La Boca was shockingly one of my favorite neighborhoods to walk around in and take in the life.
You can also make a pit stop at La Bombonera, the home stadium of the famous Boca Juniors football club with a museum on site. Our tour guide told us this stadium’s architecture was “anti-seismic,” built in such a way that when everyone is jumping and the crowd is roaring, the stadium doesn’t shake, it beats. The blue/yellow colors of the stadium come from an agreement to adopt the colors of the flag of the first ship that sailed into La Boca port – which happened to be a Swedish ship.
San Telmo has a massive food market with tens of stalls, mostly dedicated to meats and sandwiches – just know it’s not air conditioned in the summer and it does get steamy. Here’s a link on how to enjoy these stalls. San Telmo also has the famous Mafalda comic strip character (which there was a long line for) alongside the Paseo de la Historieta, or the comic strip walk. Another goal of mine next time I’m visiting this city is to take the 50 minute tour of The El Zanjon De Granados Tunnels, which I read fantastic things about.
Day 2: Parks Day (green markers on map)
This was my favorite day in BA. Highly recommend visiting Jardin Japones (Japanese Garden) & then Ecoparque. Ecoparque is a free park/zoo we stumbled through on the walk to the Botanical Gardens. The gardens were average- no where near as amazing as the botanical gardens in Medellin, Colombia or Copenhagen, Denmark.
In 2024, the park includes animals including hippos, giraffes, ostriches, flamingoes, tapirs, water buffalo, camels, tortoises, peacocks, macaws, rhea birds, and guanocos. This may sound normal for a zoo, but when we thought we were walking through a park and instead suddenly saw two giraffes walking towards an ostrich, our jaws dropped open.
Another park we went to was Tres de Febrero Park, admittedly on a different day, but you could squeeze them all in one day if you wanted. The rose garden was in full bloom and was beautiful. We then saw a sign to rent paddle boats for an hour and couldn’t resist the price, which is well worth the ride. This park also showed us how prominent running is in this city.
Fuerza Bruta – I’ve seen this show in NY and it wasn’t on when we were there in Argentina, but it’s a fantastic experience. It’s not a park on this “parks day,” but it is located where the parks are, so if it’s showing when you’re here, I recommend this interactive show (should be back in the fall of 2024).
Day 3: Downtown Day & Puerto Madero (red markers on map)
This is an unpopular and controversial opinion, but we didn’t love downtown or Puerto Madero. Having been to many European cities, I agree with the sentiment that Buenos Aires and downtown are a “little Paris,” – but more like a rundown Paris. I appreciate the history and architecture, and I do realize I’m talking about the downtown of a city, but I crave places that feel a bit warmer. Next time I’ll make sure to do a tour of Palace Barolo, which mimics the story of Dante’s Divine Comedy where the floors of the building are divided by hell, purgatory, and heaven, like the book.
Teatro de Colon – I tried to book tickets in advance in NY, but they were sold out for the shows we wanted, and sold out when we got there. Unfortunately, even the tickets for a tour of the theater were sold out when we looked. This is what I want to do most upon a return here.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid – converted theater into a bookstore & certainly worth a drop by – named one of the most beautiful bookstores.
We explored Puerto Madero when our flight was cancelled and our Airbnb didn’t have the next night available- so we booked a hotel for one night here. It’s considered the most newly developed part of the city and has a long stretch of restaurants and nightlife along the canal. If this is what you crave, perhaps you’ll love it. For us, it feels like a visit to Jersey City.
Day 4: Day trip on a ferry to explore Colonia, Uruguay
If you’re someone who wants to cross a country off their list easily, this day trip (1.5 hr ferry, 2.5 with customs each way) is an easy and quick checkmark. The town is small and cute, and a good respite from the busier Buenos Aires. The ferry tickets are significantly cheaper to buy online once in Argentina, rather than buying them in advance in the U.S., though theoretically could sell out at the highest peak of the season. We read that the Buquebus ferry was nicer than Colonia Express, but aside from Buquebus having a bigger duty free store and the business class section, I actually prefer Colonia Express for the sheer comfort in economy.
If you have time to spare, go for this day trip – but if your time is limited, I think an extra day in Buenos Aires would be a much better use of your time. On the other hand, we heard great things about the capital city of Montevideo or Punta del Este (more of a beach/party town) – but the ferries take much longer from Buenos Aires (3.5 hrs to Montevideo)- so these would be better suited to overnight trips.
Day 5: Recoleta & the cemetery (orange markers on map)
This was on every blog and to-do list, but we didn’t get around to it in our 4 days. We plan to do this next time. I don’t generally look back and think “damn, I really can’t believe I didn’t have time to do the cemetery,” no matter how great the architecture is. Although, the St. Paul’s catacombs in Malta really did blow my mind, so maybe I’d love it? We know Eva Peron (the first lady of Argentina, who is also on the photo I took of the building in downtown) is buried here and this is a big draw. Perhaps this cemetery has the same feel as Greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn – vast, green, and tranquil.
Day 6: Palermo Soho & Palermo Hollywood (pink marker on the map)
We stayed in different Airbnbs and parts of Palermo throughout our time in BA and there’s nothing in particular that I think “needs” to be covered whilst here. Any hidden gems anyone? Explore the different restaurants and walk around. This is considered the chic, trendy and safe neighborhood to stay in whilst in Buenos Aires. You may not need a full day to relax – that’s dependent on your style. However, I do think a day at your hotel, sitting in some cafes, and hitting the restaurants would be a nice break day on your trip.
While you’re in Palermo, a visit to Distrito Arcos, the outdoor premium outlets and food/beer stalls is worth a walk in if you’re doing some shopping or simply want to see this open air retail area.
A Night Activity:
A Tango show – I was between a few different places, and we settled on El Querandi after some research. The intimate venue was nice and you could see the dancers and singers from anywhere. I would say the show had more music than dancing, and the dancing was good, but not incredible. I learned that while I enjoy the music, this type of dance feels a bit robotic while other Latin American dances feel smoother and sexier to me. To each their own. Or maybe it was this show? A fun fact I did learn about tango dancing is that is used to be danced by only men as a show of their masculinity.
Restaurant Mentions
- Sotto Vocce – our favorite restaurant during our time here; Italian – the caprese, ricotta and spinach malfatti pasta, pappardelle pasta with mushrooms, and tiramisu were all out of control
- Don Jhulio – the service and the venue were outstanding; the T-Bone, delicious – BUT most NY steakhouses I’ve been to were better
- The Argentinian Experience – I didn’t get to do Asada on someone’s rooftop, but think this would be a classic experience to have while in Buenos Aires. I hope to do this next time!
- Breakfast was pretty subpar in most highly rated restaurants we went to (eggs were either under or overcooked), but one honorable mention is Von Berry House, an Australian restaurant
- We also had phenomenal pizza at Atte. Pizzeria Napoletana- Italian food in this city really is good.
Now that we’ve covered Buenos Aires, it’s time to hit the mountains of one of the most coveted hiking adventure places in the world: Patagonia. We’ll cover the highlights of Patagonia in 6 days, but boy would I recommend a different itinerary if we had more time.
This entry was posted in Argentina, South America, Uruguay
