My experience of Argentina was very special as I shared most of it with my Mum and Rob. It was the first time I had seen my family for 6 months, it was amazing to see them in Argentina of all places! I was also dead impressed with my Mum as she has a fear of flying and she still managed to make it over here!
Buenos Aires is completely different to all other South American cities I have been to. Its super safe and I never felt vulnerable walking around at night. It feels very European and this comes from the influence from the French. The Argentine’s were keen to dissociate themselves with Spanish culture after being colonised by them as so they adopted the French style. This can be seen in the architecture and also the selling of Croissants (media lunas) for breakfast!
The first thing that struck all of us is the beautiful trees in Buenos Aires. There is such a variety of trees and they beautifully line the streets. There are also many parks and green spaces, you could easily spend a day relaxing in one of the parks. A good one to visit is the Eco Park which used to be the former zoo. Just a word of warning, some of the animals are in enclosed spaces. The ecological gardens close to the river are also worth a visit, we saw a lizard and baby crocodile!
Buenos Aires is a big city, it is broken up into districts. The main areas the tourists stay in are Recoleta, Palermo and Santelmo. The first area we stayed in was Recoleta. There is an older feel to this area but its beautifully lined with trees and restaurants. There is also the famous cemetery where Evita was buried.
Most of our time in B.A. was spent getting lost in the city and discovering new places. For example, the river area, Puerto Madero is lovely and you can spend an afternoon walking by the river. You must also check out the old town, Santelmo. There is an awesome indoor market which consists of food outlets as well as a vintage market. Close by to the market is a really interesting museum called Zanyon museum about the underground tunnels of Buenos Aires. It is a little expensive as there is a guided tour included ($1564 pesos).
Another interesting place to visit, is the old theatre that has been turned into a book shop, it is called El Ateneo. A really moving experience was to visit Plaza de Mayo on a Thursday at 3pm as this the hour when the ‘lost madres’ of Argentina visit the square. This is a tradition undertaken by these women who are still looking for their lost children from the old military regime.
It is also worth visiting Boca to get a taste of the tango culture. There are many coloured houses here and it feels authentic Argentinian, despite all the tourists. On the topic of tango, we forked out and attended a real tango show called Madera Tango. It was an hour and a half tango performance and displayed the history of tango, which was interesting! For me it was a little too long, we also discovered that in San Telmo square there are tango performances which are free (tips) and much better!
If you have the time, you could visit Uruguay. You can catch the Colonia express to Colonia, which only takes 1hour 15 minutes. The first boat leaves at 08:00 which gives you a full day in Colonia. We stayed one night in Colonia which perhaps was not necessary as there is not that much to do, it is also very expensive. Try to take Uruguayan pesos if you can as the exchange rate to Argentinian pesos is terrible. If you do stay for longer you could check out Montevideo too. A good restaurant in Colonia is Gitano, they have a beautiful outside area and good food! Pricey though!
The second place we stayed in was Palermo, this is where all the bars and nightlife is. Everything in Argentina starts late, people do not eat dinner until around 10pm and nightclubs do not get started until 02:00am and go on to the early hours of the morning. Some good bars to visit are Makena for live music and Uptown is you like clubbing. A good hostel in this area is ‘Sato’ hostel, cheap and really easy to meet solo travellers. The best way of getting around B.A is by uber, it is super cheap and you can practice your Spanish with the drivers!
In terms of food, we ate out most nights and on the whole were disappointed! There is a lack of flavour and vegetables to most of the dishes. For steak, there is a good steak house called Cabrera in Palermo, make sure you arrive before 20:00pm as it gets full! If you get there at 18:00 you can also get 30% off your bill.
Money can be a little complicated in Argentina. Due to inflation many of the ATMs do not have cash, charge a hefty fee or only allow you to withdraw $4000 pesos at a time. But the good news is that there is Western Union, which will be your saving grace. If you download the app and follow the instructions, all you need to do is visit a Western Union store with your passport and they will give you the money you are owed. They will charge a small fee but it is much less than the ATM charge so it is worth it.
I would recommend staying 4 nights in Buenos Aires. It is a good base and you may find yourself coming back as it is a pretty central point in Argentina. As we were back and forth a lot, I ended up staying 10 nights.
Romy's Roamings 