Jump to content

Buenos Aires Itinerary Ideas


maryogreen
 Share

Recommended Posts

I thought CC readers who will be traveling to Buenos Aires might be interested in my latest blog posts. We recently spent two terrific days there before an Antarctica cruise, doing an all-day walking tour the first day (link is in the blog) and touring on our own on day two before boarding the ship.

 

http://www.themodernpostcard.com/buenos-aires-day-1-la-recoleta-cemetery-la-casa-rosada-a-starry-touch-of-russia/

 

http://www.themodernpostcard.com/buenos-aires-day-2-el-ateneo-grand-splendid-teatro-colon/

 

Mary

Travel Blog: http://www.themodernpostcard.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Yes I have other interesting blog

 

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rambling_roamer/4/1457712022/tpod.html?pbrowser=/rambling_roamer/4/1457712022/filename/liz-andrea-and-another-la-boca-character.jpg

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #e4af09}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #454545; min-height: 14.0px}

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A suggestion: Most cruisers only spend a couple of days in Buenos Aires and are understandably interested in getting an overview of the area. Those planning longer pre or post cruise stays or for anyone who has been to BA previously and already taken a general tour, try to find a tour guide who can offer a specialized tour in topics that interest you.

 

I have been on tours that focused on

 

Eva Peron (Evita), with visits to 5 or 6 locations of interest including her offices, the Evita museum in Palermo, Recoleta cemetery, Casa Rosada, and the Teatro Colon, where she famously offered 2 peso night performances for her working class supporters after being scorned by high society, and a couple of other sites.

 

Madres de Plaza de Mayo and the "Dirty War," with visits to multiple sites including the former Naval School that was used as an internment/torture camp by the dictatorship to punish enemies of the state, the Madres offices, and an explanation of the aims of the various factions of Madres today--One group strives to find information about their "disappeared" children and to bring those responsible for their deaths to justice; another group advocates for the same causes their leftist children did, including the overthrow of democratic government in a Cuban/Castro/Che style revolution; and another group, the "grandmothers" or Abuelas attempts to find their grandchildren who were placed for adoption in the homes of families loyal to the dictatorship. With the help of DNA testing grandmothers are still being reunited with their grand children today.

 

Tango, Soccer, and Ethnic Buenos Aires (Bolivian, Korean, Jewish, Muslim, Japanese and Chinese areas), and "undiscovered barrios (neighborhoods) are other tours I have taken and enjoyed. I want to take a cattle tour next time I am there--a trip to the cattle auction in BA, the Mataderos section of Buenos Aires that used to be the headquarters for slaughter houses, and an estancia (ranch) near BA with an explanation of cattle production methods in Argentina that result in world famous steaks. Also on my list are specialized tours of street art and gourmet restaurants.

 

So many things to do in this fabulous city.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Enjoyed reading about your Buenos Aires adventure! It brought back memories from our visit 10 years ago. We have the same picture of the tree! We were visiting our foreign exchange student and stayed about a 3 minute walk from the tree, so passed it several times! Planning on returning next year to visit more of Argentina/Chile. The theater was under renovation when we were there, so really looking forward to seeing that. Thanks for sharing!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rondo - You're very welcome...I'm happy to know you enjoyed the post! The tree is definitely special, and Recoleta is a great neighborhood. It will be interesting for you to revisit BA after so many years. Do take the Teatro Colon tour. I know it was closed for a long time, and the renovations are beautiful. Happy Travels!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did BA on our own. It has a good subway system and the city is walkable. There are unsafe areas, so check with your hotel where not to walk.

 

We did a great three hour Free Walking Tour. Also, loved going to a Tango Show one night. We visited Recoleta, the waterfront area, the old city that is famous for Tango (forgotten the name). Also, we did a tour to Tigre, which was nice, but I would not put a priority on doing that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4774Papa and iancal - Thanks for adding to the thread...very helpful information! Tigre and Iguanzu Falls would be terrific additions to an itinerary, I think, if someone had an extra day or two or had already seen the main sights of BA. The biggest challenge in a city like that is narrowing your choices in the time you have there :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
4774Papa and iancal - Thanks for adding to the thread...very helpful information! Tigre and Iguanzu Falls would be terrific additions to an itinerary, I think, if someone had an extra day or two or had already seen the main sights of BA. The biggest challenge in a city like that is narrowing your choices in the time you have there :)

 

If you have a full day to yourselves while in Buenos-Aires and have possibly seen the city sites before.....I would highly recommend the experience of a tour taking you for the day to the Santa Susana Gaucho Ranch.....sometimes the ship offers this as that is where we hooked up with it....however it's only a taxi ride for those arriving earlier or staying later in Buenos Aires.

 

Below is a link that will get you started on this journey.

 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Buenos-Aires/Gaucho-Day-Trip-from-Buenos-Aires-Santa-Susana-Ranch/d901-5674SSGAUCHA

 

It was a fun day for all...except for the poor horse that had to carry me on his back (LOL)

 

Hope this helps.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi. I suggest to contact to a person directly to have a filter of activities in BA as there are many offers and not all of them are legal or personalized. Some are just commercial tours where you are one number.

http://www.lizflor2.blogspot.com Great travel advisor!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

karenbeanpole, If you just have one day, I would recommend a walking tour. It will really help you maximize your time, focus on what you want to see and help you get around easily in such a large city. We did a full-day tour with BuenosTours (details in my blog post), and they also offer half-day tours. I would definitely include Recoleta Cemetery (Eva Peron's grave is there) and a lunch or coffee break at one of the great cafes such as La Biela. If you did a half-day tour, you would also have time to take the tour of the beautiful Teatro Colón. The tour is about an hour, and you can purchase tickets ahead of time at the box office. Have a wonderful time...it's a beautiful city!

http://www.themodernpostcard.com/buenos-aires-day-1-la-recoleta-cemetery-la-casa-rosada-a-starry-touch-of-russia/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prior to doing our own arrangement for Iguazu we were surprised at how much the cruise line and/or tour operators were asking.

 

After we returned we were even more perplexed. Iguazu Falls is so easy to do on your own. Flights, hotels are easy to book if you are willing to do the slightest amount of work on the internet. Our two days in Iguazu, all expenses included, was about half the price of any tour that we could find. And it was so easy to arrange on our own.

 

Several of the tours want to have us stay at the Sheraton. First of all why would we want to stay at a NA style hotel when we are visiting Argentina. Then, after we had been in the area who would want to stay out there in the boonies with only hotel restaurants and overpriced rooms? So much more choice of hotels and restaurants in town. This is a tour that is so very easy to arrange on your own. Perhaps save your money form Machu Pichu.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We are scheduled to end our cruise in BA next February. Our ship arrives on Tuesday morning, so we have that day. The ship remains overnight and we disembark the ship on Wednesday morning. Our flight will not leave until late that night. QUESTIONS: Is there some place we can leave our luggage and do something that day before leaving for the airport? If we decide to spend that night in a hotel, what area is "best" for us to let us see some more local sites and have fairly easy access to the airport? This will be our first, and most likely last, time visiting there. Any information or advice is welcome. Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are scheduled to end our cruise in BA next February. Our ship arrives on Tuesday morning, so we have that day. The ship remains overnight and we disembark the ship on Wednesday morning. Our flight will not leave until late that night. QUESTIONS:.

 

Is there some place we can leave our luggage and do something that day before leaving for the airport?

 

Yes. The Manual Tienda Leon http://www.tiendaleon.com/home/ offers luggage storage at its downtown terminal not far from the cruise port. Pre purchase your ticket for either their shuttle bus or private car service to Ezeiza (the international airport), leave your bags, spend the day site seeing and return to pick up your luggage before heading for the airport.

 

If we decide to spend that night in a hotel, what area is "best" for us to let us see some more local sites and have fairly easy access to the airport[/QUOTE] The international airport is some distance from the city of Buenos Aires, about a 45 minute cab ride from downtown. Sites are spread out in several parts of the city, but cabs are plentiful and relatively inexpensive so you can visit the sites in the area you stay in and cab to the other areas. The OP's blog shows pictures of the main tourist attractions and mentions a tour guide that you might want to consider to optimize your limited time. Personally, I would choose Recoleta as an area to stay. It is fairly centrally located and nicer than downtown. Downtown does have some great hotels but since you will probably want to spend most of your time site seeing, for one night I think I'd focus on Recoleta.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

teacherman, I definitely agree with staying in Recoleta. It's a beautiful neighborhood, very walkable and near many key sites and cafes. Your check-out time will undoubtedly be earlier than you need for a late flight, but your hotel may be able to keep your bags in a safely locked area while you're out sightseeing before heading to the airport. Happy planning!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...