any tips for Buenos Aries hols eg places to go/travel when there?

surfsister

Hiya off to Argentina and booked BA flights direct on black Friday - good deal. Just wondering if anyone has been and can pass on any tips eg travel when there/ places to go/cheap food or drink etc.

Anything really.

richardw

Good side trips can be to Iguassu falls and the Mendoza wine area.

Four nights in BA can be enough.

Internal flights go from Aeroparque AEP airport. If you have Avios you can spend them on Lan flights.

When are you visiting and how many nights for ?

ibizafan_2

We came back from Buenos Aires in October, which was incorporated into a tour of Patagonia. From there, we flew to the Iguazu Falls which is an amazing sight. In B.A itself, there isn't too much to see, but I would advise looking at the Tripadvisor forums which have a mine of information. We found the restaurant section and things to do section very helpful. Definitely take mainly US dollars and exchange them on the blue rate which is easy to do and makes your visit much cheaper. All this information is on Tripadvisor.

benjus

For money, the cheapest way is to take US dollars in cash and exchange them there. Ask your hotel or any other local contacts where you can change money at the "Blue" rate (much better than the official rate) - but beware of the moneychangers in the touristy areas (like Calle Florida in Buenos Aires) as they often have fake notes. That said, if the new president does away with the currency controls the "Blue" rate may disappear (and things probably won't be so cheap any more for visitors).

There are loads of good places to eat. The menus tend to be a bit samey (especially in the traditional places) but that won't be a problem if you're there for a relatively short time.

A couple of nice and reasonably priced places in the Palermo area are Cantina Palermo and Las Cholas. El Obrero in the La Boca area is a classic and a must visit, although it's not the best part of the city and many people recommend getting taxis to/from the restaurant. I've never had any issues in that area personally though.

Everynamestaken

Fantastic country and probably my favourite in South America.

The food is superb, and the people are lovely and extremely welcoming.

Make sure you to Iguassu and Mendoza. The sleeper busses are very comfortable and I got a good nights sleep when I visited Iguassu. Obviously it's not everyones cup of tea, but it's certainly better than the mega bus here in the uk.

I never visited Patagonia but I would certainly go from what I have heard if I ever went back to Argentina. Keep your wits about you in Buenos Aires because I saw plenty of pick pocketing everytime I ventured onto the subway, but don't let that put you off. Embrace what is a fantastic country

blindman

surfsister wrote: »

Hiya off to Argentina and booked BA flights direct on black Friday - good deal. Just wondering if anyone has been and can pass on any tips eg travel when there/ places to go/cheap food or drink etc.

Anything really.

We stayed in La Recoletta area (iterally behind the cemtery) with AirBnB

As has been said only need about 3 days in BA and do the side trip to Iguassu Falls.

We stayed in a hostel there for 2 nights and flew with LAN using Avios.
Visited both sides-Awesome;)

Felt safe in the city though did use common sense.

surfsister

thanks all great info as usual on this great site. I'm off to BA for two weeks (I have family there so no costs once there).

I can't wait and will bear in mind all that has been said.

i want to visit the Eva Peron museum/mausoleum, see a polo match, visit wine areas, go to an estancia and see the small towns in the province; amongst others.

benjus

benjus wrote: »

That said, if the new president does away with the currency controls the "Blue" rate may disappear

This has now happened, and the official rate is now more or less the same as the old Blue rate, so getting currency in Argentina should be the same as pretty much any other country - i.e. the cheapest way to get money is to use a fee-free card (e.g. Halifax Clarity) to either pay for things or to withdraw cash from an ATM.

surfsister

yes benjus my relatives said exactly the same thing to me! used to love dollars there but not so bad as it used to be so can use pesos!!