Buenos Aires

I've been dying to get to South America for years but kept getting derailed by logistics or reluctance from my travel partners, so I was elated when two of my friends and I finally agreed on a trip to Argentina. It's one of the safest countries in South America, and we had two weeks to spare to properly see it since it's such a long flight from the US, and Argentina itself is so big.

Although we branched off both north to Iguazu and then south to Patagonia, we spent about five full days in Buenos Aires to kick it off.

Day 1

Arrival in Buenos Aires, San Telmo, & Fuerza Bruta

The travel from Cleveland ended up being about 15 hours in total including my layover in Miami. Flights from the US are red-eye, and I tried to get some sleep on the way down before landing at 8 AM in Buenos Aires. My friend Chelsey's flight arrived about the same time, so we met up at baggage claim after we'd both gone through immigration.

EZE airport is one of two in BA, the other being AEP, which is closer to the city but more for regional flights. Ezeiza is roughly a 45 minute Uber into the city, which is what we did rather than bother with the Tienda Leon bus and have to figure out transport from their stop to our hostel anyway.

Since our other friend wasn't arriving until two days later, we spent our first two nights at Viajero Hostel in the San Telmo area which was a cool place. The receptionists were all super friendly, there was filtered water in the kitchen, two hostel cats in the building, and lots of common space including a bar and pool out back. We had a private room on the first floor with twin beds and a weird shower that (word of warning) was in the middle of the room, although it did have an opaque coating around the center to cover your scandalous bits.

It was a Sunday, which meant the San Telmo street market was happening just a few blocks away. Unfortunately, since we literally had just arrived, neither of us were really in the mood to start picking up souvenirs and gifts, especially when we had five domestic flights ahead of us over the next two weeks with varying luggage allowances. So other than a painting I got of two cats tango dancing on the street in formal wear (it was a must buy), we just browsed and stopped in at a diner for some food and coffee.

One thing that became quickly apparent is that most people in Buenos Aires don't speak English, or if they do, it's very limited. Chelsey and I both some baseline Spanish down (she was better at listening while I had a wider vocab) and managed to get by alright, but it was definitely a change from some of the more touristy spots in Latin America.

Also, while most places do take card, a lot of them will charge an additional fee for foreign card transactions (especially the local vendors at the market), so it would be helpful to get out Argentinian pesos.

We had tickets to a show that night, but jetlag was hitting us both, so we went back to the hostel for a nap after the market. We didn't have enough time for food when we got up, so we just got dressed for the evening and called an uber to get across the city to the Fuerza Bruta show, which was at a venue close to the AEP airport.

This was so insanely worth it! It was in a cool bar and concert hall with colorful neon lights, and we went to join the crowd in the giant event space after getting some beers. It was like a more interactive Cirque du Soleil, starting with a group on stage playing drums before the acrobats all came out. They perform above the crowd and each act was so different.

There were wind tunnel dancers, people flying around on harnesses, running around a globe or flipping along a shimmering curtain, confetti and crowd interaction with a DJ, a huge inflatable whale that traveled over the crowd and misted everyone, and a finale that included an actual pool of water suspended over us while performers slid and swam around in it. So jealous my job doesn't involve soaring through confetti above a cheering crowd or being a mermaid on a midair Slip n Slide. Incredible, 10/10, go see this.

I was exhausted by the time we got back, but I let Chelsey drag me to a restaurant for a very late dinner before bed.

Day 2

Day trip to Colonia, Uruguay & the La Bomba de Tiempo drum show

We wanted to save our Buenos Aires sightseeing for the arrival of our friend Jackie, so Chels and I decided to do a day trip on Monday. Our choices were either the Tigre Delta (about an hour train ride) or Colonia del Sacramento (an hour ferry ride). The general consensus online seemed to be that Colonia was a better choice, plus some of the highlights of Tigre Delta, like the carnival rides, were closed on Mondays. Besides, I didn't anticipate ever crossing Uruguay off my list otherwise, so we went with Colonia.

This was such a cute day! We got to the ferry terminal about an hour early as recommended so we could get our passports stamped, and the ride didn't feel too long (although the earlier you board, the better the seats you can get - ours seemed to be in the coldest part of the boat with no windows nearby).

We were in Colonia from about 9 AM-4 PM (taking the 5 PM ferry back), which I worried would be too long, but it was perfect. It's so quiet and green, especially after coming from Buenos Aires. So many of the streets are lined with these gigantic trees, and some of the paths we walked were overlooking the water.

We walked past the old train station first, then found a cafe to have sandwiches on the street for lunch (although unfortunately I do not recommend the Colonia Sandwich Coffee Shop - everything was stale and we saw such cuter places further into the historic district).

Sights we saw include art installations outside the Bastion del Carmen Cultural Center...

...the old lighthouse and Calle de los Suspiros near Plaza Mayor...

...the Porton de Campo gate...

...and lots of vintage cars. We stopped in cute shops and ended the day with a dulce de leche latte on the terrace of Cafe Serrano, then got empanadas at the artisan market to take back on the ferry with us.

Back in Buenos Aires, we had enough time to stop at the hostel before getting an uber to the Konex center where the Monday night La Bomba de Tiempo drum show takes place. This was clearly popular, with a line wrapping all the way down the street and around the block.

Inside is a huge courtyard with the stage up front and a bar at the back. We opted to get our beers from a little food cart instead since they had IPAs. The drum show lasted about 90 minutes (longer if you count the opening act) and was a fun time. Good vibes in the crowd and a chill atmosphere.

Day 3

Caminito in La Boca & move to Palermo

Jackie landed on Tuesday morning and came to meet us at our hostel, completing our group. After she'd bought a day pass and used our shower, we checked out, stored our luggage, and went to a cafe called Sorbo a couple blocks away. It felt like a library inside with bookshelves covering the walls, and we enjoyed our lattes and avocado toast.

Back at the hostel, I was about to call an uber to La Boca to explore Caminito, but I was reading mixed reviews about safety online and decided to change our plan. At that exact moment, though, a hostel staff member walked by us to ask if we were joining their La Boca walking tour, so we said yes since we'd have a group for security.

Unfortunately, that did mean walking the half hour to the area, which actually took like an hour and a half because our guide stopped us in the middle of a park, nowhere near any of the statues or benches in it, to talk about Buenos Aires. Which, the things he said were interesting, but I do feel like there would have been a better time to say them... like when we were all sitting down for lunch anyway.

But, we did eventually get to La Boca, first seeing the Boca Jrs stadium. They seem very proud of their team if the entire streets painted blue and yellow to match are any indication.

We were starting to hit some gorgeous painted houses when we sat for lunch, and they just got even more vibrant as we went into El Caminito. Not only were all the buildings painted in rainbow colors, the pavement was too, and there were cartoonish statues in the windows and on the street.

We were given some shopping time in a narrow two-story lane full of stores (I particularly liked one that was all cat-themed), then we followed our guide onto the bus to get back to the hostel.

Since Jackie was now here, we were moving to an Air BnB in the Palermo area, where I'd read was the best place to stay. Honestly, I'm not sure if I agree, or we just weren't in the particular spot that's recommended. (On a map, it looks like we were about halfway between Palermo center and Villa Crespo, near Palermo Soho, but it felt just like a big generic city section.) However, our building was awesome.

We were on the fifteenth floor of an apartment building with a security gate, and our room had wall-to-wall windows overlooking the city. There was a balcony, two bedrooms (four beds), and two bathrooms. It felt way more luxurious than what we paid for it!

My only food wish for this trip was to try fugazzetta pizza, which is topped with caramelized onions and stuffed full of cheese, so we went to a nearby pizzeria called La Mezzetta that had been recommended by our tour guide. What we didn't realize until we got there was it was just a hole-in-the-wall takeaway joint, but those are often the best quality, right? It was in this case. Omg, this pizza was everything I dreamed of. Just lifting up a slice had melty cheese dripping out into the box. Delicious.

Day 4

Recoleta

We'd saved all the big sightseeing in Recoleta for our last day, so after breakfast at a nearby cafe, we caught the bus to the stop nearest El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a bookstore in an old theater. This was absolutely gorgeous and definitely a must-see, especially if you're a book lover.

Next up was Recoleta Cemetery, which does have an entrance fee. The cemetery is huge though and so interesting. It's packed with unique crypts, and the ones around the outer perimeter were especially elaborate.

This is where Eva Peron (Evita) is buried, so be sure to visit her grave before you go.

We saw some plazas, parks, and the metal solar flower on our walk to the Jardines Japones for our last stop. The gardens were pretty and there were some cool birds hanging out there, plus a restaurant and a kimono exhibition in the building at the back.

We had dinner near our Air BnB that evening at Bellagamba Restoran Palermo since my friends wanted to try milanesas, and this place was very traditionally Argentinian. The inside was really cute, but I don't think any of us were impressed with the milanesas themselves. I tried a vegetarian one, which was just like, a slice of fried eggplant? And my friends basically just got generic hunks of breaded meat. Maybe that's just what a milanesa is, but we did not feel the need to try them elsewhere. I will say, however, my cynar julep was bitter and wonderful.

Chels wanted to hit up a gay bar for our last night in Buenos Aires, but it was past Jackie's bedtime, so it was just the two of us. The bar we went to, Feliza, was super cool. There were multiple rooms, although only two were open, including the entry room with a stage and a transitional open-air courtyard area under some stairs. We could see the dance floor in another room past that, but sadly, it was a Wednesday and started pouring rain while we were there, so the place was dead. We just had one cocktail each, both themed after popstars that came with respective prayer cards (I got Lana, Chels got Britney), then called it a night.

Day 5 & Bonus Day

Fly Out/Fly Back, San Telmo Market

Our flight to Iguazu wasn't until 3 PM the next day, so we hung around the apartment until noon and used the rooftop pool which had amazing city views.

We anticipated this being the end of our time in Buenos Aires. After two nights in Iguazu, we were flying back into EZE at night and then right back out the next morning to Puerto Madryn. I'd booked us a cute boutique hotel, Posada de la Aguilas, near the airport with their own shuttle, so it was just an overnight stop.

Definitely recommend! Nice breakfast too.

However, what is apparently Argentina's worst airline, FlyBondi, screwed us over, and we were just given looks of unsurprised sympathy the minute we'd mention their name to anyone when explaining. They not only cancelled the flight we were supposed to be on, but the next one they were able to give us was 12 full hours later, at 7 PM out of a completely different airport, AEP. That gave us a full extra day in BA and the need to trek across the city.

We ended up storing our luggage back at Viajero, which they let us do for free in exchange for a review, then returned to the San Telmo street market now that we were in a better mindset for shopping.

It did end up being advantageous for a chill day to get most of our souvenir and holiday gifts, and between the market and a lunch stop at the cute Alice's Teahouse, we filled all the time before heading to the airport for our next leg.

I would highly recommend you AVOID FlyBondi, though, as many an Internet thread had tried to warn me. The only reason I booked them was for the only morning EZE flight and their cheap costs, but I'd definitely encourage you to choose JetSmart or Aerolineas if you want to make sure your flight actually runs.

Overall, I wouldn't say I was terribly impressed with Buenos Aires as a city. If you dropped me in the middle of it, I couldn't tell you where in the world I was. There wasn't much of a defining feel, but it's worth a few days as a jump-off to the rest of Argentina. The real highlights of the country are outside of the capital.