Even if you had missed the festival, a day trip to San Antonio del Areco is one of the best experiences just outside of BA.

Luckily, the 10-day La Fiesta de la Tradicion, from Nov 3 to Nov 13, falls within your travel dates. Even though the festival does not reach full-swing until the second weekend, you'll see some traditional costumes and dancing and get a chance to sample Argentina asado.

Cheers!
Anabel
Argentina For Less

Thanks Anabel - if we go on that first Sunday (the 3rd) -does one need to buy bus tickets ahead and is the bus the best way to get there?

Lacking a car or other private transport, then yes, bus would probably be best. Go to Retiro and buy tix the day before at the latest. Recommended buses include Pullman General Belgrano, Nueva Chevallier, and Empresa Argentina.

Cheers!

Many thanks!

We did a day trip to SA last Aug, on a Wed. Went to bus station, bought ticket, bus not crowded, took 2 hrs. We were very disappointed. Here is an excerpt from my travelog:

Our bus was a double decker, large seats with leg/foot rests, and very comfy . . . but no wi-fi . . . we were spoiled by the Uruguayan buses with wi-fi. We were heading to gaucho country and pampas (grasslands . . . looks just like Texas), and was supposed to give us a glimpse into Argentina's romantic gaucho past. We were supposed to see the men in town in their berets (didn’t happen).

The town would have been a lot more interesting and fun if anything had been open. We walked into town with Marika, a young English teacher from Germany who was traveling Argentina, Chile, and Easter Island for five weeks (lucky girl). We looked at the pretty but plain church and then split up . . . she to hike, we to find the tourist office, get a map/info. The office is probably five-six blocks from town but it was an easy walk, the weather was great (60°, sunny), and we enjoyed seeing this very pretty little town. All of the buildings were one story, and the town is arranged around a park and reminded us of Antigua, Guatemala without all the vendors . . . or Pilot Point, Texas, about 20 years ago. We found the office, girl gave us a map and a packet of info and marked on our map a couple of restaurants that were closed. It was past lunchtime and we headed off to the closest eatery . . . closed. We hunted up another, and another, and another, nothing open. We saw hardly any people so could not even ask. Actually, we saw more dogs than people and every darn dog speaks better Spanish than we do. We have decided that we speak "Hee Haw" Spanish.

We walked back to the main square, only two places open and we chose the closest, Bar Tokio. We walked in, waited to be seated or waved to a table . . . young waitress ignored us. She walked by us several times and would not make eye contact. Old guy at the cash register looked up and then busied himself with the crossword puzzle. I finally stopped her and asked if we seated ourselves, she nodded. We sat and were ignored some more. We were just fixing to get up and leave when one of the diners came over, gave us a menu, and asked if we needed an English menu. We didn’t. Turns out, she was one of the owners, service only marginally improved.

Vicki ordered quiche lorraine, salad, and a scoop of dulce de leche and one of peach ice cream for dessert; I the grilled chicken with fries. We split a big beer and were brought a complimentary bowl of peanuts. Meal was pretty good but we were starving (100, $24.39).

Thus fortified, we headed back out to the gaucho museum, back out passed the tourist office, across the park, over the bridge across the river, and then another half mile or so. It was a long way out there . . . and it was closed. We had waited until today to go as our guidebook said the main museum (the gaucho museum) was closed on Tues . . . it is also closed on Wednesday! We were a little miffed, as the girl at the tourist info center didn't tell us about that or that all the museums and shops in town were closed (and their map was pretty crappy too).

We decided to cut our losses and go back to BA. The bad news is that we were miles from the bus station. We walk a while and Vicki is tired. She tries to flag down a motorist without luck. Finally a young man in a pickup comes along and stops and he takes us to the bus station (took about 20 minutes). We gave him a 10 ($2.44), he refused but finally took it.

We were at the station at 2:45, the bus left at 3:05 but it was sold out. The next was at 4:25 (40 ea, $9.76). We thought it funny that it was more expensive going than coming. No wi-fi at the station, nothing to do. Vicki didn’t want to walk anywhere so I left her and went exploring. Nothing much was nearby except farm stores and mechanics. But, across the highway was Sueños de Areco, they had beer (15, $3.66), and wi-fi. So, I had a beer and spent my time waiting playing WWF and checking my email.

I go back about 4:15, bus comes right on time, we get back to BA about 6:00. We had seats 2-3 right at the front upstairs so we had unobstructed views. Too bad there was nothing much to see.

We felt we had wasted a day.

Sandy (in Denton)

Sorry to hear about your negative experience. For me, The highlights of San Antonio de Areco are: The silversmithing museum and shop on the main square and the hand made chocolate shop....The church is, as you note, plain but interesting. Can't say I was very impressed with the gaucho museum...I think of SA de Areco more as a jumping off place or headquarters for a visit to a nearby estancia than as a destination in itself.

I would make an exception for the Fiesta...Fiestas in small towns in Argentina are always fun.

If I had your experience, I'd be negative too. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
We spent 2 nights at Parador Draghi in 2010(March/April timeframe)and enjoyed every moment w/o going to an estancia. We ate VERY well.......biked and hiked......and enjoyed exploring beyond the town center.
Even thinking of a day trip during the festival in November.
It is SO true that we all experience places in different ways. That's what makes the world go 'round.

I'm sure we would have loved it IF anything had been open. It was almost like a ghost town. The church was the only thing we could see.

Sandy (in Denton)

You shouldn´t expect much from that kind of Argentine rural town from 2 PM until 5 PM, particularly in the summer.

Like I said above, it's siesta time!