We (me, wife and toddler) are considering a last minute trip to Buenos Aires and wondering if there are many activities for a 2 year old. We have a week in April, which seems like enough time to fully explore the city, but not enough time to do any excursions outside the city. We'll plan to stay downtown and like to do a lot of walking. We enjoy architecture, food, outdoor markets and general sightseeing, but also want to include some child friendly activities like the zoo, boat rides etc... Has anyone brought young kids to BA? Easy to get around? Any recommendations would be appreciated and especially any ideas to get us out of the city for a day or two to appreciate a beautiful area, or simply another side of Argentina we would not necessarily see in BA. (I think the falls will be too long of a trip given the time frame we are working with.)

Downtown may not be the best option to stay with a toddler, think heavy traffic, loud noise, polution, and overall hectic pace. Choose Recoleta or Palermo, as they have more green areas, less congested and better for kids. BA is a great city for kids though, in the sense that they are welcomed everywhere including restaurants of any kind. some restaurants have play areas and even entertainers (Ravello in Palermo on Saturday or Sunday is particularly popular). Try and get your hands on Planetario Magazine, which give you full listings of what to do and what'son for kids.

Thanks Marksplace. We were planning on staying at the Park Tower (on Starwood points). Are Recoleta and Palermo fairly easy to get to? Also, will we find any taxis with car seats or should we bring our own? We plan to do as much walking as possible, but assume we'll need taxis on some days.

I have never seen a taxi with a car seat in Buenos Aires, and very few cars of any sort use car seats (much like where the United States was 20 years ago with respect to child safety laws). By all means bring your own car seats and expect lots of perplexed looks from Taxi drivers.

Just be careful to stay on the sidewalks and do not assume that drivers will grant you right of way as pedestrians. As our Porteno friend told us, driving in his country follows the Darwinian philosophy of survival of the fittest.

Got it. Thanks. Here in Boston, I think we adhere to the same Darwinian philosophy.

Can anyone recommend a good day trip that will get us out of the city? AVRooster has recomended Los Dos Hermanos, which looks quite nice, but neither my wife nor I have ever been on a horse before. Spending a day in the country though sounds like a perfect escape (plus we love animals), so wondering if there are any other trips we could make that would provide a nice contrast to the noise and bustle of the city.

Did you read http://tinyurl.com/3xna57
as I suggested?

Yes, I did and it looks like a very nice place to visit. Also, wanted to ask you if you can recommend any charitable organizations that you feel are worthy of a donation and/or visit. I have read of the poverty in BA and hope to be able make a donation as we usually do when travelling. It sounds like there are many children and families that are in need.

Another trip with kids...you might consider Temaiken Park

http://www.temaiken.com.ar/ Spanish only but nice pictures.
Or this more completed description in English
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g3...iken.Park.html

Charity..
If you want to visit, a comedor is a good place to begin...comedores serve meals to the poor....

http://www.porloschicos.com/PorLosChicos.NET/

When you are in town, if you wish, I can show you a "comedor" (soup kitchen) located in the Recoleta and run by the religious order two of my daughters belong to. It is for homeless men.

whatever you do, ronjrich, do NOT donate to government organizations. Your money would go into a bottomless pit of inefficiency and corruption.

I agree with avrooster, he is 100% right, I am not familiar with the option he suggested but I am sure it is totally worth it

( Avrooster, is it the one under the direction of the Chuch del Pilar?, the one in Juncal by the Argenta Towers Hotel. I think they do a wonderful job helping people.

Our trip was postponed but we are now confirmed for January 08! Per Marksplace, Recoleta and Palermo are recommended areas for us. If we end up staying downtown, is it fairly easy to walk to these areas or are we better off taking taxis? Or alternatively, can anyone recommend hotels that are kid friendly (many hotels in those areas seem to be smaller, boutique hotels geared more for singles or couples)? We will be there for 6 days, but it already does not seem long enough to do all that we want to do.

I had not seen your question until now, Graziella. The "comedor" I mean is on Montevideo street, in front of the plaza Vicente López and is run by the Esclavas del Sagrado Corazón.
http://www.ecjarg.org/portal/index.php

Recoleta and Palermo are easy to get around on foot, baby carriages are difficult with the sidewalks being in poor condition and often gutters and holes mean having to lift the stroller .. I walk from Recoleta to Palermo and while it is a long walk, it is always interesting..

I second ArtSuites Hotel .. and its location..



There are some really beautiful parks in Recoleta along Av Libertador and I see babies and picnicing families or just lolling on the grass families every day.
There are playgrounds for children and there is the Zoo and Botanical Gardens..
Puerto Madero has a long walk alongside the river that is nice for adults and easy to push a stroller along..with cafes and restaurants all along the way to stop in..there is a nature preserve there, although not too sure about accessability with munchkins.

The other day I was horrified to see a couple stopped at a light with the mother holding the baby on her lap. . You are lucky indeed if you find a taxi that you can get a seat belt to work or even find a seat belt.

Boston is nuthin compared to BA. If you are crossing the street and hit by a car, he can sue you for damages.
The car/driver has all the rights of way- never step off the curb without looking in every direction, regardless of having a green light..really.

I like the idea of the Tren de la Costa to Tigre as a day trip..easy with small one. Nice trip, nice boats, nice day.

You can make donations to the Church of Our Lady of Pilar in Recoleta, which is next to the Cultural Center..

About the previous poster's: "If you are crossing the street and hit by a car, he can sue you for damages. The car/driver has all the rights of way", I must assume she is joking.

However, I DO agree with her "never step off the curb without looking in every direction, regardless of having a green light..really."

Many green areas around the city. Lots of parks , some of them with a place for kid to play. Palermo, zoo, botanic gardens, ecological reserve, and temaiken park: http://www.temaiken.com.ar/ you can't miss this place, great for kids and for adults as well and it's just 45 minutes form the city.

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. We will stick with our downtown hotel plans and probably rely on taxis and our two feet to get around to the other suggested areas. A day trip to Tigre does sound like a nice trip as well. We will be sure to look both ways before crossing the street and maybe even up and down too.

Oh yes, be sure to look Down..if I had one thing that was close to being a complaint about my new home town it would be that people are too lazy to pick up after their dogs...no sense of civic pride ... so watch your step..everywhere