Hi All - I am planning a trip for October to Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, at this point, I will have limited time to spend there...I will arrive on Wednesday @ 10AM and will depart on Sunday night at 8PM. This will give me around 4 1/2 days. Is this sufficient time to see the sights and get a good feel for Buenos Aires? Will I have time for a day trip to Colonia or an Estancia in this amount of time?

I am trying to see if I can extend my trip to arrive on a Saturday and stay for a full week, but at this point it does not seem possible. Thanks everyone! Appreciate your feedback...

I would say that even a year isnt enough time but in 4 days you can do the toursity BA stuff. I wouldnt go for a day trip bc BA has more than enough to keep you busy.

I agree with rowlesjr. I would stay in BA and enjoy the city leisurely. I'm Argentine and have lived most of my life in BA. My suggestions for your days there are as follows:
1) Make sure to spend some time checking out the Palermo Soho/Hollywood neighborhoods. Plenty of design and clothes stores, nice cafes and restaurants, there. My favorite place for lunch is Bar6. Your hotel should be able to give you neighborhood maps with the sites in the different places.
2) If you're there on Sat/Sun, go to San Telmo at noon/afternoon to see the stalls that sell brick-a-brack and antiques.
3) Recoleta is the most upscale neighborhood; Alvear Avenue feels like a little bit of Paris.
Enjoy!
Anne

I agree with the others -- 4 days will barely scratch the surface in BA. You can always play it by ear and if you decide you want a break from big city life, u could arrange to go to Colonia or a day trip to an Estancia. We spent 8-9 days in BA and felt we could have stayed much longer. We are going for a 2nd trip to Arg and will only have 6 days in BA this time and I'm feeling like we will need way more time.

You have received some good advice here.

I also would say that stay for all your time in Buenos Aires and see all this place has to offer.

If you get a good guide , your will be surprised how much you can see in 4 days.

Have a good time

Percy

I haven't been there yet but I would still say no I'm going in Oct as well, and will have almost as short as time as you do. I would definitely look into getting a great guide so you can see many of the highlights. I'm using Buenos Aires Historico for 2 back to back all day tours (one right after I land at 7am!), it's a lot but then that will leave me 2 free days after to wander about. I was hoping to do Colonia as well but not sure it's going to happen in the time crunch.

We were there for 4 1/2 days in April and it was just enough time. We probably could have gotten to Colonia except that the ferries were all booked since it was a national holiday of some kind. You can put in a search for my screen name and pull up my trip report. I LOVED Buenos Aires and could have spent several more days just exploring and wandering. Make sure you hit some of the markets on Saturday and Sunday in Recoleta (both days) and San Telmo (Sunday). We found some lovely handmade jewelry and some great funky clothing.

Member jcasale gave this forum several great reports about her trip to Argentina.

Click on her screen name and scroll down until you find them. The main one is titled "Trip Report - Buenos Aires and Iguazu".

Have a great time in our town.