Travel to Buenos Aires
 

I am a single woman who is thinking about going to Argentina in March. Should I have any problems? Is Buenos Aires safe for a single woman to travel alone in? Is the place inexpensive? What kind of weather can I expect in March? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Also has anyone ever stayed at the Lafayette Hotel in BA? Is it clean and centrally located?

Buenos Aires is a safe city for single people as well as families with children. I read international newspapers and believe me you should take all news with a &quot;grain of salt&quot; as we say. It´s amazing what unscrupulous news media can do to mislead the population. I have a map of downtown and I can see Lafayette Hotel is centrally located. However, it may not be the best place if you want to go out in the evening. That is mainly office area and it becomes deserted after 7 pm.<BR>I´ve been to Buenos Aires several times and during my first trips I found a nice lady who helped me organized all my stuff. She is very helpful and can get good discounts on hotel accommodation. Her email is [email protected] She arranged a knowledgable city tour for me as well. <BR>I don´t know about weather in March but I guess it must be mild as they are approaching Fall there. I think this lady can provide you with more pithy information. Have a good trip.

<BR>Buenos Aires is inexpensive and quite a bargain due to the devaluation of the peso. An interesting, attractive city with good people, steaks for $3, and taxi rides for $1.80, among other delights.<BR><BR>Weather stats for March: Avg hi of 79F, avg low 57F, mean 68F. 4.4 in of rain. Sounds nice. You could get a light jacket and compact umbrella when you get there.<BR><BR>There are a couple of B.A. posters here who have a business motive. Their info has been accurate and helpful. The general point of the &quot;grain of salt&quot; recommendation above, for example. <BR><BR>A man made a similar posted about the very inexpensive Ibis hotel, and whether it was centrally located. Marta pointed him towards Recoleta where she has apartments for rent. The Ibis is central, which the man asked about, and I suggested just taking the very inexpensive taxis to the interesting spots, like Recoleta. But, I couldn't argue with Marta's characterization of the hotel's central Congreso area as &quot;dull, sad&quot;.<BR><BR>Take the usual city- safety and foreign- tourist- safety precautions. In addition, B.A. has a safety issue regarding taxis (a bit exaggerated, it seems to me).<BR><BR>If you were my sister, I would suggest that you read up on and follow the recommendations on using radio taxis. And I would recommend, sis, that you stay in a HOTEL, that is in the touristy area of Recoleta where you would be more comfortable walking on the street.<BR><BR>You might also be interested in taking the hydrofoil to see what Uruguay has to offer. I'm suggesting this as an addition to 3-4 days in B.A., not as a substitute.<BR>

Brot:<BR><BR>I would strongly encourage you to take Bill's advice, that is, if you were his sister, stay in Recoleta and take only radio taxis. <BR><BR>I would add (if you were my sister) another safe place for a single female would be Puerto Madero. The only hotels I know of there are the Hilton and Holiday Inn. <BR><BR>Right now, BA is very inexpensive. Taxis are $5 USD at the most (and that's with a tip) and wonderful dinners with wine, complimentary after-dinner champagne AND Cuban cigar (and over-tipping at 25%) maybe cost me $30 USD. <BR><BR>See my post under Argentina-Uruguay A-OK for some ideas.<BR><BR>Have a great trip,<BR>John

We stayed at the Four Seasons last time......it was lovely. This trip we are going to try the Intercontinental. Buenos Aires is wonderful!

I am not certain why Bill suggested so strongly that you stay in a hotel, but I agree with his reccomendation that you stay in Recoleta....<BR><BR>I have used several apartment rental services and have had very good experiences. I do agree that you should stay on/near a busy street and look for an apartment with 24 hour security. And air conditioning! <BR><BR>For example, the last time I visited I stayed in an apartment literally within site of the 4 seasons hotel, in one of the poshest, safest parts of town. The building had 24 hour security, was well furnished and air conditioned. Total cost: USD210 per week. You can spend this amount per night in some of the chain hotels.....<BR>

I don´t think it´s safer to rent an apartment if you are traveling alone. Get a good hotel centrally located and you´ll feel more secure.

My tour bus guide did mention fine dining in P.M. and more HHonors points are always good, good concierge service in English, executive floors. But when the tour ended, in Recoleta, I easily found the McDonald's.<BR><BR>

Hi Brot,<BR>You will love BA! Since you are going to be there in summertime, I recommend you stay at the Sheraton which has a huge and nice pool and a great gym. It is perfectly located near Puerto Madera (great for dining) and the main shopping region of town. I never had a problem with street cabs or any danger of any kind there but things are a bit different now with the economy so I probably agree about taking radio cabs. Be sure to dine at Las Lenas, the best of the beef places in Puerto Madera. We also like Azzura, a local neighborhood Italian restaurant and be sure to order &quot;insatisfecho&quot; for dessert!! There is a beef place right across the street from the Sheraton called Las Nazarenas, not fancy but good and you can feel comforable just sitting at a table and reading a book -- I know, I did it many times on business trips. I would get a tour guide to take me around the city by days and be sure to visit the antique stores in San Telmo.

Brot, PS on the subject of the hydrofoil to Uruguay. If you wish to visit Uruguay, I would fly from the local airport in BA to Punte del Este, a beach resort in Uruguay where the River Plata enters the ocean. There is a huge Hilton resort there with a nice pool. It kind of looks like La Jolla, with expensive apartments (low rise) in front of the ocean, yachts docked, etc. Be sure to dine at Cansone del Mare in front of the yacht club. If you HH points you can get a free stay. The ocean itself is dark in color because of mixing with the river water but perfectly clean. There are places on the beach to rent chairs and umbrellas and casual restaurants. I think it would be good for a weekend. It is upscale and attractive and Uruguay has terrific wines not found outside the country. I would personally skip Montevideo.