Taking my 1 year old to Buenos Aires - Crazy?
 

Hi all,

My husband and I are Europe-fanatics who did a lot of travelling before settling down and having a baby 11 months ago. I just booked frequent flyer tickets for a trip to BA from Nov 28 - Dec 6. Our favorite city is Paris, and we would have loved to go there again, but our baby already has a pretty unusual schedule (goes to bed at midnight or later... sleeps until 11-noon... same schedule as me, so it works for us) and I feared jetlag would be too rough on him for a trip of only 1 week's length. BA is in our same time zone. So we figured, why not go to the Paris of South America? A whole new continent for us, and at a nice time of year. We would be travelling First Class from Chicago through Miami and onward to BA (again, thank you FF program - could never afford 1st class tix without it!). So our son will have a bed onboard and more space to walk around a bit. We will of course do everything in our power to not let him disturb other passengers. He's typically a happy baby who doesn't fuss much.

Anyway, so: Are we crazy to bring our son, who will be 14 months old at that time, to BA? I honestly don't know *that* much about Buenos Aires or what there is to do there, but I love good food, good wine, big cities (beach vacations are NOT for us), and tango. What do parents do for diaper changing when they're out and about for the day? Are there parks or playgrounds in Recoleta (we'll be renting an apt there)? An especially big concern is about taking him out to dinner every night. He stays up so late that he won't have a problem with us going to dinner, but do most restaurants accept babies? What about the nicer ones? Do I chain the stroller outside or can I push him up close to the table in it? Do some car services offer car seats when you arrange a driver from/to the airport? I'm obviously feeling a little overwhelmed and having slight "buyer's remorse" over getting the tickets. Not because it's Buenos Aires but because it's ANYWHERE international. I could have the airline redeposit the miles for a fee, but I don't want to do that unless you guys tell me I probably should hold off on a trip like this until he's older.

Other random things: we took him to NYC and it went fine. We will bring a lightweight but high-quality umbrella stroller. He eats pretty much what we eat now. No need for baby food or formula. We don't speak Spanish, but I know some Italian and French so I can probably muddle through a little + I will learn as many basic phrases as I can between now and then.

I would be SO grateful for any help and encouragement!

http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo...uenosaires.htm

Go by all means I did with my son at that age

just be flixible with schedules betterbidding.com for great

hotels in the nice areas you will be fine Portenos love kids.

saexplorers.org/clubhouses/buenosaires great local discounts

insuremytrip.com wise never wire money many apartment scams

mdtravelhealth.com always wise to be careful with food water

Happy Travels!

Hi, tara3056!

I dug up this trip report for you:

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...-adventure.cfm

After reading it, you should have no more worries.

Forum member julieod had "two young boys who were 22 months and 4 months." in tow and they had a wonderful time.

What else can I do for you?

Bidding priceline.com for 4 stars from $40

Have picked up Sheraton Libertador for $45/nt

awesome value join spg.com they are required

to give me free club floor upgrades even suites

to best available.. great savings for me there.

Forgot also go to Europe a lot.Calling BsAs the "Paris of SA" is a bit of a misnomer some avenues are broad like Paris but southern Italian influences everywhere for me a wonderful combination do not go expecting crepes etc. or you will be disappointed.

rosettastone.com best way to pick up the lingo...

Congrats!

qwovadis: Thank you for the advice, but I am really hoping to rent an apartment instead of getting a hotel room. I feel like apartments are more comfortable and offer more privacy.

avrooster: I bow down to you, sir! You are a Fodors LEGEND in my mind for all of your amazingly helpful posts on Buenos Aires :) Thank you for finding that thread from julieod about travelling with her 2 young boys. That was reassuring, though I have a question about dining out. Julie said she felt that kids were welcomed in restaurants but that they never went anywhere very nice/fancy. I'm going to make restaurant reservations before we get there, so without having seen the places, is there any way to tell what sorts of places I shouldn't bring my son to? My husband and I LOVE good food, so it will pain me to not get to eat at some of the delicious places I've been reading about. (For that matter, my son is a budding foodie too. He gets *very* happy when he gets good food and his favorites are pesto pasta and spicy Thai dishes!)

Thank you, tara3056!

Don't "sir" me, lady, because you make me feel old (which I am). LOL!!!

About your "I'm going to make restaurant reservations before we get there": this doesn't make any sense at all. In Paris or NYC, maybe, but not in BA. Even less so, if, like a good American should, you tend to have dinner early, by our standards, of course, which means a little after 8 PM. Never mind what you read about not being able to have dinner out before 10 PM. It's just a pile of an evil-smelling substance. All restaurants open at 8 or 8.30 PM, at the very latest.

So, what I suggest is that you walk around during the day, check out the places which seem good or you have read about, ask them about reserving for the evening and about bringing your child, who will most certainly be quite welcome.

For Italian, I'm a fan of Sottovoce. There is one in the Recoleta and another one in Puerto Madero, which would be nice for dining "al fresco" if it is warm, as it probably will be during your travel dates. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran..._District.html

Besides the obvious pasta, try their "almendrado" for dessert.

I don't like Asian food and, besides, I don't think BA is a good place to eat Asian food, but it's a matter of taste, so...

About that business of a seat for your child in the car, I doubt it will be available. THAT is one thing which probably should be reserved in advance. If the people you rent your apartment from are picking you up at the airport, which is convenient, e-mail them indicating you want that, or else....

I assume you will read quite a few trip reports before you come. You have the trip reports posted in this forum and you also have this thread started by yours truly: http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...ed-reading.cfm

So, what else can I do for you, young lady?

Hola Tara,

AV Rooster sent you the greatest link for taking young ones to Buenos Aires.

We often saw young children in restaurants in the 8-9:30 PM time - and I doubt very seriously if a well-behaved 14 month old would be unwelcome at any time. Julie had a toddler AND a tiny baby - you have a better ratio: 2 parents for one son. In the worst case, if you are in an elegant restaurant and son becomes rowdy, one of you could walk with him a bit, no ?

Do be aware that some (many?) sidewalks are irregular - so unlike Paris, extra caution if pushing a stroller etc. You may be near to the Vicente Lopez Parque (Recoleta) which has nice equipment for young children - and nice benches for their parents. The large park in Palermo has boat rides. There is a zoo near to Buenos Aires. There are street musicians and living statues on weekends at the Ferrias in San Telmo and Recoleta.

Forget your French - but your Italian will come in handy here and there - especially in some Taxis. You obviously are very well traveled and Portenos are generally lovely, helpful people so you will fare just fine.

Enjoy your trip (all 3 of you) and please do write a TR when you return.

~MarnieWDC

I'm repeating myself, but I hereby move Marnie be designated Chief DE for BA and Argentina, with drdawggy as her obedient adjutant! LOL!!!

Well, if you can get dr dawggy to be obedient...

But thank you for the confidence, AV.

~M

I can promise you many things, Marnie, but I can´t promise you THAT. LOL!!!

Bookmarking. My husband & I will be taking our then 17-month old daughter to BA in February so I'll be looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

avrooster: Thank you for the advice about not needing to make restaurant reservations in advance! I've heard good things about Sottovoce on other threads too. I'm definitely reading as much as I can, whenever I can - although with an 11 month old, it's not as much as I would have been able to do in the pre-baby days.

MarnieWDC: Yes, you're quite right... either my husband or I would be happy to take Will out for a walk if he becomes fussy in a restaurant. Honestly, we often eat dinner here in the US around 9:30 or 10. Sometimes a teensy bit earlier, sometimes later. When we heard about Buenos Aires' semi-noctural schedule, we were like, "Wow - that's our place!!" Will goes to bed sometime after midnight, and my husband and I don't go to sleep until around 4am.

I suppose I just can't quite wrap my head around the idea that you can walk into a "white tablecloth" restaurant in BA with a baby and not be looked at like you have 2 heads. By "white tablecloth," I don't mean the very nicest places in the city; I just mean good, moderately priced places. It sounds like a much more family-friendly city than what I'm used to, and I love it! I have two strollers - one is a lightweight but sturdy umbrella stroller that folds easily and can be slung over a shoulder when folded. The other is a luxe fullsize stroller with excellent suspension that would be *perfect* for irregular sidewalks... but it weights 21 lbs and does not fold up small. Decisions, decisions.

Does anyone know what happened above?

avrooster: I have no idea ??

Maybe someone will tell us, tara3056, because it must have been against this forum's rules and I would say someone must have reported it.

Hi, tara3056!

Great BA trip report from a family with two kids here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...ed-reading.cfm

avrooster and tara -- it was some new poster advertising and I reported it.

Thank you, Surfergirl!

Bookmarking. Not taking kids, but this is my first peek at South America.

Currency seems strongly in our favor, will I still find BA to be an expensive city?