trip report- Buenos Aires at Christmas time
 

We are just finishing ten great days in Buenos Aires and I wanted to share some of our highlights.

1. First of all, San Telmo is a great neighborhood to stay in....comfortable but not chic.
2. We rented an apartment from Friendly Rentals Agency ....It's a two bedroom place - called the Discepolo apartment. There's a doorman/super named Antonio who has been extremely helpful. The agency was great... from booking the place to getting us checked in as early arrivals. It cost us about $100 a night.
3. Dining-wise: For an elegant meal, I'd recommend El Club Espanol in Monserrat.. For an old-time feel, don't miss El Bar Federal in San Telmo. If you want to try mate, go to Cumana in Recoleta in the late afternoon.
4. Entertainment -We saw a wonderful (and inexpensicve) tango show in Plaza Dorrego on Chrismas eve , topped off by fireworks set off by the waiters and had a fabulous evening of folk music at La Pena de Colorado in Palermo.
5. Christmas day- The guidebooks do not exagerate... Virtually all restaurants , parks and stores are closed so plan ahead. We ended up at the racetrack in Palermo .... no entrance fee... bets start at only 3 pesos.
6. An outing to the pampas- We spend the night at San Antonio de Areco. It's a lovely old colonial town. We stayed at a beautiful B/B called Paradores Draghi. We took a cab from there to El Ombu Estancia . I would highly recommend this outing. For $70 US, we spend the entire day at El Ombu. This included horseback riding, access to two swimming pools and a billiard table and of course, a great parilla lunch under the trees. We worked our way through 6 types of meat and a delicious bottle of Malbec wine.
7. Plan on it being hot.... Our trip coincided with a real heat wave- high 90's but apparently, it is often that hot during the summer.
8. Transportation- We found the bus system very good. The fare is only 1.25 $( about 35 US cents) and the buses we took were not crowded. Taxis are also cheap. Most of the cab rides we took across this very large city were about $35 pesos,/9 U.S. including tip.
I did not like riding in the subway ( called the Subte). It was extremely crowded ( think sardines in a can...) and had no airconditioning.
Hope this is helpful...

Thank you for your helpful report, alitablanc!

When should we expect you back in our country?

Happy 2011!

Great Trip Report, alitablanc, and you brought back wonderful memories with your descriptions. Gracias.

~MarnieWDC

Enjoyed your thoughts and suggestions,;though we won't be there long enough to experience all your choices- it is fun to" explore & experience" through other's trip reports.

Thanks for sharing
Happy New Year!

MB

Great trip report, brought back many memories of my visit to Buenos Aires three years ago. My friend and I also thought the San Telmo neighborhood was quite lovely (although we stayed in the more hectic Microcentro area).

traveltalesfromtheredheadedtraveler.blogspot.com/
(My travel writing blog!)

Great trip report, thanks !
I have taken the subway once, it was in the middle of the day, from Recoleta to Belgrano .. empty cars, a/c, clean and modern. I think it depends on the line as to what age/condition the cars are in . But I still only walk or take taxis :- )
I can't wait til we go to Ombu and San Antonio de Areco ..