Hello All - we have been dying to go to Argentina and are excited to finally be able to plan a trip Dec 25-Jan 1. We are a young couple in our early 30s and we love to travel and explore - we booked this trip even before the baby was born because we figured best time to travel was when he was sleeping all day anyway. But we are obviously a bit nervous because traveling with a newborn has its own challenges - he will be 4 months old by the time we are down there so any advice as to how to make the trip better/easier with a baby would be much much appreciated!

The only thing we have planned thus far are flights - we land Dec 24th evening and leave Jan 1 evening - and our apartment. We are renting an apartment in Recoleta (on Av Callao and Guido). Our goal is to immerse ourselves in the beautiful country for a few days

- We were thinking about staying in BA for 24-29th (I imagine most things will be closed for Christmas but if there is something we can cover or walk around to that would be great). For the other days, my thought was we we'd wall around with the baby; hire a tour guide for some portion of a day; explore different areas/parks/zoo. Anything else that could be baby friendly? I'm reading through all the prior posts and blogs so people dont repeat themselves but just want to know what activities are easier with a newborn in mind...

- Dec 29th - Jan 1st - we'd like to cover one more area - Here's where we really need some help/advice - Debating between Punta del Este (not sure if its the most family friendly around new years); Mendoza; Bariloche; or something else entirely? What is reasonable/safe/easy for us to do and explore?

Again your help and time is much appreciated! Thank you very much in advance

Welcome to the Fodor's Argentina forum, chitown06!

I have some hopefully useful comments, but I'm a little busy right now, so I'll get back to you later.

I assume you realize two things:

1) It will be pretty warm and

2) Those dates are very SPECIAL, meaning, for instance, that you may not be able to shop for groceries until the 26th.

But, anyway, I hope you'll have a great time in my town with your child.

Callao and Guido is a great location.
You will have a few days on this visit where Everything will be closed for holidays so be sure to be well stocked in all the things you would need from a store for yourselves and the little one.
Walking is good. The parks will be nice and they are very close to where you will be ... just be sure the apt is stocked with food etc for yourselves and the baby since stores will be closed.
ARriving on Christmas- you should see if the people you are renting from will be sure the apt/fridge is stocked with things you would need. Bottled water , some kind of food/snacks etc.

Buenos AIres is baby friendly in the sense that people take their babies with them anywhere they want and it seems like every single person loves babies ... really. But also remember, it is summer, hot and sunny .. the baby will need special care to not be overheated , sunburned etc.

The same thing as Christmas happens at New Years. Everyone is out of town and the stores close early. And will be closed on Jan 1 too.
Mostly be sure you have your apt stocked with what you need when everything is closed. Just walking in the city is nice, there will be much less traffic and some less noise : )

Punta etc will be packed and booked. These are all booked way in advance for holidays .

I don't know if you can even get transportation to the places you mention ..
Keep reading the guide books and these forums.

In Brazil, all popular places sell multi-night New Year packages for roughly Dec 28 to Jan 2, and it is difficult to find accomodations outside of that fixed package term.
Is that a consideration for Argentina as well?

Avrooster, what about the quality of diapers in Argentina? Those you can get in Brazil are bad enough quality that they might want to bring as many of the "good" ones they can from home.
Other considerations:
How about strollers? The sidewalks in some parts of Brazil could destroy a normal umbrella stroller. What about conditions in Argentina? It's probably going to be too hot to carry/wear a baby in a sling.
And food? What kind of baby food is available? Is the baby fussy or not?
Are they bringing a car seat? If not, are they comfortable riding in taxis without one?
Where is the baby comfortable sleeping? Will they bring a portable crib? What arrangements does the apt. have? Can the baby sleep on the go in the heat or do they plan to go back to someplace with ac?

"Avrooster, what about the quality of diapers in Argentina? Those you can get in Brazil are bad enough quality that they might want to bring as many of the "good" ones they can from home."

Diapers are fine.

"How about strollers? The sidewalks in some parts of Brazil could destroy a normal umbrella stroller."

Yes, they could find some rough sidewalks.

"What about conditions in Argentina? It's probably going to be too hot to carry/wear a baby in a sling."

I already said it could be "pretty warm".

"And food? What kind of baby food is available?"

Not too sure about this, but they´ll manage.

"Is the baby fussy or not?"

Who knows?

"Are they bringing a car seat? If not, are they comfortable riding in taxis without one?"

They need to get used to the idea that they may have to ride cabs without a car seat.

"Where is the baby comfortable sleeping? Will they bring a portable crib? What arrangements does the apt. have? Can the baby sleep on the go in the heat or do they plan to go back to someplace with ac?"

Who knows?

All I know is that we need some kind of reply from the OP to all this hopefully useful advice.

They have all kinds of baby food and I do seem to remember Gerbers.
Diapers are fine. Strollers are fine, carrying a baby in a sling is fine.
It is a huge city .. with babies !

There are families with babies all over BA ... they manage fine. I am sure you will too.

Being a "senior citizen", baby food is not exactly my line of expertise, but I believe Gerber's baby food has been at best difficult to find in Argentina during the last few years, due to import restrictions.

Of course, alternatives may be available.

Have a great time in my town with your child, chitown06.

They also sell Nutribaby in the pharmacies in Recoleta .. or did sell it : )
You can do your own with a little mini mixer too ..

Also .. there is a supermarket in Palermo called Jumbo ... they sell / sold quite a lot of US products ..

Imported food tends to vanish and years later reappear in BA.

I used to buy maple syrup at Jumbo, but it hasn't been available for several years.

@Scarlett-- of course they'll manage, but how the baby adapts to the issues and conditions mentioned, different from home, can make the difference between enduring the trip and enjoying it, for the parents. If the baby won't eat, won't sleep, is constantly fussy, the parents are not likely to be happy travelers either. Babies 'exist' in many kinds of conditions around the world, because they are accustomed from birth, but that does not mean that is "like home" for a traveler nor that it is ideal. Some kids are more adaptable than others. I am not trying to discourage; on the contrary, I think it is great the parents are continuing to travel. Just trying to ensure they've thought of all the contingencies. They know their baby. But I'm speaking from personal experience, and that of friends, in a place less than 700 miles away.

Whether there is baby food available or not, if they are landing on the 24th in the evening they are unlikely to find anywhere open to buy some. Problem solved if they just bring what they need for the first two days or so with them. Also the advice to get the landlord to stock some food for them is a good idea.

Babies are amazingly resilient and difficult to break. With proper planning for contingencies they should all three enjoy the trip.

Any comments, chitown06?

lol, Samba ... If the parents are happy and calm, the baby will be too.
You should try to be calm too.

Supermarkets have something called Nutribaby, hopefully similar to Gerber's baby food.

They sell Nutribaby in the pharmacies also.

Wow - sorry I was out of town and just got back to review the responses. Thank you all VERY VERY much for your comments and feedback.

First on apartment - yes we have ensured someone will be there to get us in on Dec 24th knowing its a holiday and will have them stock the apartment with basic essentials as we figured everything will be shut on 12/25. I will make sure we have pre-arranged transportation from airport. Thank you for the heads up on taxis.

Second - on baby food - luckily he's breast feeding right now and our plan is to keep it that way till 6 months which is after the trip.

It seems most other concerns are around getting around and weather. We were planning to bring a car seat down and then we will stick to sling and stroller. I think we will go to Bariloche for 3 nights at the end of our trip before heading back.

As far as things we can do in Buenos - Zoo, San Telmo Market, Parks, walk around. Anything else? Does anyone have a tour guide recommendation for BA? Any advice for Bariloche?

Thank you again for the incredible helpful suggestions!

BA TravelGuide dot com
she is fantastic even if you only get advice from her ..

The Zoo is so charming.
Thank goodness for portable baby feeding, no ? lol
It will be pretty warm ...

Pharmacies and shops are full of all the things you would need , same as home.. people working in them almost always speak English and they are very kind and helpful.
You can ask questions and not feel awkward about it or anything.

Just walking around the city is so great, whenever you get tired , there is a cafe , inside or outside to relax, cool off and have a drink or something to nibble on.
They love babies. You will have a lot of strangers coming up to you with big smiles and will listen to them tell your little one how beautiful he is ..
I often witnessed such kindness from strangers in BA .. the people are truly special and I so much wish I was there right now : )

Enjoy ..

Awesome - thank you very much Scarlett! thats our plan - walk, eat, drink, and get to know the locals!