Renting an apartment in Buenos Aires

June 21, 2007 4:36 PM

Buenos Aires for 2-3 weeks: get an apartment?

So I'm going to be going in Buenos Aires for 3 non-consecutive weeks (1 week trekking to Machu Picchu) and I've heard that it can be affordable to rent an apartment on a weekly basis there. A search on Google for "buenos aires apartment rental" yields a TON of results.

While promising, its also a little daunting finding a trustworthy rental and service when I've never been anywhere near South America.

Does anyone have any recommendations for apartment rental services? We're looking to be as close to the city center as possible and rent on a week-to-week basis.

posted by MaverickX to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

You're right, there has been an explosion in the number of companies doing exactly this. Unfortunately I don't have a specific recommendation. I found a nice place for my parents through Craigslist but many of the agencies seem to have cottoned on to the idea and now there is a lot to filter through.

One thing I would suggest is that if your weeks aren't going to be consecutive anyway, to stay in different neighborhoods on either side of your trip. Palermo Viejo (Soho) is a nice area to stay in. You're also probably going to spend at least a couple of nights outside of the city, whether in Tigre, or Colonia (Uruguay), so you should factor that into your planning as well.

My e-mail is in my profile if you'd like a second opinion on anything you find.
posted by Gomez_in_the_South at 5:20 PM on June 21, 2007

My boyfriend and I just booked a place through one of those sites for a week later this summer! We went through these people, and so far, so good. I'm not sure how in-depth you've looked at the rental agency sites, but most of the sites don't let you pay by credit card, or if they do, charge a "convenience fee." The agency we're going with allowed us to charge 1/2 the total rent (+3.5%) and the security deposit. They require the balance in cash upon lease signing. I'm sure you don't want to be carrying US$1000+ with you while you hike, so something to keep in mind.
posted by twoporedomain at 5:25 PM on June 21, 2007

My friends have a travel agency that does apartment rentals. Completely trustworthy but the English might not be 100%.


Craigslist, as mentioned, and the BA Newcomers might also turn up something.

I second Gomez's idea to consider staying in different neighborhoods, esp. outside the city center.

Email's in the profile if I can help more. If you're headed to BsAs, you may want to check out my project, too.
posted by veggieboy at 8:00 PM on June 21, 2007

We stayed for 10 days in an apartment in Palermo that we rented through ByT Argentina. English site, online booking, etc. When we arrived at the apartment, a ByT agent and the landlady were both there to meet us, show us how things worked, give us the key, and collect the money. It was a good deal and made us feel just a teensy bit less like tourists. We needed two bedrooms for the size of our group, but there seem to be a lot more studios and 1BR available. It was nice to have a full kitchen (we ate dinners out, but we made breakfast and snacks) and a washing machine (once we finally figured out how it worked.)
posted by candyland at 9:14 PM on June 21, 2007

I used ByT as well and they were fine. In addition we used ojo in Palermo who have some really cool apartments.
posted by itsjustanalias at 2:47 AM on June 22, 2007

Looks like there are already some good suggestions. In case you don't have any luck with them, I contacted the owner of the apartment where my parents stayed when they visited me here. He has availability after 3 August. It is located on the border of Recoleta and Palermo and is US$220 a week which I thought was decent for the quality of the furnishings and the location. The owner moves a lot between the US and Argentina and rents it out when he is away. The advantage being that you aren't paying a middle man in the form of an agency. If you (or anyone else reading this) would like any contact details just let me know.
posted by Gomez_in_the_South at 8:51 AM on June 22, 2007