Late notice Buenos Aires tours?

November 12, 2018 9:41 AM

I'm taking all of December off, and one of the things I'd like to do is travel a bit. After some deliberation I think I'm interested in a trip to Buenos Aires. I'm looking for any specific recommendations for reputable and enjoyable tour groups/companies. I'm 40, non-spanish speaking, and would be travelling alone.
posted by dmd to Travel & Transportation around Buenos Aires, Argentina (3 answers total)

I used Landing Pad BA to go to a River Plate game, and definitely thought it was well-run and worth it. I’m not a big tour person, but if you want to go to a Boca or River game, pretty much your only option is to do it through a tour company because tickets aren’t otherwise available except to club members. I think it might be a little easier with some of the second-tier BsAs teams like Racing and San Lorenzo, but probably still a pain in the ass if you don’t speak Spanish.

I also did a “Secret Bars Night Out” tour in Palermo Soho that I just booked through AirBnB experiences. Sadly, it doesn’t look like the guide has any more dates scheduled right now, but I see several similar types of tours out there. I definitely found it helpful for meeting people and getting into some of the hipper bars that would be tougher to get into on a Friday night and are less on the guidebook radar.

Not strictly in answer to your question, but while BsAs is a great city, Argentina has a lot of natural beauty too, and internal flights are crazy cheap right now in dollar terms. I would definitely recommend seeing some other parts of the country too: Iguazu is jaw-dropping, Salta has incredible landscapes and a much more indigenous cultural influence, December would be a good time to go hiking in Patagonia, etc.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 7:26 PM on November 12, 2018

Check out McDermotts and tell them Con sent you, they'll treat you right. Also make sure to go to a Come Wine With Me event if there is one going on while you are in town.
Food used to be limited to steaks and empanadas but there's a been a food revolution in BsAs over the last couple of years, so there are lots of interesting restaurants to try if you like that kind of thing.
Strangely Stunted Trees is right, get out of town as well if you can...Mendoza if you like wine country, the south for hiking. Don't forget that distances are vast and plan accordingly.
I wouldn't worry about not having spanish too much, Argentina has one of the highest levels of english fluency in South America...there's always someone who speaks english.
posted by conifer at 6:15 AM on November 13, 2018

Mod note: Final update from the OP:

I used [expensive, but worth every penny in what I got from them in service] Kensington Tours and visited Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Calafate, and Iguazu over 3 weeks.

posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 6:33 AM on July 9, 2020