6 Hours in Buenos Aires

[Per_Travels]

Hi all,

Been lurking for a while and thought I'd finally post a question.

So - I'm off to Rio in a few weeks and have decided to try out a new route (I usually go LHR - GIG when based in London or the rather more prosaic PER - SYD - SCL - GIG when based in Perth (not forgetting the joyful couple of hours in AKL)). This time I'm trying PER - SYD - EZE - GIG. PER to EZE will be on Qantas whilst EZE to GIG will be on TAM (gulp no status :shock.
Finally getting round to the question - I have 6 hours in Buenos Aires between my Qantas flight landing and my TAM flight departing (10:45 to 16:45) - is this enough time to head into a city that I've never visited before to have a look around? If so - what should be on my list of things to (quickly) do and how do I get from airport to city and back again.

 

[opusman]

So - I'm off to Rio in a few weeks and have decided to try out a new route (I usually go LHR - GIG when based in London or the rather more prosaic PER - SYD - SCL - GIG when based in Perth (not forgetting the joyful couple of hours in AKL)). This time I'm trying PER - SYD - EZE - GIG. PER to EZE will be on Qantas whilst EZE to GIG will be on TAM (gulp no status :shock.
Finally getting round to the question - I have 6 hours in Buenos Aires between my Qantas flight landing and my TAM flight departing (10:45 to 16:45) - is this enough time to head into a city that I've never visited before to have a look around? If so - what should be on my list of things to (quickly) do and how do I get from airport to city and back again.

It's doable, although it's a fair hike to the city and you won't have a huge amount of time - it can take quite a while to get through customs at EZE.

You should be able to find a driver to take you to the city at the airport, but if I were you I'd try to arrange one in advance, and rather than just going to the city and wandering, get him to take you somewhere specific and wait for you, and then bring you back again. Maybe check out La Boca - there's quite an interesting museum there, and might be markets on etc depending on the day of the week.

 

[Tortuga]

Depending on the time of the day it will take you 45min-1 hour to get into the city by taxi. The cost for the taxis is ~150 pesos. That will leave you with ~3 hours in the city. Palermo and Recoletta are nice places, grab a nice steak and drink some Malbec. Recoletta has a few parks with a cemetery where Eva Peron is burried. San Telmo usually has some Tango shows during the day. Depends what you are interested in really. What are your plans in Rio?

 

[adrian]

I think they have a nasty airport departure tax that you pay if you leave the airport. I don't think you pay if you are transiting. You may want to check that.

 

[Per_Travels]

Thaks for the advice - I arrive mid morning and leave late afternoon. Really just looking for a stretch of my legs and to see a little bit of a city that I've never been to before. Steak and a glass of red sounds like a good idea though.
Rio will be work work work (interspersed with the odd caipirinha ).

Does anyone know the contact details of a taxi company? Usually I just pick up local taxi's outside of whatever airport I'm at but this time it may be better (quicker) to have something organised.

Thanks

 

[Per_Travels]

I think they have a nasty airport departure tax that you pay if you leave the airport. I don't think you pay if you are transiting. You may want to check that.​

I've got dual nationality (UK and Oz) so I think I can get away without paying the departure tax by entering/leaving on the UK passport

 

[juddles]

..... grab a nice steak and drink some Malbec......

Amen!!! Best two things in Argentina!!

 

[Tortuga]

I am living in Argentina (in the north) now and I always get a taxi from the guys straight outside where everyone is waiting for arrival passengers after leaving customs. From my experience there is usually no wait, tell them where you want to go (Recoleta, Palermo soho etc), they will ask if your solo. Then a guy will come with you and take your bags to the taxi (he expects 1 or 2 pesos for this service

- welcome to Argentina). Im not sure what an organised taxi will cost you.

Ask the taxi driver "Mejor restuarante en Recoleta/Palermo para Bife de Chorizo" My attempt at Spanish, they will understand and should know a good restaurant for you.

Bife de Chorizo in my opinion is the nicest steak. A Punto means medium, jugoso (pronounced hugoso) means rare, cocido means well done. Parrilla means BBQ.

Las Cholas in the suburb of Las Canitas is a nice BBQ restaurant that is open from midday onwards (only accept cash though). Las Canitas is to the north of Palermo and Recoleta. There are some nice parks, look on google maps to give you an idea where everything is.

If you need any knowledge on Rio I might be able to help, spent the past year and a bit working offshore there.

 

[Per_Travels]

Tortuga - thought I'd give you a quick update. My 6 hours turned into 4 due to a delayed flight but I decided to still give it a go. I left the airport, jumped into a taxi and repeated your excellent Spanish. I'm now sitting in a restaurant somewhere outside of Buenos Aires tucking into a large steak. Only problem was that you didn't tell me the Spanish for "glass" and so I now have a bottle of rather nice Malbec in front of me - hope they let me onto the Rio plane in a couple of hours.
Anyway - thanks for the advice/help. Certainly enjoying my first taste of Argentina!

 

[Tortuga]

Tortuga - thought I'd give you a quick update. My 6 hours turned into 4 due to a delayed flight but I decided to still give it a go. I left the airport, jumped into a taxi and repeated your excellent Spanish. I'm now sitting in a restaurant somewhere outside of Buenos Aires tucking into a large steak. Only problem was that you didn't tell me the Spanish for "glass" and so I now have a bottle of rather nice Malbec in front of me - hope they let me onto the Rio plane in a couple of hours. Anyway - thanks for the advice/help. Certainly enjoying my first taste of Argentina!

Good to hear ! hopefully you made it back to the airport with no hassles, onto Rio - be prepared for a chaotic but vibrant city !!