Best city tour?

[Guille Amejka]

Hola all,

We have a friend coming to visit this week and we would like to go with here on a City Tour. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Some Questions

• What is the price?
• How long is the tour?
• Can you get on and get off?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Saludos,
Bill

 

[syngirl]

Have a look on the city tourism website -- I believe it is bue.gov.ar -- there is an open-top bus tour that goes to La Boca, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Palermo etc -- it is hop on hop off -- might be a good idea this week as it's going to be 34+ degrees all week... you can hop back on and sit downstairs in the A/C when you need a break!

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Have a look on the city tourism website -- I believe it is bue.gov.ar -- there is an open-top bus tour that goes to La Boca, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, Palermo etc -- it is hop on hop off -- might be a good idea this week as it's going to be 34+ degrees all week... you can hop back on and sit downstairs in the A/C when you need a break!

One year ago - almost to the day - we had two waves of Christmas/New Year friend and family visitations and thought a city tour on the big yellow bus would be perfect. The hop-on hop-off thing is a concept that works well in other cities and would be just perfect in Bs As too.

The first thing we discovered was that you can only hop-on and hop-off once you have a ticket - you can't just board the bus anywhere and buy one. In fact of all the stops on the circuit, only one (Florida y Diagonal Norte) sells them. The sales office is attached to the tourist information office, has only one entrance/exit and only one sales assistant and (I exaggerate, but only slightly) only one square metre of floor space for customers. Consequently the queue of potential customers filed out along the street and round the block.

Having queued for nearly an hour in sweltering sunshine (it was hot last year too) we were no further forward; the bus hadn't boarded any passengers and we gave up. We did an impromptu self-conducted tour on foot and by taxi instead.

The second lot of visitors got taken on a conventional. bog-standard air-conditioned coach tour organised by the office next to Plaza San Martin which did exactly what it said on the tin.

That was a year ago and a lot could have changed for the better in that time. As I said ^^up thataway^^ the concept is brilliant and works well in other cities, but I strongly suggest you check that they've ironed the bugs out of this one before you offer it to visitors from out of town.

 

[allisonk]

Hi. I took some friends a few months ago on the open air bus. We boarded at Recoleta (on Avenida Libertador). Interestingly, the woman at the information desk told us we had to go to the desk at Florida street and buy tickets, but we were able to buy them on the bus (I don't know why they say this). They were $70 pesos per head. I think its a great way to get bearings, its also safe to take an SLR and take pics from the top of the bus, and just put it away if you get off at places like La Boca. You can actually get a good feel for everywhere in the city - the only stop you really have to get off at is San Telmo. It was great because my friends could then go back to the places they wanted to spend more time at.

 

[allisonk]

oh, and yes, you can get on and off. If you stayed on the bus I think it would take 4 hours at least for the trip in total (and you would not see San Telmo).

 

[garygrunson]

I took the bus with my mom last year and stayed on the whole trip, two hours almost to the minute from Florida stop to Florida stop. Actually really worth the 50 pesos. (at the time) Ride on top but beware of tree branches hitting you in the head.

 

[Napoleon]

I wouldn't recommend the bus for people who don't know anything about the city, because I have yet to hear something positive about it from travelers who just take it on their own. Taking it with someone who knows the city might not be a bad idea, but that's not what these people reported having done.

Suggested Tours:

1) BA Local www.balocal.com

They also have shopping tours, art tours, off-the-beaten path tours, and Jewish tours. With a private driver, via taxis, or walking. The tour guides are expats and their main city guide is pretty entertaining as well.


2) Anti-Tour www.antitour.com.ar

The owner/main guide is a local who not only grew up in Buenos Aires, but also works restoring old buildings including Teatro Colon and Basilica de la Merced (on Reconquista).


3) Buenos Tours www.buenostours.com

These are 3 hour walking tours. The owner/ one of the guides has spent years writing up various aspects/tips/reviews of the city for their website. The tour guides are expats.


I wouldn't recommend the bus for people going alone, but it might be fine with an expat/local who can tell them where the building is that the recording is talking about, that is if it wasn't about a block or two back when the recording starts up again.

At least that's what I've heard from travelers who took private tours a day or two after taking the bus tour.

 

[darmanad]

http://www.bafreetour.com/english-home

http://www.cicerones.org.ar/index_eng.php?newLang=eng

 

[lunalili]

Take a bicycle tour! Anyone that does not like "sweltering heat" should stay away from Buenos Aires in the Summer. If you want cold in January, try Europe or some places in the USA, snow, cold, wind and wind chills. Otherwise, time to enjoy this beautiful city. There are many new and old bicycle paths and guided tours. Looks like fun to me, heat and all! Otherwise, I would recommend walking tours as well, best way to know the city. I've been coming here for over 40 years, before the new discovery of Argentina by so many tourists and expats.

 

[jontyjago]

Hi,

My name is Jonathan and I started a Walking and Colectivo (public bus) tour a few weeks ago. We start from Plaza Italia every Mon-Sat at 11am and cover Palermo, Abasto, Congreso & Plaza de Mayo by foot, colectivo & subte.

The tour is free (tips appreciated) and takes approximately 3 hours and is a great way to see the main sights, learn the bus system and see parts of Buenos Aires that most tourists miss. More details can be found here: Buenos Aires Local Tours. No need to book, just tell your friend to turn up at Plaza Italia (next to the Garibaldi statue) at 11am!

Any questions, let me know!