Just got back from Buenos Aires. Stayed for 9 days with wife, 18 year old daughter and friend. Because of the praticality we decided to rent an Apartment for 9 days. A 2 bedroom, 2 and half bathroom 1400 Sq foot facility in Recoleta with apartmentsba.com. This turned out to be very smart and cheaper than renting 2 hotel rooms. The apartment was nice, it was not as nice as it looked in the pictures, but it served our needs well.

As for the city, this was our first time here. We've been to Europe many times, but got tired of the .68 cent Euro, here the biggest plus to B.A. is the cost, it is SO CHEAP. Everything: GAS, Taxi's, Food, Leather goods, wine, even got a good deal on a watch.

I liked the energy of the city, the people were nice and it's easy to get around in. I thought they're would be beggars though compared to other Latin Countries, this was not an issue.

The second day we were there did a city tour, it was so-so though we did get our bearings out of the city. My only complaint was the Tour guide spoke 65% in Spanish on the bus and his english was not understandable. Also wasted time in the La Boca Soccer stadium which we didn't care about. Almost by acident, we drove by a slum and it was shocking.

If you want to shop this is the place to come, every single day we spent at least half the days shopping- too much for me and if I were to come back here, I refuse to do that much. But I had to accomodate my wife. We did get great deal on leather jackets, belts, wallets etc as well as shoes.

Because it is a big city and probably most of the vehicles are diesel engine, be prepared to breath in a lot of fumes. After a few days this bothered us a lot. I can't imagine how bad this is in the summer time. Also B.A. is a dog lovers city. Many of the dogwalkers do not pick up the dog poop. So beware where you step. It's not the cleanest city and you will see garbage at times but this is all minor.

The other thing that suprised me was that english is not spoken much at all, even compared to European Cities. Menu's are for the most part in Spanish so be prepared. If I were to go again, I would def. take an spanish class.

The food overall was excellent. We ate very well for a cheap price. I would not say it compares to Italy or France, but for the price it's great. Had a lot of steak as we had heard this was their specialty. Some was great some was so-so. One thing they do that most americans aren't use to is they always cook the steak medium well. If you ask for medium rare, you will get medium. I think that's just the way they are used to cooking it. The Pizza was very good, the local wines excellant. We tried some Malbec Red's that were terriffic.

The Cab drivers are erratic, and so are all the drivers. I was amazed I saw no accidents. Lanes are ignored by everyone. Lots of drivers cutting each other off,etc. One thing I did notice though is that no one runs red lights, and they do not turn right on red lights either. The cab drivers though erratic are very efficient at getting you where you want and fast. Some even try to impress you.

Anyone who thinks B.A. is unsafe is wrong. As long as you stay in the main barrios (Recoleta, Palermo, Centre, San Telmo, Retiro etc) you have nothing to worry about. Of course just be smart as you would in any large city. I would avoid La Boca, after 4 or 5 PM.

Overall it was a great experience I will not forget. If I come again though I will be sure to some activities away from the city, as 9 days in a row in the city was too much.

I've just returned from a 10-day stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I had a wonderful time. We got in at 8 am, the sun was shining and even though it was cold enough to see your breath outside we welcomed it with open arms. We'd just left 100+ degree weather in Atlanta, GA. The first thing we did after dropping off our bags was go have leather coats made. Argentina is like the leather capital of the world. Every street has a leather store where you can have leather goods custom made: coats, gloves, bags, purses, shoes, hats, place mats, just about anything.
They have huge fairs on the weekend where you can get even more leather made goods at very reasonable costs. If you are into fashion and shopping this is the perfect place. The store front windows were awesome. They are like works of art. People ooh and aah at the pictures I took of them.
There are a lot of historical metro areas that you can walk to. The architecture of the buildings are astounding. Checking out the Evita Museo is a must. I've heard people talk about Evita Peron but I didn't grasp just how great her contribution to the world was until I visited her museum.
The best thing about visiting Argentina is the dollar is 3:1. Your money goes three times are far as would normally.

We went to Buenos Aires in March 2007 and it was just outstanding! Everyone told me I would enjoy it but it was beyond my expectation. We stayed in Recoleta in a studio apt which we paid by the week. That was very economical and conveninent. We'd buy fresh sliced ham and cheese at the local deli for breakfast and were off to enjoy the rest of the day. I recommend Recoleta highly beause you're outside the center of the city where's it's very crowded and noisy. The area is very safe with lots of restaurants within walking distance, movie theatre, shops, etc. A taxi ride is a short ride to the city center and every where else you want to go. We went to Iguazu Falls (which is a 5); El Tigre by train (which is a 5). With the exchange rate it's just a GREAT bargain! The food, the people, the service -- everything could not have been better. Just remember the seasons are opposite to US. Their summer is December, January & February. We went in March after the kids were back in school (there) so it was not as crowded. The weather was OUTSTANDING at that time! If you're considering it - GO!

I flew to Buenos Aires in 2003 not knowing what to expect. I was quickly surprised at how much the city reminded me of Europe. I later learned that Buenos Aires has most of it's roots in Spain and Italy. It's beautiful architecture gives this metropolis a unique look and feel. I'm looking forward to going back to visit more of the country with Explorica student travel.