Having been on the (Latin) road 6 months, I got into a habit of arranging walking tours as soon as I arrived in a new city and Buenos Aires was no exception. In fact, given what little I new of the place I wanted to enhance my understanding and knowledge of this wonderful and (to me) mysterious city. Some Google time later, I settled on 'BA walking tours', and i'm so glad I did.
These guys are GOOD! I did the full 7 hour walking tour and didn't even feel tired at the end. Both Carlos and Soledad spoke excellent English (which I need as my espanol is woeful). I spent the morning with Carlos who took me to important landmarks in BA's history and explained how much of the city came to be built through the Argentinian aristocracy, the sufferings of the working class, how the money was made, and the power struggle between two very powerful and competing...women (showing BA was ahead of its time in terms of the role and influence of women in that day). In addition to more knowledge and information than I could process, Carlos has a very dry sense of humour which, being from the UK, I appreciated. My questions were also answered.
After lunch, I was 'handed over' to Soledad. Soledad, like Carlos, knew her stuff! She also had an excellent sense of humour but this did not compromise her wealth of information she was keen to impart and put in the context of BA's rich and complex history. We also went at a pace I was comfortable with and she often checked out if there was anything in particular I wanted to do / see. I say this because while there is a 'route' for the tour, there was also some flexibility, which I really valued (i've been on some tours that are like a military operation: 5 mins 34 secs here: 2 mins 25 secs there; ok, not literally like that but you get the picture). BA walking tours was not like this at all and Carlos and Soledad clearly have a passion for their subjects, a love for their city and an enthusiasm to share this with the knowledge-hungry tourist. A big – and unexpected – highlight of the afternoon was standing next to the crypt of Eva Peron in Recolette Cemetary. Truly moving.
So, ladies and gentlemen of the TripAdvisor world, if you want a tour of culture and history, with a healthy sprinkling of humour, BA walking tours is the one for you. I would do this tour again without hesitation and can't recommend it strongly enough.
