Argentina is one of the largest countries in South America. Argentina is home to gorgeous mountains (looks @ Patagonia), to incredible wine, and to old, European-style buildings in bigger cities like Buenos Aires. Oh, and I pigged out on the Churrasco.
But no matter what, when you’re with Argentinians, please don’t say “Che Boludo”.
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For this trip, I flew to Buenos Aires from Houston on a United flight using my miles.
Anyways. Here are my top 3 things to do in Argentina:
1. Buenos Aires – Obelisco
And this is the part where my friends roll their eyes at me when I say, “Have you actually been to Buenos Aires if you didn’t stop by the Obelisco?”
The iconic monument you always see on the news or in pictures easily identifies the city of Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires – Obelisco
This monument sits on the intersection between Avenida Corriente and Avenida 9 de Julio. The great thing about the monument is that it’s walking distance to a lot of places I’m about to mention in the Honorable Mentions section below, such as (with the Google Maps links): Puente de la Mujer (to make it to Puerto Madero), Plaza Del Congreso, Cafe Tortoni.
2. Iguazú Falls
There are two sides to Iguazú: the Argentinian side, and the Brazilian side. For this section, to make things clearer, I will refer to the Argentinian side as “Iguazú” (Cataratas de Iguazú) and the Brazilian side as “Iguaçu” (Foz do Iguaçu).
The best way to get to Iguazú is to fly. The flight wasn’t too expensive – it was around $150 USD Roundtrip.
The main difference I noticed between Niagara Falls and Iguazú was that Niagara Falls felt more like a mini city and Iguazú was a national park.
I didn’t book anything beforehand because I didn’t need to. I stayed at the Tucan Hostel and reserved transportation for Iguazú the day before. I spent a full day on the Argentinian side. It would not have been sufficient if I had spent less than a full day.
By the way, I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
Iguazú Falls
Iguazú Falls
During the evening after I came back from Iguazú, I stopped by the intersection point among the three countries: Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil.
This place is called Hito Tres Fronteras (Google Maps location). Standing from Argentina, on the left side we have Paraguay, and on the right side we have Brazil:
Hito Tres Fronteras
The next day, I made it over to Iguaçu, the Brazilian side – although (and this is the part where I avoid eye contact with my Brazilian friends)… although the Argentinian side is way better, I’m really glad I went over to the Brazilian side to get the full experience of the national park. Again, this was arranged, hassle-free, and directly at my hostel.
National Park
It took about 1-2 hours for passport control one way, and 1.5 hours to complete the Brazilian tour. I easily made it to my flight on the same evening at the Iguazú airport.
So btw, the Brazilian consulate site here shows if you’re able to visit Brazil without a visa. If you are a US citizen, it’s been visa-free as of the fall of 2019. Yay!
3. Buenos Aires Caminito
Caminito is a bit far from San Telmo and Palermo in Buenos Aires, so I took an Uber. I came across a lot of local mini-shops as well as delicious restaurants.
Side Note: I was tempted to stop by a parrilla stand because the area has meat stands everywhere.
I also found impressive art and graffiti around the area. I spent about 3 hours (not counting eating) here and I was like ok great but back to partying in Palermo plz thanks.
Havana Gaminito
Havana Caminito
Honorable Mentions
Buenos Aires: with Google Maps links: Puente de la Mujer (to make it to Puerto Madero), Plaza Del Congreso, Cafe Tortoni.
I want to mention that I also stopped by Cordova for 3 days. I really liked (with Google Maps links) Paseo del Buen Pastor – and right next door you have the most famous church, Iglesia de los Capuchinos. The street markets called Paseo de las Artes were also super cool.
Where I Stayed
Buenos Aires – Palermo
When people talk about places to stay in Buenos Aires, it’s typically down to two neighborhoods: Palermo (modern, lots of bars/restaurants) and San Telmo (good, central location to tourist areas).
I chose to stay in Palermo at an Airbnb. There are many great options in the vicinity.
If I had more time, I would have…
Too many to list. First that comes to mind:
Closing Remarks
The more I write about Argentina, the more I want to go back. Brb, looking at plane tickets right now.
I think it’s interesting that, for example, in Mexico, if you see somebody blonde, you think – oh, they’re foreign. In Argentina, if you see a blonde – you would not have any idea if they were foreign or a local.
There’s a huge European influence on this country, and you also see that in the buildings (yea, I just compared buildings with people). It only took me a week and lots of white hairs later to understand the Argentinian Spanish accent, but I survived. I’ll be sure to come back to this country soon.
