Before we travelled to Argentina, we hadn’t appreciated the size of Buenos Aires. Our two days were going to be a taster, one day we would return.
How we got there…
We made our way to Buenos Aires in Argentina from Montevideo in Uruguay. Our chosen method of travel was the Colonia Express. Getting a ferry between Montevideo and Buenos Aires is the next quickest route after flying.
You can either get a ferry directly from Montevideo using Buquebus or get a bus to Colonia de Sacramento and then get the ferry from there using either the Colonia Express or Buquebus.
We chose the latter with Colonia Express due to timing. The only direct ferry on the Sunday that we were travelling was at 19:30 and it didn’t arrive in Buenos Aires until around 10pm. The direct ferry also cost about £70 more. We paid around £110.
Once we booked via Direct Ferries, we received an email confirmation. This stated that:
1) We needed to print the email confirmation. Not sure why this was and why just showing the confirmation email on a device wasn’t sufficient. I’m still none the wiser even after the journey as we only had to show the confirmation at the Colonia Express check in desk and it was handed back to us.
2) Check in closes 90 minutes prior to departure. We weren’t sure whether this related to bus check in or ferry check in. Not wishing to risk anything, we made sure we were at the bus terminal well a head of the 90 minutes.
Colonia Express – The Bus Part
The bus departs from Terminal Tres Cruces. We got there in an Uber from the hotel we had been staying in Montevideo.
Once we checked in, we were given boarding passes for the bus and the ferry. Also, the platform and boarding time. Having read the Comedy Travel Writing blog, we made sure that we got to platform 45 minutes before departure and we were almost at the front of the queue.
Then we stood and we waited and then we waited some more until boarding finally commenced 15 minutes before departure. We sat on the upper deck of the bus, we didn’t manage to bag the front row but did get the spacious seats at the top of the stairs.
The seats were fairly comfortable with a decent recline and a foot rest. There was plenty of overhead space for storing bags. There were toilets onboard, although we didn’t use them.
It was a pleasant enough ride, if a little steamy with a vague smell of sweaty feet.
The journey time to Colonia was approx 2.5 hours. We enjoyed the mini picnic we had purchased at the bus station. This comprised of a ham and cheese roll and a meat empanada. We then reclined our seats put the foot rest down and enjoyed a snooze for a good part of the journey.
Colonia Express – The Ferry Part
Upon arrival at Puerto Colonia, we exited the bus and joined the mini frenzy at luggage collection. We then proceeded to the check-in desk to ensure that nothing further was required from us before heading through immigration.
First stop was to load all bags on to a conveyor belt for security scanning. In immigration you have to visit two desks, one is Uruguayan passport control and the other is Argentinian passport control. We were under the impression you needed to get your passport stamped at both but apparently not. Only the Uruguay stamp was needed.
Boarding the ferry commenced about 40 minutes before departure and this time we managed to get front row seats. Overall journey time on the ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires is 1 hour 15 minutes. It was a little bit choppy at times. The sea between Buenos Aires and Colonia was extremely brown.
Where we stayed…
We booked the Live Soho Boutique & Apartments Palermo via Booking.com. The overall price benefited from a Genius discount of 20%. Plus because I had used BA Shopping as a referral site, I also received AVIOS for the booking.
I received a message a few weeks before the stay requesting a passport image. Then for some reason on day of check in, I was contacted via WhatsApp asking for it again.
For check in, we were provided with a QR code for entry to the building plus a code for apartment door. Along with this there were video instructions, very thorough and helpful. All of this made getting into the apartment easy. We also received Wi-Fi details and further information on the facilities.
The apartment itself was a small studio. From opening the door you were immediately presented with the bed on the right hand side and a small kitchen to the left. We had no plans to cook in the apartment but there was probably just enough kitchenware to make something basic. However, there was not adequate lighting in the kitchen area so if we had decided to cook we would have needed to during daylight.
The shower room was very small but the shower was more roomy than the one we had experienced in the Melia in São Paulo. Going to the toilet my husband described “was like shitting in a caravan”. The toilet paper was thin and rough but thankfully we had brought our own. Shower Gel, Shampoo and Conditioner were all provided in the shower.
In the apartment there was only one mirror, which was a small circular one in the shower room. This meant the time to get ready in the morning was prolonged as you had to wait until all showering was complete.
Some of the positives of the studio; there was a washing machine and dryer located in basement.
The area of Palermo Soho where the apartment was located felt safe and fairly affluent. The cobbled streets were lined with trees and independent shops. It had the feel of an area like Jordaan in Amsterdam or Ancoats in Manchester.
What we did and what we ate…
Burger Joint – Palermo Soho
On the day of arrival, by the time we got to the apartment it was around 7pm. When researching things to do in Buenos Aires, we had found that our favourite New York burger place, Burger Joint also had an outpost here. It was a five minute walk from where we were staying, it was a no brainier for us to get a take out.
The interior of Burger Joint was pretty much a replica of the one in NYC. The walls were covered with the same style “I was here” graffiti left by previous customers.
We went for:
- “Classic” – which was basically what they call “The Works” in New York. A burger patty with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise.
- “La Doble” Cheeseburger – this had two burger patties, double cheese and ketchup.
We ordered both with fries (obviously!). The burgers weren’t bad but Burger Joint NYC will always be number one for us.
The Yellow Buenos Aires Hop on Hop Off Bus
As we only had one full day in Buenos Aires, we needed to cram in as much as possible. We decided that the best way to do this would be to get on a Hop on Hop Off bus.
After a bit of research once we arrived on Buenos Aires, I found out there are two companies that provide a Hop on Hop Off bus service.; the Red Grayline bus or the Yellow Buenos Aires bus. Both companies do a one way loop of the city stopping at key significant points of interest. We chose to use the Yellow Buenos Aires bus. The key factor, which determined this was the location of our accommodation. The yellow bus was the only one out of the two that had stops in Palermo Soho.
We bought our tickets online at the website for the yellow bus. It cost approximately £50 for two adults for 24 hours. Once you’ve purchased the ticket, you receive a QR code, which is scanned when you get on the bus for the first time and then physical tickets are provided that must be scanned each time you get on the bus.
There are 22 stops in total and you can decide which ones you want to hop off at. Because we were short on time, we only managed to stop at two and rode the bus for the rest.
Here is a picture of the bus route. This is provided as a PDF when you buy your ticket and you can also request a physical copy when you board.
When you board you are also given a yellow set of headphones, which can be plugged and a guided tour provided of the key points of interest plus notification ahead of reaching a hop off point.
At each hop on point there is also a yellow board so that you know you are in the right place to board the bus. One other handy feature that you can use on their website is the ability to track each vehicle. The route map is provided and you can see where the next bus is in comparison to where you are. By clicking on each location, you can also get an approximate time of when the next bus will arrive.
The buses all have two decks. On the top deck the front of the bus is enclosed. If it is a rainy day, then it appeared that a cover can be put over the rest of the upper deck.
Although towards the end the bus felt slow and laborious, it was good way to see what the full city has to offer if you are short on time.
We plan to go back to Buenos Aires in the future so it gave us a good idea of areas we would want to explore if we had more time to do so.
Cementerio de la Recoleta
One of our first stops was the vast and impressive Cementerio de la Recoleta. This is home to a number of well known people. This includes Eva Peron “Evita”, the former First Lady of Argentina.
Even though we short on time we still spent about 1.5 hours there and could have spent so much longer. The design and intricate detailing of so many of the graves was remarkable.
Mercado de San Telmo
By the time we reached, San Telmo it was late afternoon and we were really running out of time.
It was such a shame because the Mercado de San Telmo was right up our street. This is the oldest food market in Buenos Aires and is full of many tempting culinary delights. Here are some of the wonders we discovered but unfortunately didn’t have time to sample.
Don Julio
As soon as we were alerted to the presence of Don Julio (which I think was via a television series but can’t remember which one), we immediately went on to their website to try and reserve a table.
This was just over two weeks out from when we would want visit. At that time, reservations were not available as the restaurant only seems to open them up two weeks ahead. We had to wait one more day before we could book.
When we revisited the website, the only options available were 7pm or 9.30pm. We booked both slots as you then have to wait for the restaurant to confirm that you can have the slot. Once both slots were confirmed, we then went ahead and cancelled the 7pm slot (or so we thought).
On the actual day of our planned visit, we realised our flight times were earlier than we thought and that eating at 9.30pm might not be the best idea given a 5am start the next day.
We decided to walk to the restaurant and see if we could change the reservation. When we arrived at the restaurant before 12pm it was already teaming with people.
We spoke to a lovely woman front of house, explained the situation and asked if we could move our reservation to earlier in the evening. She escorted us into the restaurant to check if we could. We were able to secure our original 7pm booking, which suited us perfectly.
We were able to have a quick look at some of the food and this reassured us we had made the right decision choosing this place for our evening meal.
Don Julio is situated in the Palermo Soho district. For us to get there was about a 5-10 minute walk.
We arrived on time and in the evening it was even busier than during the day. There seemed to be a number of people approaching the maître de who didn’t have reservations. We did have a reservation but were still told to join a queue that was about 30 people deep.
We waited a couple of minutes and then the queue started to move at pace. This was partly due to some people who did not have a reservation being removed and placed in a different queue. When we got to the front of the line, we confirmed our names. At this point I saw we still had a second reservation in my name so it appeared that my cancellation hadn’t worked. We hadn’t needed to visit earlier in the day.
We were then led to our table. Our reservation had noted that we would be sat on the sidewalk. Indeed we were sat right on pavement, passers by walked right behind my seat. There was no cordon to separate.
Once seated, we were provided with bread and dipping oil and some meat empanadas whilst we browsed the menu. We both decided to go for a Bife de chorizo angosto (strip sirloin) and shared a side of chips. We could have shared a steak, it was massive.
The steaks were cooked medium and this was consistent throughout. That is not an easy thing to achieve given how thick the steak was. The chips were wonderful in every way; shape, size with a lovely crispy outside and a fluffy inner.
Overall including a bottle of red wine we spent about £90.
Lucciano’s Palermo Soho
We spotted Luccianos, whilst en route to the bus stop in the morning. It had a great selection of gelato, so we made a stop on the way back from Don Julio for dessert.
It was the right choice, the gelato was deliciously creamy and the perfect end to a wonderful day in Buenos Aires.
In Summary…
We needed so much more time in Buenos Aires than we had allocated. It is a vast city, which I would recommend allocating at least four nights to. Although we saw some great sights and ate some great food, we didn’t scratch the surface. It definitely somewhere that is on the travel list for the future.