Finally! You’ve made your decision: next trip will be Buenos Aires! “Nobody is going to stop me, I am going to experience every great part that the porteño culture has got to offer!”
But then a couple of questions arise. Who am I going to bring? Where should I go? What should I bring? I cannot help you with the first question. If you want to have answers to the second question you’ll find the blogs written earlier pretty useful, and now I will try to guide you through the third question.
First of all I think I need to save you from the mistake I made (what better way is there to learn, than from other peoples mistakes, right?!). For all the people from the northern hemisphere: Winter and Summer are working the other way around here. I know that South America sound warm, but Buenos Aires is pretty cold in July and August, and do not expect a white Christmas in December because the sun will shine and it will be very hot and humid. So check the average temperature for the month(s) you’re a going to visit and pack your clothes carefully.
In case you will be traveling around in Argentina you will probably be in buses a lot. Buses are very well organized in Argentina and they are pretty comfortable as well. However, there are two minor things you should think about when you will travel by bus:
- Argentine is a very big country, so don’t be surprised if the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B takes 15+ hours The more expensive companies will give you food/blankets/pillows etc. during the trip, but not all companies do this . So don’t forget to bring your travel pillow and blanket and some snacks.
Being a male, I apologize, I cannot really advise women on the amount of shoes they should bring. In the end I will always advise the wrong amount, so I will not even try to go there! But I can advise you on two kinds of shoes you should definitely bring when you are down in Argentina. First of all, when you are in Buenos Aires, you have to try dancing the Tango. Even people who are not able to dance at all (as myself) should try it once to really experience the porteño culture. Thus, having comfortable dancing shoes is something you should consider bringing down. Secondly, Buenos Aires is, despite the crazy porteño drivers, is a great walking city, so it’s nice to wander around the different neighborhoods. Which means that good walking shoes are a must. I can tell you from my own experience that walking around Buenos Aires a whole day in flip-flops is not exactly the most enjoyable experience.
Language-wise, Buenos Aires is pretty cosmopolitan, and plenty of (young) people will be able to help you in English. But most portenõs love to see you (at least try) to speak a bit of Spanish. Their help will be a lot better when they actually see that you want to try talking with them in Spanish. Bringing a small dictionary could be a great addition to your trip. Start your conversation with a friendly “hola, que tal?” and the porteños will start loving you just a little bit more.
In the end do not really worry amount the stuff you need to pack. You will always bring too much stuff and you will regret not being able to buy more souvenirs because they will not fit in your bag. Do not forget that Buenos Aires is city with about 12 million people, which means plenty of shops
