Buenos Aires...Argentina...Never been.. - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath · 04-26-2006, 03:16 PM

Okay...so Delta has been my choice for flying for the past couple years and after this Europe trip in may...i do believe i have enough miles for an international roundtrip ticket...and since i no longer fucking trust those people...i am thinking i may want to get rid of those miles as soon as possible. I speak a little bit of spanish and would enjoy going back to a spanish speaking nation...I have yet to go to SA...Buenos Aires seems mad tight...As well as cheap as dirt...I was considering Rio but since I would be going by myself thought Buenos might be a lil safer especially cuz i have a small grasp on the language there...Anyone been to Buenos? I saw someone posted a post on it earlier this year, didn't know if they went or not...Mostly questioning budget (cuz ill fucking be wiped out clean in june from europe) and safety for individual travel...

**TheJake** · 04-26-2006, 03:19 PM

BA is a bomb time. I spent a couple months in SA a year and a half ago and spent four nights in BA. By the time my trip was over I realized how much i had loved that town and it wasn't even on my original itenerary!

SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath · 04-26-2006, 03:25 PM

Did you get enough of a feeling for the area that you would be able to reccommend the most central safelike area to stay in? I figure the biggest thing you have to worry about down there are pickpockets and those fucking bastards are everywhere...sneaky fucks...

**TheJake** · 04-26-2006, 03:35 PM

yeah man just stay at the HI hostel downtown the first night and then move to a smaller hostel in that area the second day. I got some shit stolen at the big one but i toured a couple of the smaller hostels in that area and really dug a few of them. I would have to do a hostel search to remember their names... Anyway stay down by Florida and you'll be good to go. Also the subway system there rocks so no worries with that and I never felt threatened in BA. Also get used to not even thinking about where the party is until like 1130 at night and then dont even think about sleeping till 6 or 7 am. You can literally party in that city 24/7 it's insane.

SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath · 04-26-2006, 03:44 PM

fuckin eh man...thanks...would u reccommend BA over Rio tho?

SleepIsTheCousinOfDeath · 04-26-2006, 03:46 PM

let me make that...BA over Rio or Sao Palo

**LostFarmboy** · 04-26-2006, 04:12 PM

I was in both Rio and BA about 6 months ago and i would say Rio is better, by a long way actually. You don't have to worry about your safety in either, just use your head, they're no worse than any of the European cities. BA has a real western european feel to it to me, like Italy or Spain. Rio, well it has an identity all of it's own, it aint like any other place i've ever been, so full of energy, the locals are really happy and friendly and HOT!!! The exchange rate favours BA, it was something like $1AUD = 3 pesos compared to Rio's $1AUD = 2 reals, you can look that up on a currency converter for more exact figures. I found there was more to do in the way of the solo traveller in Rio - Sugarloaf, Statue of Christ, check out a favela or two (on a guided tour of course, never go into those things on your own), Ipanema beach, Copacabana beach, markets. Where as i found myself getting a little bored in BA when i wanted to play tourist for the day - some crazy cemetery, steak houses (they have the best steak in the world).....and that was about it from memory. The nightlife in BA is freakin amazing, probably the best i have seen, but it is more like the developed nightlife of Europe. Rio on the other hand, it's nightlife is again something completely Rio, such high energy and the girls really know how to dance. You can probably do more partying in BA, but Rio has more than enough crazy parties to test your stamina.

Hostels:
BA - The Tango City - big, good fun, good blokes that work there
Rio - Mellow Yellow - big, they organise nights out for you every night, very professional
Rio - Newtons Rooftop - small, unorganised, they don't know what's going on, but simply the most fun i have ever had, i loved those guys.

**florencia9699** · 04-27-2006, 09:17 AM

Well... I can't be very objective on this since I live in Buenos Aires and I absolutely love it!! There are millions of things to do... there's tago, there's football, sight seeing, PARTYING!!.....

I guess it depends on what you preffer... if you wanna give your Spanish a try you're gonna love it here... As for money matters... you have think like you would in dollars. Hostel: 20pesos; beer: 3pesos; subway: 0.70pesos; McCombo: 10pesos; nightclub (depends how "trendy") from 10/15pesos). And now divide everything by 3.06!!!!!!

For people bearing dollars/euros it IS mad cheap...

But well, thats my two cents... LFB is a bit more advenurous ("crazy") and he loved his tour on the fabellas... hehe, but oh well... it depends on what you wanna do/see and how long you'll be staying. I've never been to Brazil, so I cant say anything on that.

You can check out the Buenos Aires site which is really quite good, with maps, descriptions, pictures, recomended self-tours, etc.

I hope this helped!!
-Florencia.-

**florencia9699** · 04-27-2006, 09:18 AM

^^PS: if you have any questions on BsAs aske me right away!!

**TheJake** · 04-27-2006, 11:38 AM

Yeah see, I heard crazy good things about Rio but I actually flew right over it and went from Santa Catarina to Salvador de Bahia.

No rio for me.

**U2fan** · 04-27-2006, 07:12 PM

I love Buenos Aires but haven`t been to Rio either.

foofiter · 04-27-2006, 07:44 PM

You have to go to rio. Period. I was in both places for extended time and loved it. You can also ferry over to Uraguay on the cheap. Uraguay is even cheaper than the 2 you listed.

Rio -- I was there for almost a month total including Carnaval this year. Simply amazing. It is paradise. The women are STUNNING, they have AWESOME beaches, and its very laid back. I will go back. Period.

BA -- I spent about 2 weeks there. Tango City Hostel. QUITE nice and cheap. It is in the San Telmo area which is a good part of town. The metro and buses are quite nice. You MUST try the steak which is awesome. I had the best steak dinner for $5 usd. I will also return to BA again.

Ask away with more questions...

Foo

**Sabrosa** · 11-24-2006, 02:45 PM

Buenas Tardes! Como estas?

No puedo escribir en espanol muy bien...entonces, yo escribire en ingles (o spangles!)

I know I have totally been absent on the board, but dang it's hard to keep up with emails, my blog and Tpunks while I'm travelling! So...sorry for surprising you so suddenly!

Anyway- I'm coming to Buenos Aires in a few weeks! I have a flight reserved into BA on December 10th. Yo llego muy temprano en la manana. Are you around in December? I would love to get together for drinks, or tango, or anything and everything! And, of course it would be great to practice my spanish, too. Si, tienes paciencia conmigo. Ja. I expect to be there for some time, as I'de like to spend the holidays there (?hay muchas fiestas y lugares muy bonitas en Diciembre?) take some tango lessons, enjoy the city..etc. So, possibly a month....

Do you have any advice on a nice hostel (hostels)?

I really hope we can get together!

Kindra

p.s. For some reason I can't send you a PM...I received a few error messages. Hopefully posting here will work!

**Sabrosa** · 11-25-2006, 07:08 AM

^ That was meant for Florencia!!

Haha...

I tried to PM, but....kept getting errors...

DJ_VeeeNoM · 11-25-2006, 09:29 AM

Yes it's worth it!

**worldwidemike** · 11-26-2006, 08:57 AM

Well, THERE you are, Kindra! I'd lost your blog address, so will now store it on my favorites so I can keep tabs on you. Hope things are going well on the journey...

Oh, and I sent Flo a PM letting her know you're trying to get ahold of her.

Take care!
worldwidemike