Buenos Aires apartment rental...now or on arrival?
 

I'll arrive in BA 2/2/05, stay in a guesthouse for a week, using some of the time to apartment hunt for a 2 month stay. Is this a good idea, is there apt to be a good inventory of apartments to choose from by waiting. I'm leery of booking something on the Internet without seeing it or at least having a recommendation. I'm thinking of Palermo or Recoleta, a studio or one bedroom, security or secure, hopefully a washing machine, air con, clean, close to public transportation, restaurants, shops. What might I expect to pay? Any recommendations on rental agencies or should I just walk around and look on my own? Thanks for all responses and advice! P.S. First visit to Argentina!

I am only familiar with hotels there and friend's homes/condos so I cannot help you with prices and things like that. BuenosAires Herald has listings in the classified section quite often and that works well.

How much are you looking to pay per month? The good news is that February and March are off-peak months in Buenos Aires and there should be good availability because a lot of people are gone on summer vacations and the like. The downside is that the ability to see properties will be geared toward mid-week visits.

How is the weather in Argentina during the winter? (summer in the Northern Hemisphere). I am especially interested in late May/early June.

Do the museums and other interesting places tend to have shorter hours in the winter?

End of May is nice there ... although a bit wet on occassion. June can get cooler but I have not noticed tourist-type places having curtailed hours. Maybe the galleries and smaller museums may not be as lively but accessing them will not be a problem. Outdoor markets ... well, that's a different story.

June and July are my favorite winter months...

Dont worry about reduced access to public places during winter, there is no such thing in Buenos Aires. Also, if you are used to the winters in the North, our winter will be a real walk in the park... :D

www.alojargentina.com.ar

I used them in May for a 1 month stay and was more than happy with their service. Have a wide range of apartments on their website.

And don't forget to sign up on www.restaurant.com.ar

Does anyone have any experience with doing hotel internet bookings thru www.argentinaspecial.net?

I emailed a hotel directly and they said their rate is $85. This internet company says it is $68. Two other places say sold out for my dates.

Because it is 3 rooms/3 nites, I am hesitant to gamble on an agency I have no feedback on.

Thanks!

I've never booked through Argentinaspecial, but if you want to deal with a reliable travel agency, get in touch with Mike or Luciano from Argentinago. They're prompt in email response and can get better rates at hotels.

Good luck !

I also used argentinago.com for hotel reservations. They were very responsive and I would definitely recommend them.

Hola!
 

Do yo know anything about the Eva Peron museum: hours, location, etc. Thanks very much.

Museos Argentinos and Info

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday and holidays, from 2pm-7:30pm
Address Lanifur 2988 (Palermo) Telephone 4807-0306

Buses: 10, 15, 37, 38, 41, 59, 60, 64, 93, 95, 118, 128
Metro: D Line to Plaza Italia

I visited the museum a while ago, and liked it very much !

Elvis.... thanks for helping out in this thread... :D ^

I've used ByTArgentina for my last four trips of 1 month each and have been very satisfied with them. Their agency fee is only $20 and they have a very large selection, especially in the Palermo/Barrio Norte/Recoleta area. For stays of 1 month or more, they require a 1-month security deposit which is collected with your total payment upon arrival.

I've always booked my stays in advance -- ranging from 1 month to 1 week in advance.

Gaucho, con mucho gusto ! :)

I too have been very satisfied with bytargentina, since it's so easy to check out apartment availability, while alojargentina.com you have to fill out a reservation form and they'll let you know if the dates are available. It would be a hassle if you are searching for a few apartments and none were available (which happened to me)

Bytargentina's fee is $25 now, which was raised a few months ago. I was going to suggest using bytargentina when kathyoo arrives, but generally the best apartments are reserved a few months ahead. There's a slim chance that you'll find an apartment available for 2 months from your arrival, but from a limited selection.

Even though you are leery of dealing with internet bookings, I'd suggest you deal with the following companies.. Bytargentina, Alojargentina and Apartmentsba.

thoughts from a recent visit
 

I want to thank everyone here for their helpful advice -- I used MANY of the recommendations on my recent trip to Argentina.

Having been to Buenos Aires several times since the late 80's, I think I can offer some perspective on the current situation. First, for Norteamericanos, it is very cheap right now -- especially for dining and entertainment. Indeed, the rate of exchange presents a compelling reason to visit NOW. I went to a couple of good steakhouses (like Mirasol), but I think the best restaurant values were in the fancy "international" restaurants . Resto (hidden inside Montevideo 938 near the Teatro Colon) was my favorite. We had terrific "modern French" cuisine for about US$15/person for a 3-course lunch, including wine and tip! Sirop in Recolleta was good, too. It's a "punishing" pace eating two "fine dining" meals a day in BA, but if you're staying less than a week in town, you're going to want to do it. Best dining value in the world right now.

Taking in a soccer match is a must see. I've never seen anything like it -- the passion of the fans is truly unbelievable to an outsider (and the soccer is pretty good, too!). You definitely want to go with a guide. I paid 100 pesos a person (which included guide, transportation and ticket), but I suspect if you asked around, you could do this for less (suggestions, anyone?).

Attending a performance at the Teatro Colon was great, too. You do still need to go to the box office a few days before the event to get tickets. US$15 will get you a good seat. The staff at the box office is helpful, and keep in mind when they say "limited sight" they mean it! In fact, they will discourage you from buying the bad seats, but if that's all that's left, go anyway!

I'd also recommend seeing a tango show. My travel agent wanted US$50 to see "Sr. Tango," which seemed too high for BA entertainment. We went to the discount Cateratas (sp?) ticket outlet on Corrientes and got tickets for US$8 (including a very good 3-course dinner) at "Taconeado" in San Telmo. Perhaps the best entertainment deal I've ever seen! The show was quite entertaining, and no reason to pay more.

I used both the Subte (subway) and radio taxis to get around. The subway is fine and fun as a change of pace if it's convenient for your routing, although you may encounter some panhandling. No difficulty getting radio taxis, either by phoning ahead or just looking on the street for those with a lit "libre" sign. With a US$2 fare getting you most places, I used cabs extensively.

The safety situation is OK, but not great. Definitely worse than, say, a decade ago (it reminded me of NYC before Rudy Guiliani cracked down on the squeege guys). If you don't want to see people picking through garbage, stay in Recolleta. I felt safe walking most places during the day -- but at night I'd stick to the weathier neighborhoods. "Situational awareness" is an asset, and BA would probably not make a good destination for the rookie international traveler. For instance, one time I detected a possible pickpocket (casually dressed kid, about 18) following me and pulled off to let him pass me. He stopped a storefront in front of me, confirming my suspicions. I simply crossed the street and avoided any confrontation. This isolated incident should not deter anyone from visiting, but it's certainly good advice to leave valuables in a safe and your wallet in your front pocket when you're walking around.

You definitely want to book your hotel room as far in advance as possible as you can see the surge in tourism going on now (good news for the Argentine economy, I think, and with the surge in exports, probably a sign that the economic situation will continue to improve). Ditto on internal airline tickets. The US$110 roundtrip I paid to fly Southern Winds (reasonable but not great service) to El Calafate was a steal, but the flight later sold out. I highly recommend a visit to the Glaciers at that price, and would recommend staying on an Estancia -- Nibepo Aike offers the best value, IMHO, as long as you can live with comfort but not luxury. If you have reasonable int'l driving experience, best to rent your own 4-wheel drive and come and go as you please. Lunch at Casamiro in town is an extraordinary value for money. I ate at their restaurant and not the grill they opened next door, and my wife is still unhappy that we didn't go back for lunch a second time. Hard to believe you could get gourmet food in the middle of nowhere, but Argentina is like that.

I want to thank Gaucho for the wine recommendations. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say it, but I simply went to the Disco supermarket next to my hotel, which stocked most of his suggestions. The Finca el Portillo line (which Gaucho classified as "mid-level") was less than 10 pesos a bottle -- about half the other wines in that category. Did I get a deal (I haven't drunk the wine yet), or do you "get what you pay for"? I brought back almost all of them in that category (but bought extra Finca el Portillo for gifts!) so I guess I can give my own 2 cents in a few weeks.

Overall, I think folks will find Argentina these days still a "little crazy" (you'll be amazed that you avoided a traffic accident riding around). Indeed, in many respects, it's a society on the edge. My guess is that things get better and we'll all be able to visit BA many times in the future (at hopefully favorable exchange rates), but who really knows. Life is uncertain. Go now while you can.