Buenos Aires: your first hour after landing
You have just landed at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires' big international gateway about 30 km south-west of the centre — or at Aeroparque, the little city airport, if your route came in regional. What waits is a grid of grand avenues and late dinners: café mornings on Avenida de Mayo, the marble city of Recoleta Cemetery, Sunday antiques in San Telmo, steak at 21:00 and a subte that runs on a card called SUBE. This guide walks the arrival in order: the ride in and what it should cost, where to sleep and how the foreign-card VAT exemption works, the first parrilla, the delta and ferry day trips, and the entry rule that changed in 2025 — health insurance, declared on arrival.
In this guide
You just landed in Buenos Aires. Ezeiza sits about 30 km out, so book the ride in — official remise desk, shuttle or app cab — and pay the hotel by foreign card to keep the 21% VAT off the room. Keep an Airalo eSIM live for the subte map and bookings, and book the Tigre and Colonia days early — the ferry sells out.
Quick facts
Airport
Getting in
Currency
Languages
Time zone
Emergency
Plugs
Tap water
Tourist tax
Best months
Map
Stays, sights, and landmarks in Buenos Aires — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
Settle in
Touch down at Ezeiza and treat the first hour as admin, not sightseeing: the airport sits 30 km out, the peso moves fast, and the ride in and how you pay shape the whole stay.
Set up data before you leave home — an Airalo eSIM loads in minutes, so maps and ride apps work from the arrivals hall. For a longer trip, compare Saily and Yesim.
The arrival checklist, in order:
- Buy a SUBE card at an airport kiosk for buses and the subte — buses take no cash
- Book your ride at the official desks inside arrivals, or use the app pick-up point — never a tout
- Keep your passport handy at check-in: foreign-card payment unlocks the 21% VAT exemption on the room
If a delayed or cancelled flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation — worth five minutes.
Getting around
Times are airport to city centre.
Official taxi or remise from Ezeiza
Book at the official desks inside arrivals — the fare is fixed by zone and agreed before you ride. Ignore anyone offering rides in the terminal itself.
Manuel Tienda León shuttle
The counter sits in arrivals at Ezeiza, and the company also serves Aeroparque. Buses run through the day and evening; the Retiro terminal connects to subte lines C and E.
App cab with Uber, Cabify or DiDi
The price is quoted in the app before you ride and swings with demand. Meet at the marked pick-up area and check the plate — never take a car offered in the hall.
Line 8 bus
Ezeiza's only city bus and the slowest option by far. SUBE card only — there is no cash fare — so buy the card at the airport kiosk before you board.
Buenos Aires runs on the subte, buses and your feet — the key neighbourhoods (Microcentro, Recoleta, Palermo, San Telmo, Puerto Madero) are flat and walkable, stitched by six subte lines. The rides in from Ezeiza:
Choose the remise when you land tired — a fixed fare, agreed at the desk. Choose the bus only with light luggage and daylight: very cheap, but a working city bus, not an airport express.
Or pre-book: a Kiwitaxi transfer or Welcome Pickups puts a driver in arrivals at a fixed price. Driving yourself, price it on AutoEurope first — a car is a burden in the city, useful only for delta and pampas days.
One card runs the rest: SUBE — about ARS 1,000 (checked October 2026) at kiosks, subte stations, tourist assistance centres and airport kiosks; top up the same way. Buses are SUBE-only, no cash; the subte also takes contactless cards and phones at the same fare, but buses still need one.
In the city
Start at Plaza de Mayo, where the city began. The pink Casa Rosada faces it from the east, with the Metropolitan Cathedral, where Pope Francis was archbishop, on the north side. On Thursday afternoons the Madres circle the Pirámide de Mayo at 15:30, as they have since 1977.
Walk Avenida de Mayo to Congreso, the Paris-style boulevard of domes and cafés, then ride subte line D to Recoleta. Recoleta Cemetery is a marble city of mausoleums: foreign visitors pay at the Junín 1760 gate, about US$13 to 15 by card, and Evita's Duarte family tomb draws the longest pause.
Tour the Teatro Colón, the opera house on Cerrito 628, famed for its acoustics. Guided tours run through the day in Spanish and English; if a performance fits your dates, book it.
Spend Sunday in San Telmo, when the Feria fills Defensa with antiques stalls from Plaza de Mayo to Plaza Dorrego. Pair it with Caminito in La Boca: two painted blocks of corrugated-iron colour near the old port, best in daylight.
Browse GetYourGuide for city tours, tango shows and football days, and compare Klook when stacking activities.
After you land in Buenos Aires: Bookable experiences
Where to stay your first nights
Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires.
Best for the grand-hotel splurge — the Álzaga Unzué mansion, the Elena steakhouse and a garden pool in RecoletaSleep at Posadas 1086/88 on the Recoleta edge — a modern tower behind the 1920 Álzaga Unzué mansion, with 165 rooms, the Elena steakhouse and Pony Line bar, a garden restaurant for Sunday asado, a Roman-style pool and a spa. Book it for the city's definitive grand-hotel stay.
Hotel Madero Buenos Aires, WorldHotels Elite.
Best for dockside calm — an indoor pool, rooftop terrace and spa on the Puerto Madero docksStay on the Puerto Madero docks at Rosario Vera Peñaloza 360, Dique 2 — 197 rooms over the water, an indoor pool, rooftop terrace and spa, the Microcentro a short walk over the bridges. Book it for resort calm inside the city grid.
Milhouse Hostel Avenue.
Best for social budget beds — a 1905 mansion on Avenida de Mayo with a rooftop bar and daily activitiesBed down at Avenida de Mayo 1245 in Montserrat, a restored 1905 mansion two blocks from the Obelisco — dorms and private rooms, all en-suite, a rooftop terrace and bar, and a daily programme of walking tours, tango lessons and football tickets. Book it for the social version of hostel life; guests are 18 and over.
Base in Recoleta or Palermo on a first visit — Recoleta for grand avenues and classic sights, Palermo for restaurants and late evenings. Puerto Madero is sleek and quiet; San Telmo the old city.
Book well ahead for the spring and autumn peaks, and pay by foreign card with your passport at check-in to keep the 21% VAT off the room.
Where to eat first
Eat late and eat beef — porteños sit down at 21:00 or later, kitchens stay open past midnight, and the parrilla is the national art form. Three first stops:
Don Julio, Guatemala 4699, Palermo.
Book weeks ahead — the corner parrilla on Guatemala and Gurruchaga holds a Michelin star and a World's 50 Best ranking for its dry-aged bife de chorizo, grilled provoleta and deep wine cellar. Lunch is the quieter sitting if dinner is full.
El Preferido de Palermo, Jorge Luis Borges 2108, Palermo Soho.
Eat at the pink 1885 corner store a block from Don Julio — family-run, a tavern since 1952, serving milanesa, house charcuterie and vermouth on tap to a mostly local crowd. Walk-ins stand a chance here.
Café Tortoni, Avenida de Mayo 825, Montserrat.
Start a morning at the city's grand café near the Obelisco, pouring coffee since 1858 — order churros with thick hot chocolate and watch the tango-era room fill up.
Save room for a neighbourhood parrilla night and a milanesa sandwich from a bodegón (old-school canteen). For parrilla tours and cooking classes, browse the Buenos Aires listings on GetYourGuide and book ahead.
Day trips and more
Three escapes cover the essentials: the delta, the aristocratic suburb on the way to it, and a colonial town in Uruguay. Bring your passport for the ferry.
Tigre delta and Puerto de Frutos
Ride north to Tigre and board a boat for the Paraná delta, where houses stand on stilts over brown-green channels, then walk Paseo Victorica and browse the Puerto de Frutos market. The guided version runs five to six hours with hotel pickup and rates 4.5 out of 5 — from about US$48. Check availability →
San Isidro and Tigre, privately
The private run: San Isidro first — cobblestone streets, mansions and a neo-Gothic cathedral over the ravine — then Tigre for a delta cruise past stilt homes and Sarmiento's island house. Five hours, hotel pickup and drop-off, from about US$119 a person. Check availability →
Colonia del Sacramento by ferry
Check in at the Buquebus terminal by 07:15 with your passport: a real border crossing, immigration both ways. The ferry takes about an hour and a quarter across the Río de la Plata, then Colonia is yours for seven hours — the Street of Sighs, Plaza Mayor, the lighthouse and the gate of a Portuguese colonial town founded in 1680. Back by about 18:15, from about US$88. Check availability →
Leave a spare day for MALBA in Palermo, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid theatre bookshop, or a football match.
When to go and what it costs
October and November bring spring — mild days, café season and jacarandas turning whole avenues violet; March to May runs a close second, warm, golden and calmer.
December to February brings the heat — humid days over 30 °C in a city half-emptied of locals. June to August is the mild, grey, cheapest winter.
Budget in dollars; the peso follows. A subte or bus ride costs about US$1; a city taxi across the centre about US$5 to 8; a serious parrilla dinner with Malbec from about US$25 to 40 a person; the big day trips US$48 to 119. Peso prices, checked October 2026, will drift; dollar anchors move more slowly.
What to pack
Tap items to check them off — your list is saved on this device.
Pack for a walking city with changeable shoulder seasons — avenues and late dinners:
- Comfortable walking shoes Shop walking shoes on Amazon →
- Sunscreen Shop sunscreen on Amazon →
- Reusable water bottle Shop water bottle on Amazon →
- Phone charger and power bank Shop power bank on Amazon →
- Daypack Shop daypack on Amazon →
- Sunglasses Shop sunglasses on Amazon →
- Light rain jacket Shop rain jacket on Amazon →
Add a Type C and I adapter — Type I's angled pins catch most visitors out — a layer for spring and autumn evenings, and shoes for wet cobbles in San Telmo and La Boca.
Language, visa and entry
✓ Visa-free entry
Spanish runs the city in its own dialect — vos for you, y and ll pronounced "sh", sentences seasoned with che. A Spanish greeting before a question is local etiquette.
Six phrases do most of the work:
Sort entry paperwork before booking anything non-refundable. Most visitors — US, Canadian, British, EU, Australian and New Zealand nationals among 120-plus nationalities — enter visa-free for up to 90 days, extendable once. The old reciprocity fees were scrapped years ago; nobody should be charging you one.
Since 2025, under Decree 366/2025, foreign visitors must hold health insurance for the whole stay, declared on entry — keep the policy and proof of onward travel on your phone.
The Colonia ferry is a full exit and re-entry — your 90 days restart on return.
Safety and health
Book rides at Ezeiza the official way
Arrivals has official taxi and remise desks with fixed fares — use them, or the marked app pick-up area. Walk past anyone offering rides or currency exchange in the terminal: unofficial drivers overcharge, and street-rate money changers are the classic first-hour scam. Never change money with a stranger.
Keep your phone low-profile on the street
The common crimes are pickpocketing on crowded subte cars and phone snatching — a hand through a taxi window, a grab at a café table edge. Keep the phone in a pocket between uses and use the hotel safe for passports and spare cards.
Ride metered or app-priced after dark
City taxis run on the meter; Uber, Cabify and DiDi quote the price before you ride. For remises, agree the fare before the door closes. Restaurant districts stay busy past midnight — walk the lit avenues and take a car for the last stretch.
Drink the water, cover for mosquitoes, insure the trip
Tap water is safe; the health points are summer heat and dengue in the warm months — use repellent in parks and by the delta. Health insurance is now an entry requirement as well as common sense (see Language, visa and entry). For anything serious, dial 911; the tourist police handle visitor cases in several languages.
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The AmericasFrequently asked questions
The arrival, the SUBE card and the taxes, in short.
Facts checked October 2026.
Official taxi or remise from the desks inside arrivals — fixed fare about US$40, 45 to 60 minutes to the centre. Cheaper: the Manuel Tienda León shuttle (about US$13) to its terminal by Retiro and Puerto Madero, app cabs (about US$30), or the line 8 bus (under US$1 on SUBE, about 90 minutes).
Long-haul and most international flights use Ezeiza (EZE), about 30 km out. Aeroparque (AEP) sits inside the city, handling domestic flights plus regional routes like Santiago, São Paulo and Montevideo — a much shorter ride in.
Yes for buses — they take no cash. Buy SUBE at kiosks, subte stations, tourist assistance centres and airport kiosks (about ARS 1,000, checked October 2026) and top up there too. The subte also accepts contactless cards and phones at the same fare.
Foreign visitors paying with a foreign-issued card (or a transfer from abroad) do not pay the 21% IVA on the room, or breakfast when inside the rate. Show your passport at check-in, ask for the class "T" invoice, and never pay cash — cash loses the exemption.
US, Canadian, British, EU, Australian and New Zealand nationals (among 120-plus nationalities) enter visa-free for up to 90 days. Since 2025, Decree 366/2025 requires health insurance covering the whole stay, declared on entry — keep the policy and proof of onward travel on your phone.
October and November for spring and the jacaranda bloom; March to May for warm, golden autumn days. December to February is hot and humid; June to August is the mild, quiet, cheapest winter.
Prices are typical 2026 rates in US dollars (USD); peso amounts were checked in October 2026 and drift quickly.
Buenos Aires, in your pocket
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Sources and last verified
Airport transfers against operator and airport sources: Tienda León runs the airport shuttle from both terminals; the line 8 bus is Ezeiza's only city bus, SUBE-only; app cabs operate legally. Transport against city sources — contactless payment accepted on the subte since December 2024; SUBE still required for buses. Hotel VAT exemption against the foreign-visitor IVA rules: 21% off the room and in-rate breakfast for foreign-card payment against a passport, on a "T" invoice; no city tourist tax. Entry against Decree 366/2025 and the live Bariloche guide: visa-free 90 days for US, Canadian, British, EU, Australian and New Zealand nationals; health-insurance declaration required since 2025. Recoleta Cemetery fee against 2026 visitor sources: foreign visitors pay by card at the Junín 1760 gate (quoted ARS 16,100 to 24,030 — the dollar range is printed). Restaurants against the houses' own listings and Michelin. GetYourGuide products opened and read: the Tigre, private San Isidro and Tigre, and Colonia ferry tours. Hotels opened on Expedia: Four Seasons and Hotel Madero. Photo credits follow the spec file. Last verified October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.