MINI GUIDE
Budget Buenos Aires
COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SANDRA BAO. PHOTOGRAPHS: PHILIP LEE HARVEY, LUCY WILLIAMS/ALAMY, HIROSHI HIGUCHI/GETTY, STUBBLEFIELD PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCKBuenos Aires essentials The know-how
FURTHER READING
Lonely Planet’s
Buenos Aires city
guide
(US$21.99) has
recommendations
for getting under
the skin of Argentina’s capital,
as well as features on nightlife,
eating and tango. Find Buenos
Aires in Lonely Planet’s free
Guides app on iTunes. The
Tango Singer by Tomás Eloy
Martínez (US$12;
Bloomsbury) is the tale of an
American student who
becomes immersed in BA’s
world of tango, trying to track
down a legendary singer.
Pickupthefork.com is a
food-centric online guide to
the city, with
a section dedicated
to cheap eats.GREEN SPACES
British winter is summertime in
Argentina and the city has lots of
plazas and parks to escape to
when the mercury rises.
Reserva Ecológica Constanera Sur
A landfill site in Puerto Madero
that’s become a haven for wildlife
and nature-seekers. You can rent
bikes by the north or south
entrances (Av Tristán Achaval
Rodríguez 1550).
Parque Tres de Febrero Laced with
miles of bike trails, this park in
Palermo also has a rose garden,
planetarium and lakes. Visit the
Jardín Japonés, Jardín Zoológico
and Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays
(cnr Avs del Libertador & de la
Infanta Isabel).
Parque Lezama A slightly scruffy
spot in San Telmo that hosts
chess-playing men, bookworms
toting Argentine tea (mate)
and teenagers kissing on
benches. It’s also home to a
striking 19th-century
Russian Orthodox church.Chacabuco 718; from US$56).
Four large rooms and an
on-site host make Yira Yira
Guesthouse an intimate
apartment-home for travellers.
The high-ceilinged rooms (with
shared bathrooms) face the living
area and tiny patio. It’s well
located (yirayiraba.com; Uruguay
911 No 1b; from US$62).
Claiming to be Buenos Aires’
first ‘green’ hostel, Eco Pampa is
a casual spot sporting vintage
furniture, roomy dorms and eight
private en suite bedrooms. The
rooftop has a veggie garden and
solar panels (hostelpampa.com.ar;
Guatemala 4778; from US$62).WHERE TO STAY
America del Sur is a hostel in
San Telmo and the fanciest of its
kind in BA. As well as dorms there
are private rooms, better than
those in many mid-range hotels.
There’s also a bar-bistro area and
a patio (americahostel.com.ar;TRANSPORT
Flights from Singapore or Kuala
Lumpur are relatively direct.
Take Emirates with one stop in
Dubai from either city to reach
Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport
(from US$1,472; emirates.com).
Frequent shuttle buses, operated
by various companies, leave the
airport for the city centre (tickets
US$4.95; one hour). Buenos
Aires has a huge, complex bus
system; for information in
English on how to get to your
destination by bus, see
omnilineas.com. Fares are cheap
but if you’re staying a while,
buying a reloadable pay-as-you-
go SUBE card will make it even
cheaper (sube.gob.ar).A bright dorm room at Eco Pampa,
with towels and soaps for guestsDrinking Entertainment Sights Eating Sleeping