Cycling around Buenos Aires
Summary
Buenos Aires is one of the premier cities to visit in Latin America and no doubt one of the hubs you’ll pass through if experiencing this part of the world. Jumping on a bike, either through a tour or on your own, is a great, cheap way to check it out
Top Tip – BA bikes was great for providing bikes and taking you on a tours; otherwise just rent one and be sure to head up along the coastline of the north part of the city which is stunning on a sunny day
highlights
#1 Cycling around this awesome city, soaking up the feel of the various neighbourhoods and seeing some of the iconic landmarks
#2 Wandering through the vibrant Caminito area between Boca and the water
#3 Seeing the world famous Boca Juniors stadium
#4 Taking your time, and not in a group, through the various parks near the water. Stopping off to see some of the bizarre techno dancing, or just chilling out under the trees watching the locals enjoying the summer days
#5 Seeing the iconic Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada in the heart of BA and the political heart of Argentina
#6 Cycling by the water up to the Parque de Ninos and having a look over the Rio de la Plata - be prepared to be underwhelmed by the brown water!
Rough itinerary
- For the BA Bikes South Circuit – meet at BA Bikes at San Jose 525. Cycle through Plaza de Mayo, Puerto Madero, Costanera Sur, Barrio Catalinas, Caminto, Boca Jr Stadium, Parque Lezama, Plaza Dorrego and back to BA Bikes
- For on your own from Palermo – head towards the coast until you reach the parks of Bosques de Palermo. Cycle through the parks to the Northern tip and then make your way through parks and neighbourhoods (once having to cross the Av Leopoldo Lugones via an overpass), up to the Parque de los Ninos and Buenos Aires Playa. Continue to the northern point of Parque de los Ninos and then return the way you came to Palermo
Travel Tips
- There’s broadly two ways to do this 1. On your own; 2. Through a tour
- For on your own, wherever you’re staying will usually be able to help you out with a bike or somewhere to rent one. We were aware that some parts of BA are not as safe as others, and should probably be done with a tour rather than on your own. So we headed from Palermo to the parks of Bosques de Palermo and continued through them and up to the northern part of the Parques de los Ninos along the coast. This was really nice with the sunny day we had and let us check out some of the non touristy neighbourhoods and stare across the Rio de la Plata
- For a tour, we went with BA bikes (located in the centre on San Jose street) and they were super – good bikes, great guides, USD35 for 4 hours leaving at 930am and 230pm. You have two options – the North Circuit or the South Circuit. We went with the South Circuit which lets you check out some of the markets, the tango area, the Boca Juniors Stadium and the port
- For those who are not used to the fixed gear bikes – beware! The Dutch and the Argentinians are quite used to bikes without breaks – you pedal backwards to break. But for those who aren’t, they can take a bit of getting used to. So probably worth not screaming off at speed at the beginning until you’ve seen how good you are at breaking
- See 3 days checking out Buenos Aires for tips on other things to do in BA and the entry for a Trip to Colonia del Sacramento from Buenos Aires
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Similar experiences around the world
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone