Cycling around Buenos Aires

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wilder-beast migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
3
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
6
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling food market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall Score
The highest score of nature or culture, + fun factor, + avoid the crowds, + the highest score of world famous or unique. Then turned into a score out of 100. More details at the bottom of the page
62 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
continent
South America
country
Argentina
Length of time
1 day or less
Rough cost
Obviously people have different tastes, so this will depend on those tastes, but this is a rough idea of price of the whole experience based on 2 people able to split the accommodation costs and excluding travel there and back
$ 35
Time of year visited
January
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site
199th/372 This travel experience's ranking compared to all the other experiences on this site
Top 60% SUMMARY RATING: Great experience

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

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