Pro tips:

No visa needed from Americans (as of writing this). I wasn’t even asked for proof of onward travel. Also sadly no stamp
Bring US dollar bills as you will get a much better rate exchanging dollars (or euros/pounds) than taking money out of a ATM. This rate is known as the Blue Dollar rate & you can check what it’s currently at here. While I was here, I received around 15% more pesos for my USD while exchanging at a Western Union.
The public transit is super easy to use (google maps works great), but you need to buy a Sube card (which sometimes can be hard to find, so just ask the front desk of wherever you are staying to help you find a store or station that sells them).
In general I felt very safe, even walking home at night, but I was in the Palermo neighborhood which is particularly busy and full of tourists. Take care of your belongings and pay attention to your surroundings, but I never felt unsafe.
Consider adding a day trip or a few days to Uruguay since it’s just a ferry away!

CITY: BUENOS AIRES

HOW LONG: 15 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I spent a total of 2 nights at a hostel when I first arrived to Buenos Aires (then I went to Uruguay for a week) and then spend 13 nights at an airbnb solo while I took Spanish language classes for 2 weeks 🙂 I stayed America del Sur Hostel which was in a cool neighborhood for walking around. The hostel had a nice common area + kitchen. The front desk was super helpful! Beds were comfy & had curtains/personal light/socket. The only complaint was that the sink in my room was outside the bathroom which meant when people arrived late or left earlier, you pretty were guaranteed to wake up since someone was using the sink 2 feet from your sleeping face Very odd design haha

For my airbnb stay I chose an apartment within a 15 min walk from my school in the Palermo neighborhood. I loved this area! Highly recommend. The airbnb itself was cute, and was perfect for a two week stay. Kitchen was sufficient, laundry & gym in the building, and grocery stores nearby. I felt completely safe walking around solo day or night as well, which is such a treat while traveling! If I were to come back to Buenos Aires I would aim to stay as close to Plaza Immigrantes as possible as I loved eating it that area.

WHAT TO EAT:

Fruto cafe – Cozy coffee/hot chocolate spot.
Le Ble – Had a bagel sandwich for breakfast near my hostel.
Casa Telma – I didn’t eat here, but it looked very cute. Had a line so it must be good!
bBlue. Deli & Natural Bar – My first lunch in Palermo was here. Cute, quiet spot with good food.
Las Petunias – Right on the main square in Palermo. Delicious (but slightly more expensive) Argentinian restaurant.
Ubu cafe – I ate here twice. Loved the Chicken Cesar wrap. It’s located right on the main square in Palermo.
NYC cookies – Always happy to find a yummy cookie spot!
La paniglia – cute cafe with cozy vibes + hot chocolate
Arte focaccia – Delicious sandwiches! Felt like I was in Italy 🙂 We took the sandwiches and headed to the park to enjoy them
The Burger Company – Wow what a delicious burger. I expected a more fast-food level burger, but we all raved about the food. Great spot for lunch.
Casa Dingo – Aussie cafe right on the main square. Cute drinks & yummy lunch food.
Lardito – incredible, elevated club sandwich. Adorable vibes and every plate was delicious and interesting. Great for trying a bunch of different dishes. Highly recommend for dinner. You could go to the wine shop and pick out a bottle for the table. This was my favorite restaurant I ate at.

Submarino – hot milk with a bar of chocolate that melts into it to make hot chocolate!

WHAT TO DO:

Weirdly because I was using this two week as a break before heading into a bust two month stretch, I actually didn’t do much while here. Instead, I got into a routine where I worked out at the tiny gym in my airbnb, walked to Spanish class which was 4 hours long, and then headed to lunch with my classmates. In the late afternoons, I would catch up on admin work before cooking at home & watching some netflix. Honestly, I absolutely loved my chill time.

Given I have very little recommendations, here is a very comprehensive, well respected blog on a complete guide to Buenos Aires 🙂

We did go to some language exchanges which were fun! They are a great way to meet people and also practice some Spanish 🙂

I also managed to get fairly sick my one weekend here However, I did go to the La Recoleta Cemetery and the Sunday market outside it. It was pretty cool to walk around the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Lots of old graves to check out.

Other than that, I just loved eating my way through all the fun & cute restaurants in Palermo with my friends.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I always felt like I would love Buenos Aires and I was not wrong! It was such a beautiful city. It felt like a mixture of Paris, Barcelona & a hint of NYC, but overall a very European vibe. I was obsessed with the tree lined streets. I took a thousand photos but none did them justice. I was quite happy to be here for two weeks and would’ve loved to be here longer, but if you are just playing tourist, 3-5 days is probably plenty (but keep a minimum of one day for a day trip to Uruguay).