We’ve been back in Buenos Aires for two weeks now and it definitely feels like home again. We so enjoyed our first trip to Buenos Aires in January-February 2024 that we knew we’d want to return very soon. Of course, there are many other places in the world that we also wanted to visit so we’ve just now returned two and a half years later. Buenos Aires is different in many ways from our last visit (more on that below) but still a wonderful, beautiful city.

Arrival and Airbnb

Our travel day from the Salta region was pretty smooth. We returned our rental car at the airport and checked our luggage with almost no line. In fact, the airline, Aerolineas Argentina, didn’t even charge us for our bags being over their stingy 15 kilogram weight limit (most have a 23 kilogram or 50 pound limit; this airline charges an extra fee at the airport for bags between 15 and 23 kilograms). It may have been because our flight had already been delayed by an hour with more delays to come. It took us quite an effort to find the airport lounge, which had been moved to outside of security due to renovation happening at the airport, but we finally found it and enjoyed a nice breakfast while we waited and waited for our flight to depart over two hours late.

We flew into Jorge Newbury airport, which is close to our neighborhood, so it was easy and affordable to get an Uber to bring us to the Airbnb. Although we really liked our prior Airbnb in the Cañitas section of the Palermo neighborhood, it was too small for us to choose again even if it had been available (though I still recommend it, especially for a week rather than a monthlong stay). We’d wanted to stay in the Palermo neighborhood, ideally close to the Parque Tres de Febrero where Chad likes to run. It’s about a 20-minute walk from this Airbnb, which is just off the main thoroughfare Avenida Santa Fe.

This apartment is much bigger than our prior one and very comfortable, though admittedly a bit chilly. October is spring in Argentina and during our prior stay it was summer. We’d expected spring to be a bit warmer since summer was quite hot. Most days so far have been highs in the low 60s and overcast or drizzly. However, it was 74 yesterday with more 70-degree days on the horizon late next week, so that should improve things. The apartment does have electric heating that has worked okay. And it has a true office for Chad, which he’s been using quite a lot!

Food and Money and Fun

The bigger change from our prior trip to Buenos Aires is that it’s not quite the incredible value it used to be. Our lodging wasn’t seem much more expensive considering the much larger size. Last time we paid $237 per week and this time it is $262 per week, only a 10% increase that is well worth the space. But food costs, especially dining out, has increased dramatically. I was aware of this and gave us a much larger food budget to work from ($325/week now compared to $225/week then), but the cost of dining out has doubled or more. We hope that is because of higher wages being paid to their staff. 

Last time we were here, there was runaway inflation and currency devaluation, which meant we got a lot of bang for a US dollar. Some of that seems to have stabilized a bit, though the price of their currency has fallen a bit since our arrival in northern Argentina six weeks ago. The rate on Google was about 1500 pesos to $1 in early September and it’s 1530 pesos now. 

Last time I planned ahead and brought plenty of crisp new $100 bills to exchange at the cambios, which tend to give a similar rate to what you see on Google. I completely forgot about that this time so we’ve used a mix of ATMs giving us around 1450 pesos for $1 and Western Union, where I’ve been able to get an even better rate, most recently 1572. Since there seem to be more Western Unions around than ATMs, that works especially well, but requires som planning ahead.

Our first major outing was to walk through Parque Tres de Febrero. We’d planned to try to see a movie but arrived to find out that tickets were 21000 pesos (around $14), which is more than double what we pay for Value Tuesday at our home movie theater. So we chose a walk instead, revisiting the many plazas and gardens, then stopped for a drink in a cafe under the train tracks when it started raining. We then revisited our old Cañitas neighborhood and ended with pizza at an old favorite, Romario Pizzeria. 

To give a sense of the difference in restaurant prices, back in January 2024, we paid $22 for a pizza, salad, and bottle of wine. This year, for a pizza, salad, and a half-carafe of the house wine, we paid $45. That’s more than we paid for a fancy steak dinner out back then at our former favorite restaurant here, Duque Fuego (which has since closed). Last night, we revisited an Armenian restaurant we went to twice in January 2024. Back then, we paid $30 for each visit. Last night, we paid $85, almost three times as much. Before dinner, we revisited Backroom Bar, which has live jazz in the early evenings. In January 2024, we paid $22 for a cocktail, two glasses of wine, and the cover charge. Last night, two cocktails, a beer, and the cover was exactly double that. These amounts include tips, so at least the wages are higher in that regard. While I was prepared for costs to be higher, seeing them double or more has been a bit surprising. However, we’ve been able to stay on or under budget for these first two weeks.

Luckily, the grocery prices haven’t gone up near as much and one thing that remains a great value in Argentina is alcohol (when bought in stores). We’re enjoying fabulous wines from Mendoza and Salta, the cheap local Campari, and we even picked up some gin and vermouth to make negronis at home. Chad also got some Cynar 70 (an amaro he’s wanted to try), Tia Maria (a dark coffee liqueur), and a local Italian-style nut liqueur. We certainly won’t finish all this (contrary to what this blog sometimes implies, we don’t actually drink that much), but it’s all inexpensive enough that we’ll leave it behind with no regrets. Chad is also still hoping to bring a few unopened bottles home, but we still need to research luggage weight limits and customs restrictions. 

Our other outing was to the Museo Bellas Artes, which happily is still free. We were glad to pay a 9000 peso ($6) donation for our backpack storage, though they also allow you to keep your bag if you wear it on the front. We really enjoyed the temporary architecture exhibit that featured structures on Antarctica and revisiting several favorite pieces from the permanent collection. We followed up our museum visit by returning to our neighborhood and grabbing dinner from Chori, which specializes in choripan (Argentine sausage sandwich). 

We also took a day trip out to the town of Tigre this week, but I’ll save that for its own post. It was a lot of fun. We’ve also enjoyed daily walks in our neighborhood and a Saturday cafe visit, one of our favorite urban activities.

Summary

We wondered if being in a more expensive Buenos Aires would diminish our appreciation for the city, but even though we’re paying a lot more, we’re still enjoying it. However, it lacks some of the magic we experienced on our first visit being able to live so large so cheaply. If that means better wages and conditions for the people here, then we don’t mind the trade-off. However, we’ve had a few conversations with local residents sharing that times are still really tough economically in Argentina. 

We’ll do our best to stimulate the local economy with our own spending over our remaining two weeks here. I hope those weeks will also bring a little less work and slightly better weather. Either way, we’re happy to be back in Buenos Aires.