This guide is for you if you have half a day in Buenos Aires and want the part of the city where it began: Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo, La Boca and the old docks. It deals with the choices that change how those four hours feel, starting with the one most people make without thinking: morning or afternoon.
Morning or afternoon
You choose a 07:00 or a 13:00 pick-up. On most days either works, because the stops are squares, streets and waterfronts rather than buildings with doors that open at a set hour.
Sunday is different. The San Telmo fair is held every Sunday around Plaza Dorrego and spreads along Defensa street, and it runs from about 10:00 to 16:00. On the morning slot you reach San Telmo at around 08:30, before the stalls are up. If the fair is the reason you picked a Sunday, book the 13:00 pick-up. On a Sunday 07:00 start, we change the order on the day so you reach San Telmo once the fair is up.
The morning slot has its own case. Plaza de Mayo is quieter early, and you are finished by lunchtime with the afternoon free.
When in the year
The city tourism office says Buenos Aires works all year, with an average temperature of around 18°C and no frost. The seasons run the opposite way to Europe: summer from late December to late March, winter from late June to late September.
- January and February can be humid. Light clothes, and nights stay warm.
- Winter, with July the coldest month, calls for a few warm layers, more for the evening than for a midday walk.
- Spring and autumn are the rainiest seasons, though the rain is usually light. A storm known as the Tormenta de Santa Rosa often arrives around 30 August, with heavy rain and lightning.
None of this stops the tour. On a wet day the car does more of the work between stops, and you spend longer in a San Telmo café.
How the four hours fit together
The order runs from the centre outwards and back. Plaza de Mayo comes first, then San Telmo, then Caminito in La Boca, and Puerto Madero last, on the way back to wherever you want to be dropped. Distances are short. Most of the time goes on walking, not driving.
San Telmo and Caminito take the longest. Plaza de Mayo is a walk around the square, with the Cabildo and the Metropolitan Cathedral on its edges. Puerto Madero is a stroll along the old docks to the Puente de la Mujer.
In La Boca you stay on Caminito and the streets immediately around it, which is where visitors go. Your driver waits nearby, so you are never far from the car.
Because the car is yours, the order is not fixed. If you want longer in San Telmo and only a photograph at the docks, say so in the morning. Tell your driver where you want to end up, too: a hotel, a café or a restaurant for lunch.
What you are looking at
A few facts make the stops easier to read.
Plaza Dorrego
It is a National Historic Monument, and in September 1816 the neighbours gathered here to hear the news of independence. In colonial times the spot was a halt for ox carts before they crossed a stream. The Sunday fair began in 1970, when the architect José María Peña, then director of the city museum, persuaded about thirty neighbours to sell old things from their homes. Within a year there were more than 200 antique stalls. Today you find antiques and second-hand goods in the square, with crafts, prints, leather and vinyl along Defensa.
La Boca
The city's tourism office calls Caminito a street museum. A few blocks away are La Bombonera, the Boca Juniors stadium, and the museum devoted to Benito Quinquela Martín, the painter most tied to the barrio. Fundación Proa, a contemporary art space with a terrace bar, and the Usina del Arte, a former power station turned into an arts centre, are also in La Boca. None of them is a stop on the tour. If one matters to you, tell your driver; the order can change on the day, but four hours is not long.
The Casa Rosada
Visits inside the presidential palace are run by the government and are not always available. The Museo Casa Rosada, on Avenida Paseo Colón, holds free guided visits on some weekends. Check the official site before you go. If you have a booking for either, tell us and we plan around it.
On your own, or with a car and driver
You can see all four places on your own. The squares, streets and docks are open to anyone, and none of them needs a ticket. What a private half day changes is the joins: no waiting for transport between barrios, a car from your hotel door, and a driver who waits close by in La Boca while you walk.
The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page. Our article on how private tour prices work explains why it gets cheaper per person as the group grows.
What to bring
- Shoes with a good grip. San Telmo's streets are cobbled, and they get slippery in the rain.
- Some local cash for the fair, a coffee or a small purchase in La Boca. Entrances, food and drinks are not included in the tour.
- A light jacket or umbrella in spring and autumn, a warm layer in winter, a hat in January.
- A bag you can close. You will be in crowded places on a Sunday.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits a first visit with limited time, and anyone who wants the history of the city rather than its parks. Families do well with it: the stops are short and the car is always near.
- You want Recoleta too. Four hours is not enough for both halves without rushing. Take the full-day city tour, or add the Recoleta and Palermo half day on another morning.
- Someone finds uneven ground hard. The cobbles in San Telmo are the main obstacle. Tell your driver, and the order and the length of each walk can change on the day.
- You land the same morning. Choose the 13:00 slot, and let us bring you in from the airport with our airport transfers.
- You are more than 16. Two vehicles travel together on one booking. Message us with your numbers.
Questions people ask
Is Sunday the right day?
For the fair, yes, as long as you pick the afternoon slot or reorder the morning. If you prefer quieter streets, any other day is calmer.
Can we have lunch at the end?
Yes. Tell your driver where, and you are dropped there instead of at your hotel. Lunch itself is not included.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. See our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Decide on the slot first, with Sunday in mind, and pack for the season. If you are still choosing between our days in and around the city, the guide to day trips from Buenos Aires sets them side by side. The pick-up area, timings and what is included are on the Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo and La Boca private tour page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
