Where to stay

Next to the city just being absolutely gorgeous and finally getting a real coffee with foamed milk outside of a Starbucks again, one of the reasons I enjoyed our time in Buenos Aires so much was the amazing hostel we stayed in. Out of all the different places I slept in my 9 weeks in South America the Chill House was my absolute favourite. The entire house was absolutely beautiful and the rooms truly felt like home. We had a double room with an ensuite bathroom and then for our last two nights we actually got to stay in the superior double, with a darling little balcony and a bath tub. The decor was just beyond cool and the great service, little library and roof top terrace did the rest. The hostel is right next to a subway station, a big mall and a super market and it was really easy to get around.

My personal highlights

If you know anything about me you are aware that I am a huge bookworm. I LOVE books. I spent so much money on them, my favourite books are literally like old friends to me and I can spend hours just completely getting sucked into a book, reading until 3 am and forgetting everything around me. So for me the Ateneo Grand Splendid was literally heaven. It is an old theatre, that is remodeled into a beautiful book store. It really blew my mind just to wonder in such a tribute to books and even though basically all of the books are in Spanish the atmosphere alone is incredible. So if you in any way like books, come here for a coffee and cake and enjoy.

Another thing I think you simply cannot miss in Buenos Aires is a tango show. I know they are dancers in San Telmo who perform during the weekends on the street, but we opted for a package deal at Complejo Tango, where you get a Tango class, a three course dinner (including all you can drink wine!!) and a really, really nice tango show. They usually have cooperations with hostels so if you talk to your reception you will probably get the whole thing a little cheaper.

Palermo and San Telmo

Palermo is Buenos Aires very own hipster quarter and the hotspot for all sorts of nightlife. I honestly cannot live without cute little cafés, nice restaurants and cool bars and this vibe is something I really missed even in Rio, which I truly love dearly. Palermo has all of this and also so many cool, unique little shops. Not to forget the amazing street art everywhere. I was so in love with Palermo and we spent an entire day strolling around, sipping actual lattes (god I missed them!) and just enjoying the scenery. I would also recommend to find a hostel here in Palermo, it is simply the nicest part of town.

San Telmo is the old bohemian quarter of Buenos Aires and where the most original Tango is danced and the biggest fleamarket in town takes place on weekends. It is also where you might want to go and get some Pizza and just do some people watching.

Free Walking Tour and Recoleta

Buenos Aires has such an incredibly interesting and unique history and I would have never been able to grasp it as well if I would not have done the Centre Tour by Free Tours. I am a huge advocate of free walking tours especially because I am such a history nerd and while we only covered a very small part of the city, we dug really deep into Buenos Aires´ rich history. We also decided to head to Puerto Madero, the very modern harbour region from where you have a great view over the skyline. and I was also forced to go on a war ship, so if you are into that that option exists.

Free Tours also offer a tour for Recoleta, which is the most posh neighborhood of Buenos Aires and full of mindblowing houses, chic restaurants and parks. We decided to explore Recoleta by ourself as the main attraction is its graveyard, where the who is who of Buenos Aires including famous Evita is buried. It sounds a little macabre, but it truly is hauntingly beautiful and the  different gravestones, little chapels and statues are so interesting so you really should check it out.

What to eat

Well obviously Argentina is famous for its steak, so there is no way around it. The best steak I had was actually part of the dinner we had at Complejo Tango, which was truly splendid! We were also lucky enough to have a really, really nice local guide who showed us around. Next to more steak he took us on a great Pizza tour along Avenida Corrientes. We just stopped at basically every Pizza place and boy there are many and just had a slice of Cheese pizza at every single one of them. As you can imagine it was the absolute best, thankyou very much. And on top of all that great fun, ice cream is apparently really huge in Buenos Aires? How could I not love this place?! We usually opted for Dulce de Leche and we were never disappointed. Then again how does ice cream and caramel disappoint.

In terms of drinks you obviously have to try Mate (which I hate in every form) the traditional Argentinian tea and Fernet Branca with Coca Cola. Let´s say I was a bigger fan of the culinary arts in Buenos Aires compared to the drinks. Sorry Argentina. However one highlight for me was the oldest café in Buenos Aires Cafe Tortoni. It is an absolute gorgeous art decor dream in the city centre and used to be the hotspot for Buenos Aires upper class in the 30s and 40s. More importantly today it serves amazing Churros and cakes and a little speciality called submarino (submarine), which is a block of chocolate that is dumped in milk to create the most amazing hot chocolate. This café is quite touristy and you may have to wait for a bit at the door as you will only be let in by the doorman when a table is available,  but it is absolutely worth it.

What we missed

Obviously there are 5000 other amazing things we could have done in Buenos Aires, but I feel like you always have to have a reason to return right?  For example we missed the flea market in San Telmo, that I would have loved to visit, we did not make it to La Boca and we did not see that huge metal flower. So that is some other cool stuff you could do. Just keep in mind that La Boca is a little rough and as with so many rough places in South America you have to be completely sure to not go into the wrong streets (for La Boca probably every street except the main street) and invest in a taxi or Uber instead of taking local buses. Other than that I am sure you will have an amazing time in Buenos Aires no matter what you do. Have you ever been? And if yes what did you like best?

The Brazilian side

If you ask me I would visit the Brazilian side first and the Argentinian side afterwards. Not only did this make more sense for  my travel route, but it also means you get the panoramic view first and then get to see close ups on the Argentinian side.

Once again we were busing our way from Florianopolis to  Foz do Iguaçu, but you can also fly. Just make sure you book your flights to the right country and don´t end up outside the Argentinian airport when you want to go to the Brazilian one. That goes especially for flies out of Iguazu/Iguaçu as with all the border controls you will most likely miss your flight if you are in the wrong country to begin with.

 Foz actually has a really, really good public transportation system meaning that there are buses getting you to and from the bus station, the airport and the national park. You just need to make sure the buses are the actual local buses and not the ones crossing the borders to Argentina and Paraguay. The international buses are orange or white, the local ones are green. Both from the airport and the international bus station for long haul buses (Rodoviária) you should take a green bus to the central bus station in town.

We stayed at the Green House Hostel in Foz do Iguaçu, which was right next to a bus station from which buses left to the national park. Next to the great location it had a nice pool, a public kitchen and double rooms as well as free breakfast.

We only came to Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazu (the Argentinian side) for two days each and one was always a travel day, where we mainly relaxed. We went to the Brazilian national park our second day. There is really no need to book a tour since it is so incredibly easy to get to the national park with public transport and it is so easy to get around in the park as well. We made a first stop at the Bird park, which is right across from the entry to the national park. The bus stop is conveniently named Parque das Aves (Bird Park) so it´s hard to miss. The entry is 40 Reais, which is around 12 Euros and it is honestly really beautiful. The most enchanting thing were the parrots, the tucans and the gorgeous butterfly house, but if you are into some more action there are also alligators and an anaconda.

The national park is just across the street from the Bird Park and consists of about three different paths leading along the waterfalls. One of them gets incredibly close to the waterfalls so bring a rain poncho or be prepared to get an overpriced one at the park. Other than that stay away from the adorable, but extremely grabby coatis and just enjoy the incredible panorama you get. 

Border crossing

You can simply take a bus from Foz do Iguaçu to Puerto Iguazu and the other way around. The international buses leave from exactly the same bus stops as the local ones. There are white and orange ones and they should say whether they go to Argentina or Paraguay, but I would always ask the driver again just to be sure. When you get to the Brazilian border you have to tell the driver to stop as you need to get a stamp from the Brazilian authorities to show you have left the country. The bus will not wait for you so you need to go the border control, get your stamp and signature and then wait for the next bus. So hold on tight to your ticket and make sure you take a bus from the same company (once again the orange/white distinction is crucial) and you can continue your journey for free. At the Argentinian border the bus will stop again, but this time the driver will wait for you. You need to get another stamp and another paper for coming into Argentina (hold on to that one until you leave the country), have your luggage checked and then make a light jog for you bus. It is a fun morning routine, let me tell you that, but people usually are really nice and everyone is as confused as you are so you will probably make it.

The Argentinian side

Puerto Iguazu is a lot smaller than Foz, which also means you don´t need to understand the entire scheme with the buses, you can basically just walk from and to your hostel. Argentinian hostels sadly only  rarely offers free breakfast or accept credit cads and you will be charged for getting cash at the ATM from which you can only take a limited amount of money. So life´s a little more complicated this side of the border.

There is a bus station in Puerto Iguazu from which you can get to a lot of other cities in Argentina and also an airport. We decided to fly out from there as buses take over 24 hours and the flight was just 30 Euros more and let me tell you if backpacking in South America taught me one thing it is that not having to sit in a bus for more than 10 hours is worth a million bucks so 30 seemed like an incredibly good deal. You can only get to and from the airport via Taxi, but they have a set price, which is not too shabby and you don´t get ripped off.

We also decided to head over to Paraguay for about an hour (to get them stamps ya know) with a little ferry. It was a nice boat ride and we climbed up to a view point and for about 2 Euros it was a nice little trip before we went to the park the next day.

Puerto Iguazu does not have the whole complicated two bus station scheme, there is just one for international and local buses and not as many differently coloured buses to get to the national park. Everyone kept raving about how you have to go at least twice to soak everything in, but if you ask me  one day is absolutely fine if you go early enough. However if you decide to opt for a second day you only pay half the admission price so if you feel like you missed out there is always that option. We also were unable to do the boat trip due to high water (and we also felt it was a bit too pricey), so you may need two days if you do that.

The Argentinian side is mainly a system of walkways and stairs on top of the falls, giving you wonderful views and incredibly walks in lush forests.  I can´t stress enough how much you have to watch out for the coatis and how careful you have to be with your food there are seriously vicious fuckers, no matter how cute they look. Other than that just enjoy your time on both sides of the border, soak in as much of the beauty around you and have an amazing time.