Cycling Buenos Aires

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest 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 local 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 TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
62 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
260th/454
Top 60%
continent
South America
country
Argentina
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$50 ($25-$45 in 2019 prices)
Time of year visited
January
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Big city Cycling Market
All Tags
Bustling restaurants Stadiums
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐

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 and 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

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#1 Cycling around this awesome city, soaking up the feel of the various neighbourhoods and seeing some of the iconic landmarks

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#2 Wandering through the vibrant Caminito area between Boca and the water

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#3 Seeing the world famous Boca Juniors stadium

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#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

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#5 Seeing the iconic Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada in the heart of BA and the political heart of Argentina

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#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!

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

  • 1. 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
  • 2. 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.

Places nearby we wish we’d checked out

Went to a game when Boca Junior or River Plate were playing

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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