Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento Day Trip

It feels like I’ve been to Colonia del Sacramento (in Uruguay, a short hop across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires) for a day trip more times than I’ve eaten Argentine beef. And believe me, that’s a hell of a lot of times!

Now I know that this is a blog about the city of Buenos Aires, and Colonia is not only a different city entirely, but also in a whole other country… but it is such a popular day trip for people visiting Buenos Aires, that it justifies a few words from me here (well OK, I waffle, so it will probably be a lot of words).

I have always found it funny that in guide books, websites, forums etc, a regular answer to the common question “what can I do in Buenos Aires, Argentina?” is “visit Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay”. This is especially comical for me because it reminds me of a joke I once heard from a stand-up comedian back in Coventry, England. It went a little something like this…

“When I came to Coventry last night I asked at the hotel what there is to do in the city. After a little thought, the only thing they could suggest was ‘go see Warwick castle’. I asked them, ‘but isn’t that in Warwick, not Coventry?’, to which they shrugged and gave a nod.”

“To recap, the quick answer to the question ‘what should I do in Coventry?’ is ‘LEAVE! NOW! GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN’”

So apparently, thinking along these lines, a quick answer to the question ‘what should I do in Buenos Aires, Argentina?’ could be not just “leave the city”, but also “get the hell out of the country“. Just to be on the safe side.
Obviously, given the name of this blog, this is not a sentiment I would fully endorse! However, if you are visiting Buenos Aires for a fairly long period, or are an expat living here (perhaps in need of a 3 monthly tourist visa renewal), then a trip to sleepy old Colonia del Sacramento does indeed make for a nice day trip, to get away from the crazy, busy city of Buenos Aires. Also it’s nice to remind yourself of what the horizon actually looks like.

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My Guided Walking Tours of Buenos Aires are Back!

Some eagle-eyed readers may have noticed from my About Me and Buenos Aires Tours pages that in the past few days I have begun to offer paid guided tours of Buenos Aires again.

This wasn’t exactly planned, but I’m very happy about it, because tour guiding is probably the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had (for those of you not familiar with my past, I was a tour guide here in Buenos Aires for about a year, up until this time last year).

As I say, it’s all started up again a little by chance. I recently put up a suggested walking tour of Buenos Aires City Center on this blog, which is intended to be used by anyone that wants to as a free self-guided tour of this great city.

Literally the day after I posted, some brothers from the US on holiday in Argentina emailed out of the blue, asking me to give them the tour I posted on a private guided basis. I had some time free, so I thought ‘why not’?

After some lightning quick revision and a practice tour with my friends (it’s amazing how fast the names, dates, anecdotes and jokes came flooding back), I gave the tour, mainly to see how I would feel returning to this line of business. Not only did I enjoy it immensely, but the brothers also loved the tour… so much so that they persuaded me to give them an off-the-cuff tour of San Telmo and La Boca a couple of days later. They were so nice and enthusiastic about my tour guiding, that it gave me a feel good factor and the urge to return to guiding tours around Buenos Aires.

Book a Private Walking Tour of Buenos Aires

And so, here I am, looking for people who would like to take a walking tour in BA. I like to think of myself as both a mainstream blog writer and tour guide - I’m not offering ‘the other side of Buenos Aires’ or concentrating heavily on specialist areas such as history, architecture or tango, but instead trying to give an overview of many of the major sightseeing attractions in an enjoyable, informative manner, while pointing out interesting little details and stories that you may otherwise have missed. So…

If you like the way I write in this blog, and are planning a trip to Buenos Aires, then please consider booking a private walking tour of Buenos Aires City Center with me.

For more details and a booking form, please go here:

BOOK MY BUENOS AIRES WALKING TOURS

At the moment I am only offering the city center tour, which is an excellent introduction to the key sights and history of Buenos Aires, but fairly soon I will be offering other walking tours of barrios such as San Telmo, Recoleta, and La Boca. So keep checking back, and please wish me luck with my return to the exciting world of tour guiding!

Buenos Aires City History Tour: Plaza de Mayo, Avenida de Mayo, Plaza Congreso

As I am currently offering private guided walking tours around Buenos Aires, I decided to try and come up with some innovative ideas to promote my services. All the feedback I get is that I am a very good tour guide, which is all well and good, but no use if not many people find out about my tours!

The first idea that came to mind was to post up here some edited-down versions of the walking tours I offer, along with some pictures, directions and maps, to firstly prove that I know what I am talking about, and secondly to give you a brief idea of what my tours cover. If you want to book a guided walking tour with me, please go here: Buenos Aires Tours

There is also the added benefit that anybody thinking about doing some DIY walking tours during their visit to Buenos Aires can print and use my suggested routes, completely free!

The first tour route is what I call the ‘Buenos Aires City History Tour‘ - covering the historical heart of the city and many of it’s most important buildings, in addition to a lot of fantastic architecture, and some great cafes. It starts in Plaza de Mayo, home to the executive arm of the Argentine government (the Casa Rosada), ends in Plaza Congreso outside the legislative arm (the Congress building) and walks down Avenida de Mayo in between, the ‘grand boulevard’ of Buenos Aires that connects these two most important of Buenos Aires structures.

So, if this sounds like the kind of tour you’ll be looking for during your visit to Buenos Aires, then either print out this blog post to do a self-guided walking tour, or contact me to book this as a private guided walking tour - something that I can assure you will be far more enjoyable and hassle-free than struggling round the busy city center with an upside down map clasped in your hands! Read the rest of this entry »