Finding Your Buenos Aires Vacation Rental

An alternative to pricey hotels is to stay in a Buenos Aires vacation rental. There are literally hundreds in the city and with prices starting from around US$200 for a one-bedroom apartment for a week, you’ll need to be quick to secure your preferred dates.

Renting an apartment in Buenos Aires is becoming more and more popular. Demand has increased so much, that now the city is literally saturated with rental accommodation to suit all budgets and styles. Not surprising really, when a Buenos Aires vacation rental offers such competitive value in comparison to the hotels.

A typical beautiful wooden floored Buenos Aires apartment

We found that staying in a budget hostel in the center of town was more expensive than using a rental. It really does make great sense.

There are apartments to rent in virtually all of the central districts in Buenos Aires. Some of the more popular areas for tourists to stay in are as follows:

A Buenos Aires apartment block near Plaza San Martin

San Telmo: great for antique hunting, the markets and getting a good feel for the touristy, but charming side of the city.

Recoleta: fancy, upmarket shopping and the most desirable central district to live in. Great for Recoleta Cemetry and fine dining in the Alvear Palace Hotel.

Plaza San Martin: right at the top of Florida, this is the perfect, central location for the malls and high street shopping that Buenos Aires can offer.

Puerto Madero: with warehouse conversions springing up all over the place, this area feels very cold and sterile to me. It’s filled with bars and touristy restaurants – great if you’re feeling homesick and want TGI Fridays, but seriously lacking in any Argentinean soul. This area is very close to the central shopping street and malls.

Palermo: great for boutique shopping and good food, but a little way from the center of town. This area is slightly more residential with two or three storey houses and small conversions.

On our trip, we stayed in San Cristobel, located just west of San Telmo. This area was recommended to us by our tango teachers. They have a fabulous two bed roomed apartment in this area and highly recommended it for it’s proximity to a number of tango milongas.

The rent was cheaper as it was slightly out of the more desirable touristy districts, but offered up a real taste of what living in Buenos Aires was really like. With a couple of Subte lines close by, it made getting around really easy.

A typical Buenos Aires vacation rental will come fully furnished. Most will have air conditioning and some will have a washing machine. It’s usually no trouble though if there isn’t a washing machine as there are ‘lavandarias’ (washing services) on virtually every street. You can also expect a cable tv, fans and kitchen area as standard. The kitchen will be fully equipped.

Your Buenos Aires vacation rental will be priced on a monthly basis and you’ll pay more proportionately for a weekly rental. As I mentioned above, prices can start from US$200 a week, but expect a small apartment and basic amenities. At this price, you may also be a little way from public transport and possibly in an area that’s not so safe.

Recommended Agencies

If you go through the many rental agencies, most of which have websites, you’ll pay a little more than you would do privately. The agencies add on a fee which is directly paid by you. A good service for finding your Buenos Aires vacation rental is www.bytargentina.com.

Alternatively, you could try www.craigslist.org. There is a good selection of apartments to choose from and you’ll get the rental a little bit cheaper as there won’t be any agency fees.

If you want to splash out on a luxury apartment, there are some fabulous loft conversions and renovated town houses in Buenos Aires. So, why not think about vacationing in style? Read all about luxury apartments in Buenos Aires.

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