Buenos Aires & the Pampas
After over a decade of living, guiding and exploring the Southern cone of South America, Buenos Aires was calling. It was a tough start and Hugh, our founder, spent the first year sleeping in what was our first fixed office. Then, everything changed when he met who was to become our COO and the love of his life, Paulo Salvador Jimenez Veron. In life and business Hugh and Paulo complement each other perfectly, their love grew along with their company and today Macdermotts is one of the city’s most respected travel companies. And what a city those two immigrants decided to make their home! Buenos Aires is one of South America’s greatest metropolises and its relatively short history is one of constant drama. At its height it was one of the richest cities in the world and the contrast of the faded grandeur of the belle époque and the skyscrapers of today make it a fascinating place to wander about. The city has also always been at the forefront of Latin American art & literature and the roller-coaster politics have provided both with plenty of inspiration and emotion to draw from.
Where to go & What to do
- Have dinner with some local Tango dancers and then go out with them to a proper Buenos Aires Milonga (where people meet to dance Tango).
- Explore the river ways of Tigre and the Parana Delta, on a little boat owned and manned by one of the best Bandoneon (like a small accordion and a main instrument in a Tango quartet) players in the country.
- Learn the ways of the Argentine Cowboy, the Gauchos, in the Pampas grasslands that surround the city.
- Explore the city based around your interests: we’ve organised general tours of Buenos Aires as well as tours based around the Art scene, buying Art, Theatre, Dance, Literature, Architecture, Gardens and parks, Street Art as well as tours based around the different communities of the city including the Jewish, African and Queer communities. And, what we love most of all is investigating and creating a tour based on interest we have yet to explore. There are few people who know the city as well as us, so whatever your interest, let us know and if it exists here, we’ll create an experience based around it.
- The food scene: we’re huge foodies and the scene has long been flourishing here. As well as organising a variety of food tours and cooking classes, we’re always checking out new restaurants to recommend to our guests.
- The local art, theatre and music: we have several artists in our team and a week doesn’t go by without us checking out at least a couple of new performances so we always have an ear to the ground on what’s on and where.
Travel logistics
- Buenos Aires is lovely in the Spring (September to November) and Autumn (April to June) while the Summer (December to February) can get hot and humid, though rarely unbearably so. Winters (June to July) are mild, but it can get chilly with the occasionally foggy and misty night or morning. Rain is more common in the months of May, October and November. But no matter the time of year, Buenos Aires is generally a pleasant destination weather wise, with many beautiful sunny days.
- Buenos Aires is the hub of Argentina, and where the majority of our team lives. It is not imperative, though we do like for our trips to start here because it means the member of the team who has helped organise your trip can come and introduce themselves personally.
- There are limited flight paths in Argentina and, though we work hard to keep travel times to a minimum, you occasionally have to fly back to Buenos Aires to get to another destination. We can take the edge of this inconvenience by organising a break in the city or on an Estancia (farm) out in the Pampas grasslands.
Things to keep in mind
- Life in Buenos Aires is very spontaneous and, particularly in the art scene, it can be very last minute. Due to this, we have a tendency to book in the main parts of our services in advance and then, once we are getting close to the beginning of a trip, finalise all the various reservations for any performances, restaurants etcetera.
- Buenos Aires at first sight can appear to be a bit of a dead end for the shopaholics among us, a group which most of our team very much consider we belong to, however, it could not be further from the truth. It is just that many of the most interesting brands and talented craftspeople, are not widely publicized and, unless you’ve lived here for several years, they’re hard to find. Our team’s combined local knowledge of our hometown is about as extensive as you can get, and we are on hand throughout each of our trips to point those of our guests who prefer to explore on their own in the right direction for whatever it may be they are looking for or help them come up with some ideas for presents or souvenirs that are uniquely porteño.
- Crime is an issue in Buenos Aires, however it tends to be non-violent in the neighbourhoods your are likely to visit, if we were to organise a service where it was more of a concern we would precaution and advise you before hand. However, like any large city, keep your wits about you and don’t take any unnecessary risks.
- Drivers in Buenos Aires are not known for their patience however by following one simple rule you should keep safe: never trust a sign, traffic lights, another driver’s signal or anything else one might automatically trust in their own country. Just trust your eyes and even if its a red light on a one way street, always look both ways.
Example Itineraries
Some examples of our favourite trips that we’ve organised over the years:
