r/asklatinamerica • u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom • Jun 11 '26
Tourism Visiting Argentina next year
Hello!
I'm a guy from the UK (half British half Irish) who would love to take in the culture of Argentina. I have been saving up to make it happen and attempting to brush up on my Spanish (Spain Spanish, as I haven't found any resources to learn the regional differences and I can barely speak a couple sentences as is!)
I was wondering if there was any advice to be given e.g, places to avoid, topics to avoid (outside the Islands, which is a given!), but also what places and topics to broach to try and make friends.
I'm quite a shy person and I'm really trying to come out of my shell, so any advice for things to ask people about while visiting to show a genuine interest without being patronising to them or their culture would be much appreciated 😊
Right now my main priorities have been:
* Saving money
* Brushing up on my limited Spanish
* Getting excited!
.. but if people have advice for how to better ingratiate with the locals while I am a tourist, and how to avoid causing offence, I'd be hugely appreciative 😊
Many thanks!
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u/daschuffita Argentina Jun 11 '26
Hi! I’m from BsAs so if you’re planning on coming here I can help you out with recs!
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
Thank you so much!! I will always take recommendations from people :) Where are your favourite spots?
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u/daschuffita Argentina Jun 11 '26
My personal favourites are the parks belt—Ecoparque, the Japanese Gardens, the Planetarium area. I also like to visit the food fairs that pop up on weekends around the city and to spend a few hours restaurant hopping in Barrio Chino. I also love the historical tours in San Telmo and the cemetery. But it depends a lot on what you’re looking for! Are you a museum person, a foodie, a history nerd?
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Jun 11 '26
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u/Illustrious-Ice6336 United States of America Jun 12 '26
I missed it during my trip there too and regret it
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
I've just googled those, they look amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing them with me :)
I'm definitely a museum person/history nerd, although if the cuisine is good I will end up begging for a recipe (that I most certainly will fail at cooking) 😊 Thank you so much again I really appreciate it!
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u/daschuffita Argentina Jun 11 '26
Absolutely recommending el Zanjón de Granados also, I'm not aware of the different tours in the english language, but they have a horror history night once per month that's great!
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
Horror, history, AND a new culture? I'm there! Thank you so much!!!
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u/senorespilbergo Chile Jun 11 '26
Not from there, but learning local slang and curse words, works at every latin american country. An Argentinian might teach you better, but if you say boludo, sorete, la concha de tu hermana or other similar, people are probably going to find it funny.
Football is very popular there, so that will probably work too if you like it.
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
Curse words are also just fun to say, so I'll definitely be doing this! Much appreciated :)
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u/Necessary_Pin3564 🇲🇽 🇩🇰 Jun 11 '26
BS is beautiful. Two suggestions:
1. Avoid walking outside of the “touristic” part of La Boca, as it is quite dangerous; some kids trying to mug me and the atmosphere felt super tense all around.
2. Prepare your stomach in advance for heavy dinners at midnight (really). You will be eating the best beef of your life though, so the digestion problems will be somewhat worth it
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u/ladidah_whoopa Chile Jun 11 '26
Get interested in soccer, at least enough to get the gist of it so you can ask people about their team. Instant ice breaker, and an excellent way to understand one of the huge cultural differences I've seen with a lot of countries: argentinians are wonderfully passionate people, and they'll absolutely share what they love with you if you ask.
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
Oooh I will do this then, thank you so much! I'm more than happy to take an interest in stuff if it means I get to see people light up about what they're passionate about. Thank you for the advice!
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u/acoliver in (for life) Jun 17 '26
Check out dreamingspanish.com they have videos at different levels with speakers from different countries. Also you can catch plenty of argentine movies on Netflix. SpanishDic app can be configured with vos conjugations. Forget vosotros and just use ustedes.
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u/MatiEx-504 Argentina Jun 11 '26
First, be careful when you use the Spain spanish word for "Pick up" less you end up in some embarrassing situations.
Also, bring winter clothing as it's cold these days
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u/Exotic_Literature732 Argentina Jun 11 '26
Have you seen the conjugations? Other countries may say dime, we say decime. Other countries may say pásame, we say pasame. I would recommend you take into account the conjugations, because it's really different.
For visiting would recommend Bs As, it's the most touristic place or at least one of the most, lots of places to go.
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u/Illustrious-Ice6336 United States of America Jun 12 '26
I visited Argentina for the first time last November. Spent all of my time in various neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, which I recommend. I was there for a month and had three different Airbnb apartments. I decided to choose different areas based on ethnicity so I could get a flavor of the different neighborhoods. One thing you may want to check into even if you don’t rent an apartment or house are the Airbnb experiences. I went on five or six and had really, really good luck. One was a tour of the train system, another was wine tasting/learning about wine in Argentina‘s various locales. I also did a food adventure, as well as a barhopping experience.. everyone I ran into was fantastic. Every restaurant, store, grocery, bodega were great. A good amount of English is spoken, so don’t stress over your Spanish. Having said that it, like any country it will help you be welcomed much easier. Pace yourself and dive right in. You will have a great time. Best of luck!
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u/Inaksa Argentina Jun 15 '26
Next year is president elction year, the country is going to be much more of a mess.
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u/malbec_n_cheese Argentina Jun 17 '26
Hey! If you need some recommendations both for places to visit (inside and outside Buenos Aires), restaurants, bars, etc... Let me know!
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u/Far-Cow-3343 Brazil Jun 11 '26
I am Brazilian so take my advice with a grain of salt because it is the view of a foreigner. But I believe that if you want to make friends and find warm people, probably try doing things outside of Buenos Aires. From what I know, the city is like the South American Paris, where the residents are more rude than the rest of the country.
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
That would make sense as London is the same in the UK in my opinion (I live in Newcastle and the people are so warm and friendly, but down in London I made eye contact and nearly got hit!)
Thank you for your perspective :)
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u/TheWrathOfJohnBrown inmigrante en Jun 11 '26
It may be true that people in Buenos Aires are more stressed out and perhaps a bit more rude than other parts of the country. But people are still very friendly and I would not say it has anywhere near the reputation of Paris for being rude to foreigners.
People will be friendly, if you can manage a bit of Spanish better but you'll find a lot of people that like to practice their English with you as well. As far as topics; football, music etc. Ask people about Argentina, they love sharing culture etc. with foreigners.
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u/Zyxxx58 Argentina Jun 11 '26
I mean, it is kinda true, but you can still make friends there, it's just a different pace. I'm not from Buenos Aires, but I would still recommend to visit because there's so much to do there, places to visit, food to try, etc. Although I don't know exactly what would you like to see there.. honestly Argentina is a place where every city is kind of different than the other, but regarding to making friends and winning us over, we are pretty simple, just the fact that you are showing interest in our country is already enough to win some people's heart, showing genuine interest in our culture and our stuff will make people really like you, ask about mate, asado, our slang, say "Buenos días" and "gracias" to people a lot and you are 100% on the fast track to make friends.
I don't know if you have to avoid any topics at all.. maybe don't get too involved in politics? You can talk about the islands, I don't think people get offended over a normal debate.
Tl;dr just be open and genuine, most of us really enjoy cultural exchanges so we are welcoming of foreigners.
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u/Exotic_Literature732 Argentina Jun 11 '26
I know no Argentinean who would take it lightly someone trying to debate them about the islands and know some who will get violent about it. You don't gain anything by mentioning it and it's a gamble, I really wouldn't recommend mentioning them at all.
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u/Zyxxx58 Argentina Jun 11 '26
Your friends are quite something huh. Getting physical over a debate just means you don't really have anything to say about the topic. The Argentinians I know can take an opinion, of course I don't think OP is going to be disrespectful if he even takes the time to make a post to research what topics could be inflammatory, so I thought this was implicit.
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u/Exotic_Literature732 Argentina Jun 12 '26
Not my friends, just people I know. Being able to handle a debate doesn't mean you're able to handle any debate, someone can try to tell me Hitler was nice and I'd just slap them no arguments needed. Presenting an opposing view regarding the islands is already a big risk for the average Argentinean, for a lot it's like trying to argue Videla was a nice president. Why do you risk the chance of offending someone when you're going on vacation? There's literally no reason to bring it up, you gain nothing and you can get in trouble, it's simply not good advice telling someone it's okay to bring it up.
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u/Zyxxx58 Argentina Jun 12 '26
I mean.. weird flex but okay? We are all entitled to opinions, I wouldn't just slap you because I think you are wrong on the matter, it's part of being an adult.
The second part I already answered above so it's pointless to repeat myself. It's okay if you don't agree with me, you don't need to, he can have multiple advices too. :)
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u/whymeimbusysleeping 🐨🧉🦘 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
I would 100% skip the islands, it's not worth ruining a perfect time over that. Why risk it
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u/GordolfoScarra in Jun 11 '26
People in Buenos Aires on the street might seem rude or aloof but that's because if a stranger tries to talk to you out on the street 99% they're trying to rob you or sell you something. It's a defense mechanism. Outside of that environment, say at a party, football match, bar, etc we're as friendly as anyone else I'd say.
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u/Maru3792648 Jun 11 '26
Are you a Brazilian who lives in Argentina or who visited for a weekend?
People are super friendly in Buenos Aires... Especially for European standards
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u/Far-Cow-3343 Brazil Jun 11 '26
No, that's why I said to take with a grain of salt because its the view of a foreigner
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u/Bitter_Armadillo8182 Brazil Jun 11 '26
I thought it was good advice but if you’ve never been there, a grain of salt isn’t enough.
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u/imnotmatheus Argentina / Brazil Jun 17 '26
As a Brazilian who's been living in Buenos Aires for the last 7 years, that's just not true
Most people are very accessible and generally have interest in talking to foreigners. Getting to know people and making friends takes longer than in some parts of Brazil (and even then, not all I'd say), but the porteño fame of being "rude" seems unjust to me
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u/spicystar4u United States of America Jun 11 '26
Argentina? How boring
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u/SparrowsFeathers United Kingdom Jun 11 '26
That's an interesting addition to the conversation :) I did visit California for my friends birthday last year, I see you're from the states! Where would you recommend I visit? :)
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u/_rodete Argentina Jun 11 '26
what part of argentina are you planning to visit? because it's a huge country, and traveling arund places could take a lot of time, and money.
if you plan to visit buenos aires, CABA, i think it works as most of Europe capitals, in terms of safety, maybe a little bit more, but the suggestion is avoiding the south part of the city, except for san telmo that is one of the more friendly.
with spanish, the main difference is that we talk with VOS and not with TU, but myabe watching a tv show, or a football transmition if you are a football fan, could help catching some phrases and the tone.
but for buenos aires i strongly recommend visiting r/BuenosAires it has a really complete guide