Take a cruise to Buenos Aires

What better way to arrive in the “Paris of the South” than aboard a cruise liner. This is the way you are likely to step ashore in all due style to one of the great cities of Latin America – an historic city, a majestic city, and one that has been most evocatively described as a city of “haunted grandeur”.

Here are a few tips and suggestions about choosing your itinerary and what to do once you get there:

Getting there:

• one of the main things to bear in mind is that whatever your itinerary, you are likely to spend many days at sea cruising to Buenos Aires;

• this gives you plenty of time to relax and enjoy all the comforts of life on the ocean wave;

• it may also leave you a long way away from essential, land based medical facilities if you have an accident or fall ill – so cruise insurance is likely to be a must and may be arranged through companies such as Bengo Travel or other specialist providers;

• actually getting to Buenos Aires is likely to involve one of two principal itineraries – the easy way and the more adventurous way;

• the first of these, for example, might involve boarding your ship in Europe, the eastern seaboard of North America or the Caribbean and is likely to include at least a few ports of call along the coast of Brazil;

• if you are after a little more adventure, however, you might want to fly to America’s west coast and cruise via Chile, around the wild Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan until you reach Argentina;

Exploring Buenos Aires

• practically any visit to the city is likely to take in the Plaza de Mayo, effectively the principal city square since the declaration of Argentinian independence on the 25^th of May, 1810;

• the square is also the site of the grand presidential palace, the Casa Rosada (“Pink House”);

• the architecture of the city and its relaxed café culture lends it an almost European feel;

• a fine example of that architecture is the magnificent Colon Theatre, reckoned to be one of the finest opera houses in the whole of Latin America;

• the district of Recoleta is an up-market district of Buenos Aires where you may find local branches of some of the most fashionable and icon fashion houses in the world;

• but the city is not all grand, elegant or fashionable buildings;

• equally worthy of a visit are the simpler, older districts of San Telmo and La Boca where you can wander along narrow streets between brightly coloured buildings and soak up the atmosphere of artists, artisans and even displays of tango dancing;

• however short your leave ashore, you are also likely to find time to relax and simply watch the world go by whilst seated at one of the city’s many outdoor cafes.

Buenos Aires makes for a fascinating and adventurous port of call on any cruise – it make take a little more time and effort in getting there but the rewards are likely to be well worth the travel.

Mike is a director of BengoTravel where you can compare rates for your travel insurance as well as take advantage of some excellent policy features for niche travel insurance cover.