Buenos Aires port-distance to downtown?

[emac]

Can anyone give me an idea how far the cruise port is from the centre of town? Is it walkable? We are on Star Princess sailing 4th Feb.

[John Bull]

Walkable only for the fit, & time-consuming. Mebbe 25 - 30 mins. Simpler to take a taxi ride.

Metered taxis are cheap & plentiful, but few drivers speak english.

 

If you want a taxi tour at a fixed price with a passably-knowledgeable driver with a decent grasp of the english language, negotiate hard with the taxi touts at the port gate. Agree hourly rate in pesos or USD for about a 3 hr tour, pay at the end, its the norm. Aim to start with up to an hour at the Ricoleta necropolis, it's spooky & very interesting, similar to the one in New Orleans. At the entrance check out the location of Evita's mausoleum (Duarte family) on the map, it's difficult to find. Carry on to various other sights including the Peron house/museum, Casa Rosada (Perons' Pink Palace, still a functioning presidential palace), & the gaily-painted bohemian district of La Boca. We paid off our driver here & spent a couple of hours, including a meal at a pavement tango restaurant. Well worth the visit to La Boca, a highspot for us, but don't stray from the touristy bits or go there in the evening, it's rather unsavoury. From here we hailed a passing metered cab to take us to down-town.

 

If you simply want to go down-town, or to any specific place, ignore the fixed-price taxis & touts at the port, they will charge you about double the metered rate. Walk out to the main road & hail a passing metered taxi (same taxi livery as those parked-up). Few drivers speak english. If you don't have pesos, check whether the driver will accept USD - most do, they have a conversion chart & give a fair exchange rate. Ask for Casa Rosada. From here you can explore the old harbour, the shopping centre, etc. Mebbe finish by walking the length of pedestrianised Florida (shops, bars, cafes, plus stalls down the centre) & at the end hail a taxi to take you back to the ship.

 

nb - carry a map with the port (it's not the ferryport) clearly marked, or its name written down, so you can show the driver for your return to the ship.

 

Super city, have a good one

 

JB :)

[pmacher61]

Where, exactly, is the center of town?

The port terminal (s) are aprroximately 3 km from Plaza San Martin in the microcenter. Try Google maps. It is not a walk you would want to make with bags. If you are just porting for the day you could do it, but you would be wiser to catch the free bus rides offered to Galleria Pacifico with is on Calle Florida in the "microcenter." Catching a cab from the terminal is a pain because there's a taxi mafia that works the port. They seriously overcharge.

[digitl]

As has already been advised, do not use the taxis from within the port gates. Hail one from outside, it isn't far to walk.

 

We were scammed last year and it won't happen again when we return next month.

[emac]

Thanks very much for all the advice.