Hellobee Boards

I don't know anything about Argentina with a toddler, because I went before I was pre-marriage/kids. One thing that's good to know is their luxury buses are a very good way to get around. You can buy an overnight trip if you are going some distance and you can pay for "first class" or "Executive class" seats that lay flat, and you get a little meal and the price is pretty good (of course, my info is more than 9 years out of date). So it can be a good way to travel 8-10 hours and wake up somewhere new. I did an overnight bus from BsAs to Iguazu, and from Bsas to Mendoza.

I spent a month in BsAs itself to take Spanish lessons (but didn't do anything very kid friendly), went to Iguazu falls (a must do, I'd say), Cafayate, Salta, Cordoba, and Mendoza.

Salta and Cafayate is more of a desert-type area. Arid climate--There is some beautiful/easy hikes and tours on comfortable vans to do there and there's a Teleferico in Salta (kind of an aerial tram) that goes up the mountain and you get beautiful views, so you could definitely do that with a toddler. Cafayate is a small town in the state of Salta and i's known for a particular type of wine. It's a very picturesque and relaxed small town. I rented a bike and did some vinyard tours, but even with a toddler it might be worth a stop. There is also a "Tren a Las Nubes" which is a train ride that goes up a mountain. Now, I should warn you, I got extreme altitude sickness and ended up not even being able to get off the train and having to get sketchy adrenaline injections from a random train employee to keep from passing out constantly. So although that sounds horrible with a toddler, I was the only person on the train that got *that* sick, and I also boarded with an extreme hangover and probably pretty dehydrated. You can read other people's reviews to see if it would be worth it for you to try with a toddler--it's basically and entire day-long trip to an indigenous town.

Mendoza is also absolutely beautiful--it's in a mountainous region and is where most of the Malbec is made. Again, I did mostly wine tours/wine tasting, but even with a toddler you could do a half day wine tour. Mendoza is a beautiful city with colonial architecture.

I didn't go to the southern half at all, but it's actually more popular with tourists to go south to Bariloche or all the way to Ushuaia, but I also had a friend get snowed in in Ushuaia for a week, so it would depend on the time of year you want to go.

One other thing--from Bsas, you can easily take a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay (or even Montevideo) if you are inclined. Colonia is a picturesque town with a small beach.

And of course, you have to eat argentinean style empanadas and steak. My favorite empanada is the humitas empanada---so so good, and not that easy to find in the U.S. Everyone else loves the alfajores cookies, but I could take or leave those myself.

I would love to hear what you end up planning with kids--I would love to take my family there some day.

@Yellowbeach Ohh I got this for you. Went to Buenos Aires with DD when she was a baby and again when she was 3.

Things in Buenos Aires for kids:
- Museo de los niños in the Abasto Shopping Mall. Super awesome (sometimes really crowded) children's museum. We usually go several times while we're there.
- The Ateneo bookstore on Santa Fe has an awesome children's section in the basement.
- The museum Prohibido No Tocar en Recoleta is fun. Actually, my DD though that the cemetery in Recoleta was super cool too.
- There are almost always kids shows in the theaters on Corrientes. They'll be in Spanish, but still plenty fun to watch.
- If you're there when the weather is nice, the parks and playgrounds in Palermo are great to run around.
- there's usually lots to look at and tango in the street at the San Telmo market
- There's a science museum but I haven't been to it
- haven't been here either but I've heard good things: http://www.temaiken.org.ar/bioparque
- most of the centros culturales also have kids spaces and activities

Where to eat:
- Guerrín (on Corrientes near the Obelisk) for pizza
- Cocu in Palermo for the most delicious French pastries
- actually most restaurants in Palermo - I don't know names of any of them, but we ate some amazing meals there
- most parrillas will have all the meat you can ever eat
- Freddo or Volta for ice cream
- Most restaurants won't have kids menus but they do love kids. Also, restaurants outside of the tourist areas don't open until 8 or 9pm, so have snacks. We usually eat a big lunch out and then just grab empanadas or something from a bakery for dinner.

For places to go outside of the city that are close by/day trips:
- El Tigre as someone already mentioned
- Colonia, Uruguay is a 30 minute ferry ride and is an adorable old town to walk around in
- Go to one of the ranches (estancias) and ride horses/hang out/learn about gaucho culture. I've been to this one: http://estanciaelombu.com/en/

For places to go outside the city that are further away:
- I agree with the recommendations for Salta and Cafayate
- IGUAZU. Go see the giant waterfall. Easy hiking, etc. There's also a cool animal reserve up there and more pre-colombian culture than in Buenos Aires. You can fly or take an overnight bus.
- 3 hour ferry ride gets you to Montevideo, Uruguay. If you're there when it's nice, they have 22km of boardwalk on the beach and lots of fun kid activities.
- Patagonia is awesome but very far away and maybe not super child friendly.

Let me know if you have questions, I'm happy to help!

@yellowbeach: Glad I could help! One more thing we liked in Buenos Aires: http://ccciencia.gob.ar/ It's a science museum too, but entirely hands on with plenty of fun things for little kids to play with.