Discovering Buenos AiresA trip to Tigre

While Buenos Aires is a beautiful city plenty of cafés and restaurants, not to mention parks to wander, many people might feel the need to take a bit of an adventure. And of course take a chance to put some of your lessons at Spanish school at test. Well, fear not, because just 45 minutes train ride from Buenos Aires lies the beautiful river delta, Tigre.

A network of canals and islands dotted with trees, pasture and interesting little houses, Tigre is a must visit. For everyone staying for a long period of time, and not so long too. The best part is that it’s very easy to reach. Just jump on the train heading to Tigre from the Retiro or Belgrano C train stations. Before you know it, you’ll be in another world. And this train even uses the same SUBE card as the rest of the city’s buses and metro. It’s just a matter of swiping on AND off the train.

While many people visit Tigre only for a day, especially in winter, some also spend the night.

Accommodation

There are many places available on AirBnB and Booking.com. with many on the islands themselves. Accommodation can also be extremely affordable. Yet, be sure to pick one with many reviews, as many users are unfamiliar with  how these sites work, which may therefore lead them to bad consequences. Keeping this in mind, your night away from Buenos Aires will be a real proper country trip into Argentina’s countryside.

Transport

The other advantage is the host will often help you arrange transport the rest of the way. If you’re staying on an island, you’re going to need a boat. There is also a public ferry available if you are going alone or simply want to look around the numerous canals of Tigre for a day.

Take into account

• While there are many things to do in Tigre, be sure to pick a nice day. You probably aren’t going to want to be getting out on a kayak in the middle of a rainstorm.

And if you do decide to kayak, be sure to take care of where you go. Canals can become more of a highway at certain times of day. But in the smaller backchannels you can see some truly beautiful parts of the delta along with many water birds and creatures you will not find in the city of Buenos Aires.

• Another thing to be careful of is that you come prepared and bring drinkable water.

While many places come fully equipped, even the best of accommodations can go wrong at times. Most running water in the house will not be drinkable in Tigre.Making sure you have drinking water is a must, especially when staying the night.

• Make sure your boat to return is already booked: who knows when the power will go out.

Perhaps the best part about Tigre is that despite it feels like you’re in another world, it is also very easy to return to Buenos Aires once you’re done with the wilderness.