4 Days in Buenos Aires: First-Timer Plan
Four days is the pacing most repeat visitors converge on for Buenos Aires: enough time for the core neighborhoods, a proper day trip, and a slower pace than the 2- and 3-day versions of this itinerary allow.
Before You Go: The Money Reset
The old advice to bring USD cash for the “blue dollar” black market is out of date. Argentina abolished its currency controls in April 2025, and by mid-2026 the blue, official, and MEP rates had converged to within a few percent of each other. Foreign cards now convert at essentially the market rate, so pay by card by default and treat cash as an optional backup. Check a live rate at dolarhoy.com close to your travel dates, since inflation (around 33.8% annually in mid-2026) makes any fixed peso figure stale within weeks.
Day 1
Morning: Arrive and settle into Palermo. If you’re flying into Ezeiza (EZE), budget 45-60 minutes and use the authorized remis counter in arrivals, roughly $45-55 USD; if you’re on a domestic or regional hop through Aeroparque (AEP), it’s about 15 minutes from your hotel.
Afternoon: Walk Palermo Soho’s boutiques and street art, then Bosques de Palermo, the park system with the free Rosedal rose garden and the Jardín Japonés (small fee).
Evening: A proper asado at a parrilla, starting with achuras, then tira de asado, then bife de chorizo or ojo de bife as the main cut.
Day 2
Morning: Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada (free museum in back), then the Obelisco and Avenida 9 de Julio.
Afternoon: Taxi or Uber to La Boca for the Caminito strip, daylight only, stay on the painted blocks, then taxi or Uber back out. One or two streets off the strip, or the area after dark, carries a real robbery risk. La Bombonera stadium tours run from about $32 USD if you have time.
Evening: A tango show at El Viejo Almacén, El Querandí, or Rojo Tango at the Faena Hotel, or a milonga at Plaza Dorrego on a Sunday evening for the real social-dance version.
Day 3
Morning: Recoleta Cemetery, now ticketed for foreign visitors at roughly $15-20 USD (residents with a DNI enter free); Eva Perón’s grave is in the Duarte family mausoleum. See the Floralis Genérica nearby.
Afternoon: MALBA (Latin American art, about $7-10 USD, half-price Wednesdays), or San Telmo’s cobblestone streets and the Sunday Feria de San Telmo if your visit lands on a Sunday.
Evening: El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a 1919 theater turned bookstore, free to walk in, followed by dinner in Recoleta or Palermo.
Day 4
Morning: A day trip to Tigre, about an hour by train from Retiro, for the Paraná Delta, a boat ride, and the Puerto de Frutos market. If you’d rather stay closer, La Plata (also about an hour by train) makes a solid half-day alternative with its planned 1882 grid and huge cathedral.
Afternoon: Puerto Madero, the redeveloped upscale docklands, the Puente de la Mujer footbridge, and the free Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur for a riverside walk.
Evening: A last dinner in Puerto Madero or back in Palermo before departure.
Where to Stay
Palermo Soho remains the strongest overall base, central to the food and nightlife scene. Recoleta suits a first-timer who wants an elegant, quieter base near the cemetery and museums.
Getting Around
The Subte and buses need a SUBE card or a contactless bank card (both now work directly on most lines). Uber, Cabify, and DiDi operate normally and are the simplest way to reach La Boca and Tigre-bound train stations.
The Honest Take
Four days is enough for one day trip plus the full core. If you have more time, add Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay or San Antonio de Areco; if you have 10 or more days total in Argentina, consider spending only 3-4 here and flying onward to Iguazú, Patagonia, or Mendoza.
Read more: the 3-day itinerary drops the day trip if you’re tighter on time, the 5-day itinerary adds Colonia del Sacramento, and the full guide has the background on all of it.