If you're spending more than 4 or 5 days in Buenos Aires, you might want to consider taking a side trip -- especially if you're visiting in summer, when many Porteños have already fled town.
During the summer months, Porteños hit the beach resorts. Mar del Plata is the country's most popular. During the summer season, so many people head here from Buenos Aires that the capital can feel like a ghost town in certain neighborhoods. Calling Mar del Plata crowded is an understatement, as more than 8 million people visit this city during the summer months.
Just outside of Buenos Aires's suburbs is the Tigre Delta, a beautiful complex of islands and marshland full of small bed-and-breakfasts, resorts, and adventure trails. You can take a day trip here on mass transit from Buenos Aires or make it an overnight stay.
Just over the river in Uruguay is the day-tripper's paradise of Colonia, a UNESCO Heritage City, less than an hour away by boat.
The Pampas surround Buenos Aires, and here's where to go to find gaucho culture. The main town at the center of it all is San Antonio de Areco, about 1 1/2 hours north of the capital. Few people stay in the town, preferring to stay at the surrounding estancias, several of which are detailed here.
The Office of Tourism of the Nation, at Suipacha 1111, will have brochures on various side trips from Buenos Aires, including the ones listed here.
