Things to do in Argentina if you travel with kids
Planning to visit Argentina? Are you coming with kids? We have good news for you: Argentina is the best family destination in South America. There are plenty of options for the whole family to enjoy and to get an unforgettable experience.
In this article, we will provide you with essential tips for planning a vacation to Argentina with kids so you can all have the time of your life!
Tips to visit Buenos Aires with kids
Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, is a modern and vibrant city with options and infrastructure for every person. Children will feel excited to discover that many places are waiting for them:
Parks
How to beat huge green areas with lakes, paddle boats, playground, birds, and flowers in every imaginable color? Palermo neighbourhood is not only the hippie chic area in Buenos Aires: it is also its green lung.
Buenos Aires Ecopark invites you to enjoy and learn about caring for animals and environments by respecting nature and contributing to the conservation of biodiversity.
The Japanese Garden is the largest of its type outside Japan and offers a great alternative for a relaxing day to admire a traditional and unique design.
The Botanical Garden is the perfect place to walk, relax and discover a range of plants and trees native to Argentina and to other regions in the world.
The Planetarium offers several options adapted for age-ranges. An excellent place if the weather is not so good.
And the terrific Rose Garden boasts a collection of more than 18,000 roses surrounded by a lake and acres of parkland. To crown the adventure, you can rent a paddle boat in the lake. It will be difficult for adults to convince kids to go away from there!
Pro tip: They can all be combined on the same day as they are part of a green corridor of the city.
Museums and other indoor itinerary ideas
What if it rains? Or if it is too hot, or too cold? Buenos Aires has it all!
Museo Participativo de Ciencias (where kids are encouraged to touch everything!). It might seem unbelievable, but kids can touch everything at this museum. Ideal for children over four years old, they will be able to explore and experience science in a very particular way… by touching as much as they can!
Museo de los niños Abasto. Another option where children are allowed to touch everything! Located inside Abasto Shopping Mall, this museum represents a whole city in children’s scale! There is a supermarket, a bank, a candy shop, a TV studio, a radio station, a port, a house and much more! The aim of this museum is that they can learn by doing! There are activities for children aged 0-12.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid, the most beautiful bookshop in the world. As much as we love to brag about how beautiful our city is, it is not only us who think this way: in 2008, The Guardian considered El Ateneo-Grand Splendid Bookshop as the second most important one in the world. And in 2019, National Geographic considered it as the most beautiful bookshop in the world.
The building was built to host a theater in 1919. For years people could enjoy opera, concerts and different plays. Then, it was refurbished to be a cinema. And finally, the building was renovated and converted into a bookshop in 2000, but you will find a lot of details and decorations from the old days. Today, the old stage hosts a nice café where you can relax and have a cup while reading a book, and there is a whole floor dedicated to children’s books.
It is a wonderful place to spend some time in no hurry. Not to be missed!
Close to Buenos Aires: Tips and itinerary ideas to travel with kids
Tigre and Delta. This is a district located to the north of Buenos Aires. You will cruise the widest river in the world while getting spectacular views of Buenos Aires skyline from the waters of the “Río de la Plata”.
After one hour of navigation through the wider river, you will arrive at the Parana River’s Delta, a magic place that truly feels like a fantasy land. Once in the Delta, the boat ride continues through a series of narrow channels and islands, a popular weekend getaway for “Porteños” (residents of Buenos Aires) and an everyday home to thousands of “isleños” (islanders). A unique experience where your eyes will be delighted with the majestic scenery (that is very different from anything you have seen before) while you get to learn all about the locals who live along the peaceful channels with boats as their only means of transportation. You can book your tour here.
República de los Niños (Kids’ Republic). This is a theme park located close to La Plata (capital of Buenos Aires province). This park represents a real city with all its institutions but built at children’s scale. The place includes different attractions, several restaurants and cafés, and a train will make you enjoy a trip through the whole place. Don’t miss the opportunity for all of you to feel like children again! And the best of all: it has free entrance! You will need to get there with a vehicle, and we can help you arrange that.
Argentina family travel: where to go with kids
We know that choosing what to do in Argentina on a family vacation is not an easy task, and that every place is a different experience depending on who you go with. These are the top three destinations in Argentina to travel with kids:
Iguazú Falls
The Iguazu Falls National Park is a unique natural destination and one of the 7 Natural World Wonders since 2011. Full of life, abundant vegetation and more than 250 waterfalls, it is the ideal place to connect with nature. Through walkways, adapted to wheelchairs and baby strollers, you can enjoy the jumps and the jungle, up close.
To ensure that the park can be accessible for everyone, there is an ecological train that crosses the jungle until it reaches the entrance of the main walks, generating minimal environmental impact.
In the Park there are 418 different species of birds, which coexist with animals such as the jaguar, fish, turtles and monkeys.
Bariloche
Right by the Andes, Bariloche is a city surrounded by thousand-year-old forests, mountains covered in snow and crystal clear lakes. It is surrounded by some of the country’s most beautiful natural spots, and is the place for adventurous children that love to challenge their own limits. The city is well prepared with infrastructure and activities so kids of all ages can enjoy the mountain in a safe and fun environment.
This is a spectacular place to travel with young kids that love nature and adventure, and it is a year-round destination. Take into consideration, though, that between June and August, Patagonia gets very cold and snowy, so while it is a lot of fun for kids and a great opportunity to do winter sports, you will need to be prepared for that.
Puerto Madryn
Waking up in a city next to the most wonderful nature? Yes, it seems like a dream but this is Madryn, a unique place where there is everything to have a good time. Depending on the time of the year you visit, you will get the chance to see whales, orcas, penguins, dolphins, sea lions, sea elephants and much more!
Walking among penguins makes Punta Tombo the most popular excursion for nature lovers. Then, El Doradillo is a unique place with a privileged view, where you can see the whales from June to October just a few meters from the coast, being Las Canteras the ideal beach being located 19 km from the city. Peninsula Valdes, a place in the world privileged by nature, declared a Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, and this is where most of the fauna can be seen.
For animal lovers, Puerto Madryn is THE place.
These are just some of the suggested options of things to do in Argentina if you travel with kids. Still finding it difficult to make up your mind about visiting Buenos Aires with kids? Don’t worry, we can help you with that!
You can book a free 30-minute call to talk to one of our travel experts who will help you with all the questions you may have.
Please do not hesitate to contact us, we are just a message away, ready to help you and hoping to see you soon around here to say: “Welcome to Argentina. Enjoy your stay”.