10 Essential Tips for Traveling Argentina with a Baby or Toddler

All righty, hello friends. We are Samuel and Audrey and today we're going to be sharing 10 tips for traveling Argentina with a baby or a toddler. Yeah. We have one. We have one and we've been learning on the fly. So, there is we're we're new parents and we're just figuring things out, but we have 10 really good tips for you and they're specifically about traveling Argentina with babies and toddlers and we're going to tell you all about it. So, let's start with first impressions. We have now spent several months in Argentina traveling in Buenos Aires and Patagonia and Cordoba province and one thing I

have noticed time and time again is that babies and toddlers are not seen or treated as a nuisance. We have taken a lot of flights, a lot of bus rides, a lot of boat trips and no one has ever like rolled their eyes or sighed at the sight of me arriving with a baby to sit next to them. Yeah, and that's a big surprise because honestly we were kind of the people who have We have rolled their eyes in the past. So, we've really appreciated just the general support of the society here towards babies. It's very friendly when you're on the bus, when you're on the plane, when you're on the boat. Recently we did the Cruce Andino where we crossed from Bariloche, Argentina all the way over to Chile and there were a couple

times when we were getting out of the boat, we had all of our gear, you could imagine we have a baby seat, we have a stroller, we have our camera, we have our backpacks and the baby and we had people like just randomly coming up and volunteering to help take some of our basically our gear. And then a few other examples that come to mind is just like on the flight down to Bariloche, the young guy who sat next to me was like, "Oh, it's okay if the baby stretches her legs. It's okay if she like moves a little bit. Don't feel bad." Same on the bus, I sat next to an older man and he was like, "Oh, it's okay, let the baby stretch." So, that really surprised us. The treatment towards babies was very positive.

And a very pleasant surprise. Mhm. Okay, so one thing that I have noticed is that it is very easy to book family-friendly accommodations in Argentina. We have booked both Airbnbs and hotels and had a very positive experience. With Airbnbs we're often able to find apartments that have like a special room for the kid with like, you know, a toddler-sized bed and like an animal mural on the wall, Yeah. books, toys, things like that. And also hotels have been able to provide a crib or a pack and play when we've requested one. Yeah, something else that's been really cool about some of the hotels in particular is that they've had special playrooms for kids and toddlers.

Yes. So, kind of like Montessori style, often very spacious. Sometimes for Aurelia she's been introduced to new toys that she's never seen before and she's also had the opportunity to play with other kids and babies her age. Yeah, that's really nice. absolutely loved. Like I just think of our time in the Llao Hotel, she just had so much fun playing with other babies. I think that was her favorite part of the trip. So, let's talk about accommodations and kids being able to stay for free up until a certain age. So, there's quite a range here in Argentina. I've seen luxury hotels where kids can stay for free up until three and others where they say up until 12. So, we've been trying to make the most

of the hotels with like the lower age bracket. Um experiences like staying at the Llao Hotel, we booked it because our daughter is still young, she's a toddler, she can stay for free and we don't have to pay um for her. So, we're trying to make the most of that. Even better than that, when you say the Llao Hotel, they had dedicated staff that were just there for assistance with parents and for helping facilitate play and creativity for kids. Yeah. So, yeah, it's phenomenal. I do find Argentina is very well prepared for families and that's great because that encourages everyone to get out there and to travel. Now, let's talk about long-distance bus rides. We have done a few of those. Oh, we have.

The thing to know about that, kids travel for free on buses up until age five. However, you need to buy a seguro de menores. This is insurance for minors. So, they are not paying a fare to ride on the bus, but you do need this insurance in case anything happens on this bus ride. If you're booking your tickets on an online platform like Plataforma 10, which is very popular in Argentina, you can buy the this insurance online. Otherwise, once you arrive to the bus terminal, you go to the booth of the bus company you're traveling with and you pay for it in person. Oh, that's really good to know. See, I didn't know that.

I do this. There you go. So, basically kids under five, they do have to travel on your lap unless you're planning to pay for a seat. And that we find it very comfortable because in Argentina you have a lot of the cama, semi-cama, You need to lean back. You have to lean back. Not only does like the seat lean back, but there's a support for your legs. Yes. So, we've done overnight buses like 12-hour bus rides where we have slept. I've had like the baby on top of me, next to me. Yeah. And it has gone extremely well. I guess we've been really lucky when we came to Argentina we didn't really change time zones that much. So, Aurelia did great.

We took her on the night bus. You know, she was awake for maybe the first hour and then she slept most of the ride just like us. So, it's been good. So, it's been really good and like Audrey said, having that extra space on the bus you'll probably want to get the cama or the semi-cama and be leaning back as far as you can. And then to be honest with the child it's it's not that uncomfortable. So, and if you travel as a couple, you can take turns holding the baby. Yes. One thing that is very convenient in Argentina is the siesta, the afternoon nap, which works great if you have a baby or a toddler. For sure because Aurelia tends to take her naps around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. and she's often down for an hour or 2 hours. Yes.

And that just perfectly corresponds with official Argentine siesta time right in the middle of the afternoon. So, everything's closed, you can't really do much anyways. So, that's a perfect time to go back to your hotel room or if you have maybe or if you're outside and you can do something like a picnic under shade, then have your baby or your toddler take a nap and then everyone's recharged and ready to go when things actually open up again. Yes. I would say the one exception to the rule is if you're staying in a big city like in Buenos Aires, things won't necessarily all close and all shut down for siesta, but once you leave the urban centers and you're a bit more rural, it

is well respected. Especially if we're talking small towns in Patagonia. Yes, or even in Cordoba province where we are. That's true. That's absolutely true. Another observation, you are never too far from a park, a plaza or a playground in Argentina. I will say because the weather here is a lot milder than say in Canada where we are from, people spend a lot more time outdoors and that especially goes for children. So, like you will see parks, plazas and playgrounds full of kids in the afternoons and in the summers these places will be packed until the late evening. Like it could be 10:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. in the summer and there are

kids [clears throat] running around and you're like, "What about bedtime?" No, no, children, go have fun and play because they had their siesta. That's so cute. It's a bit shocking, you know, coming from Canada where we back practically have 6 months of winter and everyone's kind of like hunkered down inside. You do see kids out and about a lot more here in Argentina and there's a culture of let's go out, let's get them active, let's get them doing things and I think that's great. That's great for their development, that's great for their health and it's also a really nice way for them to socialize with other kids, too. So, we thought we would dedicate a little section to kid-friendly foods.

You are coming to Argentina with your baby, your toddler, your young child. What can they eat? What will they enjoy? I was thinking of the stuff I used to like as a kid when I lived here. Yeah. Um let's start with the sweet items because Okay, and not just as a kid, she still likes them now today. Okay, number one, facturas, pastries with dulce de leche or with custard, with icing sugar, with quince jam. I loved all of them. I think most kids will like facturas. Yes. Um helados, ice cream, artisanal ice cream in Argentina is king. There are ice cream shops everywhere. So, try helados, some local flavors. You've also got your pizza, your pasta, your milanesa. Not so much

your milanesa, but definitely the pizza and the pasta. I've also seen milanesa on the kids menu, french fries. So, the nice thing about dining out in Argentina is that you usually have a dedicated kids menu. It tends to be a lot less expensive. It's cheaper and obviously the portions will be a bit smaller, perfect size for the kids. So, And one more meal I'll mention that Aurelia really enjoyed, it was the goulash with spaetzle. Spaetzle is a type of like German noodle. So, if you're traveling in Patagonia or you're in Cordoba province in the German regions, you're going to see this dish a lot. I'm telling you our baby girl has the most refined taste buds of anyone her age

I've ever met. She's like she likes the fancy cheese. She likes the queso azul, the Roquefort cheese. And she loves she love she loves things that I probably wouldn't have enjoyed until I was like 25 or something. Yeah, no, kids will eat well here. Yes. So, another tip for traveling with little ones is to look for indoor play centers. There are lots of them, especially in the cities. In Spanish, these are known as centro de juegos or espacios recreativos. And they're kind of like these massive indoor play centers where you're going to find rides and carousels and like the ball pit and, you know, the little airplane that you can sit on, the little choo-choo trains. And you can see lots

of families go there with their kids. There also tends to be like a little concession area where you can order food. Yes. And so, that makes it fun for everybody. A cafe for the parents. They typically have, you know, coffees, teas, sandwiches, pastries. So, yeah, it can be fun for the parents, too. All righty. So, we've been talking about a lot of the positives. Let's talk about one of the major hurdles that we encounter traveling with a baby or toddler. Yeah, and that was obviously the sidewalks. Yes. And a lot of them were in extremely rough shape. So, not only were we like not really able to go over them, like we

were literally having to lift up the stroller and yank it in the air and carry it physically. It wasn't smooth sailing or like I want to say smooth rolling. That's definitely something to keep in mind. Not everywhere is as walking friendly as what you may be used to back home. And for strollers, I would opt for a stroller with a thick heavy-duty wheel over a flimsier umbrella stroller. I know those are really nice because they're collapsible, easy to fold, but you need something that can handle some rough terrain, even if you're in the city. And also, watch out for the dog poop. Yes. Pro tip. And the last thing that we'd like to talk about is building in flexibility into your itinerary in Argentina because, as you know, we've talked about

siesta hour, but it's also just the practicalities of traveling with a baby or a toddler. And if you're just trying to race around and see 10 different things in a day, that's probably not going to work very well. Like that's honestly how we used to make travel guides. We would just race around like zoom. And that does That doesn't make any sense when you have a baby or a toddler. What we found works better is reducing the amount of things to do Yes. and also clustering things by say neighborhood. Yes. So, don't be like going from one place to the next to another. Like try to make it a bit more logical so that the day can flow and become a little bit easier for you and for your baby and toddler. Exactly. That's great advice.

Yeah. Yeah, the way we do it now, we usually try to go out sightseeing in the morning, we'll have a lunch, back to the hotel for siesta time, and then once the baby wakes up, she's had a little play or run around, we'll head out again in the late afternoon. That's our schedule. Yeah, that's that's basically the perfect way to plan it. And yeah, so we hope that you found these tips useful. Yes. And we'll be making more videos like this soon, won't we? All righty, yes. We've got a baby. Got a baby, so we're going to be talking about it.

All right, see you guys next time. Ta-ta.