Any fair day is a good day to go to San Antonio de Areco. The ideal time to visit though is during the gaucho festival, which celebrates the ‘Day of the Gaucho’ on the 10^th of November. Gauchos and their horses from all over Argentina come galloping through the cobbled streets to compete in cowboy competitions in a festival that resembles a grand country fair.

Getting there:

-By car: Take the Panamerican Highway towards Pilar, then head 115 km down Route 8. Be sure to carry small bills; there are two tollbooths on the road.

-By public transport: Chevalier, with 17 buses daily, is probably the best option to arrive at San Antonio de Areco from Buenos Aires via public transport. Reserve your ticket with a Visa or MasterCard by phone by calling 4000-5255 or just purchase them in Retiro, at stand number 67 or 73. The trip takes about an hour-and-a-half and costs AR$23.

Getting Around:

San Antonio de Areco is easily explored by foot or bike but to reach some of the estancias outside of town you may need to call a remis, or car service.
—Remis Sol
Tel: (02326) 455-444
—Remis Express
Tel: (02326) 452-254

Money:

Many businesses in San Antonio de Areco only take cash, there are three easy-to-find ATMs in town.

Food and Drinks:

-Cafe de las Artes-$$
Bolivar 70
Tel: (02326) 456-398

-El Boliche de Bessonart-$
Corner of Segundo Sombra and Zapiola

The Esquina of Merti — photos, Alice Josselyn

-La Esquina de Merti-$$/ credit cards accepted
Arellano 149
Tel: (2326)456-705
Hours: Sun-Thur: 9am-2am, Fri and Sat until 3am

-Puesto La Lechuza-$$/$$$
Victorino Althaparro 423
Cell: (02326) 15-40-5745
Hours: Weekends only, until late

Shopping:

San Antonio is famed for its leather and silverwares, shoppers will find plenty to take home just wandering around the town.

-La Bagula
Arellano 59 (Best value for traditional clothes for adults and children)

-Novecento
Arellano 152
(Inexpensive apargatos, traditional canvas sandles, in a small arcade of artisan shops)

Attractions:

-Ricardo Güiraldes Museum
Camino R. Güiraldes.
Tel: 45-5839.
Hours: Wed-Mon, 11 am-5pm AR$ 4.-
Closed Tuesdays

-Usina Vieja Museum and Cultural Center
Alsina 66
Hours: Tue-Sun, 11am—5 pm, AR$ 1.50-

Special Needs/Tourist Office:

San Antonio de Areco is recommended for disabled or special needs travelers who want a taste of Argentine cowboy life — the government has undertaken special initiatives to make the town accessible. Patio Moreno, a newer hotel right in the center of town is also fully accessible. Visit the San Antonio de Areco tourist office downtown at the corner of Zerboni and Arellano for any special requests or call them at (2326) 453-165 any day of the week from 8 am until 7pm.

← Lodging in San Antonio de Areco

← San Antonio de Areco, A Guacho Getaway Near Buenos Aires

The majority of the pueblo’s handful of estancias, or vacation ranches, seem to have fixed their prices at around US$165 per night per person for foreigners—five-star prices for accommodations that are not typically five-star quality.

While several estancias in San Antonio de Areco try to conceal a double pricing policy – one for foreigners and one for residents, this practice is commonplace in the popular pueblo. Many of the well-known estancias such as Rosario de Areco (who refused requests for a price list, charging upwards of US$ 200 per night, cash only) do not publish their prices, a good indication that there may be a two-price system in place. Some estancias, such as Estancia Criolla and Estancia de la Fiesta Gaucha don’t hide the fact that foreigners are charged a third to twice as much for the same accommodations. This is understandable, given the prices are far out of the reach of most middle-class Argentine families, but with prices starting at around US$500 a night for a family of four, they are also out of reach of many middle-class foreigners.

Those who go with the understanding that they are purchasing the experience of staying at an estancia and the accompanying activities, not the lodgings themselves, may feel less sticker shock.

Travelers looking for more bang for their buck who also want to have the ‘estancia experience’ in San Antonio de Areco may want to consider staying at a hotel and then passing the day in an estancia for a typical cost of US$ 40-60.

Estancias:

-photo courtesy of La Porteña-

La Porteña de Areco — A beautiful 180 year-old estancia and National Historic Monument where writer Ricardo Güiraldes (1886-1927), author of  Don Segundo Sombra, spent time as a child.  The accommodations are adequate, not luxurious. This estancia is listed in the book, ’1,000 Places to See Before You Die.’

Seven km from the intersection of route 41 going down Route 8.
Tel: (54 9 11) 5626-7347

La Bamba Chica—The sister estancia to La Bamba, the first estancia to open it’s doors to tourism in the province, beginning in 1989 (and now closed for restoration). Adequate rooms in a homey atmosphere starting at US$160 per night. The 30-hectare ranch is close to the town center.  From Tuesday through Sunday afternoons they also operate an English style teahouse.

Address: Route 8, km 116
(500 meters from the Güiraldes Museum)
Tel: 4732-1269
Cell: 15-5893-7412 (Buenos Aires, from Mon—Fri 10 am until 4pm)

Hotels:

 
La Posta de Vagues, a few kilometers outside of San Antonio is thankfully one ‘hotel de campo’ doesn’t hand out their prices in US dollars. A perfectly adequate country-style double room goes for AR$350-400 per night per couple. There’s even wifi, a salon with a pool table, horse riding, golf and polo classes offered. Children under 10 are not permitted.

La Posta de Vagues
Off Provincial Route 41
Tel: (02326) 45 1008

Couples on a weekend getaway may want to consider Patio Moreno, a newer hotel in San Antonio de Areco. The minimalist, modern style of the hotel is a bit out of touch with the surrounding pueblo but the hotel goes the distance to compete with the estancias. At an average of US$145 per night, it is certainly different than the more rustic and homey estancia experience. Reservations recommended.

Patio Moreno
Moreno 251,
San Antonio de Areco
Tel: 0-800-222-0115

Budget Lodgings:

There’s not much competition in San Antonio for budget lodging, but Hostel Gaucho enjoys a good location right in front of the river and the ‘old bridge,’ two blocks from the central plaza. The staff is friendly and it is clean, if a bit barren. Beds from AR$65, a double room with a private bath starts at AR$100 per person.

Hostel Gaucho
Zerboni 308
Tel: (02326)-453625
Cell: 02326-15401676

El Puesto Hostel, three blocks from San Antonio’s main plaza is so peaceful that you will truly get the country experience, chirping crickets and all. The hostel is in an 100 year-old house with leaded glass windows and is tastefully, if sparsely, decorated in country style. Amenities include a garden and swimming pool, wifi and free breakfast. It does close down at some points during the year, so check availability before showing up.

El Puesto Hostel
Belgrano 270
Tel: (02326) 453-148

→ Dining, Shopping and Travel Info for San Antonio de Areco

←  San Antonio de Areco– a Gaucho Getaway near Buenos Aires

San Antonio de Areco, only an hour-and-a-half from Buenos Aires, is an idyllic pampa town to experience the charm of Argentine gaucho life.

An easy drive from the capital, the picturesque pueblo welcomes day tripping porteños and international jet setters in search of their inner cowboys.

The town dates to 1730 and to this day it preserves a great deal of the creole and gaucho (cowboy) traditions, especially among its artisans, who produce very fine silverwork and saddles.The town was first made famous by the writer, Ricardo Güiralde’s 1926 novel, La Segunda Sombra, credited with altering the Argentine elite’s previously negative opinion of the Pampa cowboy into that of the ‘noble gaucho.’

The pretty central Plaza Ruiz de Arellano is named after of the town’s founding estanciero (ranch owner), and is surrounded several historic buildings, including the local parish church, Iglesia Parroquial and the Casa de los Martínez, a Colonial-style building dating to 1720.

Things to do

In San Antonio de Areco you can visit any of the local estancias to take a horse ride led by a gaucho guide or pass the day checking out the museums, antique garages and clothing shops.

Take a look in the Ricardo Güiralde Museum and the Usina Vieja Cultural Center, where you can check out primitive agricultural apparatuses and handicrafts. Go for a walk through the picturesque Creole Park on the banks of the Areco River and pass by the Puente Viejo, or ‘the old bridge’ where every cowboy once had to pay a fee to cross his horse.

This sister city to Laredo, Texas is easily accessible on foot; strolling along the narrow sidewalks you’ll be certain to chance upon countless regional workshops where the traditional arts of making crafts in leather and precious metals is practiced as it always has been.

Take the opportunity to stock up on your boina (a gaucho-style beret), bombachas (baggy gaucho pants) and alpargatas (espadrilles, canvas shoes) for a mere AR$16; a portion of their price in Buenos Aires.

Drinks and Dining

For a cold beer and a picada (meat and cheese platter) in a rustic setting among gauchos stop at the Boliche de Bessonart, on the corner of Don Segundo Sombra and Zapiola. For something warm on a chilly day, try La Esquina de Merti on the corner of the main square for a cortado (macchiato) or submarino (Argentina’s equivalent to hot chocolate; a glass of steamed milk with a stick of bitter chocolate left to melt within) and watch the world and gauchos go by.

The 'Boliche de Bessonart' —photos by Alice Josslyn

For a reasonably priced, hearty meal try the traditional criolla offerings at Cafe de las Artes. The menu offers homemade pasta dishes, slow-cooked grilled meats, fresh from the fields, as well as specials including tenderloin pork in a beer and honey sauce with creamed sweet potatoes.  The wine list is substantial but not overwhelming, with wines ranging from AR$20 for a really drinkable bottle of La Moras Malbec to AR$75 for a mouth-watering Septima.

Another hot spot offering a fresh asado (barbeque) dinner and typical Argentine fare is Puesto La Lechuza, at the home of Belen Güiraldes, a descendant of San Antonio’s favorite hometown hero, Ricardo Güiraldes. It’s only open on weekends, but every Saturday night there is live entertainment and dancing.

If staying overnight, you’ll want to head along with the locals to a peña; a party with folk music and dancing, on the weekends there is sure to be one in the central plaza. Single male visitors will be left to nurse their drinks. Female visitors will find it difficult to say no to a dance— the ruggedly handsome gaucho’s can be very persuasive on their Saturday nights off the farm.

—by Alice Josselyn

→ Lodging in San Antonio de Areco

→ Dining, Shopping and Travel Info for San Antonio de Areco

→  The San Antonio de Areco Gaucho Festival