Buenos Aires in 6 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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A 6-Day Buenos Aires Itinerary on a Budget
Six days is enough to do the core city properly (our 4-day itinerary is that sweet spot) and still have two full days left for day trips. This version adds Colonia del Sacramento, a UNESCO colonial town across the river in Uruguay, and San Antonio de Areco, the classic gaucho town. Costs below are USD-equivalents; Argentina’s exchange rate and inflation move fast, so check a live number on dolarhoy.com close to your trip.
Book these before you go:
- Buenos Aires hotel , ideally somewhere central for six nights
- Colonia del Sacramento ferry for Day 5, since morning sailings sell out
- Tango show tickets for Day 2 evening
Day 1: Plaza de Mayo, Microcentro, and Recoleta
Plaza de Mayo (free, the Casa Rosada’s back museum also free), then the Obelisco and Avenida 9 de Julio. In the afternoon, Recoleta Cemetery, ticketed for foreign visitors now at roughly $15-20 USD (Argentine residents with a DNI still enter free, and it hasn’t been free to everyone since 2022), where Evita rests in the Duarte family tomb rather than one marked “Perón.” The Floralis Genérica nearby is free. Dinner at a parrilla for your first asado.
Day 1 running cost: ~$40-55 per person.
Day 2: San Telmo, La Boca, and Tango
San Telmo’s cobblestones and antique shops (the Feria de San Telmo takes over Plaza Dorrego and Calle Defensa on Sundays, 10am-5pm). In the afternoon, La Boca and Caminito, following the safety rule without exception: taxi or Uber in, painted blocks only, taxi or Uber out, daytime only, since a street off the strip or the same streets after dark carry real robbery risk. Close with a tango show, El Viejo Almacén or El Querandí (roughly $58-99 USD with dinner) or Café Tortoni’s cheaper basement version, a polished production distinct from La Boca’s paid sidewalk dancers.
Day 2 running cost: ~$65-110 per person.
Day 3: Palermo, Asado, and Nightlife
Palermo Soho in the morning (street art, coffee, boutiques), MALBA around lunch (roughly $7-10 USD, half on Wednesdays), Palermo Hollywood in the afternoon, then a proper asado dinner, achuras through the big steaks, and a Fernet con Coca to close the night.
Day 3 running cost: ~$50-70 per person.
Day 4: Tigre, El Ateneo, and Puerto Madero
A day trip to Tigre and the Paraná Delta, about an hour by train from Retiro: the Puerto de Frutos market and a delta boat ride. Back in the city, El Ateneo Grand Splendid (free to browse), then Puerto Madero in the evening, the Puente de la Mujer bridge and the free Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, with dinner on the waterfront (no Subte here, so plan a short taxi back).
Day 4 running cost: ~$55-80 per person.
Day 5: Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
Morning. This is the passport day trip: a Buquebus ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, about 1h15 each way, from roughly $65 USD (Colonia Express runs cheaper). The first boat leaves around 8:15am, worth catching to make the most of the day.
Midday and afternoon. Colonia’s UNESCO-listed old town is small and walkable: cobblestone streets, colonial-era buildings, a genuinely different pace from Buenos Aires. A relaxed lunch here is part of the day.
Evening. Ferry back to Buenos Aires; keep dinner simple after a full travel day.
Day 5 running cost: ferry ~$65-90 round trip (less with Colonia Express) + lunch ~$10-15 = roughly $75-105 per person.
Day 6: San Antonio de Areco and a Slow Afternoon
Morning and midday. San Antonio de Areco, the classic gaucho town, 1.5-2 hours from the city. It’s best as a full day out: the town itself, and if timing allows, an estancia asado or horse-show day (November’s Día de la Tradición festival is the peak version of this, if your dates line up).
Evening. Back in Buenos Aires, a slower close to the trip: the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes if you haven’t done a museum day yet, or simply a last walk through Recoleta or Belgrano before dinner.
Day 6 running cost: transport to/from Areco ~$15-25 + a day’s meals ~$20-30 = roughly $35-55 per person.
Six-day total: roughly $320-475 per person, one tango show, one asado, and both day trips included. Six days is a genuinely relaxed trip: the full core city plus two of Buenos Aires’ best day trips, no padding. A 7-day version adds one more day trip or slow-travel day if you have it; otherwise, past a week, most travelers are better off flying onward to wider Argentina, Iguazú, Patagonia, or Mendoza, than adding more days in the capital. See our Buenos Aires budget guide and place guide for the full sight-by-sight cost rundown.