Expert: Cintia - 5/19/2004

Question
Hola Cintia,
I'm in the very early stage of planning a 9 or 10 week visit to Argentina beginning February, 2005.
Does it make sense to rent an apartment in Buenos Aires to use as a home base for exploring/visiting other parts of the country? Of course I want to experience Buenos Aires as well.  Is it best and wise to wait until I arrive in BA to locate an apartment? I'd really like to see what I'd be getting, do comparison "shopping" for one. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Answer
Dear Kathy,

Thank you for your question.

If you are staying for such a long time I definitely recommend you look for a furnished apartment, because it will help you save a considerable amount of money. There are several companies that provide this kind of apartments, and even though none of them is outstanding, as long as you take into account a couple of factors, you shouldn´t have any problem with them:

- Location: this is an important issue. You should look for an apartment that is well located, in an area that doesn´t get deserted in the evening.

- Apartment: make sure that you told what the montly rental includes and what the apartment is like: on which floor it is located, if it looks onto the street (usually it is more noisy unless it is in a high floor), if it has washing machine (sometimes they call laundry to the room where you wash the clothes, but it doesn´t mean that it has a washing machine), if it has air conditioning, security, etc.
Don´t trust the photos as they may be misleading.
This is a company that rents furnished apartments: www.bytargentina.com.ar I do not endorse it and actually the references I have about it are varied, so I suggest you check by yourself.

- Inventory: on the day you arrive, a person from the company will be waiting for you to make you sign the contract, get the money and do the inventory. Usually, after flying for many hours, you are tired and confused. I have seen this in many tourits, so if possible, I recommend you stay at a hotel on the first day, so that you recover from the flight, and then move to the apartment on the second day. Believe me, it can make a big difference.

If you are not in a hurry and can wait for several days, then you could stay at a hotel during your first week and spend those days looking for an apartment. In this way, you will avoid being misled by the photos shown on the websites, and you will avoid any misunderstanding. However, it is important that you bear in mind that February is a busy month in tourism, because it is the cruise season so there are thousands of tourists in the city, and the availability of good accommodation will be limited.

I hope this helps you with your trip planning.
Good luck!
Cintia
Buenos Aires, Argentina