Navigating the Logistics of Buenos Aires with Kids

Traveling with kids is intimidating, especially to a new city.

How do you navigate it, what do you need to pack, will they melt down (yes), and how do you keep them entertained (while also having fun yourself)?

Luckily, Buenos Aires with kids is actually not bad.

One might say it’s even enjoyable.

Argentina as a culture LOVES babies and children.

I find it very easy to be here with my kids, even when I go out alone with both toddlers (which I do often).

Easy enough.

As easy as it can be, with two toddlers.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is you shouldn’t worry at all about coming to Buenos Aires with your kids.

This article is a list of tips and advice to help you put your mind at ease about bringing navigating Buenos Aires with your little ones.

How to get around Buenos Aires with Kids

Wondering how to get around the city with your kids?

First, it’s a pedestrian city so that makes things both easier and harder.

After a month of loading them in and out of the car over and over all day in the US last summer, I will never complain about pushing them in the stroller here again, sincerely.

It’s much easier to do errands and move around here, in my opinion.

Load ’em into the stroller or on their scooter and wander the neighborhood mom and pop shops for vegetables, the butcher, the bakery, etc.

It’s charming and you get to skip the car seat battle.

Read next: Things to do with kids in Buenos Aires: Museum, Parks, and More

How to carry your kid through Buenos Aires

First, what should you bring to physically carry your kid around the city?

A travel stroller is ideal and worth its weight in gold.

I have the Pockit All City, I prefer it to the regular Pock it since it has an actual canopy to protect my kids from the sun.

The stroller of the moment in Buenos Aires is the Babyzen Yoyo, it feels like everyone has it here and if I were going to buy a new stroller (which I do not want to do) it would be this one.

These are great strollers here because they’re lightweight and fit through the tiny doors and elevators in older buildings.

If you go BIG you may struggle in some elevators and entrances.

I bring this up again later, but if you have an infant I always recommend the Doona for travel. Being a car seat you can kill two birds with one stone.

And if your baby or toddler is small enough, definitely bring your baby carrier to baby wear.

Whenever you can leave the stroller at home you increase the ease of your outing by 100 (solid math).

We use the Ergobaby 360, it was wonderful for back support and the mesh kept my babies cool in warm weather.

Buenos Aires Public Transport with Kids & Strollers

If you have small children with you on public transportation, you’ll be guaranteed a seat.

If people are pretending to not see you holding your baby or toddler, ask the bus driver for help.

They will call out for someone stand up.

On the subway or train, don’t be embarrassed to ask for a seat, a light tap to someone’s knee is all you need. They’ll see you holding your baby and get up.

The seats that are closest to the doors on the trains and subtes are reserved for pregnant women, people holding babies, handicapped and the elderly.

And when it comes to getting around, I find trains to be the most painless option if traveling with a stroller.

You can wheel them on and off typically without stairs and always with an elevator.

The train is my weapon of choice for going out with the stroller.

The subway isn’t bad either but don’t count on an elevator.

Old stations downtown won’t have them and the ones in new stations are not always reliable (yet some, some, will have an escalator).

Plan on lugging your stroller up and down stairs.

I was fine doing this when I used a Doona with a newborn but not anymore with big kids and a big stroller.

Also, a stroller on the subte during rush hour is NOT worth it. Don’t do it.

Without a stroller and with the kids walking, the subte is always fine.

The bus is fine with kids but I hate it with a stroller.

You should fold it up before boarding the bus and carry it and the child aboard.

No, thank you.

But if you do take the bus, the batch of seats at the front of the bus are reserved for parents with small children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

Anyone able bodied in these seats will need to give you their seat.

Taxis with Kids in Buenos Aires

Taking a taxi or Uber with your kids is a great option for getting around and is, being so affordable, my preference.

Drivers will always offer to help you load your stroller into the trunk and are patient while you load everything and everyone in.

Should you pack a carseat?

Honestly, I’m very lax here and when I do take a taxi with my kids, they ride in my lap.

But when they were small, I used a Doona car seat/stroller and it was a God send.

With just the click of a button you can pop the wheels up and the the stroller is now a car seat.

For the first year of their lives I could safely buckle them into taxis with zero hassle.

This was my biggest spend on a baby item but it was worth every penny.

If you have older kids and want to safely buckle them in, there are options that don’t involve lugging a large car seat around (which no one does here).

Here are safe options for taking your toddler in a taxi:

• First off, you can always check with private transfer companies to see if they provide car seats. Some may, especially if they regularly go to and from the airport. It can’t hurt to ask and then use those same drivers throughout your stay.
• Doona – I already mentioned the Doona but it bears repeating. If you have a smaller infant, it’s worth its weight in gold.
• Ride Safer Travel Vest – A proven safe travel car seat alternative that’s great for older kids (starting at 30 pounds). It is extremely compact and easy to travel with.
• WAYB Travel Car Seat – Another travel car seat option that is more like a traditional seat than the vest/harness above. The downside is it is a bigger investment.
• Cosco Car Seat – If you want to bring a classic car seat, consider buying a cheaper seat to travel with. If it gets damaged by baggage handlers then you don’t have to worry about damaging your expensive every day car seat from home, get a travel back pack case like this to pack it. Find a transfer service you like and consider hiring a driver for the day to explore, leaving the car seat in the car. You do not want to lug it in and out of restaurants, museums etc.

Bring Toys

Everyone’s genius viral travel hack is to pack all the snacks, as if that’s some kind of secret.

But for my kids the magic lies not in the cheese sticks but in the fidget toys. My purse is now mostly toys.

Here are the tiny, silent, busy making toys I bring:

• Water Wows – They don’t have these in Argentina, bring 3-4 to rotate through.
• Shashibo Shape Shifting Cube – My toddler loves his “cubo”
• Mini Etch-a-sketch
• Drawing tablet – For mess free drawing that takes no space and weighs next to nothing
• Pop It – Nothing new but I was surprised how many hours of entertainment I’ve gotten out of something so simple as basically buttons
• Montessori Cube – This is so great! But if your kid is in a violent/throwing mood, take it away as it doubles as a weapon (not as if I’m speaking from experience or anything…)

Any recommendations I should try?

Just no stickers please, I don’t want to police that sort of thing (because stickers WILL be all over the table and plates).

What if my kids get sick?

When you travel with your kids, it’s a good idea to bring all the medicine you and they are familiar with.

That way if they spike a fever you have a fever reducer on hand you know the dosage for.

When we travel with the kids I pack the local versions of: Baby Tylenol, a thermometer, band aids, antibiotic ointment, aquaphor, and an antinausea medicine that is common here in Argentina called Reliveran.

I also have a few other things I’ve picked up over the past illnesses like nasal spray, eye drops.

All of it lives in a pouch together so I just bring it all, why not.

How to visit a doctor

If you or your child gets sick, you want to find a “guardia” at a local hospital.

These are basically walk in clinics in the emergency rooms.

Hospital Aleman is a popular clinic among expats and diplomats, you can visit their Guardia in Recoleta. The main address is on Av. Puerrydon but the guardia entrance is around the corner at Beruti 2557.

In Palermo, Sanatorio Los Arcos has a guardia pediatrica (pediatrician clinic) and in Belgrano, Clinica Zabala has a good one as well.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, by any means. If you aren’t in these areas search for guardia pediatrica or a hospital near you on Google Maps.

The Pharmacy in Buenos Aires

If you need to pick something up for your kids, don’t worry about asking the pharmacists.

Most things are over the counter (as in, no prescription needed) but are located BEHIND the counter. You need to ask, they will be kind and understanding, ask away.

Here’s a list of medicines commonly used here, take this as advice from a mom on the playground, NOT A DOCTOR. Visit a pharmacy and or ask the pharmacist for advice or a pediatrician (you can confirm active drugs with your at home doctor):

• For babies, the common fever reducer is termofren en gotitas. It is paracetamol.
• For a colicky baby, the popular and AMAZING gas reducer is Factor AG drops.
• If you or your kid can’t keep anything down, the best anti-nausea medication is Reliveran. They have it in drops for kids and a sub-lingual tablet that dissolves under the tongue for adults. It is a miracle drug doing the Lord’s work.

For drug information and dosage, all medicines come with a paper folded in the box that has all the information you need.

If you speak Spanish you’ll be fine, if you’re struggling ask the pharmacist to help point out the dosage information, etc.

Dining out with kids in Buenos Aires

What restaurants are kid friendly?

Just about all of them, honestly.

In Argentina kids and babies are parts of daily life and society, no one expects you to leave them at home.

Just about everywhere will have a high chair for you, but don’t expect top quality high chairs.

Most won’t have a tray or buckle, it has never been an issue for us since our kids won’t stay in the seat more than 5 minutes anyway.

But it’s something to prepare yourself for, just in case it might bother you.

If you want to be sure they’ll be strapped in somewhere, you can always travel with this portable harness seat, just know that you won’t see anyone anywhere here using anything like it.

I definitely never used anything like it because my kids would never have stayed in it (but maybe that’s because they’re used to the freedom of Argentina strap-less tray-less high chairs, we’ll never know).

When I really want my littlest strapped down (usually so I can eat my medialuna in peace versus their safety), I just have her eat in the stroller.

My 3 year old just sits in the regular adult chairs.

We all survive.

The Buenos Aires Airports with Kids

Going through the airport with my babies in Argentina is such a breeze that it’s almost enjoyable (as enjoyable as an airport can be).

If traveling with kids 3 and under you don’t have to wait in line for check in, immigration, or security.

Obviously, they aren’t checking ID’s. The general rule is if your kid looks small enough or is in a stroller (or I like to think, if I look exhausted and strung out enough) they just wave you through.

Don’t fight it and try to wait in line like a noble saint. They will insist.

Getting through lines quickly has made me get through just about all my flights without any tantrums, melt downs, and miminal whining.

God bless you, Argentina.

Play Areas in Ezeiza

Right when you pass security and enter the pre-boarding area you will see free strollers and toy cars you can use to get your kids around the airport.

We had our own travel stroller with us but the kids LOVE the toy VW cars and spent every second in it (it’s quite the pre-flight workout for mom).

There is a play area by gate 5 called the Tiny Traveler’s Club complete with a toy plane.

Get your snacks or pre-flight meal and eat here while the kids burn off energy, there are comfortable seats surrounding the play area (great if your kids allow you to sit, unlike mine).

There is supposedly a lactation room if you need it, but if you’re comfortable with it you can just breastfeed in public (as the locals do).

Play areas in Aeroparque

We found a play area between gates 14 and 15 in Aeroparque.

There were plastic toys with slides for babies and very small toddlers as well as a wall with Montessori style games.

There are changing tables in the bathrooms between the men’s and women’s room so either parent can take charge there.

Buenos Aires with Kids: It’s Possible

You may be cursing broken sidewalks and the lack of ramps when you need them, but overall, Buenos Aires with kids is mostly enjoyable.

I mean, no one said a vacation is a vacation with kids. It’s work.

But Argentina really does her best to make you and your babies feel welcome.

Have you been here or do you have any specific concerns about your visit?

Let me know in the comments!

(Just no roasting me for any of my own parenting decisions mentioned in this article, any of those comments will be deleted, thank you!).