Buenos Aires is a very well-connected city by public transport. Among all the means, I love taking the colectivos (buses) the most. Some might not see eye to eye on this for whatever odd (ha!) reasons, I have many good ones to make the case. (HA!) Thus, I’m starting a series dedicating to my dear colectivos, and all their good, bad and ugly!

I always told newcomers that the colectivos are like cheap tour buses to see the city. In fact, they could easily be the cheapest. For just AR1.25 (US$0.35), you can go from one end of the city to the other on an elevated viewing platform (as opposed to being inside a taxi at street level or worse, in the subway underground staring at fast-moving cement walls). They go through not only main well-known big roads but also small neighborhood streets where you could have a better glimpse of the true local life, and not just the typical commercial after commercial, tourist/consumer-targeted streets.

Also, you can go through easily 5 barrios (neighborhoods) in just an hour ride and your legs would still want to be your friend. Once you have spotted an area you like, you can always get off or return to walk around and explore more. They are really a great tool in helping you to get your bearing and to know the city in a more efficient way. While walking in Buenos Aires is a very enjoyable and common thing to do, it is also quite limited.

So I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to give the colectivos a shot, and you’d be amazed how many discoveries you’d make and those that you’d have missed otherwise!

Isabel