Spending a day or weekend in Tigre Buenos Aires is popular with both locals Argentinians who live in Buenos Aires and travellers alike. The constant hustle of the city can get a bit much as it did for us.
Going to Tigre Buenos Aires for the day is the perfect option to see something new and get refreshed.
Tigre Buenos Aires is only an hours train from the heart of the city, which stops at multiple stations as it makes its way out of the city. All you need is a Sube card which can be found at any kiosk located on just about on every street corner.
Buy a card and top it up with credit, prices can vary. A card is anywhere between 50-100 peso and the return train ride will cost around 100 pesos per person aswell.
Tigre Buenos Aires is somewhat still part of the city it just lies right on the outskirts, almost like its own suburb. During the train ride, there is no break in housing or infrastructure. The city just keeps on going, this was emphasized when we flew out, all you can see is a city as far as the horizon.
So what is Tigre Buenos Aires all about?
Tigre can be broken down into two experiences. Firstly when you get off the train you are directly in the heart of the town. Tigre itself is set on the bank of a river that connects to multiple other rivers which the locals use as roads. Kind of like Venice.
The town itself is pretty basic, nothing really stands out. Just a few stores and your standard places to eat etc. Although when you make your way to the rivers edge the characteristics of the town becomes more pronounced. Markets, locals hanging out and multiple booths with people looking to sell you a boat tour.
Which brings me to the other side of Tigre Buenos Aires. Tigre is largely a network of rivers that all interconnect with each other creating this vast system of water that people use as roads to get to and from their houses.
Most of the population live on islands within the river system where the only access is by boat. This is exactly what the boat tour operators are offering, a tour around the rivers to see how and where the locals live. Boat tours vary, anywhere between 200 – 300 peso. Shop around to get a cheaper price.
It is really interesting to see, it blows my mind a little bit knowing that people here have grown up this way and they don’t know anything different. Some tours will be up to 3 hours, but you see everything you need to in an hour.
After hanging on the river’s edge, seeing the town and doing a boat tour, there is one more thing you must do.
Tigre has one of the coolest piers/ markets I have seen in a long time. It almost feels like you have gone to a completely different town. Only 15mins walk from the train station and you will be there.
Freshly squeezed juice, sweet deserts and all the food you can lay your eyes on. The perfect way to end your day adventuring around Tigre before heading back to Buenos Aires, a must-do in Argentina.