Tigre, Buenos Aires

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We took the (regular) train from Buenos Aires (Vicente López) to Tigre. Such a train ride doesn’t show the most beautiful parts of the country, except the gardens of the presidential villa just after leaving the station.
After 30 minutes we entered a complete different world: no longer the crowds, crazy traffic and pollution of Bs As, but the quiet, green and clean town of Tigre.

Of course every tourist comes to Tigre to see the delta of the Rio Parana. We got information from the very helpful and friendly staff of the Tourist Centre (200 metres from the railway station behind McDonald’s) and decided to take one of the public boats of ‘Interislena’. (Afterwards we were very happy we didn’t board on one of these big catamarans, because a boat trip of 1 or even 1½ hour through more or less the same landscape would have been pretty boring.)

Our boat, only with local people on board, sailed for 30 minutes over the Rio Tigre, Lujan and Sarmiento. During this time we passed hundreds of houses on stilts (all having a landing stage along one of the rivers), shops, and a petrol station. People were constantly (dis)embarking at one of the many jetty’s.

We disembarked at ‘Tres Bocas’ with two café’s/restaurants on the border of the River Sarmiento. A small footpath leads into the inland. After 100 metres we reached the Santa Rosa stream, turned off to the left and followed this stream till a bar/cafeteria Africano, where we had our lunch. We didn’t speak Spanish and the owners not English, but they succeeded to make a good tasting sandwich.

The track goes further over the island (see map: http://www.la-riviera.com.ar), but we returned on the other side of the stream to Tres Bocas and saw some very colourful birds.
Such a walk is a great and alternative way to explore the delta !!

Directions: Tigre is located 30 km's north west of Buenos Aires.
Accessible with the 'Tigre' train from the Retiro Railway Station, lanes 1 or 2 (50 minutes) or
by regular bus 60, leaving from Constucion ( 90 minutes).

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The Paraná Delta is where the Paraná River flows into the Río de La Plata. There are numerous rivers and canals, and hundreds and hundreds of islands. The islands were formed by sediment coming down the river. Seeds came along with the sediment, and the islands are covered with vegetation. Only 5% of the islands are inhabited, with a population of about 3500. There are quite a few vacation homes also.

This is a huge recreation area, and you will see everything that floats—canoes, kayaks, rowboats, racing shells, jet skis, rubber rafts, power boats (one with a water skier.) There is no speed limit—spray from a passing motorboat soaked me as I sat by the window of our excursion boat.

Everything is done by boat—buses, taxis, hauling services, etc. There are supermarket boats! If you don’t have a cell phone or a radio, you can put a basket on your pier to let the grocery boat know you need to buy something. (For big orders, it’s a lot cheaper to go to town.)

The former president has a summer home here—look for a yellow house with a big flag and a penguin statue!

The first house on the delta, built in the 1850s, is now a museum. It has been encased in a glass box to protect it from the weather.

An elegant building closer to town, the former Tigre Club, has been renovated and serves as an art museum.

An excellent place for lunch is El Gato Blanco (The White Cat) on Rio Capitan. (www.gato-blanco.com)

I was in a group, but it looks easy to get to Tigre by train, and then find a tour or take the public bus boat from the Fluvial Station.

Like a lot of other people, I got out of B.A. for the day and took a trip "to the Delta".

Starting at Retiro ( a beautiful architectural experience in itself !!) and costing 2/3 pesos return !!! it only takes about 45 minutes to reach Tigre ( the human "entertainment" on the train at various points can also be fun ).

Out of the station and straight ahead to the Information booth on the River walkway to buy your ticket for the boat ( 20 pesos round trip on the boat that also acts as a bus - stopping at numerous jetties on the way to pick up / drop off passengers.

I can't remember the name of the place I got off but it was only a short walk along a pathway to the restaurant ( very Alpine / German in look ) - good meal and then on with the walk through the pathways / houses / streams etc seeing beatiful flowers /trees / birds / painted houses / houses on stlits / small houses / big houses / etc etc

Literally, a backwater to the Rio Grande but well worth the effort / time to see it.

Tigre itself isn't much of a town but the trip up the Delta is a real gem - not to be missed !!!

After visiting the Rio Parana delta by boat, we had some time to spend in Tigre and decided to visit the 'Puerto de Frutos'. We walked from the wharf to this fruit market and passed the railway station of the Tren de la Costa.

Our visit - on a Monday afternoon - of the market was very diasappointing, because there were just a couple of shops open, mostly selling decorations and souvenirs and just two of them fruit. The whole area was more or less deserted during our (short) visit.

We were so disappointed that we even didn't make any pictures of the market.

If you intend to visit this markets be sure the shops/stands are open. Info Tourist Office Tigre: tel 4512-4497/4498 or e-mail info-m@tigre.gov.ar

Directions: Tigre is located 30 km's north west of Buenos Aires.
Accessible with the 'Tigre' train from the Retiro Railway Station, lanes 1 or 2 (50 minutes) or
by regular bus 60, leaving from Constucion ( 90 minutes).

I heard about this popular delta region which can be reached in one hour when heading north from Buenos Aires. I took the taxi and I don’t know how much I paid ($50?), but I knew it was not much. It is a popular weekend getaway for portenos.
When I got there, there were nice little shops and the water was “inviting” me to ride a boat to explore the delta. Boat companies are very easy to find to schedule 1 to 3 hour rides, depending whether you want to include a meal on one of the delta restaurants by the water. Of course, I was hungry and chose the meal and was not disappointed later. The salmon was good!
The Delta del Parana ‘s waters stream in from the inland jungles of Argentina. The boat passed lots of colonial mansions and beautiful houses along the riverbank.
If you don’t want to take the taxi to tigre, take the Tren de la Costa route instead to enjoy a more scenic ride. There is a stop at San Isidro which is a pleasant suburb with an outdoor shopping center.

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Take the train to Tigre (normal train is from Retiro to Tigre, or take the Tren de la Costa), the largest delta of the world. The coastal train is the nicest way to arrive, is a bit more expensive though and more for tourists. There is an antique market in San Isidro where you can hop off the train on your way back.

There are several organizations who rent kayaks, give classes or even organize day or weekend trips, just surf on the web or let yourself be advised by your hotel or hosts. Prices are usually relatively high for tourists, as they organize transport from your hotel as well.

A more usual excursion is to travel by Tren de la Costa to Tigre, to walk from the station to the tourist information, make a reservation for a restaurant for lunch on one of the islands (they do that for you, according to budget and ambiance) and catch a local boat (lancha).
They take you on a fixed itinerary and you just hop off at the right point. Lovely to do, although some lanchas are noisy, but anyway when you are arrived you can take a sunbath, have lunch and some restaurants also have beaches. However you can always take a dive from any place where the boats pick up their passengers, as tere are stairs going into the water.

More special is when you are able to rent a rowing boat (surf on the web) with instructor. There should be special excursions. We can also offer this for a couple (not more then 2 persons) if you contact us on time ahead and feels good. We are members of a rowing club and may be able to organise an excursion in this way.

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El Tigre is a small town located about 35km from the city of Buenos Aires. You can reach the town by train from BA or take one of the many tours to the area. Tigre is a very quiet and relaxing town and a great place to go and unwind.

You can start by taking a boat trip on the River which takes about 45 minutes and takes you through the Delta so you can watch life on the river and see the many beautiful houses that like the Delta.

Afterwards you can stroll the streets of Tigre to do a little bit of shopping or head over to the tourist train which takes you to other spots of interest nearby.

El Tigre also has a theme park inbetween the town and the Delta, which looked quite interesting; however, we did not visit it so I can not share any info on how good it is.

I didn't take the local ferry around the neighborhood, which the tourist office senorita told me it'd take 3 hours round trip. Given that I got there pretty late - around 2pm, I decided to take the large tour boat and just relax. It was not bad as the weather was excellent and it was on weekday, which I believe most crowds were here on weekends.