The Best of the Buenos Aires Countryside

The province of Buenos Aires is dotted with lovely old estancias (ranches) that are open to visitors - but some are irritatingly touristy. For a more down-to-earth dia del campo (day in the country), try Estancia Los Dos Hermanos. A typical day...

Staying at the elegant old Estancia Candelaria del Monte is like stepping back in time. The ranch dates from the 1830s, and it feels like it - it's incredibly quiet here, seemingly disconnected from the modern world. Towering sycamore trees cast...

If you have an evening flight out of Ezeiza Airport, you won't regret spending your last day in Argentina at Estancia Villa Maria. As we pulled up to the Tudor-style mansion on a Sunday morning, our hostess was waiting at the entrance to greet us....

A two-hour drive south of Buenos Aires is the huge and pristine laguna of Chascomús. Fed by several streams, it's a popular destination for fishermen, boaters and windsurfers. Rent a bicycle in the town to pedal around the lake, or hire a rowboat...

Yes, the place we visited was for tourists, but here is an authentic gaucho of Argentina! I was on a study trip for my MBA from Temple University, and we spent a week in Buenos Aires. This ranch is about one hour outside of BA. We were treated to...

San Antonio de Areco is a small colonial town 90 minutes outside Buenos Aires. This is the birthplace of "el gaucho"—the stoic, quiet cowboy who once tended herds on the Argentine pampas. There are still a few left who work at outlying plantations...

About two hours north of bustling Buenos Aires lie the flat, fertile grasslands of the Pampas - gaucho country. Farms and ranches abound as do these friendly Argentine cowboys. In the center of this region is a sleepy town called San Antonio de...