Buenos Aires · Backpacking

The old town's high-ceilinged houses hold most of the cheap dorms, ten minutes from the centre; Palermo costs a little more and parties later.

Peso prices move fast with inflation, so budget in dollars: bed $12–22, food $10–20, transport $2. Reckon $28–48 a day.

One SUBE card covers the subte, the colectivo buses and the suburban trains, and the city's Ecobici bikes are free to register and use.

The Reserva Ecológica on the river behind Puerto Madero, the Sunday fair down Defensa in San Telmo, and open-air milongas in the plazas.

The square at the middle of Palermo Soho is ringed with cheap bars and hostel pre-drinks; Plaza Dorrego does the same on Sunday afternoons.