Susanne 7. What is life like for you in Buenos Aires? Why do you like the city so much?
Buenos Aires is very difficult to put into words, it’s a love/hate affair. Love the freedom, fast city pace, melting-pot population, never-ending nightlife, beautiful architecture, mouth melting meat, etc. etc. What bugs us on the daily would probably include lack of customer service, ridiculous inflation, and not having snow and mountains close by.
8. Please tell us about the biking infrastructure in BA. Are there bicycle paths? What about bicycle safety?
Buenos Aires is currently at the growth stage of a true bicycle culture so every day we’re seeing more and more people riding through the streets. Luckily in March of 2010, the governor of BA began the Mejor en Bici program, inspired by Barcelona’s Bicing Program. There are about 80km of bike trails throughout the city now and more are going up every day. The city is surprisingly flat so we don’t need any geared bikes.
9. How many and what kinds of bikes does your company have? Do you rent them as well?
The fleet of blue beauties is now up to 22. In high season, we reserve the bikes more for tours. As slow season comes around we offer more rentals.
10. How big are your tour groups?
We can handle up to 8 riders per tour guide and are just as eager to take just a single person. Sometimes we take out groups of 20 people but we still go with the 8/1 passenger to guide ratio. Safety is one of our biggest concerns so we stress keeping people safe on our bikes so they can relax and enjoy the ride.
11. You also have qualified bicycle guides that work with you. Please tell us about your colleagues.
Where to begin? Let’s try chronological order. Rodrigo was a gift from the List of Craig in April 2011. Addicted to pizza, cricket and travelling, he’s a Porteño gifted with languages and skilled socially, but will always be a Bogan to us. Brett and Karri have recently joined the team a few months back and both have continuously impressed us with fresh ideas, dedication and buena onda. Just visit our TripAdvisor page to read about these characters from a customer’s perspective.
12. Please give us a description of your Parks & Plazas Signature Tour.
The reason we named it Signature Tour is because a man named Charles Thays decorated most of these neighborhoods with his beautifully designed green spaces. His Botanical and Rose Garden really stand out in Parque 3 de Febrero, a popular place to stroll and enjoy nature aside from the bustling city. We owe a lot to him for making this city a truly refreshing green urban jungle with trees lining most sidewalks. The highlight of this tour however, is Recoleta’s astonishing cemetery.
Approximately 1 block in circumference, this miniature city is complete with avenues and towering tombs both old and new. As strange as it sounds, including a visit to a cemetery as part of this tour, most people leave with a unique insight into Argentine extremism of life after death. Other architectural eye-candy and sculptures are also visited along the way including UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires) Faculty of Law and a monstrous metal flower.
13. What about your Heart of the City Tour?
Covering San Telmo, La Boca, Puerto Madero, the Ecological Reserve and Monserratt where you pedal around the nation’s oldest monument located directly in the center of an exploding Plaza de Mayo, this is where most historical events collided, especially in the last century. It’s the perfect combination of city and nature riding and is topped off with the most delicious pork sandwich (Bondiola) from the almost famous Parrilla mi Sueño. We even ride out to the oldest port in the city which happens to be the most colorful. And yes, La Boca Juniors stadium “La Bombonera” is on the way!
