Buenos Aires Cruise Port

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, brings a mixture European architecture mixed with Latin flair to create a great place to visit and best of all for us, it is one of South Americas leading cruise ports.

Known as the ‘Paris of South America’, the city offers so much variety that it is somewhere that everybody will have a part of it they like.

From the parks in the north, the cobble streets of San Telmo and the colourful La Boca district, Buenos Aires is the sort of place where you set off walking and soon you will have something to take a photo of.

There is a large terminal in the city that allows for many cruise ships to start or end their itineraries there, including mainstream and expeditions ships heading down to Antarctica and it is also a popular port of call for ships sailing around South America.

If you are set to visit BA on your next cruise or are researching to see if the port is right for you or not, this is the guide for you as we bring you all you need to know about cruising from the city based on our own experience and research.

Cruises To Buenos Aires

Our Visit

I was lucky enough to sail from Buenos Aires on a round trip adventure of Patagonia and Antarctica between December 2025 and January 2026 and that gave me the chance to stay in the city for a few days before I cruised, and I even had an overnight stay in the port for our first day to allow me to experience every part of a cruise port.

I got the chance to see how the port operated as a departure port, an arrival port and as a port of call where I took a shore excursion and in the main, it all worked very well.

My adventure starting by flying from Manchester Airport to Madrid in Spain and then continuing on to Buenos Aires from there.

We arrived first thing in the morning but thanks to an early check in at the NH Latino hotel, we would soon get the chance to get changed and set off exploring but with only a few days to explore such a big city with so much to offer, we would spend the first day travelling around Buenos Aires onboard a Hop On Hop Off tour bus.

The next day, we would start off on the tour bus once again to head down to incredible La Boca district, famed for the La Bombonera football stadium but the whole district is such an incredible sight that it really is somewhere you should visit.

There is a great vibe to La Boca, and it offers a feast for all of your senses as the houses are full of colour, the smell of barbecue is everywhere as the sounds of Tango music can be heard everything- often with some Tango dancers accompanying it.

In the afternoon, we would head to the Recoleta area of the city which is an historic part of town perhaps best known for its cemetery and from there we would head around the nearby parks and walk back to our hotel near the city’s iconic obelisk.

On our final day, we would walk down to the San Telmo district, which is another historic park of town that features a rabbit warren of narrow streets and a famous market, and it is to the San Telmo market we would head.

This is a great place to grab some food, buy some gifts and take it all in but we did get lucky as alongside the regular indoor market, there was a huge outdoor market that we got to explore.

From San Telmo, we walk back to the Puerto Madero area and then up to the main shopping district of the city up in Retiro, before walking back down Calle Florida to our hotel to get ready to pack up once again to head to the cruise port the next day after a whirlwind but incredible three days of exploring.

Buenos Aires Cruise Guide

If you are trying to decide whether a cruise itinerary visiting Buenos Aires is one you should book, or if you have already booked a cruise calling into Buenos Aires and want to make the most of your time on shore, this is the guide for you.

We also bring you everything you need to know about starting and/or ending your getaway at the port.

Type of Cruises Available

As you would likely expect from such a large city and also a regional main cruise port, there are plenty of options for those wanting to take cruises and explore Buenos Aires.

Firstly, it is a turnaround port where cruisers can enjoy round trips to Antarctica and around Patagonia or they can start and/or end their repositioning journeys that either sail around South America, head up to North America or even cross the Atlantic and head for Europe.

There are also several cruises that call into the port as they sail around South America from the likes of Rio de Janeiro with most of these option been offered onboard large mainstream ships, smaller luxury cruise ships and a host of expedition style ships and cruise yachts.

Buenos Aires Cruise Port Location

Buenos Aires cruise port, known as Terminal de Cruceros Quinquela Martín, is located in the Retiro district of the city, which is around 1km from the northern parts city centre, close to a large train station and on large avenue that links the port to the city centre.

The Jorge Newbery airport is around 5-10 minutes up the coast, whilst the main international airport is around an hour away.

Despite been so close to numerous large hotels, popular tourist attractions and the city centre, the port isn’t the easiest to reach on public transportation, with only a few buses heading down to it but private transfers are easy to sort from all hotels and relatively cheap.

Buenos Aires Cruise Port Facilities

The cruise port of Buenos Aires is well equipped for every type of visit as it can handle numerous ships that are either homeporting, getting turnaround, interporting or simply calling in there as a port of call.

The cruise port of Buenos Aires is well equipped for every type of visit as it can handle multiple ships that are either homeporting, getting turnaround, interporting or simply calling in there as a port of call.

It is quite a unique port however as cruise ship dock in a commercial part of the port where they are surrounded by container ships and containers themselves.

That means cruisers cannot walk around near the ship and there is no way to get from the ship to the terminal but there are shuttle buses running continuously whilst a ship is on port.

The terminal itself is well equipped with everything you could need for an embarkation port or a port of call including outside the terminal building itself where there is a well organised baggage drop off, a coach drop off and pick up area for shore excursions and space for taxis to drop off and pick up outside.

Inside the terminal, there’s lots on offer as well including a large seating area, lots of check-in desks, a walkway to the shuttle bus station, lots of toilets, a tourist information desk and even a few shops offering last minute gifts to buy.

Buenos Aires Attractions

The Buenos Aires cruise port gives access to wide range of things to see and do as you would expect from a city the size of Buenos Aires, there are far too many to list here.

The city is famous for been the home of Tango and whilst not as prevalent as it once was, there are lots of opportunities to experience the culture of Tango yourself including demonstrations, lessons, Tango shows or just seeing street performers in the La Boca district.

Outside of London’s West End and New York’s Broadway, the city has arguably the next best theatre scene with some of the biggest and most ornate theatres, such as the Teatro Colon, offering the chance to take a tour or them to watch live shows.

The cities food scene is up their to rival any other major city across the globe and for me the best places to have an authentic experience is in one of the cities markets, with the San Telmo market been a highlight.

The cities architecture is an attraction in its own right with its obelisk, Casa Rosada, Avenida 9 de Julio, Recoleta district, San Telmo district and the colourful La Boca must visit places.

La Boca itself is a must visit attraction, with the whole district been alive with the sounds, smells and sights of the history and culture of the district dominated by the La Bombonera football stadium and the Boca Juniors football club. There are many places relating to Eva Peron, perhaps best known as Evita, that visitors can visit included her resting place in Recoleta cemetery and the iconic balcony she made her speeches from.

The north of the city is full of parks which are well worth visiting including the Jardin Japones (Japanese Garden) and Bosques de Palermo amongst the most popular for visitors.

The Palermo district is a bustling region full of local shops, bars and cafes whilst the Floralis Generica statue is a modern attraction well worth taking a photo of.

As a city with a lot of Spanish and Italian influence, it is home to many large squares and open spaces that make for a great place to relax and take in the views.

Buenos Aires Shorex

If you are only calling into Buenos Aires as part of a wider cruise around South America or if like me, you start with an overnight stay in the city and have the chance to head off on a shore excursion, the great news is that there are also lots of options.

With so much to enjoy and with such little time for many to take it in, one of the best options is to take a city tour.

This can be done as a group tour, a private tour or by hopping on the one of the cities Hop On Hop Off buses.

The shore excursion that I did myself was to take a coach ride up to the nearby city of Tigre and head out on a boat tour of the Tigre Delta- which is something that I would highly recommend.

Other popular options including heading out to a nearby farm to see the Gaucho lifestyle at first hand, heading to a Tango dinner show and for the more adventurous, a post cruise Iguazu Falls tour.

Best Time To Visit

The cruise season in Argentina and South America is only a relatively short one, with most ships only heading there during the summer months between October-April, with November to February been the peak period and offering the most options.

Transport

The city does have an underground system, but aside from the very centre of town, it isn’t all that useful for cruisers and doesn’t go anywhere near the cruise port.

There is a vast bus network which can be most useful but for most, it will be the cities Hop On Hop Off tour buses or taxis that are the easiest to use when in Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires Cruises From UK

Despite the vast distances between the 2 countries, it is possible to sail directly between the UK and Buenos Aires, or vice versa, with some ships sailing between the 2 at the start and/or end of the cruise season as they summer in Europe for northern hemispheres mid-year months before setting off to enjoy the end of year summer in South America.

You can also sail there as part of a World Cruise, if you have the time and budget to do one.

Buenos Aires Cruises From Southampton

If you are wanting to do a transatlantic cruise between the UK and Argentina, the chances are that the ship will set off form the port of Southampton.