If you are tired of the fast-paced movement of the city and need a little fresh air, we will take you on a tour of the best spots in Buenos Aires. With outdoor activities and a total connection with nature, here you have the perfect plan for a getaway.
A getaway outdoors, whether with family or friends, is essential to break the routine and give the body a well-deserved rest. However, many times we think that this moment can only occur during the holidays and that we have to wait until then.
To change that belief and open ourselves to new possibilities, we show you different proposals on what to do on a weekend near the city. There are options for 2-day getaways, or some that involve only a few hours, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in rural tourism.
Amazing places to visit on a countryside day trip in Buenos Aires. Photo: Shutterstock.com
From staying on tourist farms and touring rural towns to relaxing on a Field Day in Buenos Aires, as well as engaging in outdoor activities and enjoying a full-day rural experience, here you can find a variety of options. These include both one-day trips to the best spots in Buenos Aires and experiences that let you get to know and immerse yourself in country life.
Luján
Wyndham Garden Luján
If you want to connect with the relaxation of the countryside while being very close to the city, Wyndham Garden Luján is the perfect place to enjoy nature in Buenos Aires.
One of the most important luxury complexes is located 60 km from the city, encompassing 11 completely green hectares, surrounding an exclusive resort designed for your comfort and relaxation. Here, you can not only enjoy a traditional Field Day but also take a weekend getaway for even greater rejuvenation.
At Wyndham Garden Luján, Field Day runs from 10 a.m. to sunset. It includes a typical full barbecue for lunch and an afternoon snack. The day also features outdoor activities with games for children, ping pong tables, and tennis, soccer, volleyball, and polo courts—located in front of the hotel garden for practising different sports.
In addition, there is a swimming pool and a beautiful spa for relaxation, and on weekends, polo matches are usually organised for the public. Horseback riding is not included in the Field Day, but you can hire them if you wish.
Route Nº 6 and Río Luján, Open Door (6708)
San Antonio de Areco
San Antonio de Areco is one of the best-known rural tourist towns in Buenos Aires. With a combination of history, local culture, countryside, river, and gaucho tradition, this place is excellent for spending a Field Day and enjoying nature.
Areco is perfect for a weekend getaway and countryside tourism, as it is only 120 km from the city. Here, we present two ideal accommodations for relaxing in the countryside, with options for food, lodging, and outdoor activities.
La Porteña
This is a typical Argentine ranch and is considered one of the most attractive and traditional in Argentina. The town of La Porteña was built in the 19th century, and its park was designed by the famous French landscape designer Carlos Thays.
La Porteña has been declared a “National Historical Monument” for its architectural conservation in the Argentine Creole style and its wide adobe walls. Furthermore, the writer Ricardo Güiraldes, author of “Don Segundo Sombra,” spent long periods here during his childhood, inspired by observing the life and customs of the gauchos in this very place.
In this traditional stay in Buenos Aires, you can experience an incredible Country Day, which includes various outdoor activities—some typical of the field tourism offer and others related to the history of La Porteña. The proposal includes a tour of the Historic Center, a visit to Ricardo Güiraldes’ bedroom and his desk called “The Poet’s Corner,” guided walks, horseback rides, carriage rides, walks around the farm, contact with different farm animals, lunch with a demonstration of Creole skills and folk guitar playing, and a snack.
Also at La Porteña, there are activities for children, such as a sandbox, hammocks, a slide, a playhouse, a toy area, and a crafts section. In addition, there are soccer and volleyball fields, a swimming pool, a bocce court, board games, and bicycles.
La Porteña is an ideal space to take a break, learn about history, and enjoy an excellent Field Day in nature.
S 34 15.011 – W 059.23.936 – Alt: 278 m
La Bamba de Areco
La Bamba is one of the oldest ranches in Buenos Aires (and Argentina). With a colonial style, its origins date back to 1830 when it served as one of the post offices on the Camino Real that linked Buenos Aires with the north of the country. The main building, the watchtower, the old stables, and the 200-year-old park that are part of the property are deeply rooted in Creole history. In the 1980s, La Bamba was transformed into a stay and retained its original name, which derives from the Celtic word “bahamba”: place of rest and hospitality.
Located 120 kilometres from the City of Buenos Aires and very close to San Antonio de Areco, this ranch has a boutique hotel that combines luxurious comfort with colonial elegance and the Country Day option.
The hotel accommodates 22 guests, with 8 rooms and 2 suites, and the stay includes all meals and activities: horseback riding, carriage rides, bicycle tours, access to the pool and relaxation areas, a tour of the lagoon, walks along the river, a bocce court, a pool table, and foosball.
If you prefer to just spend the day, the Country Day proposal includes lunch and a snack, with the possibility of enjoying a Creole show featuring dances, musicians, and gaucho skills. You can also participate in all the activities mentioned above. The day begins at 11:30 a.m. and lasts until 5:30 p.m.
Route 31 Km 7.5, San Antonio de Areco.
General Belgrano
Museum of the Estancias and the Hidden Forest
Don’t be confused with the homonymous town in the province of Córdoba! General Belgrano is a Buenos Aires town located 162 km from the city and is the perfect place to enjoy a Field Day in Buenos Aires.
Its main attraction is the Enchanted Forest, a 23-hectare nature reserve that invites you to explore its four winding paths. There, you will find more than 88 plant species that are over one hundred years old. Among these species, you will see oaks, magnolias, laurels, acacias, eucalyptus, and a century-old ginkgo biloba. The Enchanted Forest provides deep relaxation that only total immersion in nature can offer, complemented by the background sounds of more than 30 species of birds singing.
One of the trails leads directly to the old town of the Estancia Santa Narcisa, which is currently the Museum of the Estancias. Enjoy the history and learn about rural customs from more than 150 years ago, surrounded by tranquillity and nature. This old house, built in 1870, is the ideal place to learn more about the life of the residents and the rural customs of the time.
In addition, you will discover the historical events of the region, the customs of the gauchos, and traditional objects and tools. Within the collection, primitive machines for sowing and harvesting, livestock brands, remains of the first fences that delimited the ranchers’ properties, and carriages are exhibited, making this a must-see in rural tourism.
General Belgrano also features a private thermal park with highly mineralised waters. The hot springs offer a large green space, barbecue area, spa, children’s play area, and gastronomic space, making it a perfect plan for a weekend getaway in Buenos Aires.
Calle 139 n° 650, General Belgrano.
Suipacha
The Cheese Route
This proposal is not within a ranch but invites you to engage in rural tourism while following the route of one of the products most loved by all: cheese.
Suipacha is a town originally populated by Basques and Irish settlers, who established small dairy farms and created a cooperative. In 2008, several producers devised a weekend tour aimed at field tourism, close to the City of Buenos Aires. Just 120 km from the centre of Buenos Aires, four cheese stations can be visited all at once or focused on one per trip.
Cabin White Stones is a goat dairy whose entrance includes a wine tasting and a visit to the farm.
Farmer specialises in French cheeses and offers the possibility of visiting the dairy and learning about the history of the place.
Suipacha Cheeses offers a variety of gourmet dairy products at its premises. During the visit, you can enjoy a tasting and learn about its history.
The Myrtle doesn’t offer cheese or dairy products, but you will find good compliments. This raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry plantation is open on weekends and holidays and features a guided tour that includes tasting and a tour of the plantation
The Cheese Route is a perfect weekend trip for countryside tourism, as it combines rural experiences with the relaxation of nature near the City of Buenos Aires.
Km 126. Route 5, Suipacha
Dolores
Estancia Las Víboras
Las Víboras is a historic ranch with many attractions. Not only is it a fantastic plan for a weekend getaway to enjoy nature near the City of Buenos Aires, but it also stands out in rural tourism due to its rich history.
Brigadier General Juan Manuel de Rosas, the former governor of Buenos Aires and a key figure in Argentine history lived in the centre of this ranch. There is a rumour that he built some posts right here to protect himself from his enemies and Unitarian opponents. Estancia Las Víboras is located in the municipality of Dolores, 250 km from the City of Buenos Aires and just 10 km from the coast of the Río de la Plata.
The architecture of this famous ranch is impressive, featuring a marked River Plate influence and extensive green space, making it an ideal place for a few days of relaxation in the countryside.
If you also want to enjoy outdoor activities, Las Viboras offers horseback riding, canoe excursions, carriage rides, and the opportunity to participate in country customs. During Field Day, you can savour traditional Creole cuisine and enjoy typical Argentine delicacies.
-36.195417, -57.415639, Dolores
Cañuelas
Another town that is part of rural tourism and features tourist farms is Cañuelas. Here, we highlight two well-known ranches in this area that are ideal for spending a Field Day in Buenos Aires.
Don Manuel
This incredible ranch has been operating as a polo school since 1998 and opens its doors to guests from all over the world.
Spanning 300 hectares, you can connect with the relaxation that nature provides and experience a complete rural adventure. Here you’ll see grazing cows and a chicken farm, along with Don Manuel’s primary focus: horses. In its facilities, you will find horse riding with a sand track and stables that lead to the polo field.
In its Field Day offer, the activity for tourists focuses on 3 hectares surrounding the main part of the ranch, where you can see an old construction preserved in perfect condition.
Meals throughout the day are served under the shelter of a beautiful grove, starting at 9:30 a.m. with breakfast and continuing until the end of the afternoon with a delicious snack. Among the various outdoor activities that Don Manuel offers, you have free access to its pool and heated jacuzzi, a solarium with lounge chairs and hammocks, tennis, volleyball, and soccer courts, bicycles to explore the ranch, horse and carriage rides, and guided tours of the facilities. It also offers other activities such as paintball or polo classes.
Additionally, different events can be held at Don Manuel, and the space can be reserved for business celebrations. If you want to take a weekend getaway, you can stay at the ranch and enjoy the connection with nature.
Cañuelas
Puesto Viejo
This ranch covers an area of 220 hectares and includes a polo club in its facilities. Puesto Viejo is ideal for countryside tourism enthusiasts, as you can take a weekend getaway or simply enjoy a Field Day.
The estate features a boutique hotel, a labyrinth, glamping tents, and various outdoor activities. Here you can choose among different options, such as horseback riding, bicycle rides, or the possibility of attending a polo match, as Sitio Viejo also has a Polo Club, as mentioned earlier.
The name of this stay refers to the house far from the centre of the ranch where the family’s most trusted gaucho lived, who monitored the limits of the establishment from there. That location is where the hotel is situated, which has 10 en-suite rooms, decorated with antiques, a living room with a wood stove, and a library.
When choosing to stay at the hotel or in the glamping sites, the experience includes four meals a day and outdoor activities: access to the labyrinth, use of the pool, bicycles, and a horseback ride.
The labyrinth is one of the favourite attractions, and an interesting fact is that it is a replica of the one found in Leeds Castle in England.
Spending a Field Day in Sitio Viejo includes food and access to all the activities mentioned. Also, if you want to get to know the ranch without spending the entire day, you can visit its restaurant, which is open every Sunday at noon.
Provincial Route 6, Km. 82. Canoes
A Countryside Day Trip in the Province of Buenos Aires
The province of Buenos Aires is full of magical places, very close to the city centre, that allow you to relax and connect with nature. With its typical dishes and outdoor activities, you can enjoy a delightful day in the countryside.
We hope you have enjoyed this tour with us of the various options to spend a Field Day. If you want to learn more about other stays in Buenos Aires and their activities, in *Casas de Campo: Escape from the City of Buenos Aires*, you will find additional options.
Find places to go on a countryside day trip in Buenos Aires on the map.