Biking Buenos Aires

A Buenos Aires bike tour operator with its own guides

Biking Buenos Aires runs its own guided bike tours in Buenos Aires, Argentina, plus a bike and kayak day trip to the Tigre delta outside the city. It is an operator rather than a booking platform: the site talks about "our guides," its own bikes and its own safety rules, and every route it sells starts in the city. The homepage splits the routes by zone, with a North City Tour, a South City Tour covering downtown and the south, a full-day city tour through downtown, north and south, a graffiti and street art ride in the south, a pizza ride downtown and a trip to the "Delta & Provincial BA." Prices on the site are in US dollars. The site is offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The company's pitch rests on experience and guide ratios. The North City Tour page says "Over 20 years and 300,000 km riding these streets," and describes the guides as "passionate locals with deep knowledge of Buenos Aires´ history, culture and daily life." The same page shows "4.9 of 2.309 reviews in TripAdvisor," a figure the site displays itself, and lists three promises: a "100% money back guarantee if unsatisfied," the option to "Reschedule for free until 24-48 h. before hitting the asphalt," and "1 guide every 5 guests (the safest ratio in BA)," the last being the company's own claim.

The routes and what they cost

The route cards on the site give a duration, a price and a distance for most tours. The Full Day City Tour (called the Ultimate City Tour in the homepage timetable) is 7 hours, 110 USD and about 20 km. The Tigre Bike & Kayak Day Tour is 9 hours, 170 USD and about 30 km. Hidden Graffiti & Urban Art is 4 hours, 100 USD and about 15 km. The Authentic Pizza & Bike Tour is 115 USD and about 13 km, and the Night Bike Tour is 3 hours, 65 USD and about 10 km. The South City Tour card shows no figures at all.

The North City Tour gets the most detailed page. It is a 4-hour ride of about 15 km with roughly two and a quarter hours of pedaling, through Palermo Soho, the Palermo Forests, the Rosedal rose garden, the Floralis Generica sculpture and Recoleta, with a mate stop by the lake. Shared departures run at 2PM on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Fray Justo Santamaría de Oro 1778 in Palermo. The page rates the physical demand as "Easy," on "flat terrain and park trails."

The pizza ride is sold as "ONLY PRIVATE TOUR." It visits four long-running pizzerias, El Mazacote, Pizza Pichin, El Cuartito and Las Cuartetas, and serves pizza with fainá and a glass of Moscato, the pairing the page explains at length. The start is 12PM from Casa Castagnino, Balcarce 1016, San Telmo, with about an hour of pedaling, and the page says vegetarian options are available. The night tour is also private only. It meets at Casa Castagnino at 6PM and rides past Plaza Dorrego, Plaza de Mayo, Teatro Colón, Avenida Corrientes and Puerto Madero, including a walk across the Women's Bridge.

How the day works

Group size is spelled out on the North City Tour page, which says shared departures are kept small, "maximum 8 riders," and that from 7 riders, shared or private, "a second guide joins: one leading, one watching the rear." Private tours are available "for any group size." Shared tours run in English; private tours can be in English, Spanish or Portuguese, with Portuguese "subject to availability."

Riders choose a classic city bike, a handcrafted bamboo bike or an eBike, with the eBike at extra charge and subject to availability. The North City Tour's inclusions are the bike, a helmet, filtered water, a mate and alfajores stop, public liability insurance and the guide, and the site offers bike delivery to your hotel at extra cost on private tours. The pizza tour includes the tasting menu and a drink at each stop (Moscato, beer, soda or water). Both the North City and night tour pages say the rides are "Suitable for all ages," with "the right equipment for every rider," and the night tour adds that this is subject to availability and should be requested when booking.

The homepage says "We ride, rain or shine!" and promises "Wet weather upgrades for even better memories!" One guest review on the site mentions riding in the rain with ponchos the guide provided. Other reviews the company shows describe Fernet and cola stops, mate made the traditional way and a guide who arranged locro for lunch on a public holiday. These are the company's chosen reviews, but they give a fair sense of how loose and conversational the tours are meant to be.

Booking and terms

Booking runs through the site, which describes a "BOOKING IN TWO STEPS" process. The pizza tour's page title advertises "Free Cancellation," and the promise to reschedule for free until 24 to 48 hours before the tour is repeated on each tour page, but the site does not say which tours fall under the 24-hour and which under the 48-hour window, or how a refund works when you cancel rather than reschedule. The footer links to Terms and Conditions and an FAQ page, and there is a Groups & MICE section for companies and larger parties. Contact is by phone on +54 9 11 5056-8756 or by email at info@bikingbuenosaires.com.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

A few details do not line up. The pizza tour header lists Tuesday to Saturday while its details say Tuesday through Sunday. The night tour header says "Everyday" while its details give Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The homepage timetable marks the full-day tour as "PVT only" on some days. The price for a private tour for a small group is not shown beyond the "From USD" figure on each card, and the site does not give a meeting point for the full-day and graffiti tours. It is worth confirming the day, the start point and the cancellation window in writing when booking.

The strengths are specific. The company publishes prices, distances, pedaling times and a real maximum for shared groups, and it gives rider choice between standard, bamboo and electric bikes. It suits travelers who want a ride the company rates as easy, with plenty of food and conversation, families, and anyone keen on Buenos Aires food culture through the pizza ride. Riders who need a shared-group departure on a particular day should check the timetable first, since the pizza and night rides are private only.