Tigre Delta Cruise

(Katherine) After having an amazing experience on a New Orleans swamp tour during his bachelor party, Robert was determined to take one additional side trip to Tigre for a delta cruise. I personally didn't think the photos that I saw in the guidebooks looked particularly inviting (more like a tour of muddy water) but I knew he was excited at the prospect of recreating his swamp adventure so we carefully plotted out our course for the day.


Although we had been quoted on tour packages, we were determined to save money and piece the trip together ourselves. With the help of our local travel expert Esteban and his lovely associate Marie-Vi, they were able to advise us on our course during our visit to their office on Monday. We set out Tuesday morning to the Ritero train station, and luckily, it's about the easiest train ride you can imagine. Four trains leave every hour, and they all run the exact same route. Even easier, the town of Tigre is the end of the line, so you don't even have to pay attention to each of the stops. Cost for this trip - $2.70 pesos round trip (about $.65)

When we arrived in Tigre, we followed Esteban's instructions to walk over the river, and were then presented with a myriad of options for cruises. We knew we were looking for a boat which had a 1:30 cruise which lasted 2 hours (the best one available) but weren't sure where to find the ticket booth. Within minutes, a friendly woman approached us and started trying to sell us on a cruise package, which ironically was the subject of our quest. She helped us to the ticket office for Catamaranes ($50 pesos for the cruise, or $45 if you have a train stub), and told us to make sure to ask to be seated at “table #5” once we got on the boat. We soon figured out upon boarding that she was actually a waitress, and she wanted to secure our business with their refreshment offerings on the boat. Very smart business woman – or just a good hustler!

The delta cruise goes in a circular pattern down a series of rivers and canals, each of which have additional canals which splinter off in different directions. Rather than hang out under the covered portion of the boat, we decided to sit on top in the open air to take in the scenery. The initial portion of the cruise took us down the mouth of River Tigre which was littered with old abandoned ships covered in rust. Apparently it costs thousands of dollars to properly dispose of a ship, so the owners of these vessels decided to drop anchor and run. Robert jokingly kept pointing to delapidated ships and saying “actually, I was trying to book THAT ship instead of this one to save money.” We also went past a rather depressing looking amusement park which appeared to be hibernating for the winter months.

Finally we moved into the River Sarmiento, which was lined with charming river homes. We were sitting on the top of the boat taking in all of the scenery and lots of photos, but the cold air whipping past us prompted us to head downstairs so we could head inside. However, once we walked down the stairs to the back of the boat, we noticed an open table on the small back deck, which was completely sheltered from the wind and had an unobstructed view of both sides of the river. Our waitress found us and we ordered wine and small sandwiches. The sun was shining and the view became more and more delightful as we motored around the canals. After shedding my jacked and kicking back in my chair with a glass of wine in my hands, I turned to Robert an said the words that every husband longs to hear: “you were right.” This trip truly was spectacular!

The biggest surprise we had on the boat was that as we turned the corner from River San Antonio to Canal Vinculacíon, we had a clear view of Buenos Aires. It would make sense that there would be a canal straight from the city, given it it a port town, but I was surprised at how close it looked from our vantage point, and how it reminded me of looking at San Francisco or even Sydney from afar.

After our relaxing cruise, we wandered around town for a few minutes to find a cafe where we could watch the latest futbol game, and then headed back into town. We had a 10:00 cocktail date with our friend Esteban at our favorite local bar, Piola, with our favorite bartender, Tito. Given we had met Esteban on our first night in town, it seemed only fitting that we spent one of our last nights with him, chatting about travel plans and Hollywood movies. We are indebted to him and Marie-Vi for all of their wonderful advise during our stay in BA - we will miss you both!