Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Buenos Aires is Argentine's largest cruise port, as well as the country's principal (main) cargo port and capital city, with urban population around 2,9 million and metro population around 15,6 million. Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city, often called the “Paris of South America”. The metro covers a total area approx 203 km2 (78 mi2). The cruise port is located in the Retiro (Ascensores Heaven Ward), at just ~1 km from downtown.

Cruises to Antarctica are operated mainly with smaller-sized expedition ships and ice-class superyachts. While these voyages depart from Ushuaia, most of the Antarctic cruise package deals are inclusive of international flights (to and from Buenos Aires) and domestic flights - between the capital and Ushuaia (departure port). This also explains the higher prices on these seasonally offered cruise tours.

Port Buenos Aires is the principal maritime port of Argentina and operated by the state-owned Administracion General de Puertos. The port is the country's leading transshipment point for foreign trade. Cruise ship passenger traffic peaked during immigration's golden era in Argentina (until 1930) when it was the site of Hotel de Inmigrantes. During later decades, this was limited to tourist visitors to Argentina and Argentine visitors to Uruguay.

Passenger ferries (fast-ferry services by Ferrylineas and Buquebus) operate the short Argentina-Uruguay routes linking Buenos Aires with Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento. Sturla transports tourists to/from Tigre (a popular weekend travel destination). In 2010, Benito Quinquela Martin Terminal (2000-inaugurated) served a total of 120 cruise ship calls with 100,000+ tourists.

Buenos Aires cruise port's schedule lists major companies like RCI-Royal Caribbean, MSC, CCL-Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Silversea. The cruising season runs between October and early-April. Buenos Aires is among the ports on itineraries that include cruising through the Patagonian channels and Chilean fjords in the Tierra del Fuego provinces of Chile and Argentina.

For season 2019-2021, the cruise port handled 118 ship calls (out of 132 booked/originally scheduled), as 14 visits were canceled due to the Coronavirus crisis.

Port's containership terminal is managed (operated under concession) by APM Terminals Buenos Aires. The company is a fully-owned subsidiary of APM Terminals (The Hague Holland-based container terminal operator, ranked one of the world's largest).

Buenos Aires cruise terminal