What should I pack for Buenos Aires?

The single thing most visitors get wrong: packing for one temperature. Buenos Aires mornings in autumn sit around 12-15°C with damp river air that cuts through thin cotton, but by 2 PM you're peeling off layers in 22°C sunshine along Avenida de Mayo. The humidity hovers near 80% year-round thanks to the Río de la Plata, so fabrics that breathe matter more than warmth ratings. Three to four shirts in merino or technical cotton, a mid-weight jacket you can tie around your waist, and one light scarf for the wind that whips across Plaza de Mayo — that's your daily kit. Worth noting: Buenos Aires is not beach weather. Even in January (their summer peak), the river is brown and silty, not swimmable. Leave the swimwear unless your hotel has a rooftop pool.

Shoes deserve their own paragraph because Buenos Aires will test them. San Telmo's cobblestones are uneven and slick after rain. Recoleta's sidewalks have loose tiles that rock underfoot and splash dirty water up your ankles — locals call them baldosas flojas and step around them instinctively. You need closed-toe shoes with actual tread, not canvas sneakers. One pair of leather or leather-look shoes matters too, and this is the part that surprises people: porteños dress up. A Thursday dinner at Don Julio in Palermo or a milonga in Almagro will feel uncomfortable in trail runners and a hoodie. You don't need a suit, but dark jeans, clean shoes, and a collared shirt put you at the local baseline. Buenos Aires is closer to Milan than Cancún in how people present themselves on a night out.

Electrical adapters trip people up here. Argentina uses Type I plugs — the angled three-prong that's different from both US flat-blade and European round-pin. Some older buildings in San Telmo and Monserrat still have the two-prong Type C, but you can't count on it. Bring one universal adapter or a dedicated Type I; the voltage is 220V, so any 110V-only device (older American hair dryers, some curling irons) will burn out. Most modern phone and laptop chargers are dual-voltage — check the fine print on the charging brick before you pack a converter you don't need. A portable battery pack is non-negotiable: you'll drain your phone navigating the subte system, translating menus, and pulling up Google Maps in neighborhoods where street numbering gets creative.

Skip packing these — buy them on arrival for less. Sunscreen at any Farmacity costs about half what you'd pay at a US drugstore, and they stock European brands with better UVA filters. Umbrellas at corner kioscos run 1,500-3,000 pesos and appear like magic the moment it starts raining. Yerba mate and a bombilla, if you want to try the national habit, are cheaper at any supermarket than anything marketed to tourists at the airport. Mosquito repellent with DEET is available at pharmacies and worth grabbing for evening walks along the Costanera Sur ecological reserve, where the bugs get aggressive around sunset. One thing you will struggle to find locally: good deodorant by North American standards. Argentine pharmacies lean heavily toward spray-on options that wear off in hours. If you're particular about this, bring your own.