The small town of Tigre is located an hour’s train ride north of Buenos Aires. It serves as the starting point for tours in the Tigre Delta, a vast area of low-lying islands crisscrossed by rivers and canals. The delta is located at the innermost part of the Rio de la Plata, the large bay between Argentina and Uruguay, and is formed by sediments from the Paraná River, which flows out here.
Densely Packed Summer Houses
The last time we were in Argentina, we took a sightseeing boat tour, which is a popular activity for tourists in Buenos Aires. The trip lasts a couple of hours, giving you an impression of the natural surroundings and the vibrant life in the delta. Along the rivers and canals, summer houses line the shores, and small boats, canoes, and rowboats travel the waterways.
We were charmed by what we saw, and since we had planned to return to Argentina around New Year, we decided to spend Christmas on one of the islands. Through booking.com, we found a small summer house by Arroyo Curubica, about a half-hour boat ride from Tigre town. An “arroyo” is a narrow canal branching off from the larger rivers.
The train departs from Retiro Station in Buenos Aires and provides a good sense of how vast the city is as it crawls through continuous urban development all the way to Tigre. It passes through residential areas dominated by high-rises and then well-maintained villa neighborhoods.
The Delta’s Buses
Once in Tigre, it’s a short walk to the marina where the Interisleña boats, the delta’s buses, dock. The ticket office is easy to find, located next to the train station near McDonald’s. There are many boat routes taking different paths through the rivers. Arroyo Curubica is located on Rio Sarmiento, so we checked the schedules to find the boat going up this river.
It was Friday afternoon just before Christmas, and there were long lines of people heading to their summer houses or returning from shopping in the city. We had lots of luggage and weren’t sure how often the boats departed. So instead of shopping in Tigre as planned, we decided to hop on the overcrowded boat as the last passengers. The boat was packed, and we stumbled over feet and luggage under the low ceiling, suitable for people under 170 cm tall. On Google Maps, we had seen a small store on the island, and if it wasn’t open or didn’t have much selection, we figured we could always take the boat back to shop the next day.
The boat crew was very helpful, telling us when to disembark and assisting with our luggage up the steep ladder to the dock. Later, we would understand why the dock was two meters above the river’s water level. As agreed, Marcello, the host of Tiempo—the cottage we had rented—met us at the dock. The island has only narrow paths, so our luggage was transported in a wheelbarrow. We had been in contact with Alicia and Marcello via WhatsApp, which everyone in Argentina seems to use. WhatsApp is very practical with its built-in translation feature.
A Big Surprise on the First Morning
The cottage is small but contains everything necessary: a bedroom, a large bathroom, air conditioning, excellent Wi-Fi, and a spacious terrace where we could sit in the evenings and watch fireflies playing in the hedges. Everything around us is lush and green—lawns, bushes, and trees. The next day, we discovered why. We were shocked when we opened the door and saw that the entire area was flooded with brown water, 30 cm deep. How long would it last? Alicia reassured us via WhatsApp. The water would recede during the day. It was a combination of high tide and onshore winds causing this. Apparently, it’s an everyday occurrence, something we realized since all the houses are built on two-meter-high stilts.
The brown color of the water is due to sediments carried by the rivers. It’s not polluted, and people swim in it. It’s brackish water with some salt content, so there are no leeches or other unpleasant creatures. There also didn’t seem to be any mosquitoes here, as they can’t lay eggs in water with a certain salt content. In Buenos Aires, however, we got plenty of mosquito bites.
The Supermercodo-boat
Since we hadn’t been able to shop, we were saved by the supermercado boat. Every Saturday morning, a boat with goods arrives and docks at the piers. So we waded over and bought most of what we needed. You can’t board the boat but order through a window on its side. The selection was surprisingly good, and since the water level was now two meters higher and the pier barely rose above the water, everything went smoothly.
Other items we bought from the tiny store on the island, Almacén del Río. Silvia, who had lived in Australia for 12 years and spoke fluent English, worked there and told us about life on the islands. Everyone knows each other, and on our way back from the store, a woman stopped us to ask if we wanted the pizza Alicia had ordered delivered at 7:30. She baked pizzas at home and delivered them to your door.
An Argentine Christmas Dinner
As you walk around, you’ll frequently see signs advertising vegetables, fish, or tiny cafés, all in their small stilt houses. On Christmas Eve, our hosts surprised us by bringing over an Argentine Christmas meal, including sparkling wine. They live in a nearby cottage. The meal included thin slices of tender beef in two sauces—one white and one sweet-and-sour with lots of herbs—homemade sweet bread, olives, various pickles, cake, chocolates, cookies, and ice cream for dessert. It was delicious.
Relaxation in Tigre
Tigre is a place for relaxation. If you like hiking, the options are limited. There are many houses and cottages concentrated along the rivers and canals, with paths you can follow in the populated areas. The buildings are very diverse, from beautifully landscaped gardens with charming small villas to overgrown lots with tiny huts made from random materials. Originally, these were only summer houses, but according to Silvia, more people now live here year-round.
Everyone you meet greets you warmly, dogs roam freely but aren’t aggressive, and music and laughter fill the air.
If you want to explore nature, you can visit Área Natural Monte Blanco, located by Arroyo Rama Negra Chico, a bit farther up the river from where we stayed. If you want to travel around the delta, simply go down to the pier and wave your arm when the boat comes by, once an hour. Or you can rent a kayak and paddle yourself.
All about Argentina here: category/argentina
