Gap Year Programs in Argentina

If you’re traveling all that way, you might as well make sure you visit the best spots! Here are our top recommended places for gap year programs in Argentina.

Buenos Aires. Considered ‘one of the world’s most addictive cities’, Buenos Aires is the perfect place to start your gap year in Argentina. Spend your days working alongside local teachers to help educate and care for the local children, take tango classes in the evenings, eat delicious steak (you are in Argentina after all!), indulge in local wine and enjoy the amazing nightlife. When you feel like taking a breath of fresh air, take the train to Tigre and explore the delta or relax in the Botanical Gardens, visit the Museum of Fine Arts, the Recoleta Cemetery or the La Casa Rosada for a cultural and historical weekend, or relax and practice your Spanish conversational skills with a coffee and some dulce de leche, while you’re watching the ferocious tango street dancers. 

Cordoba. This city, nominated once as the “Cultural Capital of America,” offers a perfect mix of traditional culture and vibrant youthful spirit. Some might dare to say that it gives Paris a run for its romance. Due to its major income differences, Cordoba offers plenty of volunteer opportunities, such as teaching English, helping develop the childcare and health care system, or spending your days coaching football to the local community. You’ll fall in love with history after your visit to the unforgettable Cathedral of Cordoba, the Patio de los Naranjos, and the breath-taking royal Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos—an old visigothic fortress. What does visigothic even mean? You’ll no doubt find out while on gap year programs in Argentina. 

In a country of this size, the gap year opportunities are endless to chose from—but, here are some of the most popular activities you should consider. 

Volunteer. Lend a helping hand and contribute in a positive way as a volunteer in Argentina. Work with local kids or older population, brainstorm your ideas with an environmental development project (then help build it), or volunteer as a sports coach, do your best Messi, and share your passion for sports with the biggest lovers of futball. Just be sure to pack baby blue and white jerseys and not yellow and blue (downvote Brazil!).

Language Study. Boost your Spanish skills and immerse yourself in the Latin life with a language study program. You can enroll in schools in cities like Buenos Aires, or live with a host family in a rural area, close to the core of the Latin lifestyle. Mix it up with some tango classes and learning will never seem boring again—your Spanish gap year will be the gift that keeps on giving. Y dando.

Adventure travel. The best way to get outside and understand this unique country from your head to your toes is through an adventure travel gap year! Grab your backpack and gear, and start out with the lush jungles and sizzling hot sun, then head down to the great Iguazu Falls and Perito Moreno Glacier. Where else will you see both sneaky monkeys and cute penguins?! Enjoy the fine wine in Mendoza, travel to the colorful canyons of Cafayate, visit the Peninsula of Valdes, practice your Whale à la Dory as you watch the humpbacks, do some ice trekking across the Glacier National Park—the list goes on. Just take your pick.

Costs. Budget! Yes, boring, but very necessary. Especially when you’re dealing with different currency. Although it is the most expensive country in South America, the rate exchange makes living in Argentina reasonable and affordable. That being said, you can go out and eat to your heart’s content for $15 or less. Hit the local markets to save up some money and eat better quality food, use more public transportation or maybe share rent and some of the costs with a roommate. Use FundMyTravel to jumpstart your saving now!

Accommodation. Most gap year programs will have accommodation included in the price, and you will be placed in dorms with other gappers or with a host family. Having a new mamá y papá is awesome—and not just for the home baked empanadas! Otherwise you need to research your accommodation options and calculate it in your budget. Rent prices will be different depending on the area and your needed level of luxury.

Visas. To spare yourself the headache of a visa, most gap year programs in Argentina will take care of it for you and the cost is included in the fee. Argentina provides the opportunity for young people to work and travel with a working holiday visa, on a temporary basis. Do your research and start with checking out our Embassy directory to ensure you have all the needed documentation. Who knows, you might only need a tourist visa, after all. 

Safety. Argentina is a relatively safe country, but petty theft is the most common thing, especially amongst tourists, who are considered easy prey. Mingle with locals more and you won’t be a tourist for long. Make sure you take precautions like you would in any other country: keep you belongings safe, don’t be rude, embrace the culture, don’t walk alone on dark streets and stay out of trouble. Abide to the rules and regulations of the programs you’re in and you’ll be five by five. If you’re traveling, have your vaccinations up to date, especially for Typhoid and Yellow fever, and pack a LOT of mosquito repellent. 

Be bold! Even if you have two left feet, it would be a shame not to have at least a tango dance on the streets of Argentina. How else will you get the real taste of this beautiful country? Maybe even fall in love?

Visit everything, try to avoid the touristy season and blend in more with the locals to get over the culture shock easily. We bet you’ll love their Friend’s Day celebration, a day dedicated entirely to friendship. Stroll through La Boca and share an empanada with your bestfriend. And, did you know that same-sex marriage has been legalized nationwide? ;)

If you want to see what a piece of Heaven looks like, then take a trip to The Iguazu Falls. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “Poor Niagara!”

However you decide to spend your gap year in Argentina, always give yourself time to travel. Go to wine tasting, eat medialunas (small croissants) with café con leche to your heart’s content, and join into cheering ole ole ole ole with the fans of Maradona’s beloved team.

If you are searching for a unique experience, then taking a gap year in Argentina is a great idea, with a wide range of opportunities. Backpacking in Argentina has never sounded so good, has it? Embarque on this unforgettable experience and dive into the Argentinian culture and history! Vamonos!

Keep reading! Why a passion for learning is your best gap year souvenir.