We just got back from two weeks in Buenos Aires — our first international trip as a family of four, with a three-year-old and a 7-month-old in tow.

Before kids, Max and I had a rule: we tried to keep big international trips under $2,500 total — flights, stays, everything. Sometimes that even stretched for close to a month.

So…how did we do this time?

Buenos Aires felt like a good test. From Bogotá, it’s surprisingly accessible (about five hours direct), and historically, cheaper than heading back to the U.S.

But traveling with kids changes the math — extra plane tickets, a bigger Airbnb, more food, more everything.

Honestly, we didn’t know what to even budget for this trip 👇

(ALL PRICES ARE IN USD)

Currency in Argentina is part of the story. With inflation and multiple exchange rates, we expected to rely heavily on cash and brought $300 USD with us. In reality, we only exchanged about $100 USD — cards were widely accepted, and the rates were better than we expected. The rest stayed untouched, more of a backup than a necessity.

Total flights + bags: ~$1,291

We stayed at this Airbnb in Belgrano, Barrio Chino.

Total: $828.78

Total: $311.07

Our biggest expense while in Buenos Aires hands down was on food.

Why travel if you can’t eat, if you ask us.

We’re major foodies and also, the ‘convenience’ of eating out while traveling means not having to cook and clean up at home. Plus, we had to shift around Sam’s first nap of the day. Sometimes we’d get up and out before the nap and he’d sleep in the stroller, or we waited to leave until after his nap, which means we ate some eggs at home.

We were actually a little surprised at the prices of restaurants in Buenos Aires. But, looking at them now, it’s still much more affordable than the States.

More affordable than Spain? Not quite. (I mention this because we compared BA to different cities a lot when we were there).

Here were the restaurants that stood out to us:

The good news is that portion sizes in Buenos Aires are big, so we were all able to share two meals easily.

All in all, we spent:

Total: $878.65

Being in one place for nearly two weeks with kids meant groceries were inevitable, but we kept it simple. Prices didn’t feel especially cheap, and since we wanted to experience the food scene, we mostly stuck to basics — eggs, fruit, yogurt, snacks, and the occasional bottle of wine.

We didn’t cook full meals, just easy breakfasts (and even then, Max often ran out to Central de Pan for pastries and coffee). We also had to restock diapers and wipes — and learned the hard way that not all versions are created equal. Overall, we kept this category pretty minimal, and honestly could’ve leaned on it more if we wanted to save.

Total: $189.11

Always gotta do a little shopping, no? I like little knick-knacks that I can display or actually use. Given our lifestyle, I don’t buy anything anymore I can’t take with me (though, ask me about my travel mug collection…).

I also like to scrapbook so I got A LOT of stickers.

Here are some pictures of what we bought:

Total: ~$152.18

Total: ~$110.11

Thanks to a connection that was inspired by The Roammies Babysitter Network (and, also a terrible babysitter mistake that we made in the past), we were able to find a trusted babysitter via a connection and spend a night out without the kids!:

Total: ~$217.46

(Note: dinner and Ubers are included in the categories above — this is just to show what a night out looked like all in.)

So…what did we actually spend?

~$3,805.90

All in, our two weeks in Buenos Aires came out to just under $4,000 USD for our family.

And, you’re finding out at the same time we are!

(The perks of having a credit card — we have the Venture X — is that we can see exactly where our money went. There were only a few things we paid for in cash, and we used up all the $100 we exchanged)

Before kids, we tried to keep trips under $2,500 total — flights, stays, everything. This one went over, but not by as much as we would have expected.

We had an amazing time on our trip and we didn’t feel that we had to hold back on anything we wanted to spend.

We haven’t been as on-it as we would like to be when it comes to updating this, but we just added a few new places to Buenos Aires to The Roammies Directory and will continue to do so!

One surprise on this trip actually came at the airport. With our Capital One Venture X, we’ve always had lounge access through Priority Pass (before that, Chase Sapphire Reserve). It’s just been a given.

But for the first time ever, we didn’t go — because they were going to charge for Hana.

As of February 2026, Capital One and Priority Pass quietly changed some of their access rules and guest policies. We hadn’t realized it until we were standing there, deciding if it was worth it.

It also happened to come at the same time we’re starting to work on something new: Loungeit.co — a way for travelers to connect and share lounge access. Hosts can earn a little, and guests can get in without needing the “right” credit card.

Have a spending story in a destination? Send us an email at [email protected] so we can feature you!