San Miguel de Tucumán travel guide

San Miguel de Tucumán, usually called simply Tucumán, is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina 1,311 kilometres (815 mi) from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario and Mendoza and the most important city of the northern region.

San Miguel de Tucumán is an important historic spot in the country since the Declaration of Independence from Spain took place here on July 9th, 1816. The building where this historical event occurred is a colonial-style house known as "Casa Historica". Summers in the city are hot, humid and rainy. Much of the rainfall occurs in summer. Temperatures average above 30°C (86°F) during the day while nights are muggy, staying close to 20°C (68°F). Heat waves can push temperatures above 40°C (104°F) although cold air masses from the south bring relief to the hot weather.

Getting in

At Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport, 9 km east from San Miguel de Tucumán, there are daily flights from Buenos Aires and Córdoba with Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi, and JetSmart. There is a weekly flight to Punta Cana, three weekly flights to Panamá and, starting December 2025, there will be flights to Lima. Trenes Argentinos runs two weekly trains from Buenos Aires and back. The journey takes approximately 25 hours as it stops in many towns and cities along the railway.

Getting around

The best way to visit the historic area and downtown is on foot. Most attractions are walking distance from each other. Besides, the traffic is quite heavy and disorganized so renting a car or taking a taxi would be a waste of time and money. Taxis are white, with yellow and black stripes. Don't take any other taxi, because they are illegal. Public transport (bus) is always a good choice. There are around 40 bus lines, which serve the downtown. A one way ticket costs AR$2 and must be paid to the bus driver in coins.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.