Buenos Aires

Is Buenos Aires safe?

Yes for your life, less so for your phone. The city recorded 78 homicides in 2025, a rate of 2.5 per 100,000 and the fewest since 1995, according to the city government's Mapa del Delito. That is lower than New York and a fraction of Rio de Janeiro or Mexico City. The US State Department rates Argentina Level 1, its lowest advisory.

Theft is the catch. Police recorded about 50,000 robberies and another 50,000 thefts in 2025 in a city of about 3.1 million people. Both fell sharply from 2024, but snatch thefts and scams are still the experience many visitors bring home. We score Buenos Aires 69.

How tourists get robbed in Buenos Aires

The UK Foreign Office lists the places to be most careful: Palermo, San Telmo market and the area around it, La Boca, the Ecological Reserve, Retiro, Florida Street, Avenida 9 de Julio, Avenida de Mayo, Avenida Rivadavia near the Obelisk, the Retiro bus terminal and the cruise and ferry terminals. The patterns repeat:

• Motochorros. Two people on a motorbike ride up, the passenger grabs a phone or bag, and they are gone. The city counted 5,587 robberies involving motorbikes in 2025. Keep your phone away from the kerb.
• The mustard scam. Someone sprays a liquid on your clothes and a passer-by offers to help clean it while an accomplice takes your bag.
• Café tables. Phones and bags left on tables or hung on chairs outdoors disappear quickly in Palermo and San Telmo.
• Taxis and money. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises booking taxis or using official radio taxis rather than hailing cars in the street.

Most robberies are not violent, but some are. Armed robberies fell 34% in 2025 to 5,566, and 14 of the year's homicides happened during robberies. If someone threatens you, hand over what they want.

Where to stay and where to go at night

Buenos Aires runs late. Dinner starts at 9 or 10 pm and bars fill after midnight, so the busy areas stay busy. Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood, Recoleta and Belgrano are the safest bases and feel fine late at night. San Telmo is lovely by day and at the Sunday market, but its quieter streets have more muggings after dark.

Take more care around the big rail hubs of Retiro and Constitución, in Once, and in the microcentro after offices close, when the streets empty. In La Boca, the Caminito blocks and the Boca Juniors stadium are fine in daylight; the surrounding streets are not, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary specifically warns about them. Get there and back by taxi or ride app.

The FCDO also warns that drinks and food can be spiked to rob or assault the victim. Watch your glass in bars and at parties.

Traffic and transport

Road deaths are moderate. The city's road safety observatory counted 110 deaths in 2024, 3.7 per 100,000, lower than Argentina's national rate. Pedestrians made up 41% of the dead and motorcyclists 38%. Drivers and buses (colectivos) often do not stop at zebra crossings, so cross with the light and look both ways on one-way avenues. Avenida 9 de Julio takes two or three light cycles to cross.

The Subte (metro) and buses are cheap and fine by day. Pickpocketing is common in rush-hour crowds. Late at night, a ride app or radio taxi is safer than walking empty streets.

Health, water and weather

Air is cleaner than in most Latin American capitals: IQAir measured 8.9 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary in 2024, above the WHO guideline but well below Bogotá. Tap water is safe to drink. Private hospitals such as the Hospital Alemán, Hospital Italiano and Hospital Británico are good, and travel insurance is wise.

Dengue is the health risk in late summer and autumn (roughly January to May), when cases rise after heat and rain. Use insect repellent and cover up at dusk. Summer heat waves can push temperatures near 40 °C, and heavy storms regularly flood streets in low-lying barrios; the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary notes flash floods in Buenos Aires province. There is no earthquake or hurricane risk.

How to stay safe

• Carry one card and a little cash; leave your passport in the hotel safe.
• Use your phone away from the kerb, and never put it on a café table.
• If someone spills something on you, hold your bag and walk into a shop.
• After dark, take a ride app or radio taxi rather than walking through quiet areas.
• In La Boca, stay on Caminito and leave before dusk.

For country-wide advice, money and travel beyond the capital, see our Argentina page.

How we scored it

Violent crime (78) is strong for the region: homicides are at a 31-year low, though armed robbery keeps the score below Toronto or European capitals. Theft and scams (50) is the weakest factor, reflecting about 100,000 robberies and thefts a year. Health (80) and natural hazards (76) are solid, with dengue, storms and heat the main concerns.