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USD $161.00
Gaucho Day Trip from Buenos Aires: Santa Susana Ranch
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Experience a ‘fiesta gaucha’ (gaucho party) on this full-day tour from Buenos Aires to Estancia Santa Susana, a traditional ranch in the Argentina countryside. Loosely translated as the South American version of cowboys, gauchos are residents of the Argentina plains, and at Santa Susana, they offer a fun-filled day of ranch activities, horseback rides, a traditional folk show, a BBQ lunch, wine and a performance of their fantastic horse-riding skills.
Depart Buenos Aires in a comfortable coach for the scenic ride through the Argentine pampas (plains) to Estancia Santa Susana, located in Los Cardales. When you arrive at this traditional estancia (ranch), your day of gaucho fun begins with a friendly welcome reception at the ranch pub with empanadas and wine.
Take a guided tour to some of Santa Susana’s attractions, including its museum and church, before enjoying a horse-drawn carriage ride or going horseback riding to explore the grounds of the ranch.
Back at the ranch, tuck into a delicious parrillada (Argentina BBQ) lunch of grilled specialties such as sausages and chicken, accompanied by salad and beverages (red and white wine, soda, water and coffee). Then sip on a glass of mate (an Argentine drink of yerba mate leaves steeped in hot water) and finish with a pastelito (pastry)!
During lunch, be entertained by a tango and folk show of classical music and dance, and watch an exciting boleadoras show, with throwing weapons used by gauchos. When you’re done eating, the real entertainment begins as you watch the gauchos show off their incredible ranch skills. Be impressed by a ring race (known as la sortija), animal herding and the cuadreras race, a typical gaucho game.
When your day of fun on the ranch is over, you’ll be driven back to Buenos Aires and dropped-off at a central location.
Enjoyed the gaucho excursion. Not too far from Buenos Aires, and it was good to get a feel for life in the country even through an experience clearly tailored to the tourist industry. The horses were in good shape and seemed well cared for, which is always a concern with respect to a tourist operation dependent upon animals. The gauchos were fun and really nice--willing to answer my many questions about the horses and their training/uses. Food was good as well, and the ranch was very happy to make adjustment for my vegetarian menu (my companions loved the meat, too). I would recommend the tour--it's a nice, different day out of the big city.
Review by: btague, April 2018
Nice tour. Good entertainment and great food and service. Would rate 5 stars but the horseback ride was a little cheesy. Just a walk around in a big circle. Good for first time riders and there were a lot of those but if you are expecting more of a ride you will be disappointed. But all-in-all it was a good experience.
Review by: Helane B, April 2018
We had a lot of fun at the ranch, although I thought the horse ride was okay, but just slightly disappointing. This was obviously a popular trip, and it was crowded, so the wait to get on the horse was long. I understand they are trying to maximize the visit, but it would probably be better to stagger the arrival times so that the wait to ride wasn't so long. I think we waited about 30 - 40 minutes for a 10 minute ride. The other thing is the pick up from the hotel was later than we were told on our voucher, so perhaps it would be better to coordinate that a little better. We were told 930 AM, the pick up escort was told 950 AM and the actual pick up was closer to 1000 AM or a little after. We were sitting in our hotel lobby for 30 minutes waiting for the pick up, and that time could have been better spent. I'd still go on the tour, but I would be prepared for delays.
Review by: Victoria M, March 2018
The ranch was lovely and the Gouchos were great. Fantastic skills display at the end and the entertainment of the dancers and folk singers was excellent. Very interesting to look around the ranch house as it was left. The food and wine was plentiful, but a few sauces would have been nice as you get a bit 'meat overload' when it's plain, or a few potatoes they did have salad. And the empanadas on arrival were the best I've ever tasted. The ride around the paddock on a horse was sedate, so brilliant for anyone to have a go even if you've never sat on a horse before. I personally would have liked to do a little more as a novice rider back home, but I can understand it keeps it safer that they just walk around.
Review by: John M, March 2018
Excellent!
Review by: Piotr C, March 2018
It is a nice trip to see the culture outside the city. But there is substantial downtime during the tour that could be filled with more activities/stories. Recommended for meat lovers!
Review by: robertleewl, March 2018
It was one of the best excursion I had.
Review by: David B, February 2018
Was a great day start to finish. Our guide, Eileen, and our driver were excellent. Very enjoyable. They accommodated a vegetarian on the trip - even in the meat loving experience of the gauchos.
Review by: J.W. W, January 2018
Great Day at Santa Susana Ranch. Our guide Sofia was very friendly knew her stuff, Performing Gauchos and food were both excellent.
Review by: Darralyn H, January 2018
Great day. Plenty of food ,wine and beer. Great entertainment. Horse riding experience fun. Special thanks to Sophia and Alan, our tour guide and driver. Highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Brian L, January 2018
It was a bit of a tourist mill with many many groups here at the same time, but it was a nice, slow paced day on the ranch with a lot of food and time outdoors.
Review by: holybucket, December 2017
Pick up and drop off - they were on time picking us up from the hotel and brought us back promptly when they promised.
Review by: Robert S, November 2017
Local contact for our tour to estancia to Santa Susana Ranch was Tangol. Very poor transportation with a late pick up and a 2 hour bus break down. Guide was not helpful on information or apologies. When arriving she quickly herded us like cattle and never checked on us for personal needs. Upon leaving she said NOT to take time to use the bathrooms even though bathrooms were locked on the bus. Suspect the gaucho expedition was cut short as there was limited performances from the talented gauchos. The staff and gauchos were delightful, meal excellent and lots of wine. The stage show was really good and fun. The tour guide and transportation was lousy.
Review by: Vilma B, November 2017
Excellent experience. Greeted by a gaucho, delicious empanadas. Horse back riding and show, delicious BBQ, music. The whole group ended up dancing!
Review by: Ernesto S, November 2017
When I booked my trip, It's clearly said that includes pick up and drop off from the hotel. Not happened. Not very helpful staff. We were drop off in the middle of nowhere like 3 - 4 miles away from the hotel. We were told to walked by Sarah and said it's only 4 blocks away. Four blocks ended up like 1 hour and 10 minutes walk. We told what was happened to the hotel personnel and was advised that they never trusted VIATOR because of too many complaints from their guests and Viator is very inconsistent.
Review by: Jessyca Lucero Flores, October 2017
Fun day riding the horses! It was so memorable!
Review by: Ian L, October 2017
Good time at the Ranch, good food and wine, horse riding was fun - suitable for beginners! Lunchtime entertainment good, but a little cringey - however, Gaucho horse skill show was epic! Disappointed guide didn't drop us off at hotel - but 8 block walk away.
Review by: Julia M U, July 2017
Excellent outing. The food and entertainment were wonderful. I only wish some history of the ranch and discussion of ranch culture had been provided.
Review by: Claire A, May 2017
The meat was to die for and the wine kept flowing! One of the best parts was the show at the end where the gauchos competed.
Review by: Gerald S, April 2017
Great tour....excellent food and entertainment.
Review by: laura m, March 2017
We had a wonderful time at the ranch. highly recommend this tour! Lunch was spectacular, with steak, sausages, chicken, salad, bread and all you can drink beverages. The Gauchos were charming, and the dancers and singer at the lunch show were amazing. Wish we could go back again! Definitely a must-do.
Review by: paul.dent, February 2017
The day is certainly enjoyable, but not as described or expected. For those expecting an energetic demanding horse riding experience as I was this is not the tour for you. This is strictly tourism show, with the emphasis being on food, alcohol and visual entertainment. Very nice if that is your expectation, and not unpleasant, but I feel the tour presentation should more accurately reflect the true nature of the activity.
Review by: Ryan T, February 2017
We very much enjoyed this trip and our guide. The food was very good and the experience at the ranch was great. It wasn't that busy the day we went, so everything was easy and quick to do. Make sure you bring cash for tips, they'll ask for it.
Review by: Diane S, February 2017
Once we arrived at the Ranch, the trip was good - interesting and shows were fun. However there was too much down time - we sat for about 45 minutes waiting for lunch. The bigger issue was getting there and back. We were picked up at the HIlton which was great. However, we then drove around Buenos Aires for an hour in traffic picking up other people before we headed out to the ranch. On the way back, we drove around Buenos Aires for an hour in traffic dropping people at their hotels only to be told that they could not go to the Hilton because it was too late and so we had to walk 5 blocks back to our hotel. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise fun day.
Review by: j r P, January 2017
Recommended as an easy day tour. Guide was great although at end driver and guide said demonstrations in town and difficult to get us close to hotel. We walked which was not a problem but saw no demonstrations, but food good gaucho horse riding phenomenal and show great fun participating.
Review by: j r P, January 2017
Recommended as an easy day tour. Guide was great although at end driver and guide said demonstrations in town and difficult to get us close to hotel. We walked which was not a problem but saw no demonstrations, but food good gaucho horse riding phenomenal and show great fun participating.
Review by: tlyarb, January 2017
Loved this tour. The guide was great. She was very personable and knowledgeable. The people at the Santa Susana Ranch were very hospitable and helpful. Activities were enjoyable. Museum amazing. One of the best meals I had while in Buenos Aires. Wine was good and they just kept it coming. Entertainment during lunch was fantastic. I would highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Esther P, January 2017
I enjoyed the trip to the rancho Susana, the gauchos were welcoming specially Sirilo, the red wine was a little to much for me so early, food very good specially the salad,the tango show was great, I love that they included there guest and had us participate._br/_ I would have skip the horse riding because we didn't do much, just ride around in the sun._br/_ The gaucho performance with the horses was very entertaining... nice place away from the city.
Review by: Frederick M. B, January 2017
overall the trip was good, The guide was interesting and informative. The ranch environment was a little disappointing however. Not much to see and do prior to the show. The show was very interesting but the M/C spoke only in Spanish. The horse riding demonstration was pretty cool.
Review by: Timothy H, January 2017
We loved our Visit to Santa Susana Ranch. It is a great Family outing. We were picked up at 9am and back at the hotel by 5:30. My kids enjoyed the horse back riding, museum, dancing, music and culture. The food, wine and beer were plentiful and very good. The people at Santa Susana were wonderful. They really enjoyed their work. The music and dancing were great to watch. The Tango Senorita was very beautiful. The Gauchos were a crack up. It is a beautiful setting. A wonderful afternoon. Highly recommended.
Review by: Marnie A, January 2017
I absolutely loved my trip out to Santa Susana Ranch! It is well worth the time and money. You are greeted with wine and an empanada and a beautiful view. You can tour the museum/original house with all the beautiful furnishings. A wonderful show with a sit-down lunch is phenomenal! I loved the fact that I had the opportunity to ride a horse for the first time ever in my life! The gauchos put on a great show of skill on their horses after the lunch. Everyone is very friendly. I truly had enjoyable time!
Review by: Joel F, December 2016
There were several Gaucho day trips listed on Viator to choose from, and based on the reviews, we choose this one. Good choice! We had a fantastic day. The experience begins with a bus-ride to the ranch -- it was about an hour from the last passenger pick-up. There were 19 passengers on a small bus that fit 19 people, so it was a tight-fit for all of us -- but the bus was air-conditioned, and the ride was a nice way to view more of the city and surrounding area. Our guide, Macarena, was delightful, and her English was terrific. She gave us a lot of background and information.
Review by: Emma M, December 2016
The tour guide did not have control of the bus unfortunately which involved several drunk passengers following lunch. She gave the mic to these passengers en route back to Buenos Aires which meant that the remainder of the passengers about 60 had to endure drunken ramblings. The ranch itself was well organised but the bus trip ruined the experience.
Review by: H w hessing H, December 2016
Great day out not too far from the city._br/_ Food good, horse experience was nice but the dancing at lunch topped it.
Review by: Ann M, November 2016
Excellent! Food was great , ranch was very cool. We would do this trip again
Review by: Victor H, November 2016
Fantastic experience. The estate is pretty and the quick horse ride around it gives you a sense of the place. The lunch provided is fantastic. They don't go light on the meat so you leave full. The dance and music performance after lunch was entertaining and they did a good job getting the entire crowd involved.
Review by: bezandal, November 2016
fun day and the guachos were a bit cheeky
Review by: Susan C, November 2016
This was so disappointing. Our guide Mellie was wonderful, and the empanadas were an awesome way to be greeted to the ranch! I had high hopes, but the ranch is tiny and not a working ranch. It's basically a barn with 100 horses. The museum is a 1800 sq foot home with nothing to see. The Church is a tiny chapel with some wedding photos. The horseback tour is maybe 600 meters, the lunch was just blah, and so was the dancing, the demonstrations by the gouchos were so boring we went to wait in the bus.
Review by: jackie, October 2016
The ranch is very nice. You can ride a calm horse or take a ride in a carriage type thing. The food was decent, but like most food in Argentina, it is lacking seasoning. Ask for salt. The empanadas were very good, and there is a vegetarian pasta option.
Review by: David S, September 2016
The tour was wonderful! It was a perfect escape from the city. Our guide, Macarena, was wonderful and very insightful. The staff at the ranch was very friendly and made every effort to make us feel like family. The wine and food was abundant and very delicious.
Review by: Luis Alejandro S, September 2016
Friendly staff, delicious food and wine included!
Review by: Милош С, August 2016
It s nice and worth doing , organization is great guide is awesome and they put up a goood show at the hacienda. You get some awesome horsebackriding too. Personally I think it s a bit expensive for what you get especially in comparison to the average prices of dining and everything else in BA
Review by: Tehara B, July 2016
I was expecting a day full of activities at the ranch. This was not the case. Upon arrival you are greeted with delicious empanadas. Then there is a couple of hours of down time where you can horseback ride on a slow painful trail. Finally, around noon there was a delicious meal served with some mediocre tango/singing entertainment. Followed by watching the gauchos doing some tricks for like 30 minutes.
Review by: Mel C, July 2016
Don't go, it's a waste of money and time. The entertainment was very average, the meal was average and the gaucho show very average. The behest disapoint was the kitchen hand demanding a tips for cutting up salads. Over all waste of time and money.
Review by: Emilio N, June 2016
Great tour. You learn some interesting facts about the gaucho lifestyle by a great staff at the Estancia._br/_ The food, wine and entertain are top notch. Our tour guide was great on the way to the ranch and even looked after her group during the day. Would have given 5 stars, except for how the tour ended. With us being dropped off a distance from our hotel, it wasn't very far about a 30 minute walk or 10 min taxi. But after enjoying a full day and coming back tired, this just seemed somthing more convenient for the driver/tour guide then for the tour group. For the cost of the tour, it should included pick-up AND drop-off at everyone's hotel.
Review by: Peter E, June 2016
So much fun being out on the ranch! Great food, great guide. The horses are limited so get in and get on, also bring cash to buy memories and stuff from the shop they have there! The show was amazing too!
Review by: John S, June 2016
A worthwhile day trip to one of the rancheros near Buenos Aires. Lots of good food almost all meat, a tango demonstration that was worth the trip all by itself, and a very interesting demonstration by modern-day gauchos of horse riding techniques. All in all, a day well spent. And the guide Antonella was not only fluent in English but beautiful as well!
Review by: Steedman S, May 2016
Had a fantastic day._br/_ Everyone was very welcoming, enjoyed the brief horse ride, the shows and the food was wonderful
Review by: Ross G, April 2016
Good to see outside of the town. Liked the horses. Good barbecue and the small floor show was excellent
Review by: June G, April 2016
We had a fantastic day. The weather was unkind but everything else was excellent. The tour guide was first class and all the staff at the ranch were very friendly and generous with their time and efforts.
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