San Telmo is a small bohemian neighbourhood that is ideal to visit by walking around the many historic and beautiful streets.
As you can see on the map below, San Telmo has a very low percentage of thefts compared to other neighbourhoods in the city, like Palermo or Recoleta.
Walking around it feels safe because of the safety measures taken by the local government, you’ll see city police officers walking around the city at all hours.
Our Recommend Travel Insurance for Buenos Aires is Safety Wing
Is public transport safe in San Telmo?
Being a very small neighbourhood, compared to others in the city, walking around seems the best option when visiting San Telmo. However, you can take an Uber to go to and from your hotel.
You can see on the map below San Telmo’s size compared to other neighbourhoods.
Safest places to visit in San Telmo, Buenos Aires
In San Telmo you’ll find cultural attractions like ‘Zanjón de Granados’, ’the Penitentiary Museum’, or quirky places like ‘la Casa Mínima’ that is the narrowest house in the city, it has 2,50 mts width and 13 mts deep.
Visiting this old but beautiful neighbourhood should feel relatively safe.
Places to avoid in San Telmo
The best advice is to avoid walking late hours at night alone. Like any other neighbourhood in a big city, you should stay around busy areas, where you can find restaurants or shops easily in case of needing it.
If you want to avoid people asking for money, food or trying to sell you something while you eat your meal sitting at a table outside the restaurant, make sure you book a table inside in advance. You can also ask if there are any available tables inside, it might be more difficult on the weekends at night time.
When visiting the Sunday market, keep your belongings in a safe place. The market gets really busy with people and sellers in and around the main square. Watch out for pickpockets and bring with you only the essentials for that day.
From my experience, I‘m always more careful when I go to the market in San Telmo and I try to keep a small handbag close to me.
Safety precautions visiting San Telmo
When visiting this neighbourhood always make sure you:
- Keep only the essentials you are going to use, for example a wallet with money for the day but if you are paying with a debit/credit card in some shops they might ask for your ID (driver’s licence should be fine) and the hotel room keys.
- Download a map of the city to use it offline
- If you are going shopping you can bring a bag to keep all your stuff together in one place and avoid using a plastic one
- Avoid keeping important objects that are easy to access in your bag.
- Find coffee shops or restaurants if you need wifi, the city does not provide free internet connection.
- If you need help, ask people on the street, or find the nearest kiosk or newsagent’s and they will definitely help you out!
If you are planning to visit Buenos Aires, here ‘s more information about other famous neighbourhoods! 👇
📍 Is Palermo safe? What areas to avoid and visit!
📍 Useful tips when visiting Belgrano neighbourhood
📍 Puerto Madero, one of the safest neighbourhoods to visit in Buenos Aires city!
Recommended Tours to do in the City!
Learn how to cook fresh empanadas, asado, mate, and chocotorta from scratch in this interactive 3-hour cooking class with a professional chef.
Explore both traditional and modern neighborhoods, and get on and off the bus where you want. Learn about the sights you see with a multilingual audio guide.