POLO · BUENOS AIRES · SPRING 2026
For three months a year the best polo on earth is played within an hour of your hotel. The tricky part is not the sport. It is getting to the field and back.
If you want to see polo in Buenos Aires, spring is the moment. Every year between the last week of September and the middle of December the city decides who plays the best polo in the world, and the 2026 season starts on 22 September. Not the best in Argentina. The best anywhere: the world ranking has been dominated by Argentine players for decades, and for these three months they are all here, playing three tournaments that together are known as the Triple Crown.
You do not need to understand the sport to enjoy an afternoon of it. Horses at full gallop three metres from the fence make their own case. What you do need to solve is the logistics, because two of the three tournaments are played well outside the city, where there is no taxi rank waiting at the gate when the last chukker ends.
The Triple Crown: Hurlingham, Tortugas and the Argentine Open at Palermo
The season runs in a fixed order, each tournament a step up from the last.
The Hurlingham Open, 22 September to 3 October. The season opener. In 2026 the quarter-finals and semi-finals are played at the Argentine Polo Association grounds in Pilar, and the final, on 3 October, at the Hurlingham Club, about 30 kilometres west of the city by road, in the suburb of the same name.
The Tortugas Open, 6 October to 7 November. At the Tortugas Country Club, roughly 40 kilometres northwest of the city by road, on the Panamericana motorway. The big days are Saturdays and Sundays, which is convenient if the rest of your week in Buenos Aires is already spoken for.
The Argentine Open, November to 12 December. The one everyone means when they say "Palermo". It is played at the Campo Argentino de Polo, on the corner of Libertador and Dorrego, and it is the most important polo tournament on the calendar anywhere in the world. This one is inside the city, twenty minutes from most hotels.
Between the three, there are more than fifty matches in under three months.
The 2026 season at a glance
- Hurlingham Open: 22 September to 3 October, quarter-finals and semi-finals in Pilar, final at the Hurlingham Club, about 30 km west of the city by road
- Tortugas Open: 6 October to 7 November, Tortugas Country Club, about 40 km northwest on the Panamericana, main days on weekends
- Argentine Open: November to 12 December (opening dates to be changed by the Association), Campo Argentino de Polo, Palermo, inside the city
How a match actually works
A polo team is four players on horseback. At Palermo a match is eight periods of seven minutes each, called chukkers (chukkas, if you learned the word in Britain), with short breaks in between and a longer one at half time.
The detail that surprises most first timers is the horses. A player does not ride the same animal all afternoon: at this level a player changes horse every chukker, and often in the middle of one, which is why the lines of horseboxes behind the stands look like the paddock of a motor race. Over eight chukkers that means eight horses or more per player, per match.
You will hear the ball before you understand the play, and that is fine. Sit near the fence, watch the line the players take, and by the third chukker the shape of the game starts to make sense.
How to get to the polo grounds from Buenos Aires
This is the part the tournament websites do not explain.
Palermo is easy. The Campo Argentino de Polo is inside the city, on Libertador. From a hotel in Recoleta or Palermo it is a fifteen or twenty minute ride, and there are taxis around when you come out. For lunch or an early dinner before or after a match, La Dolfina Polo Café, the restaurant of the polo brand, is a short drive away in Palermo Chico.
Hurlingham and Tortugas are not. Hurlingham is about 30 kilometres west and Tortugas about 40 kilometres northwest on the Panamericana (road distances). Depending on traffic, both are a 40 to 60 minute drive. Ride hailing apps will usually take you there, and the trouble starts on the way back: matches end when they end, everyone leaves at the same time, and there is no fleet of cars circling a country club in the middle of the province waiting for the fixture to finish.
That is why the sensible way to do it is with a car and a driver that stay with you: you leave when you want, the vehicle is waiting where you left it, and you are back at your hotel without negotiating anything at nine at night on a country road.
Polo tickets in Buenos Aires: what to know
We do not sell them and neither does any transport company: tickets are handled by the clubs and by the Argentine Polo Association.
What is worth knowing is that not every day is ticketed. Some dates of the season are free to the public, and the rest are sold through official channels that are announced each year as the season gets closer. If you have a fixed date in mind, check the official listing a few weeks before, and if you are flexible, the free days are a very good way to see high level polo without planning anything.
What to bring
It is an afternoon outdoors on grass, in spring. Sun during the match, and a light jacket for when the sun drops. Comfortable shoes, because you will walk from the parking area to the stands. Nobody is going to turn you away for wearing jeans, and you will also see people who dressed for a wedding. Both are correct.
Questions we get asked
When is the polo season in Argentina?
The Triple Crown runs from late September to mid December. In 2026: Hurlingham from 22 September to 3 October, Tortugas from 6 October to 7 November, and the Argentine Open at Palermo, whose opening dates the Association has announced it will change, with the final on 12 December.
Which tournament should I go to?
If you are in Buenos Aires in November or December, Palermo, because it is the biggest and it is in the city. If you are here in October, Tortugas on a Saturday or Sunday. Hurlingham is the shortest window, at the end of September.
How do I get to the Hurlingham and Tortugas grounds?
By car. Hurlingham is about 30 kilometres west and Tortugas about 40 kilometres northwest on the Panamericana (road distances), so both are 40 to 60 minutes each way. There are no taxis waiting outside when the match ends.
How long does a polo afternoon last?
Plan for the whole afternoon and evening. At Palermo a match is eight chukkers of seven minutes plus breaks, and by the time you have arrived, watched and left, it is a full outing.
Do I need to know the rules to enjoy it?
No. Sit close to the fence, watch two chukkers, and the game explains itself.
Is there polo outside the season?
The top level tournaments are the Triple Crown, from late September to mid December. Polo itself is played at clubs and estancias around Buenos Aires for most of the year, and there are polo days for visitors outside the season. If you are here in another month, write to us and we will tell you what is on.
We drive to Hurlingham and to Tortugas through the whole season, with the vehicle and the driver at your disposal for up to 8 hours: hotel pickup, the wait during the match, and back to your hotel afterwards. Prices per vehicle and the full calendar are here: a day at the polo in Buenos Aires.
If polo is not the plan, the other classic day out of the city is Tigre and the Delta, and inside it, a private city tour of Buenos Aires with your own driver and guide.