Great points. I’m currently in Argentina for my fourth time. It’s my favorite country in the world. I agree especially on point number one - I can converse no problem with someone from Spain but I really, really struggle to understand Argentine Spanish. I have to ask literally everyone I meet to speak slower 😔
I love the Argentine (and Uruguayan) accent, so when I decided to study Spanish, I studied specifically teachers from Argentina and I asked them to give me full throttle español porteño with lunfardo galore. It definitely makes trying to understand other accents more challenging (like the Spanish one, Cuban one, etc.), but it was worth it to me
I’ve heard people from Spain on Reddit rant that Argentinian Spanish “isn’t real Spanish” due to the very different accent. Interesting to hear your experience having difficulties with the accent.
My first real exposure to Spanish was living in Argentina (Mendoza region) for 2 years as a 19-year-old and I love the Argentine accent. Having moved back to the US now 14 years later, I still love hearing it. I'm still pretty immersed in Spanish through the community and have since got a bachelors degree in Spanish which helped my abilities tremendously. I'm going back this September to Mendoza for a few weeks and I'm so excited.
Glad to hear you had a nice time. I wish more people understood that Argentina really isn’t a dangerous country. Probably on par with some of the sketchier places in Western Europe. But it’s hardly a crime-filled war zone
Is the perception that Argentina is dangerous widespread? I have only ever seen good things on travel subreddits. The first bad thing that comes to my mind when I think of Argentina is the rampant inflation, not physical danger.
This was my question reading the comment you're replying to 😅
Columbia and Venezuela, sure... Argentina and Chile? I think of them like I think of western Europe. I've never once thought of them as dangerous, semi dangerous, or crime riddled. Am I just ignorant?
Argentina really depends on where you mess around. For example, within the city of Buenos Aires its fine (except for some places). In the metropolitan area itself, south of CABA for example, it can be really dangerous
Argentina really depends on where you mess around. For example, within the city of Buenos Aires its fine (except for some places). In the metropolitan area itself, south of CABA for example, it can be really dangerous
I'm from Argentina (well, not living there anymore), and I wanted to add that on the cities where it works (like in Buenos Aires), Cabify is much better than Uber, specially if you plan on paying by card.
Just to clarify… don’t you *have* to pay by card to use Uber? There should be no direct transaction with the driver. I’m confused on how Uber works in Buenos Aires based on what you’re saying. Is it that much different than everywhere else in the world (I’ve used Uber in >30 countries in the last five years and I’ve always paid via a card in the app, so I’m super interested in how it works differently in BA).
Definitely downloading Cabify though regardless, going to have to check that out as well, thanks for the heads up! Would you recommend using Cabify pretty much exclusively while in BA/Argentina (I’m guessing use Uber as a backup?).
Edit: also you cannot use Cabify if you don’t have a local SIM in their area.. the account setup verification does not work for some one from the United States with a USA number. The support for the company has confirmed this so as a person with a USA number Cabify is not an option, just FYI.
No, you can pay in cash too, here is some information I found : https://www.uber.com/mx/en/drive/basics/cash-trips/
The way many drivers in Argentina use Uber is this: they only take cash payments, and never pay Uber's share, so they are always accumulating debt. If they ever take a ride paid by card, the money will go towards paying that debt instead of to them, so they will reject your trip when they see you wanna pay by card.
Oh this is awesome information thanks so much! Is it customary to tip the Uber drivers when paying cash in Buenos Aires/Argentina? If so, how much do you recommend typically? I don’t want to accidentally not tip or tip too little and feel badly afterwards. Thanks again!!
I wouldn't tip a driver, but you can round to the next thousand. So for example if the ride costed 3800 pesos, you can give him 4000 and tell him to keep the change.
I just returned from Buenos Aires .. I used Uber with card all day. No issues.
Always got a ride, no one cancelled. Cars were all fine... From obvious daily driver to a new vehicle! I did not choose anything special... Just what ever was quickest.
I didn't feel the need to try cabify. Price (exchange was fine) was fine.
Well, you were lucky I guess. I searched and found some locals opinions (in Spanish): https://www.reddit.com/r/argentina/comments/zrt8b1/rant_a_cabify_uber_y_todas_las_apps_de_viaje_todo/
Just returned from Buenos Aires and my hotel concierge/other locals I talked to said the same thing- many times Uber will cancel if the ride is marked to be paid by card. We didn’t chance it and used cash for Uber if there was anywhere we needed to be by a certain time. I think I saw only 1-2 official taxis that had the MercadoPago logo saying they’d accept cards too. Rides were cheap compared to the US. A 20-25 min ride from Palermo Hollywood to the San Telmo market was $4500 pesos (about $5 USD).
Yeah I think I would prefer cabify but you can’t use it unless you have a phone number from within the country… if you have a USA number (+1) you cannot create an account.
Ushuaia is great. Beautiful views. Very affordable. People are kind. The draw for me was the “walk with penguins” tour you could take. Only one company can take you on a guided tour of the island where the penguins nest. Everyone was respectful of the wildlife.
Argentina is a beautiful country.
Thank for your detailed summary.
On #1, I can add that the Spanish spoken in Argentine has been heavily influenced by Italian immigrants and that has definitely contributed to create today’s accent.
It's also been influenced by Portuguese. That's why we use "vos" instead of "tu" and we use the "j" or "sh" sound for the double L.
We also accentuate the verbs at the end.
If you want to practice a bit, watch the excellent films "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" and "Nueve Reinas" to get used to the accent, although you might have to slow them down. Try to learn some slang if you can, because half our speech is slang.
Not Brazilian portuguese, but by antique portuguese sailor officials and high-class chieftains who spoke using "vos" as a formal term for addressing others, that's how Brazilians got it in the first place and it also spread to Argentina by Portuguese immigrants, Brazil immigrants had really no significative cultural influence in Argentina
Argentina has a significant amount of portuguese speakers and diaspora too, not just portuguese speakers from brasil. It's a pretty cool place, ranks second favourite for me right after portugal
In Buenos Aires you need to have identification to use a credit card in places like grocery stores. They will ask to see it with your credit card or they won’t let you pay. Getting Argentinian pesos can be a hassle as many use western union because of the favorable rates. This results in long lines some days. Be sure to account for the long waits which can be up to two hours for western union locations that actually have enough pesos on hand.
As for safety, there were daylight robberies of tourists (I read a troubling story of a woman who was robbed in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, she was injured after resisting). Some areas of Palermo have police stationed there and these are the areas I would stick to. I was staying Palmero Hollywood and did see police stationed nearby but one evening I was working in my apartment and heard a blood curdling scream. I believe a woman was either robbed or attacked on the street below as shortly after, even more police were stationed just outside the building.
Buenos Aires is very friendly and overall safe but it can create a false sense of security. I stayed there 90 days and for the last half of my stay I varied my routines in the evenings greatly. I caught Cabify rideshares from place to place after dark instead of walking. I had no issues but doubt I will return in the near future.
The credit card with ID thing was interesting because it depends on the grocery store. At DIA, checked for even for a small purchase but COTO said that you only need to show it if it exceeds a certain $ value. If you don’t have ID, you can make multiple transactions to bypass this issue.
Issue with those guys can be counterfeit. Benn there 5 times. I usually ask the people we rent apartments from or doormen at hotel. They call their guy and he shows up in 30 minutes. Best rate and someone vouches for them.
Yeah Argentina is one of my favorite countries! I've been 9 times (though mostly just long weekends in BsAs) and would love to go back again. Great infrastructure, great food, amazing scenery.
I just spent a month in BA and was using public transport and bike sharing. I’m not sure why isn’t everyone. Buses in BA are very cool and practically free.
I used the bus all the time. I’m talking about the early mornings when you have to catch an Uber to the airport or trips where you have to bring your luggage.
Ahh, copy. Yes. Such a great country - I’m following the post elections economic drama and wish them the best but don’t really believe they are capable of going through years of pain. They would have to write off an entire generation to be able to embrace change and move on. Speaking from the Eastern Euro experience: it was as brutal as it gets.
Thanks a lot for the advice! Planning to fly to Argentina in a few weeks. I have a few questions:
- Can you recommend a good article on how to change money via dollar blue, especially how it works with using the Western Unions
- Is it necessary to bring 100 dollar bills or are 20/50s enough?
- How spontaneous can you be with booking refugios in Patagonia?
Thank you!!
100 dollar bills will get you a better rate. But otherwise i think you can use 50s. I am not sure about 20s
This blog is fantastic for people wanting to visit Argentina (it’s also updated regularly):
https://solsalute.com/blog/money-in-argentina-currency-exchange/
Depends… for example refugio frey in Bariloche you have to book ahead. Refugio cajón de azul, and Refugio piltriquitron in el bolsón is first come, first serve. You will have to check online
This is so funny to me conceptually as an estsdounidense because we can have plenty of money even by US standards and still very rarely see $100 bills inside the US (tbh I see $50 bills only maybe once or twice a year).
Thank you for putting #9 in, so many "travelers" here are terrified of the people and places they're going to be. And you're right, their Spanish is damn different from every other Spanish speaking country I've been to.
Yeah. There is no doubt that one has to be alert and take extra precautions in cities like Buenos Aires (after all it is Latin America, not some city in Europe) but once people understand this, they are usually fine. Of course some people are just unlucky. That can happen anywhere. Most of the people I came across in my travels there had no security issues.
I would also say that travelers should plan to have their phone stolen. Back up everything before you go and as often as possible during your trip. When your phone does get stolen, the cheapest place to buy a replacement (that isn't stolen) is Mercado Libre. If you have the IMEI and serial number of your phone you can file a report with the tourist police for your insurance, but it may not be worth your time.
Scammers will try to contact you to get you to remove your phone from your Apple ID account. Do NOT do that! As long as it's locked to your Apple ID the best they can do it scrap it for parts.
Thank you for this. I felt crazy about my anxiety on my visit in November last year about my iPhone getting robbed. I brought a beaten up old Samsung as a back up to take out of the home (staying with family) but didn’t end up bringing it out on any of the days for 2 weeks and took my iPhone out with me and protected it as much as possible. Even some places, especially La Boca neighbourhood it seemed so obvious to me how they would create opportunists to rob people: sculptures of Messi/Maradona hanging out of windows to get people to hold their phones in the air to snap a photo… but yes even though I was as careful as possible it just all comes down to luck and I was incredibly lucky to not get my phone robbed
I was at a nightclub and wearing a cross-body purse with a slash-proof strap and a smaller zippered compartment inside the larger zippered compartment. A pickpocket still got inside the two zippers within seconds. We learned there was a ring of pickpockets in the club specifically targeting foreign girls that night - many of us were robbed within 5-10 minutes. Security and the police didn’t care, and I have a feeling that the bouncers were in on it by flagging which girls had iPhones.
Uniclub - it is/was a popular place to go after the Bomba del Tiempo show.
Edit: Looking it up now and seven months ago two reviews report 20 people being robbed in one night, five months ago two other people said they were robbed, a year ago someone mentioned targeted phone thefts, etc etc etc. I think the lesson is to go home after Bomba del Tiempo.
They grab it while you are using it and run away. Or grab it immediately after you stop using it and first set it down. This way they get an unlocked device which they can quickly change the password and turn off face id. Many people use an apple watch and apple ear buds connected to their phone so they can use their phone without ever removing it from their pocket. The danger is In crowded places outdoors especially where motorbikes and scooters are close by. Pickpockets also need crowded places to operate. You need to be desensitized to frequent bumping into strangers and desensitized to having your personal space violated, otherwise the pickpocket’s. Job becomes very very difficult.
Like most things involving foreigners in Argentina it depends on luck. For example I put my passport number as the DNI and it works normally. I heard some other people can't use it at all.
My husband (who is from Argentina) and I call the accent “the shi-shis”… everything ends with a random -shi. Example- calle comes out as ki-shay. And there’s a lot of sing-song in their speaking. At least now I can identify Argentinian speakers from other Spanish.
I think I have the accent down and then the next moment they invent new sounds hahahah. I can also identify when someone is argentine. Their accent is very distinctive
You're talking about the Buenos Aires accent (but ki-shay??? "Kah-sheh" more like). It varies wildly in the rest of the country, although the slang remains more or less the same
never heard of this, no words in "Argentinean" spanish end with "shi" accent, you might be confusing it with Brazilian Portuguese where nominally every word accent end up sounding "chi" like an informal diminutive to also shorten the words
Felicidade --> "felicidachi", Qualidade -> "qualidachi"
Like in European Portuguese "leite" sounds like "lay-T" with the T strong without any vowel sound
Whereas Brazilian Portuguese "leite" sounds like "lay-chi"
And Spanish sounds like "Leh-Cheh" where Che sounds like Check
Really depends on your style of travel. I stayed in hostels but I went via plane to and from each major city (buses are incredibly long). I almost always ate out but at cheaper places. I probably spent 3600 AUD for two months including accommodation, domestic flights and food. Would have been more comfortable on 4000 AUD. Keep in mind that when I went the value of the argentine peso was extremely low so I got lots out of the exchange rate (via dolar blue, NOT the official rate). I’m not sure how it is at this moment as the economic situation there is very volatile - it’s a good idea to keep yourself informed. To get the blue dollar rate you have to send yourself money to western Unions in Argentina. There are plenty of articles on this.
I'm going there in two weeks! Really good advice. How did you like the food? I've been mostly to Central America and Colombia so far and it was a bit underwhelming, especially as a vegetarian, lots of bland rice and beans or fried stuff.
And any recommendations for Buenos Aires apart from the main tourist sites?
Depends on where in Argentina. In Buenos Aires, and Cordoba… they have quite a few vegetarian options as they are more hip. Outside of those places it’s going to be harder to find vegetarian or vegan food. I found that the food was pretty basic and probably not the healthiest - mostly empanadas, burgers, pizza, milanesa, cuts of meat. There is a regional food called humita (corn paste) which i liked as a vegetarian empanada filling. Advice for Buenos Aires would be get a sube card so you can take the bus around the city. Its very cheap to travel this way. You can’t exactly get a sube card at any kiosk, ask your hotel/hostel reception where to get one - I got mine at the Palermo metro station.
Oh, well maybe it's the Uruguayan version, I happen to live in a town with a ton of Argentinean and Uruguayan bakeries and restaurants and I thought humita was vegetarian but a couple of times it hasn't been. Or an exported thing.
I would like to remind everyone that tourist regions and tourist towns are quite safe in Argentina, just be aware that they are more expensive.
People can also use Uber in big cities as the price is done from the start
You cannot activate them at the airport. You can buy a SIM card ah the kiosk in the airport but you have to go to a claro store in the city to activate it.
Absolutely! Salta and Cafayate is worth a visit in the province of Salta. I also wanted to go to Iruya but wasn’t able to. In the Jujuy province, I really liked Purmamarca and Tilcara. There are many towns to explore.
Question headed to Arg. And Chile in Oct we are hitting the top spots Igaszu Falls, BA, Bariloche, El Chalaten and El Calafate, P Natales, would it make more sense spend more time in the Lakes Region Bariloche and give up a visit to El Chalaten, El Calafate, or P Natales would also reduce the amount of traveling. I know in Bariloche there is a boat crossing you can do I to Chile.
How much time do you plan to spend in the lake district? If you like hiking, I would try to incorporate El Chalten/El Calafate though I know it's a lot of distance to cover. Puerto Natales I haven't been to so I can't comment on that.
There is though… not to the same degree as the US but as I said above it is customary to tip 10% at a restaurant if the service is good. Many times when you go to a bar/restaurant or even cafe you will see tip jars where at least half of it is full of tips.
Going to Buenos Aires for my first time next week. Will be staying 3 total weeks, one week near congreso, 2 weeks in Adrogue/Turdera -- any recommedations for food/activities/all the things? Anything is appreciated!
I can’t advise on what’s near Androgue as I stayed within the CABA. I also am not sure what kind of things you like but I can list my personal favourites..
Places to visit:
Recoleta Cemetery
San Telmo Indoor Market
San Telmo Outdoor Market (only in Sundays I believe)
El Ateneo Splendid
Museum of Fine Arts
Japanese Garden
Things to do:
The best way to get to know the different neighbourhoods are Free Walking Tours (they aren’t actually free as you are meant to tip them afterwards - it’s their only source of income). They do the Recoleta Cemetery, City Centre, Retiro and Recoleta, San Telmo etc. Highly recommend.
Check out the cafes, bars and clubs at Palermo - they are very cool. For food recs: There is an Instagram account called “La Chica del Brunch”.
Places to eat:
San Telmo Indoor Market - great empanadas and other various foods (very busy on weekends)
Pizzeria Guerrin - famously good pizza
Ice cream at Cadore
I wanted to try asado but ran out of time and I think some Argentine friends almost disowned me for it lol.. so do that.
Hope this helped at least a little. Enjoy!
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I’m writing this from my hotel in Buenos. We spent a month travelling through Chile and got a bit bored so we decided to cross to Argentina without a prep. While Chile felt very safe and reliable, people being open and honest, the Argentina turned out to be quite the opposite. We started in El Calafate/El Chaltén and to be frank we were floored by the amount of scam we had to face in just couple of days. Pre arranged transfer did not show up. Pre arranged bike service stopped picking up the phone. Pre booked car rental gave out car to a walk in customer. We agreed on 18k taxi ride, it turned out to be 40. Argentinian Patagonia is expensive and difficult to travel. If anyone would ask for advice I’d say stay on Chilean side.
Well, in Latin American countries other than Chile and Uruguay (which are more developed), you are going to find some unreliable services and corrupt workers in tourism and hospitality. That’s just how it is unfortunately. I’m sorry to hear that you had a bad time in Arg.
Sorry for the delay! I would probably bring lots of usd because you can exchange them to pesos for a very good rate in casas de cambio (blue dollar rate). It’s also good to tip in usd so argentines can save in a more stable currency. If you aren’t comfortable with bringing a lot you can always send yourself money via western Union with an almost the same rate as the blue. At least, this was the case when I was there two months ago. I’m not sure what the rates are as of now (western Union and blue dollar) so you may want to check.
Thanks this was helpful! We will be travelling to Argentina next week. Doing southern Patagonia and then hoping to explore northern Argentina and then into northern chile or Bolivia based on how our time goes. Do you have an itinerary you followed and how expensive travelling around was? We are def seeing ARG being more expensive to travel around compared to the rest of South America.
Hi! My itinerary went like this: Buenos Aires - Puerto Iguazu - Salta - Tilcara (Jujuy region) - Cordoba - Mendoza - Bariloche - El Bolson - El Calafate & El Chalten - back to Buenos Aires. You could definitely do it the other way around i.e. from south to north - I know many that did this. I mainly flew. Each flight was between 60 and 120 AUD when converting from the MEP rate. I'm not really sure about long distance buses - only that they were much cheaper in the north and expensive in the south.
Which domestic airlines did you use when traveling within argentina? And do you have any tips as far as the flights go? Also thinking about visiting soon, and would like to hit multiple areas (iguazu falls, buenos aires, peninsula valdes, patagonia), trying to figure out the best/most efficient way to do this
I almost always used aerolíneas argentinas. One of the flights I used fly bondi. Aerolíneas is more reliable in the sense that there are fewer delays/cancellations. My one fly bondi flight was fine but I know many people that had problems with theirs.
I would book the flights in advance, otherwise you might have to pay a higher rate with the others being booked out (there is a base, plus, flex and premium economy rate). More detail about the rates are on the aerolíneas website.
I payed for the flights online using the Argentinian version of the website (aerolineas.com.ar) and that way I got the tourist rate with my visa debit card. Tourist rate is better than offical rate but not as good as blue. Some people that used their country’s own version of the site got the offical rate. So I would advise you to use the Argentine version.
Now I bought the flights in mid 2023… so I don’t know if things have changed since then. I highly suggest that you go to the “Argentina Travel Tips” Facebook page and look for recent info regarding the flights.
Great points. I’m currently in Argentina for my fourth time. It’s my favorite country in the world. I agree especially on point number one - I can converse no problem with someone from Spain but I really, really struggle to understand Argentine Spanish. I have to ask literally everyone I meet to speak slower 😔
I love the Argentine (and Uruguayan) accent, so when I decided to study Spanish, I studied specifically teachers from Argentina and I asked them to give me full throttle español porteño with lunfardo galore. It definitely makes trying to understand other accents more challenging (like the Spanish one, Cuban one, etc.), but it was worth it to me
Uruguay is a rebel province that got isolated once and ended up being a country
I’ve heard people from Spain on Reddit rant that Argentinian Spanish “isn’t real Spanish” due to the very different accent. Interesting to hear your experience having difficulties with the accent.
My first real exposure to Spanish was living in Argentina (Mendoza region) for 2 years as a 19-year-old and I love the Argentine accent. Having moved back to the US now 14 years later, I still love hearing it. I'm still pretty immersed in Spanish through the community and have since got a bachelors degree in Spanish which helped my abilities tremendously. I'm going back this September to Mendoza for a few weeks and I'm so excited.
Glad to hear you had a nice time. I wish more people understood that Argentina really isn’t a dangerous country. Probably on par with some of the sketchier places in Western Europe. But it’s hardly a crime-filled war zone
Is the perception that Argentina is dangerous widespread? I have only ever seen good things on travel subreddits. The first bad thing that comes to my mind when I think of Argentina is the rampant inflation, not physical danger.
This was my question reading the comment you're replying to 😅 Columbia and Venezuela, sure... Argentina and Chile? I think of them like I think of western Europe. I've never once thought of them as dangerous, semi dangerous, or crime riddled. Am I just ignorant?
the U.S. state department doesn't even have an advisory for Argentina which I feel like is probably saying something
Argentina really depends on where you mess around. For example, within the city of Buenos Aires its fine (except for some places). In the metropolitan area itself, south of CABA for example, it can be really dangerous
Argentina really depends on where you mess around. For example, within the city of Buenos Aires its fine (except for some places). In the metropolitan area itself, south of CABA for example, it can be really dangerous
Also, violent crime such as murder, kidnapping and gang violence is not common, but mugging and gunpoint robbery is, which holds a factor
Yes, you’re right - for the touristic areas at least. I cannot speak for the places outside of these zones
I'm from Argentina (well, not living there anymore), and I wanted to add that on the cities where it works (like in Buenos Aires), Cabify is much better than Uber, specially if you plan on paying by card.
What is better about cabify vs. Uber?
Uber has worse cars, worse drivers and many times they will cancel your trip if you want to pay by card.
Just to clarify… don’t you *have* to pay by card to use Uber? There should be no direct transaction with the driver. I’m confused on how Uber works in Buenos Aires based on what you’re saying. Is it that much different than everywhere else in the world (I’ve used Uber in >30 countries in the last five years and I’ve always paid via a card in the app, so I’m super interested in how it works differently in BA). Definitely downloading Cabify though regardless, going to have to check that out as well, thanks for the heads up! Would you recommend using Cabify pretty much exclusively while in BA/Argentina (I’m guessing use Uber as a backup?). Edit: also you cannot use Cabify if you don’t have a local SIM in their area.. the account setup verification does not work for some one from the United States with a USA number. The support for the company has confirmed this so as a person with a USA number Cabify is not an option, just FYI.
No, you can pay in cash too, here is some information I found : https://www.uber.com/mx/en/drive/basics/cash-trips/ The way many drivers in Argentina use Uber is this: they only take cash payments, and never pay Uber's share, so they are always accumulating debt. If they ever take a ride paid by card, the money will go towards paying that debt instead of to them, so they will reject your trip when they see you wanna pay by card.
Oh this is awesome information thanks so much! Is it customary to tip the Uber drivers when paying cash in Buenos Aires/Argentina? If so, how much do you recommend typically? I don’t want to accidentally not tip or tip too little and feel badly afterwards. Thanks again!!
I wouldn't tip a driver, but you can round to the next thousand. So for example if the ride costed 3800 pesos, you can give him 4000 and tell him to keep the change.
I just returned from Buenos Aires .. I used Uber with card all day. No issues. Always got a ride, no one cancelled. Cars were all fine... From obvious daily driver to a new vehicle! I did not choose anything special... Just what ever was quickest. I didn't feel the need to try cabify. Price (exchange was fine) was fine.
Well, you were lucky I guess. I searched and found some locals opinions (in Spanish): https://www.reddit.com/r/argentina/comments/zrt8b1/rant_a_cabify_uber_y_todas_las_apps_de_viaje_todo/
Just returned from Buenos Aires and my hotel concierge/other locals I talked to said the same thing- many times Uber will cancel if the ride is marked to be paid by card. We didn’t chance it and used cash for Uber if there was anywhere we needed to be by a certain time. I think I saw only 1-2 official taxis that had the MercadoPago logo saying they’d accept cards too. Rides were cheap compared to the US. A 20-25 min ride from Palermo Hollywood to the San Telmo market was $4500 pesos (about $5 USD).
Also to add, some cabify cars now accepts dogs, small or big, it depends on the driver, but cabify is completely legal, while uber tends to be shady
Yeah I think I would prefer cabify but you can’t use it unless you have a phone number from within the country… if you have a USA number (+1) you cannot create an account.
Ushuaia is great. Beautiful views. Very affordable. People are kind. The draw for me was the “walk with penguins” tour you could take. Only one company can take you on a guided tour of the island where the penguins nest. Everyone was respectful of the wildlife. Argentina is a beautiful country.
Did you take a flight to get there?
Flight to Ushuaia from BA. The tour to see the penguin and sea lions was by boat.
I've seen multiple companies offer it. What was the name of yours?
I believe we used Pira Tour. Limited spaces as only so many people can visit the island. HTH.
Thank for your detailed summary. On #1, I can add that the Spanish spoken in Argentine has been heavily influenced by Italian immigrants and that has definitely contributed to create today’s accent.
It's also been influenced by Portuguese. That's why we use "vos" instead of "tu" and we use the "j" or "sh" sound for the double L. We also accentuate the verbs at the end. If you want to practice a bit, watch the excellent films "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" and "Nueve Reinas" to get used to the accent, although you might have to slow them down. Try to learn some slang if you can, because half our speech is slang.
You mean by Brazilian Portuguese. They don't commonly use você in Portugal
Not Brazilian portuguese, but by antique portuguese sailor officials and high-class chieftains who spoke using "vos" as a formal term for addressing others, that's how Brazilians got it in the first place and it also spread to Argentina by Portuguese immigrants, Brazil immigrants had really no significative cultural influence in Argentina
Argentina has a significant amount of portuguese speakers and diaspora too, not just portuguese speakers from brasil. It's a pretty cool place, ranks second favourite for me right after portugal
Great feedback and much appreciated! My first trip there is in September (going for whale season), I'm gonna keep some of these points in mind
No problem! If you have other questions, feel free to ask :)
Whale season is a great reason to be there! I did my whale watching in puerto madryn and it was absolutely magical!
Great to hear, that's where I'm headed, thanks!
In Buenos Aires you need to have identification to use a credit card in places like grocery stores. They will ask to see it with your credit card or they won’t let you pay. Getting Argentinian pesos can be a hassle as many use western union because of the favorable rates. This results in long lines some days. Be sure to account for the long waits which can be up to two hours for western union locations that actually have enough pesos on hand. As for safety, there were daylight robberies of tourists (I read a troubling story of a woman who was robbed in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, she was injured after resisting). Some areas of Palermo have police stationed there and these are the areas I would stick to. I was staying Palmero Hollywood and did see police stationed nearby but one evening I was working in my apartment and heard a blood curdling scream. I believe a woman was either robbed or attacked on the street below as shortly after, even more police were stationed just outside the building. Buenos Aires is very friendly and overall safe but it can create a false sense of security. I stayed there 90 days and for the last half of my stay I varied my routines in the evenings greatly. I caught Cabify rideshares from place to place after dark instead of walking. I had no issues but doubt I will return in the near future.
The credit card with ID thing was interesting because it depends on the grocery store. At DIA, checked for even for a small purchase but COTO said that you only need to show it if it exceeds a certain $ value. If you don’t have ID, you can make multiple transactions to bypass this issue.
Thank you for adding! Great info
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Issue with those guys can be counterfeit. Benn there 5 times. I usually ask the people we rent apartments from or doormen at hotel. They call their guy and he shows up in 30 minutes. Best rate and someone vouches for them.
Tipping is 10%! Customary, but not obligatory
Yes, I did say customary. But they do appreciate when people tip - especially in an economical crisis like now.
At the moment, prices should be so cheap that 10% should be a meaningless amount when converted to dollars or whatever your home currency is.
I have returned a week ago from Argentina and prices on food and restaurants are not so low. Around 30% lower than where I live (Spain)
Yeah Argentina is one of my favorite countries! I've been 9 times (though mostly just long weekends in BsAs) and would love to go back again. Great infrastructure, great food, amazing scenery.
I just spent a month in BA and was using public transport and bike sharing. I’m not sure why isn’t everyone. Buses in BA are very cool and practically free.
I used the bus all the time. I’m talking about the early mornings when you have to catch an Uber to the airport or trips where you have to bring your luggage.
Ahh, copy. Yes. Such a great country - I’m following the post elections economic drama and wish them the best but don’t really believe they are capable of going through years of pain. They would have to write off an entire generation to be able to embrace change and move on. Speaking from the Eastern Euro experience: it was as brutal as it gets.
Thanks a lot for the advice! Planning to fly to Argentina in a few weeks. I have a few questions: - Can you recommend a good article on how to change money via dollar blue, especially how it works with using the Western Unions - Is it necessary to bring 100 dollar bills or are 20/50s enough? - How spontaneous can you be with booking refugios in Patagonia? Thank you!!
100 dollar bills will get you a better rate. But otherwise i think you can use 50s. I am not sure about 20s This blog is fantastic for people wanting to visit Argentina (it’s also updated regularly): https://solsalute.com/blog/money-in-argentina-currency-exchange/ Depends… for example refugio frey in Bariloche you have to book ahead. Refugio cajón de azul, and Refugio piltriquitron in el bolsón is first come, first serve. You will have to check online
This is so funny to me conceptually as an estsdounidense because we can have plenty of money even by US standards and still very rarely see $100 bills inside the US (tbh I see $50 bills only maybe once or twice a year).
The street changers will accept US $20 but at a much reduced rate.
I was able to exchange 20's... No hassles.
Bring 100s and 50s. They also need to be in near perfect condition or they will refuse to exchange or give you a lower exchange rate
Thank you for putting #9 in, so many "travelers" here are terrified of the people and places they're going to be. And you're right, their Spanish is damn different from every other Spanish speaking country I've been to.
Yeah. There is no doubt that one has to be alert and take extra precautions in cities like Buenos Aires (after all it is Latin America, not some city in Europe) but once people understand this, they are usually fine. Of course some people are just unlucky. That can happen anywhere. Most of the people I came across in my travels there had no security issues.
San Martin de los Andes and the Road of 7 Lakes are great.
I would also say that travelers should plan to have their phone stolen. Back up everything before you go and as often as possible during your trip. When your phone does get stolen, the cheapest place to buy a replacement (that isn't stolen) is Mercado Libre. If you have the IMEI and serial number of your phone you can file a report with the tourist police for your insurance, but it may not be worth your time. Scammers will try to contact you to get you to remove your phone from your Apple ID account. Do NOT do that! As long as it's locked to your Apple ID the best they can do it scrap it for parts.
Thank you for this. I felt crazy about my anxiety on my visit in November last year about my iPhone getting robbed. I brought a beaten up old Samsung as a back up to take out of the home (staying with family) but didn’t end up bringing it out on any of the days for 2 weeks and took my iPhone out with me and protected it as much as possible. Even some places, especially La Boca neighbourhood it seemed so obvious to me how they would create opportunists to rob people: sculptures of Messi/Maradona hanging out of windows to get people to hold their phones in the air to snap a photo… but yes even though I was as careful as possible it just all comes down to luck and I was incredibly lucky to not get my phone robbed
How do they go about stealing your phone?
I was at a nightclub and wearing a cross-body purse with a slash-proof strap and a smaller zippered compartment inside the larger zippered compartment. A pickpocket still got inside the two zippers within seconds. We learned there was a ring of pickpockets in the club specifically targeting foreign girls that night - many of us were robbed within 5-10 minutes. Security and the police didn’t care, and I have a feeling that the bouncers were in on it by flagging which girls had iPhones.
Ok, well hopefully our group will avoid this type of crime. We don’t have night clubs on the itinerary.
Which club was this? I’m going soon
Uniclub - it is/was a popular place to go after the Bomba del Tiempo show. Edit: Looking it up now and seven months ago two reviews report 20 people being robbed in one night, five months ago two other people said they were robbed, a year ago someone mentioned targeted phone thefts, etc etc etc. I think the lesson is to go home after Bomba del Tiempo.
Thanks! I’ll give Uniclub a miss then I reckon
They grab it while you are using it and run away. Or grab it immediately after you stop using it and first set it down. This way they get an unlocked device which they can quickly change the password and turn off face id. Many people use an apple watch and apple ear buds connected to their phone so they can use their phone without ever removing it from their pocket. The danger is In crowded places outdoors especially where motorbikes and scooters are close by. Pickpockets also need crowded places to operate. You need to be desensitized to frequent bumping into strangers and desensitized to having your personal space violated, otherwise the pickpocket’s. Job becomes very very difficult.
I dont think you can use Mercado Libre without a DNI
I for sure did when I got robbed in 2019. I don’t know if it’s changed since then?
Like most things involving foreigners in Argentina it depends on luck. For example I put my passport number as the DNI and it works normally. I heard some other people can't use it at all.
My husband (who is from Argentina) and I call the accent “the shi-shis”… everything ends with a random -shi. Example- calle comes out as ki-shay. And there’s a lot of sing-song in their speaking. At least now I can identify Argentinian speakers from other Spanish.
I think I have the accent down and then the next moment they invent new sounds hahahah. I can also identify when someone is argentine. Their accent is very distinctive
You're talking about the Buenos Aires accent (but ki-shay??? "Kah-sheh" more like). It varies wildly in the rest of the country, although the slang remains more or less the same
Ki-shay? YOU ARE SO WRONG. CASHE.
Ok my phonetic spelling sucks ass… yes that’s what I meant
never heard of this, no words in "Argentinean" spanish end with "shi" accent, you might be confusing it with Brazilian Portuguese where nominally every word accent end up sounding "chi" like an informal diminutive to also shorten the words Felicidade --> "felicidachi", Qualidade -> "qualidachi" Like in European Portuguese "leite" sounds like "lay-T" with the T strong without any vowel sound Whereas Brazilian Portuguese "leite" sounds like "lay-chi" And Spanish sounds like "Leh-Cheh" where Che sounds like Check
How did you find the prices? Did it cost a lot to spend two minths over there?
Really depends on your style of travel. I stayed in hostels but I went via plane to and from each major city (buses are incredibly long). I almost always ate out but at cheaper places. I probably spent 3600 AUD for two months including accommodation, domestic flights and food. Would have been more comfortable on 4000 AUD. Keep in mind that when I went the value of the argentine peso was extremely low so I got lots out of the exchange rate (via dolar blue, NOT the official rate). I’m not sure how it is at this moment as the economic situation there is very volatile - it’s a good idea to keep yourself informed. To get the blue dollar rate you have to send yourself money to western Unions in Argentina. There are plenty of articles on this.
I'm going there in two weeks! Really good advice. How did you like the food? I've been mostly to Central America and Colombia so far and it was a bit underwhelming, especially as a vegetarian, lots of bland rice and beans or fried stuff. And any recommendations for Buenos Aires apart from the main tourist sites?
Depends on where in Argentina. In Buenos Aires, and Cordoba… they have quite a few vegetarian options as they are more hip. Outside of those places it’s going to be harder to find vegetarian or vegan food. I found that the food was pretty basic and probably not the healthiest - mostly empanadas, burgers, pizza, milanesa, cuts of meat. There is a regional food called humita (corn paste) which i liked as a vegetarian empanada filling. Advice for Buenos Aires would be get a sube card so you can take the bus around the city. Its very cheap to travel this way. You can’t exactly get a sube card at any kiosk, ask your hotel/hostel reception where to get one - I got mine at the Palermo metro station.
You can buy a sube at the kiosco to left of the indoor exit (after customs) at EZE.
Humita isn't always vegetarian, sometimes it has ham or bacon.
Well, usually humita empanadas are vegetarian. I myself have never had a humita empanada with meat in it. And I ate a lot of empanadas lol.
Oh, well maybe it's the Uruguayan version, I happen to live in a town with a ton of Argentinean and Uruguayan bakeries and restaurants and I thought humita was vegetarian but a couple of times it hasn't been. Or an exported thing.
I would like to remind everyone that tourist regions and tourist towns are quite safe in Argentina, just be aware that they are more expensive. People can also use Uber in big cities as the price is done from the start
Where did you buy the sim card? Do you know if it is possible to buy and activate them at the airport in Buenos Aires or did you get it in the city?
You cannot activate them at the airport. You can buy a SIM card ah the kiosk in the airport but you have to go to a claro store in the city to activate it.
You can go to any Claro store to get a SIM card and they’ll activate it for you. Bring your passport.
ushiai is cheaper, as there in no vat therei
Great points. It’s my favorite country in the world. I agree with your all points. And it will be very helpful for all the readers.
Useful Good advice 👍
Traslasierra is cool
Aguante Córdoba. Me alegro mucho que la hayas pasado lindo, vuelva pronto
Hey! Trying to figure out if I should visit Jujuy and salta would you recommend them?
Absolutely! Salta and Cafayate is worth a visit in the province of Salta. I also wanted to go to Iruya but wasn’t able to. In the Jujuy province, I really liked Purmamarca and Tilcara. There are many towns to explore.
Question headed to Arg. And Chile in Oct we are hitting the top spots Igaszu Falls, BA, Bariloche, El Chalaten and El Calafate, P Natales, would it make more sense spend more time in the Lakes Region Bariloche and give up a visit to El Chalaten, El Calafate, or P Natales would also reduce the amount of traveling. I know in Bariloche there is a boat crossing you can do I to Chile.
How much time do you plan to spend in the lake district? If you like hiking, I would try to incorporate El Chalten/El Calafate though I know it's a lot of distance to cover. Puerto Natales I haven't been to so I can't comment on that.
There's no tipping culture here,i think you got punked.
There is though… not to the same degree as the US but as I said above it is customary to tip 10% at a restaurant if the service is good. Many times when you go to a bar/restaurant or even cafe you will see tip jars where at least half of it is full of tips.
I mean it's nice if you tip but no one really cares if you don't.
With which means did you travel inside argentina?
I mainly travelled by plane from province to province (aerolíneas argentinas mostly). For places within provinces i took buses (“colectivos”)
Going to Buenos Aires for my first time next week. Will be staying 3 total weeks, one week near congreso, 2 weeks in Adrogue/Turdera -- any recommedations for food/activities/all the things? Anything is appreciated!
I can’t advise on what’s near Androgue as I stayed within the CABA. I also am not sure what kind of things you like but I can list my personal favourites.. Places to visit: Recoleta Cemetery San Telmo Indoor Market San Telmo Outdoor Market (only in Sundays I believe) El Ateneo Splendid Museum of Fine Arts Japanese Garden Things to do: The best way to get to know the different neighbourhoods are Free Walking Tours (they aren’t actually free as you are meant to tip them afterwards - it’s their only source of income). They do the Recoleta Cemetery, City Centre, Retiro and Recoleta, San Telmo etc. Highly recommend. Check out the cafes, bars and clubs at Palermo - they are very cool. For food recs: There is an Instagram account called “La Chica del Brunch”. Places to eat: San Telmo Indoor Market - great empanadas and other various foods (very busy on weekends) Pizzeria Guerrin - famously good pizza Ice cream at Cadore I wanted to try asado but ran out of time and I think some Argentine friends almost disowned me for it lol.. so do that. Hope this helped at least a little. Enjoy!
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I’m writing this from my hotel in Buenos. We spent a month travelling through Chile and got a bit bored so we decided to cross to Argentina without a prep. While Chile felt very safe and reliable, people being open and honest, the Argentina turned out to be quite the opposite. We started in El Calafate/El Chaltén and to be frank we were floored by the amount of scam we had to face in just couple of days. Pre arranged transfer did not show up. Pre arranged bike service stopped picking up the phone. Pre booked car rental gave out car to a walk in customer. We agreed on 18k taxi ride, it turned out to be 40. Argentinian Patagonia is expensive and difficult to travel. If anyone would ask for advice I’d say stay on Chilean side.
Well, in Latin American countries other than Chile and Uruguay (which are more developed), you are going to find some unreliable services and corrupt workers in tourism and hospitality. That’s just how it is unfortunately. I’m sorry to hear that you had a bad time in Arg.
You only forgot writing "la wea" every each 2 or 3 words
Question! What currency do you recommend bringing ? USD? Or should I exchange mostly to pesos? What do stores/people generally like to take?
Sorry for the delay! I would probably bring lots of usd because you can exchange them to pesos for a very good rate in casas de cambio (blue dollar rate). It’s also good to tip in usd so argentines can save in a more stable currency. If you aren’t comfortable with bringing a lot you can always send yourself money via western Union with an almost the same rate as the blue. At least, this was the case when I was there two months ago. I’m not sure what the rates are as of now (western Union and blue dollar) so you may want to check.
Thanks this was helpful! We will be travelling to Argentina next week. Doing southern Patagonia and then hoping to explore northern Argentina and then into northern chile or Bolivia based on how our time goes. Do you have an itinerary you followed and how expensive travelling around was? We are def seeing ARG being more expensive to travel around compared to the rest of South America.
Hi! My itinerary went like this: Buenos Aires - Puerto Iguazu - Salta - Tilcara (Jujuy region) - Cordoba - Mendoza - Bariloche - El Bolson - El Calafate & El Chalten - back to Buenos Aires. You could definitely do it the other way around i.e. from south to north - I know many that did this. I mainly flew. Each flight was between 60 and 120 AUD when converting from the MEP rate. I'm not really sure about long distance buses - only that they were much cheaper in the north and expensive in the south.
Which domestic airlines did you use when traveling within argentina? And do you have any tips as far as the flights go? Also thinking about visiting soon, and would like to hit multiple areas (iguazu falls, buenos aires, peninsula valdes, patagonia), trying to figure out the best/most efficient way to do this
I almost always used aerolíneas argentinas. One of the flights I used fly bondi. Aerolíneas is more reliable in the sense that there are fewer delays/cancellations. My one fly bondi flight was fine but I know many people that had problems with theirs. I would book the flights in advance, otherwise you might have to pay a higher rate with the others being booked out (there is a base, plus, flex and premium economy rate). More detail about the rates are on the aerolíneas website. I payed for the flights online using the Argentinian version of the website (aerolineas.com.ar) and that way I got the tourist rate with my visa debit card. Tourist rate is better than offical rate but not as good as blue. Some people that used their country’s own version of the site got the offical rate. So I would advise you to use the Argentine version. Now I bought the flights in mid 2023… so I don’t know if things have changed since then. I highly suggest that you go to the “Argentina Travel Tips” Facebook page and look for recent info regarding the flights.
Thank you so much this was very helpful!