Traveling in Argentina

Forums › Travel (planes, train, cruise) › Traveling in Argentina

martyyn

1971 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 772

ID Verified

#304497 9-May-2023 08:16

My wife and I are off to Argentina next week for a couple of weeks. It's all a bit last minute so I'm wondering if anyone here has a few pointers.

Flights to Buenos Aires are via Santiago in Chile and it appears everything transport wise goes from there.

We have a few days in Santiago Del Estero, a few more in San Juan and we're hoping to finish with a week in BA.

Clearly inflation is a major issue and we need to take some USD to convert to Peso to pay cash for day to day expenses. But how much should we take to get through the first days?

I expect to pay for flights and accommodation from here but how much are we likely to need day to day?

Food appears to be quite cheap, transport is expensive if flying, buses are cheap but with us both over 6' spending 12 hours on a coach isn't much fun and the rail system is virtually dead.

I haven't looked in detail at accommodation yet but on first glance it's either expensive hotels or cheap Airbnb rooms with few facilities.

I have a Wise card but have never used it, should I stack that up or just use cash?

So yeah, I'm keen to hear if anyone has any experience of Argentina.

Eva888

2772 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2432

Lifetime subscriber

#3074097 9-May-2023 08:20

My Argentinian friend is going back there for tooth implants. It’s cheaper for her to fly back and forth than have them done here and she’s says they are fantastic. So get all your dental work done there.

Silvrav

477 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 173

ID Verified

#3074100 9-May-2023 08:35

Eva888: My Argentinian friend is going back there for tooth implants. It’s cheaper for her to fly back and forth than have them done here and she’s says they are fantastic. So get all your dental work done there.

Got a colleague that flew to Brazil 5 days ago to get medical surgery done thats not covered in NZ, but is free over there as she is a citizen and she rates the medical care better than NZ. The family is there to help while she recovers as well.

martyyn

1971 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 772

ID Verified

#3074181 9-May-2023 11:55

As happy as I am for your friends, this isn't the kind of advice I'm looking for.

johno1234

3386 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2868

#3074182 9-May-2023 12:01

I have no idea about Argentina specifically, but would have expected that their money is worth next to nothing, so if you load up your Wise card with USD and use it as a credit card over there, that everything would be very cheap. However for the local who is earning in local currency, stuff, especially imported, would be cripplingly expensive.

elpenguino

3579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2943

#3074189 9-May-2023 12:48

I spent a couple of months on and off in Argentina 20 years ago. As you probably know, it's big - really big!

It's coming into winter hence choosing time in the North, I presume?

What about car rental ? Argentina is like NZ in that the natural highlights are in the middle of nowhere (of course) so if you can get there under your own steam, you'll have a lot more flexibility.

I found the towns all very charming but preferred being out in the wilder areas. What are you looking for?

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

martyyn

1971 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 772

ID Verified

#3074205 9-May-2023 13:30

We're going over for the U20 football world cup. So locations are where the NZ team will be playing rather than our choice.

Car rental is a possibility, I have no problem with long distance driving but my wife isn't always so keen. We'll get a map out and have a better look, espcially how to break up the 14 and 12 hour drives between venues.

It's obvious the inflation issue is significant and so cash is king. I'd expect a Wise card would incur the red rate which is twice/half the blue rate of converting cash so I'll need to get hold of USD before we go next week.

What are we looking for ? Just an experience, we prefer to be away from the crowds and being in Santiago Del Estero, San Juan and possibly Mendoza will give us that.

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

elpenguino

3579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2943

#3074224 9-May-2023 14:17

In this day and age of the internet it's quite easy to get prices online for things like lunch or entry prices so you could come up with some idea of how much cash you need.

Food was pretty cheap for me but that was 20 years ago. You might have fancier tastes and be tempted by higher end establishments. Food and wine in Argentina is generally great.

I'm sure proprietors will snap up your USD if you offer it instead of local dinero.

How's your Spanish?

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

fullofideas

13 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 8

ID Verified

#3074433 10-May-2023 09:55

From the top, in order of importance, I'd say:

Always be mindful of your sorroundings. This basically applies to many parts of the world but it is usually what leads to someone losing their cash or phone. Please DO NOT TRY to be the brave foreigner, you only read articles about them. You can get a new phone or make more money later on.
You're correct, USD cash is king. Argentina is a very sophisticated society 😅 where local currency valuation can shift 25% up/down in a matter of hours. This happened last week.
1. WRT cash -> There are different USD valuation depending on the medium they get consumed from. The exchange rate for the "blue" USD (this is the one you are interested, blue=unnoficial=cash) today is $466 pesos. If you were to use your credit card (any) there today, you would get $227 pesos which is the official valuation.
I wouldn't bother with car rental, unless you are in a truly remote part of the country. Save yourself the hassle of dealing with damage claims and/or the companies and people behind them. Every city will have taxis and smaller towns will have "Uber" type transport ("remis" in Castellano). Also I don't think you would appreciate the driving style in some places :D
Fly as much as you can, leave buses for short distances if you have no choice. All main provinces capital cities have daily flights, check JetSmart, Aerolineas, FlyBondi.
Enjoy every meal as if it was a countdown back into our NZ cuisine 🤣

EDIT: Hyperlinks are not working on this website

USD Exchange rate: https://dolarhoy.com/

martyyn:

We're going over for the U20 football world cup. So locations are where the NZ team will be playing rather than our choice.

Car rental is a possibility, I have no problem with long distance driving but my wife isn't always so keen. We'll get a map out and have a better look, espcially how to break up the 14 and 12 hour drives between venues.

It's obvious the inflation issue is significant and so cash is king. I'd expect a Wise card would incur the red rate which is twice/half the blue rate of converting cash so I'll need to get hold of USD before we go next week.

What are we looking for ? Just an experience, we prefer to be away from the crowds and being in Santiago Del Estero, San Juan and possibly Mendoza will give us that.