10 Aug Buenos Aires – what you must know
- Airport transfer.
Upon arrival at the international airport “Ezeiza” it is best to book a cab inside the airport building; Depending on where you live in BA, this costs between 30 – 40 euros, as of January 2023. UBER also works very well and is about 20-30% cheaper. BUT: UBER – Taxis are not allowed to drive up directly to the airport exit hall. This means that you have to “drag” your luggage a few meters away from the airport, depending on where the UBER cab can stop;
- Change money /Credit cards.
One of the central themes during a vacation in Argentina. There are two exchange rates. The official exchange rate (as of January 2023) is 196 Peso= 1 Euro. The unofficial exchange rate (Dollar blue), on the other hand, is 390 Peso= 1 Euro (as of end of January 2023). You can get this only if you exchange “Cash”. Therefore, please take plenty of cash in Euros or US Dollars with you. Beware of the flying money changers (cambio, cambio!!) on calle Florida. There is a lot of counterfeit money in circulation here. The supposedly best exchange rate may be bought at a high price; We have made a very good experience with the exchange offices of ” el club de cheque.” Good exchange rate and secure processing. If you are in the country for a longer period of time and don’t want to travel with too much cash (Euro/US Dollar) (understandable), you can do the following. Set up an account in advance with”Western Union“. Then you can always have money sent to you and pick it up at the nearest Western Union branch, showing your passport. The exchange rate is slightly worse ( 360 Pesos = 1 Euro) than for example in the exchange office “el club de cheque”. Western Union branches are located all over the country. And now on the subject of paying or withdrawing money with a Credit card. Of course, in BA you can pay with “card” in many stores and restaurants. Withdrawing money with it is also no problem. The only question is: At what rate does VISA / Mastercard settle with your credit institution? We have made two “test purchases”. VISA (BW – Bank) has settled with about 1 Euro = 300 Pesos. Mastercard (TF – Bank) has settled at the official rate 1Euro= 196 Peso); Buenos Aires is not fun anymore! Therefore, please urgently clarify in advance with your credit institution, at which rate will be settled.
- How do I get from A to B in Buenos Aires?
The solution is called “SUBTE”. The Buenos Aires metro is really good and super cheap too. Just buy a card at the kiosk, load it at the entrance to the subway and go. We traveled in 12 days from morning to evening with the “Subte” in the greater BA area and “lost” maybe 15 Euros per person. In addition, clean, safe and hardly any waiting time ( in max. 10 min. comes the next). So we would also switch to “Öffis” in D. Also with city buses (collectivos) one gets along well and “google maps” helps also here to find the right stop.
- Phone Cards
For internet and phone you need to get a SIM card; Here we recommend the cards from “Claro”. These are available at the kiosk (unfortunately not all). Get a tourist sim card “tarjeta SIM para turista”. With these, there is no complicated registration process. You can also do the recharge at the kiosk. If you don’t get a “tarjeta para turista”, you have to buy the conventional Claro – sim card and register with Claro via the following page www.claro.ar For this it needs your passport.
No Comments