Shorts are fine. Don't worry.

Some nice little free walking tours to get the feel of BsAs if this is your first visit can be found with these folks: Buenos Aires Free Tour Take both the am and pm walks as they are different parts of the city.

Really pleasant young people run them, just tip what you feel appropriate. You can contact Gaston with this group about football tickets - email is on the website.


I used the Subte to get around, it works quite well (assuming no strikes, if that is what the local folks are mentioning). Like any subway anywhere, keep your valuables in your front pocket. They are generally a very efficient way to get around.

Cash...? It depends on how much you spend, obviously. Food prices are a little cheaper than much of the US, and if you live in NYC will seem even better to you.

Iguazu entrance fees are about $25 US (100 pesos).

Cabs are relatively inexpensive in US terms.

By the way, if you plan on going to the Brazilian side of Iguazu, remember that you technically need to have a visa.

Argentina voltage is 220, so check your equipment to make sure it can handle that. Most computer power sources are ok, it should be printed on the power pack.

The appropriate adapter looks like this:



Should be available at electronics stores in the US. You can find them in shops in BA as well

And if you plan on staying in a Hotel on the Brazilian side of the falls then you will need another adaptor. The "blade" size and shape is the same, just not diagonal, they are parallel, the adaptor I have has adjustable blades so it fits both Ar & Br.

Maybe I was lucky but the hotels we stayed at in EZE, IGR and GIG all had what seemed to be multi-type power sockets. Round pins, Flat or Angled flat pins all worked.

Re Cash - I changed �400 before we left the UK using a moneysavingexpert website that had a comparison tool on it. We spent most of it on food and transport, but most meals went on the cards. This was for 7 days in Argentina.

Flight was great and getting through immigration took all of 5 mins. And another 10 for the luggage to come through. Longest wait was for Dante (my ride into the city). He was late by about half an hour but he made up for it with his flawless English and ability to tell me about the city as we drove in. He is also a tango teacher/dancer and can provide a lot of information on that. Would definitely recommend to anyone needing a driver to the city - he made me feel very comfortable. He also converted some money at the current market rate for me so I wasnt stuck doing at the bank.

Trip to the hotel (Sheraton) took about an hour and the day was rather wet/gloomy when I got in. I didnt realize how tired I was as I made it to the room and promptly fell asleep for a few hours.

In the evening I went down to the lobby to get some information. Two things to note here. There isn't a concierge in this hotel and not everyone at the hotel understands/speaks great English. My conversation was largely me asking the front desk person what places I wanted to go, him googling them on the computer and putting them down on paper. The Hotel is very close to two main streets (Florida and Lavalle) so it makes for a great location.

I walked around for about two hours and then headed down to the port area which the front desk had recommended. I think this was primarily because it is where all the Expats go. I ended up walking a couple of blocks up and down the area and eventually just got tired and went to Cabana Las Libas (which was recommended by the hotel). Restaurant was upscale and the meal was ok and the service was fine. The sides and the drinks (water and soda) in my view were way overpriced but that may just be the city. At the end of the meal my entree was not even half the bill and I had no appetizer, dessert or wine. So if you are there to eat just the bife make sure you ask for just that

Things I have learnt so far about the city:
1) There are banks all over the place that can convert money for you as well as ATMs that you can use. You dont need to bring a lot of money with you.
2) The big restaurants accept Amex while most take Visa or MasterCard
3) Most places have someone who can speak some broken English so not knowing Spanish, while a hassle is not really a big issue.
4) The internet at the Sheraton is pretty bad. Its hard to connect to it wirelessly and even wired connections break off often.
For tomorrow I am hoping to make it to a better beef/steak place and then walk around with the free walking group. I may also make it to the Cafe Tortoni which I heard is a nice place to go to. Any recommendations from people who know the area better on their fav restaurants would be very helpful (I read through some of the F&B thread but thats gotten over 40 pages long now).

I think you were in Puerto Madero last night. One thing I do like about wandering through there is the fact that there somehow seems to be free wifi floating about. The couple of times I've eaten at Cabana Las Lilas (once because the books all say you have to and the second time because I was super tired and lazy and was staying at the Hilton), I could use the wifi on my phone while dining.

There's a whole thread here about where to go for steak. I think the locals can tell you what's best. I believe http://www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar/ is quite popular. I also like http://www.campobravo.com.ar/ which has two locations in Palermo (a part of town you should visit). I like them both equally well.

Cafe Tortoni was nothing terribly extraordinary to me but the history and ambiance of the place was interesting and worth the visit.

Make sure you get some empanadas while you're down there. I pretty much each breakfast at the hotel, eat empanadas throughout the day while I'm wandering about and then have a big bife dinner

If you head to Recoleta to wander and visit the cemetary, you should also drop by Cafe La Biela - particularly if the weather is nice. I didn't find the food all that interesting but it's great to sit out, have a drink and soak up the atmosphere - very nice if there are tango performers out and about.

If you see a "Freddo", drop in for some gelato. You've got to have the Dulce de Leche when in Argentina.

You're a tourist, it's your first time there - you might as well revel in the touristy things!

Indeed, although Puerto Madero is overpriced IIRC.

It's a few years since I've been, but Chiquilin (Sarmiento/Montevideo) used to be excellent. And don't forget the tango show

Don't forget to get a choripan to snack on. Look for the takeaway counter with the longest line of locals. A little chimichurri on top makes it complete.

If you like cheese....melted/gooey baked cheese....get an order of provoleta.