iahphx

You obviously have to pay careful attention to the ever-changing currency situation, but my visit to Argentina earlier this month was remarkable. I've been visiting Argentina for 35 years now, and I've seen so many ups and downs -- and I've seen Argentina both expensive and cheap. Right now, it might be the cheapest country in the world that any tourist would want to visit. As an example, I stayed in lovely b&bs and private cabanas (rental houses) for US$25/night (a bit more in Patagonia), ate complete steak dinners with wine for under $10, paid about $2 for Uber rides around BA, rented automatic transmission cars for $20/day, paid about $1.60 gallon for gasoline, and went whitewater rafting for less than $8. And the amazing thing is that -- other than the crazy prices and weird currency "tricks" -- everythng seemed completely safe, stable and normal. Like you keep reading in the foreign press about all these Argentines living in poverty but you aren't likely to see it as a tourist. I've seen shantytowns in Buenos Aires in previous crises, and there was NOTHING like that going on now. Honestly, Argentina feels much safer than America, at least urban America. While the quality of accommodations is lower than America -- there is obviously some "deferred maintenance," especially in BA, standards are still "first world." And the quality of restaurant meals is high, and about 20% of the cost of similar meals in the USA.

Given today's change in the official exchange rate, I won't go through all my now outdated experiences with paying for things. You can use a credit card to pay for at least 80% of the things a tourist will likely buy, but you will need some cash. It is much easier to get blue rate cash in the bigger cities, and you'll get the best rates in BA -- so if you're heading to "the hinterlands," I'd bring at least a couple hunded bucks from BA with you (but not too much -- as it's still likely to depreciate!). When reserving things like accommodations, you'll need to reach a meeting of the minds as to what you'll actually pay and how. You can certainly reserve things on booking.com and then discuss payment through their message feature. Cancel if you don't like the final price. You will definitely need a local SIM card (the blog information is wrong, just go into Claro and Movistar in BA and see who is offering the best under $10/month prepaid deal: you don't need a phone number, just data, as everything is done via whatsapp -- which you need to know how to use). You make restaurant reservations on whatsapp and, if you ask, they will usually send you a menu with current prices..Right now, I would say never reserve anything in dollars. This can obviously be a bit difficult right now. Car rentals are particularly tricky: make sure your rate is in pesos.

fedechat

Glad you had a wonderful experience and you were able to handle all those tricks

mattm

I just wrapped up a month in Argentina as well... two weeks in BA (12 nights in Palermo Hollywood, 2 nights in Recolata before flying home) and time in Salta (Grace Cafayette, Colome Hotel and House of Jasmines) and then Mendoza (Vines Resort & Cavas).

SALTA is stunningly beautiful....

Wineries on Mendoza where amazing, including Bemberg, Cheval de Andes, MAAL, Superuco and Corazon del Sol.

Food in BA is ridiculously cheap... $1 for 3 empenadas. Steak for $10. 18 course tasting menu at Arumburu (2 michelin stars) for about $90 USD per person. Roux, El Preferido, Crizia and Franca where also outstanding (among many others).

Uber is basically free. $3 for a 30 minute ride anywhere in the city. I kept doing custom tips because I felt so bad at the low prices.

Happy to answer any questions if anyone is planning a trip.

fliesdelta

Would you care to recommend hotels in Buenos Aires?

iahphx

So many decent hotels in BA. It kind of depends on what neighborhood you want to be in. And with Uber fares between neighborhoods about US$3, does that even matter? People using loyalty points obviously have some preferences, but if you're just paying, I'd personally compare prices and be a mercenary -- using review scores to pick the best value (at the level of comfort you want) in the neighborhood you want to stay in. I don't see how you could go wrong that way.

Gaucho100K

Thanks for starting this thread - Im sure it will be a great asset to many that are considering visiting.... not sure why the "was" in the title - perhaps Im not reading between the lines...?

Marambio

Prices have skyrocketed in pesos over the past month meaning that Argentina is still very good value but not dirt cheap as it was earlier this year. I am currently in BA and restaurants are 50% cheaper than Paris, but the era of dinner for two at Don Julio for the price of a pizza in New York is gone.

scubadu

While I appreciate this thread (and this forum, I actively follow this forum but rarely comment), I have to say for the time being I've placed Argentina in the "too hard" column. I'll expand.

We've been to BA twice, many years ago and have always looked forward to a return (and also interested in seeing AR beyond BA). However, over the past few years I've found the exchange rate/blue dollar/credit card/inflation stuff just mentally exhausting.

My wife and I are not timid travelers (at all) and we travel all over the world (Asia, South America, Europe, etc.), but I can honestly think of no other country in the world that requires me to think about the following when contemplating a trip:

• Should I "wire" money via Western Union to an office in BA, which may or may not have enough cash on hand the day I need to pick it up?
• Can I use a credit card to pay for things like my hotel or not? And if yes, will I get a fair rate?
  • But oh, if I pay with a credit card, the tax is waived/rebated
  • But if I pay in Blue Dollars I might still get a better deal!?
• If I do pay for things with a credit card, will I get a fair exchange rate? Do the new credit card "schemes" really give me a good rate? Does Amex work or not work with the preferred rate?
• Do I really need to go to Florida Ave and go into a back room with a guy named Guido and hand over $5000 in cash to obtain the "best rate?"
  • Am I getting the best rate?
  • What stops "Guido" from simply knocking me over the head with a baseball bat, taking my cash, and kicking me back out onto Florida Ave?
• What does "inflation" really even mean in Argentina? (I find this particularly confusing)
  • For most of my adult life, the media has reported that Argentina suffers high inflation
  • Inflation in AR is often reported to run over 100% per year and yet...
  • we have threads sharing that it's a great bargain, perhaps the best bargain?
  • This is perplexing; let's say for the sake of argument, that a steak in BA cost $5 (USD) 20 years ago. Let's be generous and say that inflation has averaged 50% per year for the last 20 years. With 20 yrs of inflation at 50%, that $5 steak would now cost ~$16,626! Which clearly, it does not. What gives here? If Argentina's economy was suffering the annual inflation rates that are widely report in the media, there is simply no way it would be a good deal to travel to. After 20 years, it would in fact be one of the most expensive places in the world to travel to.

Ok, I've probably made my point (which I'm sure many will disagree with).

Now, I'm lot looking for anyone to answer/address my bullet points, 1 for 1, that really isn't necessary. I actually know some of the answers and I know some have been answered in these forums. But my broader point is that there literally is no other country/destination that we've either traveled to or are planning to travel to, that requires this level of mental horsepower to work through when planning a trip. Honestly, its just kinda ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, several places we travel have issues, but the totality of issues relative to planning a trip to Argentina just are not worth it to us, personally, at this point. Just too much effort/work.

I realize some will immediately jump to, "but if you are willing to put in the effort..." and I get it; Argentina is an amazing country and we really enjoyed both of our previous trips there. But frankly, there are countless amazing countries in the world and still quite a few that we haven't made it to yet (and many that we continually return to), so frankly, for me, at this point, I think it just isn't worth the hassle. Thus, it's now in the "too hard" pile. I mean really, it doesn't even have to be "cheap" for us to visit (cost isn't what drives our travels), but it needs to be consistent and it should not require mental gymnastics to simply figure out how to pay for dinner and whether I'm getting "ripped off" (though cost isn't our primary driver, I also don't like feeling like I've been "had").

i really, really seriously hope that Argentina gets its crap together at some point. It should be a first world country, with a strong economy. They have tremendous natural resources, amazing people, etc. All the ingredients are there, but...

Regards

M60_to_LGA

On my last trip to BA, I stayed at the NH 9 de Julio and quite liked it. The location is quite central, walking distance from Microcentro, San Telmo, and Recoleta, and near the Subte and buses. Lots of dining and shopping options nearby. The room was extremely comfortable and soundproofed, which I really appreciated. It seems they also have a nice pool, although I was there at the end of their winter in September and it was closed.

Gaucho100K

Yes,,,, and I would add that this situation is a GOOD THING.

Don Julio at the price of NY Pizza has very little to nothing to be celebrating !!!

NickB

I think that you struggle with the concept of inflation, period rather than the meaning of inflation in Argentina specifically. Measuring inflation by comparing the price in USD 20 years to today would only make sense if Argentina had for the last 20 years had USD as its official currency. You need to compare the price in Argentinian pesos to the price in Argentinian pesos today. To get a sense of proportion, 1USD at the beginning of 2004 was roughly 2 ARS. Nowadays, it is somewhere in the region of ARS800-ish. This works out at a yearly depreciation of somewhere around 35% on average in the last 20 years. This is not a measure of inflation as it does not factor in the depreciation of the USD in the meantime but that gives you some order of magnitude of the deterioration of the peso. That said, what would be more significant than inflation per se would be the decrease in purchasing power (and therefore evolution of income alongside inflation). As a tourist, inflation does not mean much as the exchange rate will adjust to reflect the depreciation in the currency resulting from inflation If you are paid in pesos, however, inflation will bite hard, if income/wages do not rise as rapidly as inflation (and, if they do, this will push inflation even higher and you end up in a vicious circle)

fedechat

Here is the way I see it, I don't live in Argentina but I go at least 5 times per year

ecgz88

Not my experiences,

Uber 13825 ARS, Capital One Visa $15.94, rate 867
AMEX after refund rate 921
Western Union rate 925
Blue rate exchange in grocery store 975

all happen in the end of Dec 2-3 days.

scubadu

Thank you for taking the time for the thoughtful response. I appreciate it. I don't think I'd say that I lack an understanding of inflation, but you make a fair point that I probably have not thought deeply about it in relation to currency exchange vs. the US dollar and how that relationship works.

That said, I'm not entirely sure I buy that inflation for foreigners (US in my case) can somehow be 100% insulated from Argentine inflation purely by virtue of the exchange rate continually adjusting in real time. I mean I certainly understand and agree that this is part of the equation, but we are talking about a country where "reported inflation" is often reported in "100's" of percent per year, not single digit percent. In fact, an NY Times article a few days ago reported that with the government changes in December, inflation is now on a ~200% annual run rate. At some point, that has to matter. It just doesn't make sense that this country can run with 100% inflation year after year after year and yet still be considered one of the "cheapest countries to visit." I don't get (but perhaps I'm dense) that a country can have this type of rampant inflation, but a steak dinner or a bottle of wine is roughly the same cost (or perhaps slightly more), to me, as an American as it was when I last visited ~7 or 8 years ago...

But, even assuming you are correct, and I'm just not fully understanding the currency/inflation relationship (which I acknowledge is entirely possible). I still stand by the gist of my post; Argentina is just in the too hard pile for me at this point. It really shouldn't require this much cognitive load to think about/plan ones holiday or vacation. It just shouldn't. As I mentioned, I literally can think of no country in the world that requires me to play this game of "3D intellectual chess" just to go on vacation.

Absolutely beautiful country, with so much to offer and we hope to someday return, but right now there is still a very, very large world for exploring that just doesn't require all this non-sense to plan a trip...

Regards

Eastbay1K

It only requires "3D intellectual chess" if one desires to get the absolute last centavo out of every transaction.

Currently, using the credit card will get you likely 90%+ of the Blue rate - some days more, some days less, but still close enough that it doesn't make a material difference in total spend, unless you're in the many thousands of dollars. (And recall that it any event the hotel spend needs to be paid with the non-Argentine CC to not pay the VAT.) And of course, one needs some pocket cash, and so you get some.

For perspective, 3 of us went out for dinner about 10 days ago - a decent but not upscale parrilla. Shared - 1 provoleta, 1 chorizo, 1 salad, 2 bottles of water, 2 bottles of quite decent (but not very high end) wine, each got our own piece of meat. With an above-average gratuity, we spent approx. US$37 a person. If we used a CC, about $40 pp. Still a deal, with no mental gymnastics.

Colonia Express - We went to the terminal to buy tickets with a stack of cash - only full fare available there on either of the days we wanted to travel. Returned back to apartment, booked online with CC, and was approximately 30% less in USD terms, as I could get a "package."

So, while everyone's experience may differ, the current state of affairs make travel a lot easier to get a fair value than a couple of months ago.