1) you don’t need 5 days in Mendoza. You will get bored, as outside wine estate visits and a side trip up the Andes there isn’t a ton of things to see or do. Wine tasting gets repetitive and you can easily pack 4-5 estates into a full daytime trip. Stay 3 nights and do the overnight in BA before flying back from EZE. My experience of flying to GRU has always involved delays and it just adds stress.

2) book a car from the hotel to meet you at EZE. After a long flight the last thing you need is the hassle of finding transport. It’s civilised and cost effective if you split the bill between a party of 4. The PH is amazing, you’ll love it.

3) find the closest Western Union and use that to exchange money. Download the app, transfer yourself money from your checking/current account and then rock up to collect your pesos with your confirmation code. Be prepared to queue, but it beats getting ripped off at banks or on the streets.

4) I used a chap called Gustavo in Mendoza many years ago. Otherwise, just make a list of the places you want to hit/ have lunch, etc.. and hire a car and driver for the day.

I agree 5 days in Mendoza is long. Vineyards are 45-90 mins from the city and Mendoza isn't that interesting. I found more (and nicer) wine bars in BA than in Mendoza.

If you aren't visiting BA on your way back to the USA, you might consider avoiding the EZE/GRU connection altogether with MDZ-PTY-NYC on Copa. PTY is very easy.

I used Western Union. Wire money to yourself a week before you plan to pick it up. I needed/used cash, but credit cards are widely accepted and the USD credit card rate is good enough. Go to WU first thing in the morning as I've heard that some offices run out of cash. I waited about 90 mins to pick up $. Bring a bag to put it in.

I really appreciate the responses as they are quite helpful. The one thing I don’t understand is the advantage of carrying pesos around. Is it that some restaurants and museums don’t take credit cards? How much are you really saving? If it’s 10 or 20%, I’d rather not be carrying large sums of cash around And avoid spending 90 minutes waiting in a western union. If it’s 30 or 40%, I see the rationale. If someone has a link to what’s currently going on with the countries currency, I’d greatly appreciate it as I have searched and can’t really find anything. Thank you again.

I recommend using the Western Union app to see the current (good) exchange rate. If you just use Google, you will see the local/government (bad) rate.

I'm not recommending you pay for everything - or even most things - in cash. Rather, to have one or two hundred dollars worth of pesos as 'carrying around' money in case a vendor or taxi (etc) doesn't accept card. The same reason that applies to traveling in any foreign country.

Given the change in the last year or so, there's not a massive advantage to be had in using cash vs. credit card. I don't find it worth the effort to use Western Union. Just bring some $100USD bills and go to a reputable cambio. There's a great spot a block or so away from the Park Hyatt - the front desk can tell you how to get there. Worst case, I've also been to shops/restaurants where I pay with a $100USD bill and they give the change in ARS. It's not perfect, but pretty close to the going blue rate. Unless you're spending massive amounts and trying to squeeze every last penny out of the process, it's definitely not worth waiting 90 minutes in line to exchange a few dollars.

To Colonia in 1 day to extend time in Argentina
 

Has anyone use the Colonia Express or Buquebus for one day round-trip to Colonia to gain additional time in Argentina? I realized that my stay in Argentina will be four days beyond the 90 day entry approval. I know in the past people have done this, but not sure what the current situation is. Question is will this one day trip route arouse suspicion at immigration?

If you are aleady over your 90 day mark I dont think its a great idea to go to Colonia in the search for an extra 90 days.
You will have to pay a fine to leave , in any case and there is no guarante they will let you back in if you try the same day.

If you're within the 90 days, you're probably ok. Argentina will certainly let you out, and Uruguay will let you in. If you're in "Permatourist" territory (i.e., I think it is 180 days out of the past 365), notwithstanding being within 90 days on the current entry, Argentina may not let you return or you may have issues with your return. (Note that this event will occur at the AR immigration booth in Colonia as you "re-enter" Argentina right after you "leave" Uruguay at the previous counter.)

You may also extend your tourist stay for up to three more months by going to Migraciones before your 90 days expire. I don't know what the procedure is but it's likely to be cheaper (and involve less bureaucratic risks) than taking the day trip to Colonia (Turistas | Argentina.gob.ar).

I’m in BA now. Most restaurants take credit cards, but tips need to be in cash. A few will accept debit cards. Smaller places are trying not to take cc, but most will accept debit cards. The credit card rate is about 1150 to the peso which means you save about 15% from the official rate. Credit cards are easier than a lot of cash, but you will need some. I’ve found that visa and master card post at the better rate almost immediately. Amex can take up to 2 weeks. I’m still waiting for a Jan 27 purchase on Amex to be adjusted. Take some US currency as alternative to WU. Hotel can recommend place to exchange at blue rate. Credit card can be useful if paying for a hotel. With foreign cc and passport you can avoid 21% hotel tax.

Thanks for the responses.

To exchange? Don't count on this. The WU I went to turned a guy away who wanted to exchange USD cash. Poor guy had waited over an hour in line.

IMO this is a pretty weird reading -- the next sentence was "Hotel can recommend place to exchange at blue rate." :)

i.e. "take USD cash, as an alternative to WU" and not "take USD cash to WU, as an alternative"

My point is that you can exchange a few hundred dollars easily at blue dollar caves with no wait.

Is PSP your hometown? If so, Zorak is hosting an event there in early March..

BTW, I understood your original language… I interpreted why send yourself money in advance with WU when you could exchange USD$ fairly simple at Blue