leslie

What is proper attire to explore the city? Since it is the summer, are shorts and sandals appropiate? Will this make us stand out as tourists?<BR><BR>Are sportcoats required for upscale restaurants and tango shows? Which restaurants and tango shows would you recommend?<BR><BR>Any great shopping bargains e.g. leather jackets, jewelry, antiques (specific bargain shopping spots)?<BR><BR>Thank you for the info.

liz

First, there are several good posts about BA here today, hope you are checking them out. Second, yes, I think you should bring nice clothes for evening, Argentines can be quite formal and Argetine businessmen are beautifully dressed -- think Milan. As far as daytime I think shorts and sandals are okay, but this is a big city, not a beach resort, so probably a sundress for you and bermudas or light trousers for your husband would be better. Yes, you can get good leather goods, antiques, shoes, men's wear, like shirts and neckties, other clothing, etc. Please read the other comments posted here...I am not familiar with tango shows.

marta

Leslie,<BR>Follow Liz' advice. I live in Argentina, and while sandals and bermudas will be OK during the day, you will want to dress up a bit for the evenings. I'm sure you will visit our fancy restaurants, will go the Colon Theater, will go shopping to the elegant Patio Bullrich. However, nobody will give you double looks if you don´t. Some restaurants -very few- require sport coats.<BR>There are several good posts about shopping. Enjoy your trip!

Graziella

Hi Leslie, here I am in Montevideo during my South American trip.<BR>I agree totally with the former posters.<BR>I have written a small report abaout ourshort trip to Carmelo , Uruguay, staying in the Four Seasons Carmelo.<BR>It was such a wonderful stay that i Highly recommend it....a lovely spot, grreat golf, a fantastic spa, ...++++++<BR>Have a great trip.

Cintia

Hello Leslie. Wearing shorts and sandals is just fine. It is summer in Argentina and lately the temperature has been around 35ºC so try to wear comfortable outfits. Some tourists (women) have told me that they would rather wear slacks or a dress so as to match with women in downtown. But keep in mind that if you stay at a hotel in the downtown area, most women there will be dressed up because it is an office area. But most tourists just wear shorts and t-shirts and that´s fine. Even for the COlon Theater tour, you can wear these clothes.<BR>As for tango shows, there are several ones in the city. The most famous one is SE&Ntilde;OR TANGO, beautiful indeed, very &quot;hollywood style&quot; in my opinion. There are other nice shows such as El Querand&iacute; and Taconeando, which are somehow more sticked to the real tango tradition. Feel free to email if you need any help.

LAS

I have more of a question than a reply for the recent visitors. I am going to BA and Patagonia this Sunday for 10 days. The entire trip is set, and I've been to Argentina many times so feel comfortable w/ what I've arranged. What I'd like to know, however, is what have recent visitors done about money/currency? Did you bring US dollars in cash? Travelers Checks? How easily can one get/convert cash in banks nowadays, or get local currency from ATM machines? Do people want dollars or pesos? All input is greatly valued! Thanks.

Saint

Listen to the posters. Especially locals like Marta. I've been to Buenos Aires several times this year. I love it. I'm from the USA and live where it is hot. Here in the summer I always wear shorts but I rarely do in Buenos Aires. Most of the locals never wear shorts. They tend to dress up more or even wear jeans in the summer. <BR><BR>This is not to say that you can't but I tend to follow the locals when traveling internationally. They are very friendly there and won't treat you any differently if you do. Just do what you're comfortable with. They love Americans there. I've never felt unsafe there.<BR><BR>At night expect to dress up. Tons of great restaurants. Check out the restaurant section on www.argentinago.com I know the owner. She is great and can help you with anything. [email protected]<BR><BR>Senor Tango was really good and probably the best tango show in BA. 70 peso each without dinner and 110 pesos each with dinner.<BR><BR>Good luck. I'd also recommend apartments vs. hotels. More privacy and cheaper. Hotels have a 21% tax. I have apartments for rent now and try people like Marta at www.apartmentsbuenosaires.com She is great and very friendly.

saint

Laura,<BR><BR>Definitely bring plenty of cash. No one will know you have it except you. As I posted before..i've never felt unsafe in Buenos Aires and I've visited about 8 times this past year. I also know many businessmen that go down there (over 50) and none has experienced ANY crime whatsoever.<BR><BR>I experienced no problems at ATM's. Sometimes they were out of money but I pulled out large sums of money with no problems at ATM's at Citibank, Banco Rio, Banco Galicia. The only ATM's that wouldn't work for me was Banco Itau (based in Brazil I think). <BR><BR>I never use traveler's checks in BA because the exchange rate tends to not be so good. Plenty of casa de cambios that will exchange dollars for pesos at good rates. The ATM's all dispense pesos usually in 50 or 100 peso notes. Bring ALOT of $1 bills as smaller 5 peso notes are hard to find sometimes. I use $1 US to tip and in taxi's. Many times taxi's will say they don't have charge for larger bills. <BR><BR>Don't worry about money issues. I would still bring plenty of dollars though. Try to pay in pesos. After all..you're in Argentina and not USA. <BR><BR>Good luck and have fun.<BR><BR>http://hometown.aol.com/saintofba/<BR><BR>http://hometown.aol.com/saintofba/libertad.html

cindyn

Shopping bargains-- in the pedestrian alleys/plaza areas of shopping district (sorry, I don't remember exactly where), my girlfriend had a pair of leather pants custom-made for her for under $200 in 2 days. Gorgeous leather and made to flatter. She's very petite, under 5 feet and 90 lbs, so this was a great find. Plus, if you go in their spring/summer as we did (our fall/winter), you can bargain and they usually charge less something like this. Yet for us, we were coming from snow &amp; negative wind chill so leather pants were just the right thing!

chrisjones

LAS, I strongly suggest a hotel for such a short stay, rates are very reasonable and the service you get there is much better than at an apartment. Also, I suggest you read cinthia´s posts, they are the most useful about Argentina by far. Whether people want dollars or peso is hard to say because I encountered both. I took both dollars and traveler´s checks, and exchanged them while in BA. You won´t need much money though. Enjoy your trip, BA is beautiful.