JUST BACK FROM BUENOS AIRES
 

Hi,
...just returned from a first time visit to Buenos Aires via Virgin Vacations travel. We stayed at the Park Plaza Kempinski, and was quite pleased with the location (Recoleta district), the service, the room and the breakfast that was included in the package. The negatives: no pool nor gym on premises and no place to sit in the lobby after a day of touring. The city is very sophisticated and European, but it does have its poor sections. DON'T MISS A TANGO SHOW (We went to Esquina Carlos and saw AMAZING PERFORMANCES.) The ballet at Teatro Colon was a treat, and a visit to an estancia is a must! Of course, sitting at a cafe and watching the people while drinking cafe con leche is also necessary! Always take a clearly marked radio taxi, and that is very inexpensive. My husband and I felt very safe walking around our upscale neighborhood. The portenos were charming, and wonder of wonders, they understood my Spanish and I understood them! All in all, we had a delightful time!
Judy
email: [email protected]

Hi, edwinaak, I have a soft spot for
Argentina and I am delighted that you had a good time. I am glad they understood your Spanish .....Buenos Aires is indeed a lovely city , the country is undergoing a rough time that is a fact.,anyway this are not easy times.. Take care.

I will be in BA at the end of Dec and was wondering about money. A friend told me US$'s are widly accepted and the Argentine Peso is equal to US$.( Not to disagee, but didn't they recently have a fairly severe financial crisis?? ) Anyway--I wanted to make sure I had some pesos on me but was told I couldn't get them in the US before going. Are there available ATM's at the EZE airport & where? Or should I wait till I'm in the city? I have a complimentary hotel (Sheraton Park Tower) car meeting me and it was suggested I tip the driver in US$ (how much??) so I don't think my need for local $ is immediate. I will only be in Argentina for 2 days so I'll probably not need much in the was of pesos??
Thanks for the help!

There are ATMs in the airport....just as you exit the customs area to your right as you face the transportation booths you will find a bank...with an ATM beside it...you will get the same rate of exchange fromthe ATM as you will get downtown...but the bank and especially the kiosk that exchanges money in the lobby and in the luggage area will give a poor rate of exchange...worse still, exchanging money before you leave the US....wait till you arrive, and use the ATM in the Airport.....A normal ride downtown in a private car is about 35 or 40 pesos, and a good tip is 10percent...so if you give him 5 bucks it should more than cover it.....you are right, your friend is wrong....the dollar and the peso are not equal, though they were until early 2002....today the rate of exchange is about 2.94pesos per dollar....

Hi Mauld,
Although we returned from Buenos Aires on Nov. 17th, less than a month ago, our 1 week there seems like a dream and such a long time ago! We are well entrenched in the holiday season here in New York. However, when we were there, the exchange rate was 2.85 pesos to the dollar. Radio taxis are very inexpensive and the drivers are most appreciative of any amount in tips. Indeed, you can exchange dollars for pesos at the airport at the going rate, although I believe dollars may be welcomed as tips. One driver said his best tip was an American $2 bill! There were many ATM machines, and no probably retrieving money from them. JUST ENJOY BUENOS AIRES; WE DID!!!
Judy

Hi Judy,

Is there another hotel that you saw that you would recommend.. We need an upscale place with a big outdoor pool for my son... Any tips??

Hi Melody13,
We really did not go into any other hotel except for the hotel considered #1 in Buenos Aires, and that it is the Alvear Palace (or Hotel where dignitaries stay when visiting Buenos Aires). When we were there they had sooo many staff people outside waiting for the King of Spain (as well as a rock star) who were supposed to visit /stay at the hotel. However, we never waited to see if they actually showed up. This hotel was indeed beautiful (we went inside and walked around the hotel), but we never looked for, nor saw, a swimming pool. But that doesn't mean that they do not have one. Your best best would be to email any hotel and ask them specifically if the have a pool on site and if it will be usuable for the time that you will be there!
HAVE FUN!!
Judy

We arrived at the Eze airport with no pesos and quickly found an ATM within the building. A recurring problem the rest of our week involved the ATMs distributing our money only in $100peso bills and it was VERY difficult to find a store/vendor who would/could make change for these, including our cab driver from the Eze airport to our hotel in Retiro. He ran to the nearest newspaper stand and they cashed it. We learned to start asking for money from he ATM in amounts not divisible by $100.

I had heard that myself (about large bills from ATM's). Is is possible then to punch in say 290 or 295 pesos ?? Or is is like the US where you have to do denominations of US$ 20. ?

Hi,

Spent the last two weeks in Nov in BA, and we loved it! we just wished we could stay longer. the people we're very friendly and helpful, we were careful to only go out at night in a radio taxi from our hotel. i felt safer there than i have at times in NYC. As for money, we took with us 100 one dollar bills as was suggested on this post and it worked great. taxi drivers always accepted them, sometimes we had to explain to them the exchange rate but most we're very happy. as for us we got our $ directly from the atm. and it is a great idea to ask for denominations that can't be divided by 100. We used visa everywhere we went and had no problems at any time. We stayed at the hotel Wilton on santa fe and callao, it included buffet breakfast and free internet access in their business center. we also went to cabana de las lilas, and enjoyed it very much but found that we had better steaks in other restuarants, really as far as the food, you can't go wrong. try the restaurant row in recoleta, don't forget their out door market on the weekends, we bought the majority of our gifts there. Also, before you go check out the following websites to learn about Yerba Mate and stock up on it, we received from friends, what we thought was a huge bag, and within a month I'm starting to run out of it. (www.noborders.net/mate/) (www.nativayerbamate.com/testimonials) If you need additional help with anything check with cintia at WOWargentina.com she can help you with anything you need, including getting you a great deal on your hotel. We also took a boat trip on the Tigre, its another side of BA I'm glad we didn't miss. In addition to Recoleta we visited the neighborhoods "La Boca", "San Telmo", and the "Downtown District". We had a perfect trip, we're just sad it wasn't longer. have a great time and relax.

Hi Mauld and everybody coming to B.A.,
Do not miss this website: www.letstango.com.ar where you will find interesting information about porteños' culture, places to visit, features, etc. Try to walk around and discover some off-the-beaten-path places; Buenos Aires is a great city.
And don't miss Tango, Wines and Food.
Happy holidays!

I am just back from my quick trip to BA and wanted to thank all for the fantastic information. I had a wonderful time, took the subte everywhere, walked all over from La Boca to San Telmo through the shopping area & back up to my hotel in Retiro, then over to La Recoleta. Saw the 'free' tango show at Plaza Dorrago after touring the antique shoppes etc. And finally had a great meal at Cabana las Lilas in the Puerto Madero. I was there only for a little under 30 hours, but managed to get a slight feel for the city. I definately plan to return for a longer visit.
Once again, thanks to all posting here for the great information & tips!!