Banking ATM or Cash Exchange

[redbook]

Hello,

We're planning a trip to Argentina in January, with Buenos Aires as our initial destination. We anticipate carrying a modest amount of cash for the journey, perhaps a few hundred USD equivalents.

Is it convenient to exchange cash in Buenos Aires, and is the exchange rate reasonable? Alternatively, should we be ready to use ATMs, taking into account foreign exchange fees, bank fees, and ATM charges?

Thank you.

 

[milo]

Certainly,

Here are some travel tips, applicable not just to Argentina but to most destinations:

1. Use your credit card whenever possible: Check with vendors if they accept credit cards and prefer using them for transactions.
2. Exchange rates can vary: The concept of a "reasonable rate" can be subjective as rates tend to fluctuate. Focus on getting a rate that works for you. Personally, I exchange an estimated amount needed for the trip and don't mind having leftover currency, as I view it as an investment for future travels.
3. Consider using a Cambio for currency exchange: While I didn't use one myself, it's recommended to explore Cambio services in town for potentially better rates. However, I found that using ATMs, despite fees, worked well for me.
4. Use cash for small purchases: Credit cards are convenient, but for small transactions like buying coffee or gelato, using cash is more practical. I often withdraw cash from ATMs for these purposes.
5. Shop around for the best rates: If you're inclined to seek out the best exchange rate, feel free to shop around. However, consider the value of your time and the marginal savings in the overall context of your trip.
6. Check with your local bank for foreign currency: Before your trip, inquire with your local bank about purchasing foreign currency. Some banks may charge fees for this service, but it can be convenient to have currency in hand upon arrival.

Best of luck with your travels!

 

[Thunder]

I was in the country a month ago and had the most incredible vacation of my life! I can say that in my experience the most important thing is to carry cash when visiting Argentina. The official ARS/USD exchange rate, even with commissions added, is often less favorable than the physical currency exchange. Many stores in Argentina accept foreign currency and offer better exchange rates than the official rate. It should be noted that USD and EUR are widely accepted, while GBP may not be as commonly advertised or accepted in local stores. This information may be useful to others seeking similar guidance for their travels.

Best of luck!

 

[redbook]

Thank you all for your advice!
This forum is definitely great, I will tell you about my experience upon my return!

 

[StatusNomadicus]

@redbook i'll have been in BsAs for over a month by then, so tag my username if you want to know something specific for planning purposes...it hasn't been a cakewalk, but overall doable for roaming around (and i have a dog, which is a little harder)

 

[Betsy Ross]

@redbook i'll have been in BsAs for over a month by then, so tag my username if you want to know something specific for planning purposes...it hasn't been a cakewalk, but overall doable for roaming around (and i have a dog, which is a little harder)

I have enjoyed all your posts @StatusNomadicus . I admire how you seem to be making your way around the city quite a bit. What do you refer to when you say it "hasn't been a cakewalk"? Keep up the great posts.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Argentines 80% refuse to speak Spanish to me; i've traveled for many months in 5 different Spanish-speaking countries and have never had this problem. it's like if people get frustrated, they will just shut-down and say "esta bien, esta bien" rather than speak more slowly or in an international spanish dialect.

and the service at restaurants/businesses is pretty bad. like, Iceland and Sweden bad (70% of them).

sh*t all over the sidewalks. not a lot of parks for my dog. businesses allow small dogs but not always big dogs over 50#.

food quality is worse than i would have guessed. salads here are abysmal. the meat has been surprisingly hard to find something that would impress the average American cooking at a BBQ. dealing with the corrupt "Cubierto" charges has been annoying. Gringo Tax isn't as bad as in Guatemala, but there's certainly a 25% of the time feel of being slightly scammed by locals (a laundry place tried charging me 6000 Pesos to wash a normal Double bed blanket). @Betsy Ross

 

[Betsy Ross]

Argentines 80% refuse to speak Spanish to me; i've traveled for many months in 5 different Spanish-speaking countries and have never had this problem. it's like if people get frustrated, they will just shut-down and say "esta bien, esta bien" rather than speak more slowly or in an international spanish dialect.

and the service at restaurants/businesses is pretty bad. like, Iceland and Sweden bad (70% of them).

sh*t all over the sidewalks. not a lot of parks for my dog. businesses allow small dogs but not always big dogs over 50#.

food quality is worse than i would have guessed. salads here are abysmal. the meat has been surprisingly hard to find something that would impress the average American cooking at a BBQ. dealing with the corrupt "Cubierto" charges has been annoying. Gringo Tax isn't as bad as in Guatemala, but there's certainly a 25% of the time feel of being slightly scammed by locals (a laundry place tried charging me 6000 Pesos to wash a normal Double bed blanket). @Betsy Ross

Yikes. Thanks for sharing. I think it's important to read the good AND the bad. Thanks for mentioning that. I agree with you that Porteños are NOT the friendliest people. I have traveled extensively around Latin America and Latinos are friendlier in many other countries. Coupled into the equation is the horrible economy. Also, when I first moved here it took me a while to get the Castallano dialect vs. basic Spanish I learned in high school.

Still I find it difficult to believe 80% refuse to speak Spanish? How good/bad is your Spanish? Argentines think they are the center of the universe. They don't know an "international Spanish dialect". They know THEIR Spanish. LOL.

Service I agree is not too good compared to many countries.

I'd disagree about food quality. I'm not sure which places you are going to but there are a lot of good restaurants. Salads here are not that good. I agree with you. I totally disagree about meat. Which places are you going to? The scam tax is real at many places. They might have two places if they think you're a tourist and don't know any better. The poor economy I noticed has had an affect along with the rapid inflation. Many times prices aren't listed so they just say what they feel for the day.

Thanks for sharing with the "no cakewalk" part of it which is important to read too.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

i can always tell when the venezuelans are working restaurants, because they will actually converse with me i'm not fluent, but i lived in mexico city for 3 months, guatemala for a month, took spanish for 6 years, been to spain/peru/chile/costa rica/puerto rico and the patience of Argentines is noticeable. that being said, Chileans are impossible to understand because they don't open their mouths, or make much effort to be understood; but Argentine locals tend to be really impatient once they find out you aren't a local/porteno/whatever.

salads are horrible! like, mayo on warm lettuce, horrible. don't even try to order a Caesar salad; you will always be sad.

castellano is just "spanish" - do you mean the rioplatense dialect? https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Español_rioplatense

of course there are great restaurants. ChinoFino is really good! but overall, the food has been disappointing. the ribs i got at Buenos Aires Grill on the main strip by the obelisk were just okay...like i said, the average american middle-class family BBQing for a holiday makes better meat than most of these places. i was expecting the Brazilian Steakhouse quality of fresh, tender, flavorful, abundant meat; so far in just over 2 weeks, i haven't had a good steak yet. i actually took a break to try to asian food and pizza and italian cuisine, since it was so disappointing. just to reiterate, this is 90% of restaurants, not all of them! and La Cabrera was the nail on the coffin for me...so shitty

 

[Betsy Ross]

i can always tell when the venezuelans are working restaurants, because they will actually converse with me i'm not fluent, but i lived in mexico city for 3 months, guatemala for a month, took spanish for 6 years, been to spain/peru/chile/costa rica/puerto rico and the patience of Argentines is noticeable. that being said, Chileans are impossible to understand because they don't open their mouths, or make much effort to be understood; but Argentine locals tend to be really impatient once they find out you aren't a local/porteno/whatever.

salads are horrible! like, mayo on warm lettuce, horrible. don't even try to order a Caesar salad; you will always be sad.

castellano is just "spanish" - do you mean the rioplatense dialect? https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Español_rioplatense

of course there are great restaurants. ChinoFino is really good! but overall, the food has been disappointing. the ribs i got at Buenos Aires Grill on the main strip by the obelisk were just okay...like i said, the average american middle-class family BBQing for a holiday makes better meat than most of these places. i was expecting the Brazilian Steakhouse quality of fresh, tender, flavorful, abundant meat; so far in just over 2 weeks, i haven't had a good steak yet. i actually took a break to try to asian food and pizza and italian cuisine, since it was so disappointing. just to reiterate, this is 90% of restaurants, not all of them! and La Cabrera was the nail on the coffin for me...so shitty

Yes people from Venezuela and Colombia working in Buenos Aires are far friendlier than Porteños. Porteños do NOT have a reputation for being warm and friendly. Most people from Latin America make fun of Argentines. For many years during the $1 to 1 days Argentines were traveling all over and had an attitude so now most of Latin America is laughing at Argentina's misery. Most Argentines don't even consider themselves as Latin. They say they are European.

Yes, I agree about salads. When I moved here many years ago it took a while to the no salad dressings. It was just oil and vinegar for the most part. I don't think people come to Argentina for the salads. LOL.

There are a LOT of great steak places. If you are just going to the corner restaurant where the locals eat many of them are using bad quality meat. But I go to many friends asados and they do not spend much money and the quality is very good. What did you eat at La Cabrera? What cut of beef?

I'm so sorry you are not enjoying the wonderful beef here. Sounds like bad luck.

 

[Che Vos]

Argentines 80% refuse to speak Spanish to me; i've traveled for many months in 5 different Spanish-speaking countries and have never had this problem. it's like if people get frustrated, they will just shut-down and say "esta bien, esta bien" rather than speak more slowly or in an international spanish dialect.

and the service at restaurants/businesses is pretty bad. like, Iceland and Sweden bad (70% of them).

sh*t all over the sidewalks. not a lot of parks for my dog. businesses allow small dogs but not always big dogs over 50#.

food quality is worse than i would have guessed. salads here are abysmal. the meat has been surprisingly hard to find something that would impress the average American cooking at a BBQ. dealing with the corrupt "Cubierto" charges has been annoying. Gringo Tax isn't as bad as in Guatemala, but there's certainly a 25% of the time feel of being slightly scammed by locals (a laundry place tried charging me 6000 Pesos to wash a normal Double bed blanket). @Betsy Ross

You prove post after post that the problem is YOU. You claim to study Spanish for 6 years yet you can't communicate. "80% refuse to speak Spanish to you". Ha. Ha. You sound ridiculous! I have many foreign friends from other countries. Most only speak basic Spanish that they studied 2 years in high school and they can communicate basic Spanish.

Probably they are refusing to speak to you because you are too busy telling restaurants how it's illegal to charge you a $1 cubierto fee! Locals in a bad economy will get frustrated dealing with a cheap ugly gringo.

Yes, I agree with you that people need to do better about cleaning up after their dogs. And no business should be expected to allow a big dog into their store. Many people are allergic to pets. You sound like an unreasonable person.

Many places charge a cubierto and it is NOT illegal. You can say you don't want it and they won't charge it. Just tell them you don't want it at the BEGINNING before you eat it. If you feel like you are being scammed 25% of the time it's "user error" and it's you.

The fact remains that most ugly Americans won't self admit they are ugly Americans. They think the problem is with everyone else. I don't think Argentina will work out for you and better to leave now. If you can't find a good steak in Buenos Aires I think everyone will agree you are not a smart person.

 

[LongIslander]

You prove post after post that the problem is YOU. You claim to study Spanish for 6 years yet you can't communicate. "80% refuse to speak Spanish to you". Ha. Ha. You sound ridiculous! I have many foreign friends from other countries. Most only speak basic Spanish that they studied 2 years in high school and they can communicate basic Spanish.

Probably they are refusing to speak to you because you are too busy telling restaurants how it's illegal to charge you a $1 cubierto fee! Locals in a bad economy will get frustrated dealing with a cheap ugly gringo.

Yes, I agree with you that people need to do better about cleaning up after their dogs. And no business should be expected to allow a big dog into their store. Many people are allergic to pets. You sound like an unreasonable person.

Many places charge a cubierto and it is NOT illegal. You can say you don't want it and they won't charge it. Just tell them you don't want it at the BEGINNING before you eat it. If you feel like you are being scammed 25% of the time it's "user error" and it's you.

The fact remains that most ugly Americans won't self admit they are ugly Americans. They think the problem is with everyone else. I don't think Argentina will work out for you and better to leave now. If you can't find a good steak in Buenos Aires I think everyone will agree you are not a smart person.

@Che Vos I think you are being too hard on @StatusNomadicus. Also, I think that everyone has bad days. That includes tourists, wait staff, restaurant owners, etc.

I have been in my favorite restaurants sometimes where I go for years and they have an off night. Also, it might have been an off night and then an overly high expectation of a great meal.

One thing I totally agree with you with is that no one should expect anyone to speak to you in English in a Spanish speaking country. Especially if you claim to have been speaking 6 years in Spanish. I don't speak Spanish well but I can order off a menu or use a translator app. I notice when they see me at least trying then they will make a big effort as they respect that I'm trying. Maybe something is getting lost in translation.

I wouldn't necessarily assume he is an ugly tourist but I can't say either way. I know I have paid a cubierto in many restaurants and I'm happy to pay it if it includes something. It's never been more than $1 to $2 US each. If it is something that I will not eat then I tell them I don't want it. But typically if it's something I'm allergic to. I am always aware I'm a guest in their country.