BuySellBA
Administrator
I finally got a chance to come up for air and wanted to post a Trip Report on my 2-month trip to Buenos Aires this summer. (June and July 2023). Please keep in mind the exchange rate at the time of this posting was only 500 pesos to $1 US. Now it's over 1,000 pesos to $1 US as of November 21, 2023.
I will preface this by saying that I formally lived in Buenos Aires for 9 years. A city I love with all my heart. Things are very cheap there at the “Blue” dollar rate. I feel so horrible about the economic turmoil that my friends are going through that live there. I almost felt guilty seeing how horrible the economy is there now.
Things seem worse than ever after I arrived after their devasting financial collapse in 2002. And in fact, I witnessed more crime than at any point since 2002.
In a 24-hour period, I saw 4 different people getting arrested by the police. 3 in Palermo Soho and 1 in Recoleta right at Las Heras and Junin. In the one in Recoleta, the police were very quick to act. It appeared some thieves had stolen something from someone on the street but the police were all quickly there with a police car blocking off the street.
I never felt any danger at all so in that respect I still feel like Buenos Aires is a very safe place to visit for tourists. You just have to be careful and always watch your surroundings. I never felt like I couldn’t take out my iPhone while walking on the street but be careful as most of my local friends have had their cellphones stolen at one point or another. In fact, the day I left my best friend (a local) had his iPhone stolen at a bar.
Restaurants are very cheap compared to the USA. I brought several thousands of dollars. Make sure to bring brand new $100 US dollar bills. You will get a lower exchange rate if you have old bills and some places might not want to exchange worn or older bills. You will also get a lower exchange rate for $20 or $50 bills.
There are several exchange places. Some have signs but some you have to already know about them. In Palermo Soho, you can go near Plaza Serrano at Serrano 1563. In Recoleta, you can go to Pueyrredon 1687. There is an office but tell them you want to exchange money and he will buzz a door where you exchange behind a glass window. Exchange rates were always very good there.
You can go to this website to see the rates: https://www.ambito.com/contenidos/dolar.html Most exchange places will give you near the Blue Dollar rate “compra” rate.
I was there almost 2 months so I eventually went through all my cash. For restaurants most times I just used my USA credit card. As long as your credit card is from outside of Argentina you will get an exchange rate of about 7% less than the “MEP” on the website I listed above. It was great not having to carry large amounts of money around.
Keep in mind the largest bill is the 2,000 peso bill but almost no one has those bills as they are fairly new. So, most use the 1,000 peso bill which is only worth about $1.50 US dollars at the current exchange rate. So if you go out to eat with a lot of people it can add up the stack of bills you have to carry around.
We ate out breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. I have a family of 5 people and my mother-in-law also was with us. So with 6 people daily, it added up. Although cheaper than the USA, food can still add up depending on where you are going.
Some places stopped listing the prices on the menu board. My favorite medialuna place called La Mantequeria (they have a few locations) stopped putting prices on their board so I’d have to ask and it was different throughout the trip. That’s how fast the peso is depreciating.
Great if you have Dollars but horrible for the locals. When I started the trip the exchange rate was about 460 pesos to $1 US. Then throughout the trip, it went up to about 600 pesos to $ 1 US and now it’s already almost 675 pesos to $1 US. With inflation, prices go up but they can’t go up that quickly and there is a limit to how much restaurants can raise prices as locals won’t go.
Make sure if you are there for an extended time or even if you’re there for a week. Don’t exchange all your money on the first day. Just exchange as needed as these places are open every day except Sunday. And even on Sunday the one in Palermo Soho was open from 11:30 AM to 5 PM.
Dining out you can get the Menu of the Day at many places which is a fabulous value. At some places, it was only 3,000 pesos each for the menu of the day which included a drink, main course and some even included dessert. In many places, it was more than this.
We skipped Don Julio this trip as I think it’s crazy the lines now. The steak is good but it’s not that much better than any of the other good steak places. We went to La Cabrera which is another great steakhouse. Keep in mind at La Cabrera starting at 6 PM it’s 40% off the entire menu! You just have to show up around 5:30 to get your name on a list. By 6 PM there is a long line already and your odds of getting a table aren’t good. One day we went at 6 PM and we still got a table but the last one and only because someone didn’t show up.
The only catch is you must be completely done and pay the bill by 8 PM. If not, you won’t get the discount. But the ENTIRE menu is 40% off the bill. It’s relatively expensive for local standards. But the 6 of us ate like pigs and it was less than $125 US dollar with the 10% tip included. In the USA the equivalent meal probably would be around $600 US dollars
I also almost selfishly want to “gatekeep” this restaurant as it’s mostly locals and not too many tourists, but it’s called “La Choza de Gascon”. It’s a great local restaurant that has amazing prices on steak! It’s probably half the price of Don Julio or maybe less. We went here several times during the trip and we had 7 people dining out and I don’t think the bill was ever over $150 US for all of us. And that was appetizers, drinks, desserts, and tips. Plus many times we couldn’t even eat everything and brought leftovers home. Portions are huge here.
Make sure to have reservations at most places as places are all very packed. With the worthless peso, the locals are in a rush to spend their money. Everywhere is packed. You’d never know there was a devasting financial situation based on how packed the restaurants are. It’s always the same in BA.
We got tired of eating steak and my kids wanted some Asian food so we went to an all-you-can-eat Korean place called KBBQ. It’s nothing compared to the quality of the Korean places in the USA but it’s truly all you can eat. We were so stuffed and it was only 6,100 pesos each. That was about $11 US dollars each and it was a ton of food! The same thing in the USA is about $50 US dollars each.
China town over in Belgrano has also really changed and grown since I lived here. It was always packed! It used to only be 2 blocks but it has grown quite a bit and they built a subway station near there. Lots of restaurants and stores if you have young kids it’s worth going to. My kids wanted to go several times so we went often during our 2-month trip.
You will notice this crazy situation where the price of restaurants isn’t too different from a totally mediocre place vs. a nicer place. There is a limit to how cheap places can charge so even medicore meals (other than the menu of the day) were just a little different than a nice places. On average for 5 people in most of the places we went was from $70 US dollars to $100 US dollars each meal. And that included appetizers, drinks, a main course, and sometimes dessert, and always a 10% tip. So while much cheaper than the USA, still not crazy cheap if you are going for a while and eating out often.
Even at a place like McDonalds, you will pay the same price for a meal and drink and dessert then you will at a really nice place. (Other than the Value meal which was a little lower). I really don’t understand why locals would want to eat at McDonald’s when you consider just how expensive it is. For the same price, you can eat a really nice meal.
Things like hair salons and haircuts are very cheap compared to USA prices at similar salons. For example, my husband got a haircut for around $10 U dollars at a nice salon in Palermo Soho called Mala Peluqueria (ask for Brian or Julian). My husband and son went several times. Here in California, we pay about $40 US dollars with the tip for the same thing.
And other things like massages are an even better deal! As mentioned, there is a limit to how high places can charge or locals won’t go. So what I noticed the most is things like massages are an incredible deal! I paid 7,000 pesos including a generous tip for a 1 hour deep tissue massage. That is only about $11 US dollars. For the same thing here in California it’s about $100 US. And they have specials like couples massage for 1 hour where my husband and I went in the same room and had 2 people giving us a massage and it was for 10,000 pesos total plus tip! 10,000 pesos was only around $20 US dollars while we were there. That same thing here in California we pay $300 US dollars.
So services like this are the best value. You won’t get values like this at upscale hotels but you can go to established salons. I AM going to gatekeep this so if you want the name of the place just send me a private message and I’ll send you the details for where this place is. I’ve been going there for years.
Another thing that has changed over the years is there are far fewer taxis on the street. There used to be over 39,000 taxis in Buenos Aires. More than NYC, London, and Paris combined. There is probably 1/3 of that now. Not to worry. They have been replaced by rideshare companies like Uber, DiDi, Cabify and others.
The only thing that was a bummer is the maximum # of people you can have in them is 4 people. You can’t request a larger vehicle. So we always had to take 2 different Ubers. Ubers are all over the place and available everywhere. Most fares from Palermo to Recoleta were about 1,500 to 2,000 pesos each way depending on the time you went. About $3 US each time. Very cheap compared to the USA but it can still add up as we were in Uber about 8 times a day.
Download DiDi and Cabify before you come. Sometimes Uber wouldn’t have any cars available but DiDi always did. Just keep in mind with DiDi and Cabify you can’t use your credit card. You only can pay with Cash. With Uber I used my credit card 95% of the time. But sometimes the driver would text you ahead of time and say if you didn’t have cash he couldn’t take you. I usually asked them to cancel if this was the case as I already paid with a credit card and didn’t know if I’d get the refund. Taxis are cheaper now vs. rideshares for the most part but I still preferred to take Uber as one day I had a taxi with a rigged meter. I went the same route over and over and one day with no traffic the meter was over double and I told him I know he has a rigged meter.
Also, download the Rappi app on your phone. It was super convenient. I’ve used it for years but now we almost never went to the supermarket as everything can be delivered instantly with the App. You can subscribe to a “Rappi Prime” account which is only around $2 US per month (cancel after your trip). And you won’t pay delivery fees.
Whatever you want, you can instantly get. They have something called “Turbo” and they deliver within 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. You name it I got it. Ice, bottled water, sodas, ice cream. Just use the Turbo and you will have it within a few minutes. You can use it at an apartment rental or hotel.
On larger orders, they will ask you to give a PIN number to the delivery driver to ensure you get it. This protects you so you don’t pay until the driver enters the PIN. I never had problems and I used them daily. It beats standing in line at the grocery store. Plus, something nice is I could just use my USA credit card so I never had to hassle with cash.
Buenos Aires is a fabulous city. The major downside is only the airfare from most cities is really expensive now. But once you get there, everything else is relatively inexpensive.
I will preface this by saying that I formally lived in Buenos Aires for 9 years. A city I love with all my heart. Things are very cheap there at the “Blue” dollar rate. I feel so horrible about the economic turmoil that my friends are going through that live there. I almost felt guilty seeing how horrible the economy is there now.
Things seem worse than ever after I arrived after their devasting financial collapse in 2002. And in fact, I witnessed more crime than at any point since 2002.
In a 24-hour period, I saw 4 different people getting arrested by the police. 3 in Palermo Soho and 1 in Recoleta right at Las Heras and Junin. In the one in Recoleta, the police were very quick to act. It appeared some thieves had stolen something from someone on the street but the police were all quickly there with a police car blocking off the street.
I never felt any danger at all so in that respect I still feel like Buenos Aires is a very safe place to visit for tourists. You just have to be careful and always watch your surroundings. I never felt like I couldn’t take out my iPhone while walking on the street but be careful as most of my local friends have had their cellphones stolen at one point or another. In fact, the day I left my best friend (a local) had his iPhone stolen at a bar.
Restaurants are very cheap compared to the USA. I brought several thousands of dollars. Make sure to bring brand new $100 US dollar bills. You will get a lower exchange rate if you have old bills and some places might not want to exchange worn or older bills. You will also get a lower exchange rate for $20 or $50 bills.
There are several exchange places. Some have signs but some you have to already know about them. In Palermo Soho, you can go near Plaza Serrano at Serrano 1563. In Recoleta, you can go to Pueyrredon 1687. There is an office but tell them you want to exchange money and he will buzz a door where you exchange behind a glass window. Exchange rates were always very good there.
You can go to this website to see the rates: https://www.ambito.com/contenidos/dolar.html Most exchange places will give you near the Blue Dollar rate “compra” rate.
I was there almost 2 months so I eventually went through all my cash. For restaurants most times I just used my USA credit card. As long as your credit card is from outside of Argentina you will get an exchange rate of about 7% less than the “MEP” on the website I listed above. It was great not having to carry large amounts of money around.
Keep in mind the largest bill is the 2,000 peso bill but almost no one has those bills as they are fairly new. So, most use the 1,000 peso bill which is only worth about $1.50 US dollars at the current exchange rate. So if you go out to eat with a lot of people it can add up the stack of bills you have to carry around.
We ate out breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. I have a family of 5 people and my mother-in-law also was with us. So with 6 people daily, it added up. Although cheaper than the USA, food can still add up depending on where you are going.
Some places stopped listing the prices on the menu board. My favorite medialuna place called La Mantequeria (they have a few locations) stopped putting prices on their board so I’d have to ask and it was different throughout the trip. That’s how fast the peso is depreciating.
Great if you have Dollars but horrible for the locals. When I started the trip the exchange rate was about 460 pesos to $1 US. Then throughout the trip, it went up to about 600 pesos to $ 1 US and now it’s already almost 675 pesos to $1 US. With inflation, prices go up but they can’t go up that quickly and there is a limit to how much restaurants can raise prices as locals won’t go.
Make sure if you are there for an extended time or even if you’re there for a week. Don’t exchange all your money on the first day. Just exchange as needed as these places are open every day except Sunday. And even on Sunday the one in Palermo Soho was open from 11:30 AM to 5 PM.
Dining out you can get the Menu of the Day at many places which is a fabulous value. At some places, it was only 3,000 pesos each for the menu of the day which included a drink, main course and some even included dessert. In many places, it was more than this.
We skipped Don Julio this trip as I think it’s crazy the lines now. The steak is good but it’s not that much better than any of the other good steak places. We went to La Cabrera which is another great steakhouse. Keep in mind at La Cabrera starting at 6 PM it’s 40% off the entire menu! You just have to show up around 5:30 to get your name on a list. By 6 PM there is a long line already and your odds of getting a table aren’t good. One day we went at 6 PM and we still got a table but the last one and only because someone didn’t show up.
The only catch is you must be completely done and pay the bill by 8 PM. If not, you won’t get the discount. But the ENTIRE menu is 40% off the bill. It’s relatively expensive for local standards. But the 6 of us ate like pigs and it was less than $125 US dollar with the 10% tip included. In the USA the equivalent meal probably would be around $600 US dollars
I also almost selfishly want to “gatekeep” this restaurant as it’s mostly locals and not too many tourists, but it’s called “La Choza de Gascon”. It’s a great local restaurant that has amazing prices on steak! It’s probably half the price of Don Julio or maybe less. We went here several times during the trip and we had 7 people dining out and I don’t think the bill was ever over $150 US for all of us. And that was appetizers, drinks, desserts, and tips. Plus many times we couldn’t even eat everything and brought leftovers home. Portions are huge here.
Make sure to have reservations at most places as places are all very packed. With the worthless peso, the locals are in a rush to spend their money. Everywhere is packed. You’d never know there was a devasting financial situation based on how packed the restaurants are. It’s always the same in BA.
We got tired of eating steak and my kids wanted some Asian food so we went to an all-you-can-eat Korean place called KBBQ. It’s nothing compared to the quality of the Korean places in the USA but it’s truly all you can eat. We were so stuffed and it was only 6,100 pesos each. That was about $11 US dollars each and it was a ton of food! The same thing in the USA is about $50 US dollars each.
China town over in Belgrano has also really changed and grown since I lived here. It was always packed! It used to only be 2 blocks but it has grown quite a bit and they built a subway station near there. Lots of restaurants and stores if you have young kids it’s worth going to. My kids wanted to go several times so we went often during our 2-month trip.
You will notice this crazy situation where the price of restaurants isn’t too different from a totally mediocre place vs. a nicer place. There is a limit to how cheap places can charge so even medicore meals (other than the menu of the day) were just a little different than a nice places. On average for 5 people in most of the places we went was from $70 US dollars to $100 US dollars each meal. And that included appetizers, drinks, a main course, and sometimes dessert, and always a 10% tip. So while much cheaper than the USA, still not crazy cheap if you are going for a while and eating out often.
Even at a place like McDonalds, you will pay the same price for a meal and drink and dessert then you will at a really nice place. (Other than the Value meal which was a little lower). I really don’t understand why locals would want to eat at McDonald’s when you consider just how expensive it is. For the same price, you can eat a really nice meal.
Things like hair salons and haircuts are very cheap compared to USA prices at similar salons. For example, my husband got a haircut for around $10 U dollars at a nice salon in Palermo Soho called Mala Peluqueria (ask for Brian or Julian). My husband and son went several times. Here in California, we pay about $40 US dollars with the tip for the same thing.
And other things like massages are an even better deal! As mentioned, there is a limit to how high places can charge or locals won’t go. So what I noticed the most is things like massages are an incredible deal! I paid 7,000 pesos including a generous tip for a 1 hour deep tissue massage. That is only about $11 US dollars. For the same thing here in California it’s about $100 US. And they have specials like couples massage for 1 hour where my husband and I went in the same room and had 2 people giving us a massage and it was for 10,000 pesos total plus tip! 10,000 pesos was only around $20 US dollars while we were there. That same thing here in California we pay $300 US dollars.
So services like this are the best value. You won’t get values like this at upscale hotels but you can go to established salons. I AM going to gatekeep this so if you want the name of the place just send me a private message and I’ll send you the details for where this place is. I’ve been going there for years.
Another thing that has changed over the years is there are far fewer taxis on the street. There used to be over 39,000 taxis in Buenos Aires. More than NYC, London, and Paris combined. There is probably 1/3 of that now. Not to worry. They have been replaced by rideshare companies like Uber, DiDi, Cabify and others.
The only thing that was a bummer is the maximum # of people you can have in them is 4 people. You can’t request a larger vehicle. So we always had to take 2 different Ubers. Ubers are all over the place and available everywhere. Most fares from Palermo to Recoleta were about 1,500 to 2,000 pesos each way depending on the time you went. About $3 US each time. Very cheap compared to the USA but it can still add up as we were in Uber about 8 times a day.
Download DiDi and Cabify before you come. Sometimes Uber wouldn’t have any cars available but DiDi always did. Just keep in mind with DiDi and Cabify you can’t use your credit card. You only can pay with Cash. With Uber I used my credit card 95% of the time. But sometimes the driver would text you ahead of time and say if you didn’t have cash he couldn’t take you. I usually asked them to cancel if this was the case as I already paid with a credit card and didn’t know if I’d get the refund. Taxis are cheaper now vs. rideshares for the most part but I still preferred to take Uber as one day I had a taxi with a rigged meter. I went the same route over and over and one day with no traffic the meter was over double and I told him I know he has a rigged meter.
Also, download the Rappi app on your phone. It was super convenient. I’ve used it for years but now we almost never went to the supermarket as everything can be delivered instantly with the App. You can subscribe to a “Rappi Prime” account which is only around $2 US per month (cancel after your trip). And you won’t pay delivery fees.
Whatever you want, you can instantly get. They have something called “Turbo” and they deliver within 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. You name it I got it. Ice, bottled water, sodas, ice cream. Just use the Turbo and you will have it within a few minutes. You can use it at an apartment rental or hotel.
On larger orders, they will ask you to give a PIN number to the delivery driver to ensure you get it. This protects you so you don’t pay until the driver enters the PIN. I never had problems and I used them daily. It beats standing in line at the grocery store. Plus, something nice is I could just use my USA credit card so I never had to hassle with cash.
Buenos Aires is a fabulous city. The major downside is only the airfare from most cities is really expensive now. But once you get there, everything else is relatively inexpensive.
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