Currency advice please

Booked Emerald Princess from Valparaiso to BA next January, with three days pre and three days post cruise. Have been reading that British debit cards are not easy to use in South America.

Please can anyone suggest an alternative ? Understand US dollars are accepted for larger purchases?

Local cash is needed for small purchases, taxi fares etc?

How much are we likely to need ? How expensive are Santiago and Buenos Aires ?

Appreciate all is subjective and depends on what we do, where we eat etc but would be grateful if someone who has done a similar trip might be able to offer some ideas.

Many thanks.

I returned from a long SA cruise a couple months ago.

Generally speaking you will not have a problem. ATMs are widely available in tourist locations and all the airports. In most ports I noticed currency exchange booths also present (I never use due to cost and long lines - but they are available).

The only exception was the Falklands - no ATMs. The place is just too small.

For pre-arranged tour operators, upon their request, we took USDs. Did not notice any restaurants that did not accept credit cards. I found credit cards and ATMs even between Cuzco and Ollantaytambo (Peru).

Be sure to take several different bank cards. If you are worried about specific ports, use Google Map before you go, and locate a few ATMs near the port. At least one port, Puerto Montt, I just asked our taxi driver when he was hired if we could first visit an ATM - no problem!

In Chile (Valparaiso) and Argentina (Buenos Aires) restaurants had no problem taking US $ in the form of cash or credit card. The same was true for all the private tours we arranged during our LA to Rio cruise this past winter (13 of them if I remember correctly) but most wanted cash and only a couple accepted credit cards. Public transportation (bus, trolley, subway) did require local currency but we were with walking tours in both Valparaiso and Argentine so the guides took care of that.

We used local currency in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. But we spent a fair amount of time pre and post cruise in each of these countries this past winter.

We do not see any point in changing GBP to USD to use simply because you will get dinged again when you pay. Some place may accept USD but the exchange will not be to your advantage. Unless we do not plan to spend any money we always use local currency.

We found Chile more expensive than Argentina-especially for hotels. We paid our hotel in Argentina and Chile with credit cards. When you use a foreign credit card you do NOT have to pay the VAT that locals pay. It is even better in Uruguay...this also applies to restaurant meals. You definately need local currency if you are taking local transport as we did in Santiago and BA. But, to avoid the VAT as per above do not pay cash...pay with your credit card at hotels. You do need to check you hotel bill. One hotel forgot to reverse the VAT for our stay. They happily adjusted the bill.

We found the Princess excursions considerably overpriced compared to the tour with locals or DIY. We did not take any. We spent two days in Valparaiso then took the bus to Santiago. The fare was under $5 USD each. The cruise line was charging people $60 for the bus ride to the airport. We enjoyed Valpo very much. Santiago not so much. We rented a car and toured the wine areas by ourselves.

We decided to fly to Iguazu Falls on our own. You do not need a guide. We booked our flight

by viewing the Aerolineas Argentina site (not the site for North America/Europe). Fares we less expensive. We called the airline's Buenos Aires call centre and booked the flights. It was about $100. USD less expensive simply by doing this.

The only place that we did not use local currency was Falklands. Everyone took USD. The only thing we paid for was a great private tour with a local. We had no issue whatsoever using our credit cards or ATMs in any country. ATMs were everywhere. Be careful if you change money on the street in BA. There have been multiple reports of tourists ending up with a bunch of counterfeit bills.

We used local currency in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. But we spent a fair amount of time pre and post cruise in each of these countries this past winter.

 

We do not see any point in changing GBP to USD to use simply because you will get dinged again when you pay. Some place may accept USD but the exchange will not be to your advantage. Unless we do not plan to spend any money we always use local currency.

 

We found Chile more expensive than Argentina-especially for hotels. We paid our hotel in Argentina and Chile with credit cards. When you use a foreign credit card you do NOT have to pay the VAT that locals pay. It is even better in Uruguay...this also applies to restaurant meals. You definately need local currency if you are taking local transport as we did in Santiago and BA. But, to avoid the VAT as per above do not pay cash...pay with your credit card at hotels. You do need to check you hotel bill. One hotel forgot to reverse the VAT for our stay. They happily adjusted the bill.

 

We found the Princess excursions considerably overpriced compared to the tour with locals or DIY. We did not take any. We spent two days in Valparaiso then took the bus to Santiago. The fare was under $5 USD each. The cruise line was charging people $60 for the bus ride to the airport. We enjoyed Valpo very much. Santiago not so much. We rented a car and toured the wine areas by ourselves.

 

We decided to fly to Iguazu Falls on our own. You do not need a guide. We booked our flight

by viewing the Aerolineas Argentina site (not the site for North America/Europe). Fares we less expensive. We called the airline's Buenos Aires call centre and booked the flights. It was about $100. USD less expensive simply by doing this.

 

The only place that we did not use local currency was Falklands. Everyone took USD. The only thing we paid for was a great private tour with a local. We had no issue whatsoever using our credit cards or ATMs in any country. ATMs were everywhere. Be careful if you change money on the street in BA. There have been multiple reports of tourists ending up with a bunch of counterfeit bills.

Thank you for this useful information. Our hotels and transfers are already booked with Princess, so no need to worry about those. We thought to take hop on/off buses to see as much as possible in short time. We will take US dollars as we travel regularly to North America. This will be our first 'sortie' to South America. Thinking perhaps to change a small amount of GBpounds to Chilean and Argentinian currency. My next question...how much will we need ? Will use credit card where possible, but for a coffee in a cafe/ glass of wine./ sandwich. expect to need cash....could you possible give an idea of costs??

Thanks

We use a credit card as much as possible because it does not incur any additional FX charges. The charge comes across at the time of day that it is processed with no extra percentages added on.

Cannot remember how much we spent each day because of this and because we were in Argentina for 10 days and Chile for a week. Coffee and drinks are certainly no more expensive than NA, perhaps a little less than the UK. We needed cash for the subways/rapid transit in both BA , Santiago, and the elevators in Valparaiso. We did not find taxis expensive.

It is so difficult to predict. Also, we were there for a longer period of time so we often did what the locals did. Had we been there only for a day or so we may have taken more taxis etc.