Buenos Aires

[pocho]

Buenos Aires DO'S AND DON'TS

SAFETY Buenos Aires is a safe city, but as in any other big city in the world, the tourist should take some precautions. For example, avoid leaving your purse or bag hanging from chairs in public places, as well as walking at night along poorly lit areas.

 



 

1) Taffic in my city is a bit crazy:) Just pay attention when crossing a street.

 

2) If you have mobility issues, you may have to be mindful about the poor state of some of our sidewalks plus the numerous little-or maybe not so little-litter left behind by our cute little dogs.:D unfortunately some of the owners do not pick up

 

3) Avoid wearing jewlrery, fancy watches and flashing around expensive cameras.!!!..Just wear an cheap Timex.

 

4) Recoleta has lots of outdoor restaurans which I do NOT recommend. I personally winessed people getting robbed while enjoying a nice meal. The only area where you can eat outdoors is Puerto madero because of an effective police presence.

 

5) When withdrawing money at an ATM it's best to do it in a bussy area and always during daytime.Cash machines will just give a limited amount of AR$300 ( $100 ) and although on the display you see the $ Dollar sign you will not be able to withdraw any US money.

Perhaps a good area to get money from is at Plaza San Martin next to the Marriot Plaza

 

 

6) Prices carry the $ sign, but it is ARG$ NOT US$. I have heard quite a few

stories about shopkeepers triying to pull a fast one on unguarded visitors:mad:

 

 

7) There will be times where you come across people asking you for money in the street just ignore them by saying "no gracias" with a smile. and move on.

 

 

8) Small change is a real issue in Argentina, it is always good to carry smaller peso bills. 10`s and 20's The 100 peso bill is a big deal to break.Try to have some oin with you as well.and never ever pay a fare with a 100 ARG$

 

9) If you need to catch a cab it is best to call a radio taxi,the reason for it is that radio taxis are registered. If you happen to be in a restaurant or coffee shop,you may ask the waiter to call you a cab and they are usally happy to oblige.In the street go for the shiny new vehicles with the radio taxi sign on top.

 

10) Tipping in Buenos Aires is 10%

 

11) Last but not least, people in BA are very friendly so if you need some help just ask anyone on the street. We do not speak Englsih very well but we try our best and will be very helpful in the pocess.

 

How to use an ATM

 

You should not worry about translation problems at the ATM because most are in English. At Plaza San Martin you will find a couple of banks nearby.

 

The Marriot hotel is located right across the plaza.There are two banks almost in front of the Marriot on Marcelo de Alvear st.and Florida-the pedestrian mall-

Our local ATM's have a the red logo BANELCO or green LINK.

 

Here are is the translation just in case

 

1) Ingrese codigo= pin nr.

2) Extracción=withdrawal

3) Seleccione cuenta=select account( cuenta cooriente=current account/caja de ahorro=savings account / tarjeta de credito=credit card)

4) Importe pesos=amount( pesos only!)

4) Digite importe=press amount .once transaction is over and to get your card back you will read..

6) Otra operacion= another transaction?

Si / no

-7) Desea comprobante de la operacion?=you need the slip of transaction?

Si/no yes/no

And voila:) the deal is done.

 

2) Some extra suggestions for everyone.

 

As you all probably know there is a 300 peso limit per transaction. In case you need more pesos just go to another ATM or CAJERO in spanish.

 

It is always best to withdraw 290 pesos instead of the 300 peso limit, that way you make sure to have smaller bills. 100 bills are hard to break down.

 

Now let us say that you are stuck with 100 bills , the next step is to go to a bar/coffee shop and pay with that 100 peso note , if they ask for cambio ( small change ) just :) and say "perdon,no tengo"=sorry,don't have any"

 

 

 

[ilovhywd]

Thanks for the great tips! I will read them again before we arrive in BA.

 

Someone suggested that you may be able to answer a question I posted about gifts for Argentinian families. If you have time, could you please read that thread and perhaps give me some ideas? Gracias!

[owl61]

As you all probably know there is a 300 peso limit per transaction. In case you need more pesos just go to another ATM or CAJERO in spanish.

About a month ago the per transaction limit was increased to about 1200 pesos (about 3.85 pesos to the USD). The local systems, Banelco and Link, will charge about 12 pesos for each transaction so it's best to minimize the number of transaction in order to limit the fees. You should be able to do multiple withdrawls at a single machine as long as you do not exceed your aggregate daily withdrawl limit.

Some banks, Banco de La Nacion for example, give good exchange rates. There's a Banco de La Nacion in EZE airport where you can conveniently exchange foreign currency.

p.s. Big ticket item retailers will generally accept USD and euros at favorable rates.

[owl61]

duplicate

[pocho]

Thanks for the great tips! I will read them again before we arrive in BA.

 

Someone suggested that you may be able to answer a question I posted about gifts for Argentinian families. If you have time, could you please read that thread and perhaps give me some ideas? Gracias!

 

Hi,Iam sorry but I wasn't able to find the thread. If you please could post a copy, Iwill be glad to help you.

[ilovhywd]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1064553

 

My original post was titled "Appropriate Gifts for Home Visits in Argentina"

 

Thanks for your input!

[owl61]

I was wondering if anyone heard about Buenos Aires Free Tour??

The site is http://www.*****.com

This org enjoys a good reputation. Search for more detailed info at the BA forum of www.Tripadvisor.com

[theduffys]

Pocho--We will be in BA on Sun. Jan 3 and would like to go to a Catholic Mass before we board our ship. We will be staying at the Marriott. Can you tell me where the nearest Catholic Church would be to the Marriott? Thanks.

[pocho]

Pocho--We will be in BA on Sun. Jan 3 and would like to go to a Catholic Mass before we board our ship. We will be staying at the Marriott. Can you tell me where the nearest Catholic Church would be to the Marriott? Thanks.

 

hola,

You can go to the Holy Sacrament church( Santisimo Sacramento ) just around the corner from your hotel.The church is really beautiful with a lot of history because it was built by the most powerful cattle baron's wife-Mercedez Castellanos de Anchorena-Another option is to go to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Paza De Mayo.

regards

Pocho

[IBookHePays]

Hello!

 

I was wondering if anyone heard about Buenos Aires Free Tour??

The site is http://www.*****.com

 

I took advantage of this great tour in September. I can't say enough good things about it. I was visiting my daughter and while she was in school, I thought I'd give it a try. The guide, Maca, was funny and informative. You see some amazing parts of the city, and get some excercise as well! They work on tips, so I was fairly generous, since I had priced some other tours. It was a great way to spend my first day in Buenos Aires.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

Do not miss seeing the Metropolitan Catholic Church in BA even if you are not of the Catholic faith. Surely all churches are beautiful but this one has a special aura of its own.

[On2CDWrld]

:confused:Pocho We will be in BA 28 March and wish to attend services at St. John the Baptist Cathedral (Anglican). Do you have a way to determine time of services? Also we are staying at Hilton, what would be travel time from hotel to cathedral? Any help would be appreciated.

 

les

[pocho]

:confused:Pocho We will be in BA 28 March and wish to attend services at St. John the Baptist Cathedral (Anglican). Do you have a way to determine time of services? Also we are staying at Hilton, what would be travel time from hotel to cathedral? Any help would be appreciated.

 

les

 

Hi, the cathedral is located on 225 Bolivar st in the Monserrat area.Just a 10 min drive from the Hilton. Once I know the time of the services I will post them back to you.

[On2CDWrld]

Hi, the cathedral is located on 225 Bolivar st in the Monserrat area.Just a 10 min drive from the Hilton. Once I know the time of the services I will post them back to you.

Thanks Pocho

les

[welltraveled_53]

hola,

You can go to the Holy Sacrament church( Santisimo Sacramento ) just around the corner from your hotel.The church is really beautiful with a lot of history because it was built by the most powerful cattle baron's wife-Mercedez Castellanos de Anchorena-Another option is to go to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Paza De Mayo.

regards

Pocho

 

 

Hi Duffy's

We will be at mass on Jan 3 at Holy Sacrament as well since we will also be leaving on our cruise that afternoon. Maybe we will see you! :)

Thanks for the info Pocho.

[theduffys]

Hi Duffy's

We will be at mass on Jan 3 at Holy Sacrament as well since we will also be leaving on our cruise that afternoon. Maybe we will see you! :)

Thanks for the info Pocho.

 

Will you be cruising on the NCL Sun with us? If so you should join our roll call.

[welltraveled_53]

Yes we will! It's our first cruise and I am very excited! Don't even know what a roll call is?

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

The BA cruise terminal is really not much more than a warehouse looking building. However, if you like art, take a close look at the mural in the cruise terminal. I have forgotten the name of the artist but it seems that he was heavily influenced by Diego Rivera.

 

If a mural this good and interesting was in the USA, it would have been restored and cared for.

[theduffys]

Yes we will! It's our first cruise and I am very excited! Don't even know what a roll call is?

Okay--go to the roll call list on the boards menu--click in Norwegian--then click on Sun--then look for "who's going on 1/03 2010". You will find us and we are a great group!!