Help with Currency for South America...Please !

[Reina del Mar]

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 ?

We have booked Princess transfers and hotel stays, but wondering about incidental costs.

 

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.

[tailspintom]

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 ?

We have booked Princess transfers and hotel stays, but wondering about incidental costs.

 

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.

We spent some time in BA and had no issues with using credit cards almost everywhere. At the time we visited, we received very favorable exchange rates for US dollars at the hotel. The government at the time was not the one currently in power today. It may be that the current administration is less belligerent toward Great Britain citizens. For Chile, you should have no issues for exchange.

[dfields1814]

In BA two yrs ago we brought lots of US dollars. wished I brought more. If you bring dollars takes lots of the smaller bills - ones five and tens. we used them just about everywhere including taxis restaurants shops etc. I had a minor problem finding ATM 's on my credit union's network. I found them but there are other machines that did not. I used the ATMs to get local currency which was also needed.

[skynight]

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 ?

We have booked Princess transfers and hotel stays, but wondering about incidental costs.

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.

We just returned from South America.

I would suggest using a credit card rather than a debit card. Credit cards are are a preferred option for travel since they do not allow direct access to your account as debit cards do if lost or stolen.

Chile - Credit cards can be used in hotels, most restaurants and shops. For other expenses you may want to have some cash. You can exchange some cash the the airport when you arrive or it is readily available at ATM's around the city. Prices in Santiago are about the same as we experienced in Southampton.

 

Argentina - We required some cash for our 3 day visit to B.A. We made the exchange in Puerto Madyrn in the "blue market" We exchanged US$ for AR Pesos. With the ongoing 150 year old dispute between the U.K. and Argentina I can't advise how well GBP's are accepted. But it was easy to exchange US$. In fact many locals prefer US$. Taxis, however want Pesos. Taxis are fairly inexpensive, maybe less than US$20 for an average trip.

 

Read up on the tipping in both countries. In both countries tipping is normal.

[1964pilot]

We were on the Crown in Dec and the only problem we had was Coquimbo, Chile. We walked into a small restaurant for a beer and they would not take Dollars. We always carry extra $1 and $5, seem to be excepted almost everywhere.

[Reina del Mar]

We just returned from South America.

I would suggest using a credit card rather than a debit card. Credit cards are are a preferred option for travel since they do not allow direct access to your account as debit cards do if lost or stolen.

Chile - Credit cards can be used in hotels, most restaurants and shops. For other expenses you may want to have some cash. You can exchange some cash the the airport when you arrive or it is readily available at ATM's around the city. Prices in Santiago are about the same as we experienced in Southampton.

 

Argentina - We required some cash for our 3 day visit to B.A. We made the exchange in Puerto Madyrn in the "blue market" We exchanged US$ for AR Pesos. With the ongoing 150 year old dispute between the U.K. and Argentina I can't advise how well GBP's are accepted. But it was easy to exchange US$. In fact many locals prefer US$. Taxis, however want Pesos. Taxis are fairly inexpensive, maybe less than US$20 for an average trip.

 

Read up on the tipping in both countries. In both countries tipping is normal.

 

Thanks for your reply.

We always use a credit card for travel and take dollars if in North America or the Caribbean. Would only use a debit card for taking cash out of an ATM. But, some GB posters have said on other forums they have had problems using British cards....Maybe we'll stick with dollars and hope to exchange in the hotel even though I know exchange rate will be poor.

[skynight]

Just for information we used "Buenostours" in B.A. and "The German Pirate" in Chile for private tours. They provided good tours and service. You may wish to look them up on the internet.

[cdngrl]

if you bring US dollars and like to purchase from souvenir markets, make sure they are not folded, wrinkled or torn.

[casofilia]

Debit Cards are nowhere near as acceptable as Credit Cards and cash is king. But a warning USD50 and USD100 will not be accepted except in hotels and very high end shops, and be prepared to be given change in Pesos not USD. The restaurants we used in BA we happy to accept USD bills especially up to USD20; we asked for change in USD and they did it. We found the meals reasonable; less than USD40 for the two for a main each and a beer. Be prepared for VERY BIG portions of meat in BA.

[Thrak]

Never mind...

[RDC1]

We just returned from South America.

I would suggest using a credit card rather than a debit card. Credit cards are are a preferred option for travel since they do not allow direct access to your account as debit cards do if lost or stolen.

Chile - Credit cards can be used in hotels, most restaurants and shops. For other expenses you may want to have some cash. You can exchange some cash the the airport when you arrive or it is readily available at ATM's around the city. Prices in Santiago are about the same as we experienced in Southampton.

 

Argentina - We required some cash for our 3 day visit to B.A. We made the exchange in Puerto Madyrn in the "blue market" We exchanged US$ for AR Pesos. With the ongoing 150 year old dispute between the U.K. and Argentina I can't advise how well GBP's are accepted. But it was easy to exchange US$. In fact many locals prefer US$. Taxis, however want Pesos. Taxis are fairly inexpensive, maybe less than US$20 for an average trip.

 

Read up on the tipping in both countries. In both countries tipping is normal.

 

The blue market for exchange is pretty much obsolete these days. It was an artifact of the previous government keeping a set exchange rate that was much worse then the actual value of the Peso. Thus there was money to be made by people exchanging peso's into dollars on the black market (blue market is this case). The current administration allowed the exchange rate to float to the true international exchange rate. As a result the formal exchange rate is much better and no need to go blue market since the exchange rate there is pretty much the same. Current exchange rate is 15.44 pesos to the US dollar. So no need to take the risks associated with blue market exchanges (counterfeit bills, robbery, etc)

 

 

One thing to keep in mind if you get money from an ATM the size of the transaction is limited and ATM fees high. So it is fine if you have a card that refunds ATM fees and does not charge a fee for exchange, When I was there the ATMs I used was limited to 600 peso's per transaction (about $40). That may have changed in the past year.

 

Here is a good article

 

https://vamospanish.com/pesos-vs-dollars-vs-credit-cards-argentina/