Canadian dollars in Chile/Argentina

[Wanless Park]

We are taking a cruise from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. There were some threads here about currency. I believe in some places US dollars were accepted. How about Canadian dollars? If we need to exchange them, does it make sense to buy US dollars here or we should get pesos here in Canada? Any advice will be appreciated.

[cruzisme]

We did not use Cdn. currency there at all.

In Buenos Aires, we changed US dollars to Argentina pesos; you could use the ATM for this.

in Chile, we had their pesos (different from Arg. peso, I think) Again, ATM or you could exchange some at a bank or currency exchange place in your home town before leaving.

 

have a wonderful time

 

in my opinion, alpaca wraps/scarves: best price was in Puerto Montt

[Ladysmith_Que]

Hi all,

 

Hi Wanless Park, cruzisme is right... no need for $CAD. ATMs will provide you with your currency of choice (at a much better rate than buying them at home) and $US are accepted most places. As of today (Jan. 23), 1$CAD = 2.789 ARS and 1$CAD = 492 CLP. Should you be apprehensive about not having time to acquire pesos (either) at the airport, then bring some pesos with you. More often than not, you will have time to get what you need at the airport or,when you arrive in Santiago/Valparaiso (especially if your transfer is prepaid).

 

Cheers, Bruce

[debsjc]

It may be different in Canada, but here in the Uk there isn't anywhere to buy Argentine Pesos. I spoke to a few people about it today and apparently the only possibility is maybe a small independent place in London. Also, if we bring any home we can't then change them back.

 

I think we will just get ours from an ATM when we arrive in Argentina.

[mattie00]

It may be different in Canada, but here in the Uk there isn't anywhere to buy Argentine Pesos. I spoke to a few people about it today and apparently the only possibility is maybe a small independent place in London. Also, if we bring any home we can't then change them back.

 

I think we will just get ours from an ATM when we arrive in Argentina.

No problems buying Chilean pesos in Canada (at least in Calgary, Alberta). We have several currency exchange businesses here. Banks will likely not be as helpful. As a matter of fact, our bank directed us to a currency exchange firm even for Mexican pesos because they usually offer a better exchange rate than the banks. Shop around to different currency exchange firms before you do your exchange though because (at least in Calgary) they do compete with each other on their commission rates.

[debsjc]

We can buy Chilean Pesos here, but not Argentine :confused:

[mattie00]

We can buy Chilean Pesos here, but not Argentine :confused:

Sorry, missed the fact that you were referring to ARGENTINE pesos, not Chilean. :o We are starting our cruise in Santiago so I have Chile on the brain. We are also able to purchase the Argentine peso here in Calgary.

[Peregrina651]

We are just back from our cruise from BA to Valparaiso.

 

We did not spend the money (premium exchange rates and fees) to get any currency before we left and had no problems. Well, actually one problem: we had planned to buy pounds on the ship to pay for our Falkland Islands tour (it would have been much cheaper in pounds).

 

The only currency available on our ship (Infinity) was US dollars, which were accepted in all of the ports. You could not buy local currencies on the ship; this was a departure from what we had seen on other cruises. I do not know what other cruiselines are doing

 

We used ATMs to get Argentine pesos when we got there. Our ride from the airport had already been arranged for payment in USD so we did not have to have pesos in our pocket when we arrived.

 

We used Argentine pesos in Montevideo for the few purchases that we made but they would have accepted USD as well. We didn't worry about the exchange rates and paid what we were asked. No one tried to cheat us.

 

In Chile, we never did make it to an ATM and used USD in all the ports of call. In Puerto Montt, we paid the one entrance fee that we had to pay in USD. In Punta Arenas, we used dollars to shop in the outdoor markets.

 

If you have USD bring them but I don't know that it is worth the hassle of having to buy them in Canada before you leave and I don't think it is worth paying the exchange rate offered by the ship when you can easily find ATMs in all the ports (except the Falkland Islands) to get the local currency.

[debsjc]

mattie00 - Thank you, it is really interesting that Argentine Pesos are available in Canada. I am even more confused as to why there aren't any in the Uk now.

 

Peregrina651- Thanks for the info, we will just get some out of the ATM when we get to BE.

I would love to hear more about your trip, as the ports are similar to ours. Did you take a tour in Montevideo?

[jig]

Hi,

 

Just sailed from San Diego to Rio. US $ are the only way to go. UK pound Euro and anything else will be met with stares. It's just the way it is. When I went on an Australian cruise ship with 2000 ausies to Tahiti the vendors only wanted US$ They had never seen an Aussie $.

[Peregrina651]

I would love to hear more about your trip, as the ports are similar to ours. Did you take a tour in Montevideo?

 

No, but we probably should have. We walked in the heat and did not see much more than the old city. We should have grabbed a cab at least and seen some more of the city.

[Ladysmith_Que]

mattie00 - Thank you, it is really interesting that Argentine Pesos are available in Canada. I am even more confused as to why there aren't any in the Uk now.

 

Perhaps it has something to do with the war?

[debsjc]

Perhaps it has something to do with the war?

 

 

I wondered that, but the banks and exchange bureus have said that it's to do with it costing too much to bring it into the country. Apparently in December they did start selling some, then it was stopped again :(

 

Peregrina651 - Thanks for the info re Montevideo - i'm thinking walk the old town, and then a taxi to Prado park + the botanical gardens might be a plan! :)

[h3rjp]

It may be different in Canada, but here in the Uk there isn't anywhere to buy Argentine Pesos. I spoke to a few people about it today and apparently the only possibility is maybe a small independent place in London. Also, if we bring any home we can't then change them back.

 

I think we will just get ours from an ATM when we arrive in Argentina.

 

Didn't know that. Guess the ATM card will have to come out as soon as we arrive!

[debsjc]

If you find anywhere h3rp let me know, but I spoke to a really helpful gentleman at Barclays bank and he seemed very knowledgeable. I also had a good search around the net, and spoke to Travelex.

 

I think there may some little independent unofficial places in London, but that's all. Also be careful if you bring any home, as no one will change them back to pounds either!

[Peregrina651]

BTW, regardless of the maximum amount shown on the screen, there is a maximum withdrawal of 300 pesos per transaction on the ATMs in Argentina.

 

We took the suggestion of someone on CC and got 290 at a time so that we would get some small notes.

[debsjc]

Taking 290 rather than 300 is a fantastic tip, I wouldn't have thought of that - thank you