Here I will provide you with the full text. If you ever think about traveling to Argentina, come back and check these hints... :)
You guys,
a couple of last minute random hints for your time in Argentina (in no particular order):
Earplugs
Even if Salta is a rather small city, Argentina tends to be a 'loud' country. If you want a quiet sleep or you are generally sensitive in this context, bring earplugs. People tend to celebrate and party all night long particularly over the weekends. Traffic is loud. Windows usually are not really sound proof. Be prepared.
Money - Change
The currency in Argentina is Argentine Peso, short ARS. In Argentina the $ symbol is used to denote Argentine Peso. This was a little confusing for me, because in context of tourism I was not sure, if they actually meant ARS or USD. If you see $ in Argentina think ARS.
Argentina has a high inflation rate. The overall economic conditions are not to the best right now. Anyway, compared to your home countries the prices should be relatively low. A common problem particularly in context of grocery shopping or shopping for goods with low prices is that shops do not have enough change available to return the correct amount. Usually a lack of change forces shop owners or the cashier to hand out change to their disadvantage (e.g. you owe 13.56 ARS, you hand out a 10 and a 5 peso bill, they will give a 2 peso bill for change, because they do not have enough coins left). It is well appreciated, if you do not pay with 100 peso bills, when buying a pack of chewing gum. It is considered kind to offer the exact amount in payment wherever possible (or at least an amount that is approximately the amount you owe). The less change involved the better. But you do not have to obsess with that. If you do not have coins or small bills at hand, you do not.
The lack of change will lead to situations, where you will be asked if you have 25 or 50 centavos or maybe a 1 peso coin available. That happens on a regular basis in supermarkets and at kioscos. Never mind if you do not understand, what they are saying. Shrug your shoulders. It is okay.
You should be able to use your credit cards in the majority of places (not the kioscos though). In supermarkets they usually want you to announce, that you want to use the credit card (if you do). So if your going to pay for your groceries with a credit card, just wave it in the face of the cashier. It is kinder to at least say the word 'tarjeta' though. Usually they will ask you regarding the payment method beforehand anyway: the options are 'efectivo' = cash, 'tarjeta de credito' = credit card, 'tarjeta de debito' = debit card (never gave my German maestro debit card a try, so I do not know, if the latter is a valid option for non-Argentines anyway).
If you are using ATMs to get cash money, the amount you can retrieve is usually quite limited. I am able to retrieve a maximum amount of 750 ARS (about 94 USD or 68 EUR) in one transaction at Argentine ATMs. I am paying 1.8% fee for transactions in foreign countries and a fixed fee of 5 EUR per cash retrieval transaction. If I retrieve the amount of 750 ARS, I get pesos for 68 EUR, but I pay nearly 75 EUR as the overall amount. So the fee is nearly 10%. Hence it is quite expensive to get cash money from ATMs.
To circumvent this problem bring USD or EUR. They can easily be changed. For my first time in Argentina I brought 1500 EUR, which (for me) was more than sufficient for the 8 weeks I staid here. If you bring cash, keep it in a money belt while you are traveling and deposit it in a safe in your hotel on arrival. Do not change the full amount of cash money you brought at once. Remember, that there is a high inflation rate in Argentina. There is a flourishing black market for foreign currencies (the so-called blue dollar, dolár blue). People are offering their services in this context by announcing 'Cambio, Cambio, Cambio' in the streets. I never made use of these services due to the risk of getting counterfeit money, although the blue dollar rates were a lot more beneficial. The fixed exchange rates between ARS and USD/EUR have been cancelled some time in January 2014. Since then the difference between dolár blue and the official rates is getting smaller. Check http://www.dolarargentino.com.ar/ to get an idea. I recommend using the official cambio places, anyway.
Talking about counterfeit money: before coming to Argentina the first time I heard lots of rumors regarding problems with fake money particularly in context of taxis. I never actually experienced any problems myself. But it seems as if there is kind of a common trick in Buenos Aires, that goes like this: you are going by taxi, you owe a fairly low amount say 35 ARS, you want to pay with a 100 peso bill, cab driver takes the money, pretends to check his purse but meanwhile exchanges your valid 100 peso bill with a fake 100 peso bill, hands out the actually fake 100 peso bill back to you and tells you, that your money is fake or even worse just tells you, that he is not able to change your bill (so you do not know, that it is fake). Just be prepared, that that might happen. Anyway before entering a taxi aforementioned rule applies: bring small change, so you will not face this problem. If you only have larger bills, ask the taxi driver if he will be able to change those prior (!) to leaving. And as I said, despite being 'tricked' in terms of the taxi driver taking a way too long route to my destination (which I think is common for taxis all over the world), I never experienced any problems with taxis even when paying with 100 peso bills.
It is generally appreciated to tip people (claro que sí!):
- I usually tip about 10% in restaurants and in taxis. The locals do not necessarily do that. It is okay to just pay the exact amount you owe. Still I tip, because waiters and cab drivers earn exactly the same minimal amount in Argentina as they do in other countries.
- There usually are people in the street 'helping' you on and off taxis by opening the door (they are even 'helping' you, if you did not ask for help or do not want help... :) ...). Tip them with not more than a 2 peso bill or some coins. If you do not have any or are really annoyed, just say 'Gracias'.
- Sometimes official people (like bus drivers, taxi drivers, etc.) help you with your luggage particularly when you arrive at the airport and want to continue your travels by bus or taxi. I usually give them a little more, but it is never more than a 5 peso bill.
- In Germany I would tip the hairdresser some 10%. This is not a custom in Argentina.
Public Transportation
Public transportation in Argentina is okay and actually quite cheap:
- There is no nationwide train network. But there certainly are local trains. You might want to take a ride with the Tren a las Nubes (see Wikipedia; it is actually quite expensive, but I have been told it is spectacular
- To travel long distances you can easily go by plane (cheap for Argentines, a little more expensive for foreigners; air travels are kinda centralized with BsAs as the central hub; so if you want to go from say Mendoza to Ushuaia, you might have to fly from Mendoza to BsAs to then continue your flight to the South from there).
- As an inexpensive alternative a network of long-distance buses exists (just like Greyhound buses). Those buses usually leave one place in the evening to drive through the night and arrive at their destination the next morning. Those buses are fully serviced, i.e. A/C'ed, you get something for dinner, you can watch a movie, you get a good night whisky, there is a restroom aboard (of course), some of those buses provide wifi access. The first class seats allow for you to lay down and fully stretch out. Buses usually cost a little less than 100 EUR / 1000km or 225 USD / 1000mi, if you go first class.
- For your local public transportation you might use the system of so-called colectivos. Those are the city buses you can find in most of the Argentine cities. Usually there is no fixed schedule for those buses (you can look up the frequency per bus line at the given website per line; it is at the bottom of the page). You just wait at the bus stop until your bus arrives. At the bus stops there are orderly queues. Even if there is a long queue at a particular bus stop for a specific bus, the bus drivers do not automatically stop for you. You have to signal to the bus driver, that you want to hop on his bus by stretching your arm out sideways in the direction of the street. To pay for your bus tickets, you have to get a tarjeta and top it up before entering the bus. Payment works electronically by holding your tarjeta in front of the yellow card reader inside the bus. It might be necessary to tell the bus driver, where you are going. To get off the bus at the right time is a little tricky as they are not announcing the next stop (you never know exactly where you are). Easiest way is to ask the driver to tell you when he approaches your destination. My usual way to deal with the problem is: find out the actual route of the bus on the given website. The bus system is operated in different sectors (corredores) with different bus lines (A, B, C,...). Open the sector list, click the bus line and have a look at the "Recorrido integral" part. Those are the bus stops. While you are driving with the bus, read the names of the street along your way. If you think you are near your destination, hit the little button near the exit of the bus. Wait for the bus to stop at the next station. Done.
- Remises are actually taxis that you have to order by phone or at respective booths (e.g. at the airport). They will not stop in the streets if you signal them to do so (by law they are actually not allowed to stop). Remises usually cost a little more, but problems (like the aforementioned counterfeit money problem) should not occur.
- Taxis in Salta are red with a black stripe (; it is different in say BsAs, where the taxis are black with a yellow roof). Usually you can not call taxis by phone. They are driving by and you step on the streets and give a sign to them to stop. Or they are waiting in a queue at say airports.
Transfer in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires has two airports: Ezeiza (EZE), the international airport, SW of downtown BsAs and Aeroparque (AEP), the domestic airport close to downtown BsAs right at the river. AEP serves international flights as well, but most international flights are going via EZE. If you want to travel Argentina after your mission you might need to get from AEP to EZE (or the other way round). For the transfer between those airports I usually use the services of Tienda León. They are inexpensive, there are Tienda León booths at both airports, the people are nice and they speak English (if need be), and you can order your ticket online. I like to go by Tienda León bus (rather than car), which costs you around 100 pesos for the transfer and takes about an hours drive. Usually you have to wait a little until the bus arrives. At AEP the 'waiting area' is (or at least was; the whole airport has been restructured) right next to the Tienda León booth at AEP arrivals. The bus driver will pick the waiting passengers up. Furthermore the bus driver will load your luggage into the bus. Be prepared to tip him. The are usually asking you, where you want to go (to make sure, that they are taking you to the correct airport) and which airline you are using from EZE. At EZE they are stopping at Terminal C first, then B, then A.
Traffic and Driving a car in Argentina
Driving a car on your own is special in Argentina. For an introduction read:
It actually isn't as bad as these guys write, but you have to be aware of certain things:
- There are rules, but most people do not adhere to these rules. It is not sufficiently safe just to drive by the rules. You have to really be aware of the traffic around you and be alert to what other drivers (and pedestrians) do. There will be unexpected behavior. Do not be frustrated. Do not be stressed. Go with the flow.
- If the Argentine want to park their cars, they are turning on the hazard lights. If parking is actually allowed, they just turn the hazard lights off and leave. If parking is not allowed, they leave the hazard lights on and return after about 30 minutes latest.
- Your cars headlights have to be turned on at all times.
- You have to pay road charges for the highways (rutas). Charges are usually between 2 and 15 pesos.
- Traffic is actually easy along the highways in comparison to traffic in the cities.
- The quality of the roads is different from what I was used to in Europe. You can ride your car at around 80km/h on average (sometimes 100km/h) along the highways, but be aware that particularly in the Andes roads are crossed by deep trenches (for water). Road signs are telling you that those trenches are ahead. Reduce your speed (or risk breaking the car)!
- If you need petrol nearly all petrol stations are serviced. Do not get out of the car. Be prepared, that the service guy will ask you for how much money you want to buy petrol and what type of petrol you need. You do not leave the car for the payment process. Give the money or credit card to the guy.
Protests and Strikes
Argentina is the land of protests and strikes (I read somewhere, that in 2013 there have been between 600 and 900 protests in Buenos Aires alone). You might experience protests in Salta as well. Those protests are usually loud. Protesters are not only banging on pots, using whistles and drums, but they are particularly using firecrackers (which they call bombas de estruendo; see video) to make themselves heard. You should avoid protests. Generally speaking they are peaceful. But every now and then ugly things happen in context of those protests, so you better stay out of their way.
Mate
You have to try mate. It is very important in Argentine social life. It comes in a gourd (the mate) and you drink it with a straw made of silver or stainless steel (bombilla). The drink is prepared by pouring 80°C hot water in small sips into a certain amount of a specific herb (yerba mate) and sucking the brew from it with the bombilla. A whole group of people drinks from the same gourd and straw. To prepare and pour the mate in the right way is actually kind of a science to the Argentine. Anyway, if you try mate you have to know the following:
- The original taste of mate is somewhat reminiscent of green tea. It is quite bitter, but nice.
- You might get a sweetened mate as well. But the gourd has to be cured differently and that is why you usually drink only one kind of mate from one particular gourd for the lifetime of the gourd. So it is not like: please, can I get sugar with my mate?
- Pouring and handing out the mate to the different people of the group is done by one person. If it is your turn, you take the mate and drink until the water is gone (you will hear the typical straw noise, when sucking on an empty gourd). Be CAREFUL, when doing this the first time! It is terribly hot and it is right inside your mouth. The bombilla will get really hot and your lips will burn. So please, be careful.
- Mate contains caffeine. Although it is less caffeine than in actual coffee the reactions to mate might be just as strong or even stronger than to coffee. If you have too much mate, you might not be able to sleep at night.
- If you are worried about the whole group using one bombilla (and all the germs involved), remember that the bombilla is made of silver and is getting very hot. Nothing to worry about...
