Looking for an updated Buenos Aires travel guide? While you’re packing your itinerary with food, culture, and architecture, you’ll need to know how to get around and what to expect. Here’s the practical guide to money, safety, culture, and public transportation — so you can enjoy the experience with fewer hiccups.
Before my visit to Buenos Aires, I scoured the internet for advice about the money system, safety, and public transport tips… and I’ll be honest, I came up empty. Argentina’s economic climate has changed dramatically in the last two years, so most YouTube travel guides and blogs are outdated.
The only way to find accurate information was to actually get boots on the ground. So, now that I’ve spent a few weeks in the country (and made plenty of mistakes so you don’t have to), I’ve created this practical guide for future travelers. This way, you can enjoy your experience like a seasoned tourist with fewer hiccups.
Chapters
- How Argentina’s Money System Works
- Tipping Culture in Buenos Aires
- Is It Expensive to Visit Argentina?
- Is Buenos Aires Safe for Female Solo Travelers?
- Public Transportation + How to Get Around in Buenos Aires
- Language Skills + Translation Apps in Buenos Aires
- Visiting Patagonia and Day Trips from Buenos Aires
- What It’s Like to Book Experiences in Buenos Aires
- Big Emotions and Social Tensions
- Bathrooms and Plumbing
- Food and Culture
- What I Loved About Buenos Aires and Why You Should Go
How Argentina’s Money System Works
The most complex part of visiting Argentina is the money system. Their currency can change on a day-to-day basis, so business is conducted with a red dollar (the official government rate), a blue dollar (the unofficial daily rate), and a tourist dollar.
Just a few years ago, American tourists jumped through hoops to get cash at the local red dollar rate, because the exchange made visiting so much cheaper. This process involved sending cash through Western Union or negotiating with street exchange brokers. Oh, and using a credit card was out of the question because it automatically pulls the tourist dollar.
But Argentina’s new president is massively re-structuring the currency, so now the red dollar, blue dollar, and tourist dollar all land around the same rate. In theory, this is good for the country’s stability, and in practice, the money system is vastly less complicated than it was just two years ago. The upside is, no more negotiating for local rates or carrying cash exclusively. The downside is that the country is now more expensive for American tourists, although not unreasonable.
The money system is still ever-changing, and you’ll want to be prepared for anything. Always have cash on hand (you can get it from Western Union or a Santander ATM) and don’t exchange the Argentine peso back into USD or another currency. It’s either worth very little or not accepted at all. We made the mistake of exchanging Argentine currency for Uruguayan currency and got less than half the value in return.
Now that all the currencies are the same, it’s perfectly acceptable to use a credit card in most places in Argentina. This is my preferred method because I have a travel credit card that waives foreign transaction fees. Credit cards are accepted for public transportation, by street vendors, and in most shops and restaurants. Through our own mishaps, we learned that it’s considered shady if a restaurant doesn’t have a credit card machine (since it’s needed to prevent fraud with the different currency systems).
Tipping Culture in Buenos Aires
The tipping culture in Argentina isn’t as intense as it is here in the United States. You’ll always want cash on hand to tip for experiences and tours, and it’s nice to tip around 5% or 10% at a restaurant. You cannot leave tips using a credit card machine, so you’ll need to have small bills. On some tours, it’s customary and perfectly acceptable to leave tips in USD. Some people will even ask you for it.
Is It Expensive to Visit Argentina?
Two years ago, the exchange rate from USD to Argentine pesos made visiting Argentina very cheap for Americans. The exchange rate isn’t as drastic as it used to be, but it’s still relatively inexpensive. Most of our meals cost less than $15 USD, activities were around $20 — $50, and public transportation and lodging were very reasonable. We found that price quotes from travel bloggers and YouTubers were inaccurate, though, since rates are changing in the country so rapidly. Don’t assume a price quote is correct until you check online or in the country for yourself.
Is Buenos Aires Safe to Visit for Female Solo Travelers?
Buenos Aires is similar to other large cities around the world, like Paris, New York, or Barcelona. Busy streets and touristy areas are perfectly safe, even for solo female travelers. The worst you’ll have to worry about is pick-pocketing.
That said, as with many cities, come with street smarts and pay attention to the region. Buenos Aires is huge, and safety can change dramatically from street to street. You will want to research where to stay and how to travel through the area. Places like Palermo, Recoleta, Puerto Madero, and Colegiales are good spots to book an Airbnb or hotel.
There were a couple of times when I ended up on the wrong side of La Boca and San Isidro (past the train tracks). Both times, I followed the guidance of male travel bloggers, who are probably less bothered by safety concerns than I am. So take this as your sign to not blindly follow a map and always turn around if something feels off. Keep in mind, there are some areas of the city where it’s not recommended to take public transport. Specifically in La Boca, an Uber is the better option.
Argentina is going through a massive political and economic shift, so we came across political protests and some shady business owners here and there. It’s common for Argentinian business owners to show you the card reader before you pay, so pay attention if they don’t. Also, always keep your distance from political protests and demonstrations in any foreign country.
Safety in Buenos Aires After Dark
Since Buenos Aires is a late-night city, many busy neighborhoods are safe after dark, and public transportation runs for 24 hours. I spent most of my evenings walking through Collegiates and Palermo, where I made friends with local shop owners and the security guards at our hotel. Although I mainly used the bus system, Uber is an affordable backup plan if you don’t want to walk home in the dark.
Public Transportation and How to Get Around in Buenos Aires
I watched and read so much travel content about public transportation in Argentina, but I still arrived without accurate information. YouTube videos and travel blogs from just a few years ago aren’t super accurate anymore.
Buenos Aires has fantastic public transportation that includes a bus system, subway (or subte), and train. They are all connected, so you can use the same SUBE card for payments across all public transportation. You’ll load the card with cash at a kiosco or subway station and swipe that card for entrance to the bus or metro.
If you don’t want to go to the trouble of buying and loading a SUBE card (I didn’t), you can simply tap your credit card at the bus or metro entrance. VISA and Mastercard are the only credit cards accepted. This is my preferred method for safety, and my travel credit card doesn’t charge the exchange fee I’d pay to pull out cash. The average cost of a bus or metro ride was 800 — 1000 pesos, which is between fifty and seventy-five cents in USD.
Travel Tips for the Bus
Usually, Citymapper is my travel app of choice, but it’s not available in Argentina. Instead, we used Google Maps to navigate public transportation (I’ve also heard Moovit is great). When you get on a bus, it helps to confirm your destination with the bus driver, since there are multiple buses with the same number that go to different destinations.
The average cost of a bus ride was 800 to 1000 pesos, which is between fifty and seventy-five cents. Many of the buses are air-conditioned, there are often open seats, and the bus drivers were always helpful and kind to us (despite our very broken Spanish). This was our preferred transportation method, and bus stations are everywhere, so an easy way to explore the city. Bus routes were usually the fastest method of public transportation, and we even used them for day trips outside the city.
Travel Tips for the Subway (Subte)
My friend and I only tried the subway once, and we regretted it. To be fair, it was during rush hour, so an earlier time of day might have been calmer. We only traveled for seven stops, but the car got so overcrowded that men were braced against the door to keep new riders from boarding. Even so, new passengers held the subway doors open and prevented the cars from moving until they shoved their way on board. There’s no air conditioning in the subway, so you can imagine all that body heat, and we were late to our event.
Moral of the story… try the subway when you have plenty of time to spare. It’s widely used, since it travels through most of the popular neighborhoods, and the maps are easy to understand, like in other big cities. You can download the subte app for updated maps and information about the stops. It’s also a great option for when protests are happening above ground and it’s hard to get places by bus.
Travel Tips for Sports and Strikes
Buenos Aires is a crowded city with tons of commuters, and it’s challenging to get around during rush hour. Game days and weekends add a little more chaos to the mix, too. If you know there’s local sports or events happening, give yourself plenty of extra time to get to your destination.
You may also run into transportation strikes or political protests that shut down entire roadways (the Moovit app will let you know about these). If this is the case, just be flexible and hop on the subway or find an Uber. I did find it challenging to get around during weekends, so I’d take the bus in the morning and then Uber home in the afternoon.
Language Skills and Translation Apps in Buenos Aires
English isn’t widely spoken in Buenos Aires. So, if you don’t speak much Spanish, you may be fumbling around with Google Translate or searching your brain for the collection of Spanish words you learned in Middle School (ask me how I know).
It’s always best to walk into a country with a few common words or phrases in your back pocket, and a willingness to learn the language and the culture. Although my minimal Spanish knowledge was isolating at times, I was able to communicate the basics. Where my skills fell short, I found locals to be extremely kind and understanding.
Visiting Patagonia and Day Trips from Buenos Aires
For most foreigners, Buenos Aires is a place to land in between trips to Patagonia and Iguazu Falls. If this is your goal, you need to give yourself plenty of buffer time for travel. It’s easy to underestimate how big Argentina is, but flights to Iguazu Falls are 2+ hours long and cost around $100. Patagonia is a longer flight, around 3 hours, with road travel in between.
What It’s Like to Book Experiences in Buenos Aires
Something I consistently noticed about booking tours ahead of time in Buenos Aires is that your passport number is required. This even happens on the government tourism website when you book tickets to the opera, cemetery, and local museums. From what I understand, this is done to prevent fraud and has to do with the currency system in Argentina (remember, you’re technically paying with the tourist dollar). Even so, not all of these websites and booking platforms are secure.
Handing over your ID information is a personal choice, but there were a few times when we skipped experiences altogether because we didn’t want to give away our information. On other occasions, we walked up to the ticket counter instead of booking online and were able to hand over our driver’s license instead of a passport.
Big Emotions and Social Tensions
This was genuinely one of the biggest culture shocks we experienced in Buenos Aires, and it was challenging to navigate. Right now, economic and social tensions are high, and so are emotions. There were multiple times when we got yelled at by shop owners, just to turn around and experience radical kindness from strangers at a bus stop. As emotionally vanilla Americans, the feelings whiplash was exhausting at times.
South America is known for its generous and kind culture. Strangers would help us navigate bus stops and food orders in our broken Spanish, and one of our local guides hand-copied their favorite recipes for us to take home. We even had an artist in Uruguay invite us into his home and workshop to see the paintings he was making. At any other time, I think our experience would have mostly consisted of those kind encounters and less tension.
Bathrooms and Plumbing
In large parts of Central and South America, you aren’t supposed to flush toilet paper. The pipes are old, and the infrastructure just doesn’t allow it. But Buenos Aires is a bit tricky. There’s a mix of modern and historic buildings, so it’s really a toss-up for whether toilet paper is allowed or not. The best rule of thumb is to look around for a toilet paper bin, and if there is one, don’t flush it. Pay attention in older buildings, since those are more likely to have rules.
Food and Culture
It’s common knowledge that Buenos Aires is a late-night city (dinner starts at 10 PM around here). It’s not common knowledge that locals make up for their lack of sleep with an afternoon siesta and have an extra mealtime called Merienda for pastries and snacks. If you plan to go to late-night dinners or tango shows, make sure you join the locals for a little sweet treat to tide you over.
In Argentina, the people are super friendly and kind. Don’t be surprised if someone strikes up a conversation, welcomes you to their table, goes the extra mile, or invites you to come to an event. It’s important to accept the kindness and also not take advantage of it as a tourist (a careful balance).
What I Loved About Buenos Aires and Why You Should Go
I went to Argentina on a personal mission to visit all of my grandma’s favorite places across the globe (click here if you want the full story). Truly, it was an experience of personal growth for me as a traveler, and a beautiful introduction to South America. While I’ve been to so many regions around the world, I loved Argentina for its wide cultural charm and warm-hearted people. It felt like a country that’s truly its own.
Letters to explore
Little comforts for your busy life
