Tourist questions : Cash for three weeks in BA?

[Rishiray]

Hello everyone,
Fantastic forum here. I have a couple tourist questions …

1. Is USD and converting into pesos better than Using my Visa/Amex card?
2. How much cash would you recommend coming with? I assume to be drinking at places like Floreria, Presidente and bars of that calibre. Eating will be higher also.
3. I have a place in Puerto Madero. Is this a relatively safe area ?
4. Thoughts on Uber in the city?
5. Internet reliability?

I’m currently scouring the forum for bar / restaurant recommendations.
I really love all the information I’ve already been able to find here.
Thanks
R

 

[antipodean]

Do not use foreign credit cards.
There is Uber, Cabify, DiDi and works fine but cars may not be so “luxurious” as abroad.
Internet is ok and perfectly functional however can be slow in comparison with Europe etc and with occasional outages.
You’ll have a great time here.

Anyway, what I really want to say is please do NOT post the address of where you will be staying on a public forum like this. It is a security risk. The foreigner going into and out of said address is likely to be carrying a good amount of cash... Whats the worst that could happen? Well here in Argentina you could be killed like the tourist who was killed for his watch outside of the fanciest hotel in Puerto Madero after being followed from the airport. Not to scare you away, but targeted crime can and does happen regardless of where you are staying and it always starts by the victim first identifying themselves as a target.

 

[Rich One]

1 Bring only new unmarked 100 greenbacks . Forget CC
2 At least a minimum of $5000 pesos a day for food and drinks in high caliber hangouts. For 1 Person..! Say $ 105,000 pesos or aprox $600 !!
3 Safe Area
4 Uber Ok
5 Internet Ok, depends on the WIFI Plan in your Place?

 

[sts7049]

Hello everyone,
Fantastic forum here. I have a couple tourist questions …

1. Is USD and converting into pesos better than Using my Visa/Amex card?
2. How much cash would you recommend coming with? I assume to be drinking at places like Floreria, Presidente and bars of that calibre. Eating will be higher also.
3. I have a place in Puerto Madero ( Azopardo 770) … is this a relatively safe area ?
4. Thoughts on Uber in the city?
5. Internet reliability?

I’m currently scouring the forum for bar / restaurant recommendations.
I really love all the information I’ve already been able to find here.
Thanks
R

1. absolutely. you will get close or at the blue rate, which is basically double what the rate you will get using your card. don't use your cards unless necessary
2. for a few weeks, i imagine that a few hundred dollars should more than suffice (converting it at the blue rate)
3. puerto madero is totally safe, yes. although your place is not really in what i call puerto madero, it's more on the edge of san telmo. there is a difference but you will be fine there.
4. uber and cabify work just fine, no problems
5. depends on your apartment, honestly

 

[Rishiray]

1 Bring only new unmarked 100 greenbacks . Forget CC
2 At least a minimum of $5000 pesos a day for food and drinks in high caliber hangouts. For 1 Person..! Say $ 105,000 pesos or aprox $600 !!
3 Safe Area
4 Uber Ok
5 Internet Ok, depends on the WIFI Plan in your Place?

Just to be sure about point 2.
Are you saying that just 5000 pesos (30 USD$) at Blue exchange rate should be enough for me per day?
I sincerely doubt that ... although I have no idea what a couple martinis at Floreria (https://secretsofbuenosaires.com/secret-bar-in-buenos-aires/) but I'm sure it's gonna be just 50$ USD for 5 drinks for me there

But you're saying on average ... $30 USD should get the average tourist around pretty well per day.?

 

[Rishiray]

1. absolutely. you will get close or at the blue rate, which is basically double what the rate you will get using your card. don't use your cards unless necessary
2. for a few weeks, i imagine that a few hundred dollars should more than suffice (converting it at the blue rate)
3. puerto madero is totally safe, yes. although your place is not really in what i call puerto madero, it's more on the edge of san telmo. there is a difference but you will be fine there.
4. uber and cabify work just fine, no problems
5. depends on your apartment, honestly

The AirBnB listing made it seem like Puerto Madero. The apartment seems lovely with tons of facilities (sauna, spa, gym etc and 24 hr door man)
Should I find something else?

 

[Rich One]

Just to be sure about point 2.
Are you saying that just 5000 pesos (30 USD$) at Blue exchange rate should be enough for me per day?
I sincerely doubt that ... although I have no idea what a couple martinis at Floreria (https://secretsofbuenosaires.com/secret-bar-in-buenos-aires/) but I'm sure it's gonna be just 50$ USD for 5 drinks for me there

But you're saying on average ... $30 USD should get the average tourist around pretty well per day.?

My Estimate is clearly not suitable for you likings, 5 martinis ..! forget it . I considered one Aperol for say $600 pesos or $3 US. Dinner at $2000 with a glass of wine, or US$10. Not at Don Julio.. fer sure.
Seems you will need $60 per day for your habits...!no problem.

PD: Frankly it's been a while when I see someone ordering a Martini no olive..?

 

[Rich One]

The AirBnB listing made it seem like Puerto Madero. The apartment seems lovely with tons of facilities (sauna, spa, gym etc and 24 hr door man)
Should I find something else?

Not familiar with the area.. !

 

[Rishiray]

I'll post my list of bars and restaurants, I hope be at over my 3 weeks in this subthread,
At forum friends : What about reservations? Should I be over planning and making reservations everywhere?

Bars: This should last me 3 weeks in the city.

1. Florería Atlántico : http://floreriaatlantico.com.ar/​

2. Bar 878 : https://878bar.com.ar/​

3. The Harrison Speakeasy : http://www.nickynysushi.com/contacto.php (Need password from restaurant)​

4. Vico Wine Bar : https://vicowinebar.com.ar/​

5. Parque Bar Botánico : https://parquebar.com/​

6. Boticario: https://m.facebook.com/Boticariobar/?locale2=es_LA​

7. Milion http://www.milion.com.ar/​

8. Verne Cocktail Club : http://vernecocktailclub.com/​

9. Grand Bar Danzon : https://granbardanzon.com.ar/​

10. Trade Skybar : http://www.tradeskybar.com/​

11. Tres Monos : https://3monos.com.ar/bar/​

12. The Rooftop at Selina Palermo : https://www.selina.com/argentina/palermo-soho/​

13. Presidente Bar : https://www.presidentebar.com.ar/​

14. Overo Wine Bar : https://www.overobar.com/​

15. Frank's : https://franks-bar.com/​

16. JW Bradley : http://www.bradleyltdbar.com/​

 

[Rishiray]

My Estimate is clearly not suitable for you likings, 5 martinis ..! forget it . I considered one Aperol for say $600 pesos or $3 US. Dinner at $2000 with a glass of wine, or US$10. Not at Don Julio.. fer sure.
Seems you will need $60 per day for your habits...!no problem.

What I'm hearing here friend .. is that on the safe side 100$USD (20000 pesos) a day will surely cover me ... depending on whether my liver explodes from drinking everyday in town and assuming I have steak everyday.