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Browse the full Discover Buenos Aires archive: expat life, practical city notes, travel details, neighborhood discoveries, and older dispatches from living in Argentina.
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395 posts in the full Discover Buenos Aires archive.
One of our more frequent topics is on the “dolar blue” rate in Argentina. This is the unofficial rate at which the US dollar trades in Argentina. Yesterday it hit a new record high of U$S 1 = ARS $9.40. That’s an 81% difference to the official rate and a great reason never to use … Read more
UPDATE: This deal is dead. Jet Blue is having a sale on their new route from Fort Lauderdale to Lima, Peru from only $139 each way ($302 roundtrip all-in). Their new route starts November 21, 2013 and these prices are available through December 31, 2013. You can add on a roundtrip to Buenos Aires from … Read more
UPDATE: Added some new promo codes and rate info! Plus, use the links below and you’ll receive a £10 Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate on your first transfer. —— Azimo is a new service that allows anyone from the United Kingdom to send money to Argentina – and get the blue rate! We’ve previously written extensively about Xoom, but that only … Read more
UPDATE: This deal is dead. Copa Airlines currently has fares from New York (JFK) to Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD) for only $374 including all taxes and fees. This is a pretty amazing price, and if you have friends who want to get to Buenos Aires, it’s only a short plane or ferry ride from Montevideo. To … Read more
Many an expat’s lament about living in Argentina is missing the things from home. One of the things at the top of that list for American expats has been peanut butter. Check any expat forum or blog and you’ll undoubtedly see someone complaining about the lack of peanut butter in Argentina. Well, tell them to … Read more
I’ve written a lot about getting around those crazy restrictions that do not allow us to watch US content in Argentina and I’m always looking for the best products – paid or free – to do the job. For example, if you want to access US content on an iPad or iPhone, then Unotelly is … Read more
I’ll admit it. I’m a foodie. I was one of the first diners at Casa Mun. I’ve been to Aramburu. I had dinner with GAJO. I did The Pale Blue Door in San Telmo and almost all the other closed door restaurants too. I crave Osaka. Hell, I even made it to P.F. Chang’s opening … Read more
LAN is running a pretty interesting promotion right now. You can fly from the US to Buenos Aires starting at only $849 roundtrip (all taxes and fees included). While that’s a pretty amazing price, you can also add on another city in Buenos Aires – Mendoza, Cordoba, Bariloche, Iguazu or Salta – for only U$S … Read more
The “dolar blue” has hit record highs for the past two days following new rules from AFIP (the Argentine tax agency) that imposed additional fees on the use of Argentine credit cards as well as on travel packages purchased in Argentina for travel outside the country. First, AFIP raised the surcharge that Argentines must pay … Read more
The “Mejor en bici” service is now available to tourists in Buenos Aires as well as locals. Renting a bike is a great way to see Buenos Aires, but up until now the service was only available with local identification. Tourists can now rent bicycles by presenting their original passport, a copy of their passport, … Read more
Since I moved to Argentina in 2008, I’ve seen the opening of Starbucks, Subway, Wendy’s and most recently KFC. Well, you can now add P.F. Chang’s to the list of US-based franchises in Buenos Aires. PF Chang’s opened their first location in Argentina yesterday in San Isidro (a trendy neighborhood about 15 minutes outside of … Read more
British expats rejoice! Buenos Aires’ first fish & chips restaurant, Chipper, has just opened in Palermo Hollywood. Chipper promises traditional fish and chips with a gourmet twist, including fried fish, salmon, calamari, salads, burgers and of course chips – cheese chips, curry chips, garlic chips and more. You can check out their menu here. I … Read more
UPDATE: As of March 24, 2016, the reciprocity fee is no longer required for US passport holders. As we reported earlier, the Argentine reciprocity fee must now be paid in advance of coming to Argentina for all ports of entry including cruise passengers. This is just a reminder that you must also print out proof … Read more
Netflix brought their streaming service to Argentina in September 2011. Unfortunately, what they failed to bring was the same large selection of movies and shows that is available in the United States. In addition, watching anything in English audio brings up subtitles that cannot be turned off – really annoying for native English speakers. Of … Read more
After pretty much writing off Chinese food in Buenos Aires, I finally had a dish that was really good… We ordered the Pollo Saltado Kon Pao (Picante) (Kung Pao chicken) from Dragón Porteño at Arribeños 2137 ($56 pesos), and it was the closest thing I’ve had to NYC-style Chinese food since I’ve been here. It was actually … Read more
I just discovered the best yogurt in Buenos Aires – Yogur Dahi. After years of eating the crappy yogurt in plastic cups and bags, it’s nice to finally find a smooth, creamy yogurt that comes in a glass jar. I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover this… I guess I assumed that … Read more
The “dolar blue,” Argentina’s black market rate to buy dollars, has been on a tear in January – setting new highs every week. Today’s rate of $7.81 pesos to one US dollar sets another record, and widens the gap between the official rate ($4.9755) and the unofficial rate to an amazing 57%. For a good … Read more
Scam City is a show on the Travel+Escape channel that follows its host, Conor Woodman, as he travels to ten of the world’s most popular cities to find out what scams are pulled on tourists. Of course, Buenos Aires is on the list and also probably one of the more interesting episodes. On his visit … Read more
Iconic British band, The Cure, have just announced their first Latin American tour in over 17 years. Luckily, the tour includes an April 12, 2013 stop in Buenos Aires – their first concert in Argentina in over 26 years! Tickets go on sale Monday, February 4, 2013. Here’s the press release and their other Latin … Read more
LAN is having another one of their airfare sales from the US to Buenos Aires (unfortunately fares from Buenos Aires to the US are not on sale). During this limited sale, roundtrip fares from Miami and Los Angeles are $899 and fares from New York are $999. This includes all taxes and fees. You must … Read more
When you have a two year-old you quickly learn who their favorite TV characters are – Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny and of course, her favorite, Doc McStuffins (Doctora Juegetes in Spanish). Of course if you don’t have kids, these will probably not mean a lot to you, but Doc McStuffins was one of the hottest … Read more
Since every other site is doing a “Year In Review,” we decided to jump on the bandwagon too… So, without further ado, here’s the Discover Buenos Aires 2012 Year in Review! We wrote 47 blog posts in 2012. While not prolific writers, that beat the 41 blog posts of 2011. We had over 160,000 views in 2012 … Read more
Xoom has consistently been the US expat and tourist’s best way to send money to Argentina and take advantage of the discrepancy between the official exchange rate and the blue market exchange rate. For example, today’s official rate is $4.913, the blue market rate is $6.780 and Xoom is paying $6.313 before fees. We’re seeing … Read more