wrote in message
news:m394e0tuh4l2fj2niqncg0ojrjpria33ac@4ax.com...
> As mentioned, I'm traveling to Argentina for the first time, and was
> looking for wisdom for a gringo tourist:
>
> - how much money to carry?
> - should I travel with a wallet?
> - where to carry it?
> - any tips not to look like a tourist?
>
> Thanks for any advice!
My advice would be not to take travelers checks, which are almost impossible
to cash in Argentina. American Express will cash their own, but that means
you have to go to their office on the Plaza San Martín; if you are elsewhere
in Buenos Aires, that may not be convenient.
American dollars are acceptable almost everywhere (from 1991 to about 2000,
the peso and the dollar were convertible, one-to-one), but take crisp, new
bills; people won't accept the dirty, wrinkled, or torn ones that are so
commonly seen in the United States.
There are ATMs all over the city; I don't recall if the instructions are in
English as well as Spanish, because I speak Spanish, but they should present
no problems. They used to offer a choice of dollars or pesos, but I suspect
that now they would offer pesos only.
A wallet? Why not? I carry mine in my back pocket if I'm not wearing a
jacket, or in the inside breast pocket of a jacket. In other words, exactly
where I carry it when I'm at home. Just be aware of your surroundings.
If you don't want to look like a tourist, dress up: porteños are usually
well dressed, and the men will sometimes wear an ascot rather than a tie.
Seriously, if you have a camera with you, or even if you are looking around,
or up, depending on what you are looking at, you can hardly help looking
like a tourist! As I said above, just be aware of your surroundings.
Have a great time!
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