Dinner is a 9:30pm sport
A restaurant that fills at 7pm is feeding tourists. Locals sit down after 9 or 10. Have a late afternoon ice cream, a vermouth, and then the steak. You will sleep better and eat better.
Travel guideLast updated August 16, 2026
Argentina Travel Guide: Essentials, Tips & Mobile Data
Buenos Aires to Patagonia: money, steaks, distances, when to go, traveler tips, and mobile data via eSIM.
Argentina is a capital that eats dinner at 10pm, a waterfall that out-noises conversation, and a south that looks like the end of the world on purpose. Buenos Aires is tango, steak, wine and neighborhoods you will pick a favorite of. Mendoza is the glass. Iguazú is the roar. Patagonia is the wind and the reason you packed a better jacket.
The money situation changes. Cards and official rates are the calm way; cash still appears in the conversation. Ask a recent traveler or your hotel how people are paying this month, and do not take financial advice from a man at the airport with a backpack full of stories.
Distances are Australian. Fly Buenos Aires–Patagonia or Buenos Aires–Iguazú. A bus is a story; a flight is a morning. Stay long enough in one barrio to have a regular café.
Eat the steak, drink the Malbec, try a medialuna at 5pm, and do not show up to dinner at 7. The city is not ready for you yet.
Essentials
Argentina Travel Essentials
- Currency
- Argentine peso (ARS). Cards are widely accepted in cities. Informal cash rates have a history here — use official channels and your hotel's current advice, not a stranger.
- Languages
- Spanish (Rioplatense — the 'sh' in 'yo'). English is okay in tourist BA, thinner elsewhere. A few words change the parrilla.
- Plug Type
- Type C / I, 220V. Bring a universal adapter.
- Emergency Number
- 911
- Best Time to Visit
- March to May and September to November for BA and Mendoza. Patagonia is best December to March. Iguazú is year-round and humid.
- Tipping
- 10% in restaurants is kind. Some bills add a cubierto. Wine is a food group, not a tip category.
- Timezone
- ART (UTC-3)
- Tap Water
- Safe in Buenos Aires and most cities. Bottled if you are cautious or heading north.
- Getting Around
- Subte and buses in BA; flights for Patagonia and Iguazú. Long-distance buses are comfortable if you have the hours. Uber and Cabify in the capital.
- Internet & Coverage
- Good 4G in cities; weaker in Patagonia between towns and at the falls' outer trails. Café Wi-Fi is a national sport.
Traveler tips
Tips from fellow travelers
Real advice from people who have been to Argentina, curated by our team with links to the original sources.
Do not change money with a stranger at the airport
The informal rate is a local saga that shifts. Use ATMs, cards, and whatever official or hotel-endorsed method is current. A man saying 'friend, better price' is not your CFO.
Patagonia is a flight, not a scenic drive from BA
El Calafate, Bariloche, Ushuaia — fly. The bus is 20+ hours of a story you will tell once. Spend the days you saved on a glacier or a lake, not a reclining seat.
Iguazú is a full day on the Argentine side, plus Brazil if you can
Walk the walkways, take the boat if the water is up, and start early. The Brazilian side is the wide postcard. Border rules depend on your passport — check before you assume you can hop.
A neighborhood, not a hotel row
Palermo and San Telmo are the usual (and good) bases. Once you have a café, a bookstore and a parrilla you would return to, Buenos Aires starts working. Recoleta is prettier and quieter. Puerto Madero is a waterfront that could be anywhere.
FAQ
Argentina travel questions, answered
eSIM plans
Stay connected in Argentina
Uber, a Subte map and a message to the asado that is 'around 10': Argentina is a phone country. An eSIM is online at EZE before you hit the taxi chaos, without a SIM shop that wants to explain the peso to you.
Get enough data for maps and translations. The steak will not require a signal. Finding the second parrilla will.
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