HOW TO SAVE HALF OFF YOUR TRIP TO ARGENTINA! Watch this, Save Money & Stress!
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- HOW TO SAVE HALF OFF YOUR TRIP TO ARGENTINA! Watch this, Save Money & Stress!
Never have we wished we knew and understood a process more before traveling somewhere than this. We have met many people since traveling around Argentina and so many have said the same thing that they didn’t know and had to figure a way out. We really hope that our explanation and example of what happened to us helps to save you a lot of stress on your trip if you ever plan to visit Argentina.
Walking around a new country with a large amount of cash and your passport on you is exactly what you’re not supposed to do as a traveller. Unfortunately due to the crazy financial/economic situation in Argentina, it is exactly what you need to do unless you want to pay more than double for everything! We spent our first week paying for things using our travel card, it works great for us in all the other countries we’ve been to around the world (54 at this point) but we couldn’t believe how much money we wasted in one week using it here and immediately decided to figure out a better way to get the ‘unofficial rate’ that is used in Argentina.
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Travel vlog 98 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Country #11 | Filmed January 2022
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A British couple from just outside London, England. We got married in 2018 and decided instead of a honeymoon we’d travel the world together. We saved money and travel points, quit our jobs, rented our house out and boarded a one way flight. We started this RUclips channel to share our experiences with friends, family and anyone who plans to travel to the places we’re visiting. We leave TKT tips/facts in our vlogs and blogs to give information that we wish we’d had before visiting. We hope you find our content fun & useful :)
#BuenosAires #Argentina #TravelHack
Thanks so much for watching you lovely people!😊
We really hope the information in this video will really help anyone that might visit Argentina 🇦🇷
If you liked the video, please give it a thumbs up👍🏼 it’s the easiest way for you to help our channel and means the world to us, see you on the next one!
If you want to know a pretty place which no foreign tourist will ever see, it is worth spending one day or two on the forests cities in the coast of Buenos Aires. I suggest Cariló/Pinamar.
It isn't promoted to foreigners, because is a coastal destination, and Argentina doesn't has good beaches compared to other countries in the continent, but the interesting thing are the cities, not the beaches.
Thank you so much for the tip 😊 local knowledge is always so helpful. It feels as though there’s months worth of things to see and do just within this one city but we do love nature and the coast!
Just rewatched and successfully got money out on the first try! Thanks for the tips! We are loving the discount!
All makes sense now right! We get inundated with people saying, I’ll just use my card I do that everywhere. Seeing is believing 🤩
Wow! thank you for all the information. Argentina is on our list of places to go so this is good to know! Safe travels guys 😊
You’re welcome! So many people we’ve met did the same as us, not realising how much money they could save, it’s crazy🤪 safe travels to you both too!
Thanks for sharing your travelling experience with us.Nice places to release stress.
Thank you 😊
Thank you. This vlog is very informative.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the tips! How amazing to save 50% on everything! Definitely worth the trouble even if you have to pay 100 pesos for the sim card. I'm taking notes! Definitely doing this!
We wish we’d known before we got here. We’d have done this process on day one and saved ourselves a week of double spending. So pleased that you guys will arrive with this info to help you save! 💵
Great info, we brought dollars and Euro cash so no problems changing at the Cambios.
Perfect 👍🏼
What a wild day, it's really sad what is going on in Argentina with their currency, but it is really helpful for those visiting to know the full process to get a better exchange rate... guess Steve's Schwab account wouldn't come in so handy here! Super neat cafe you guys found, there's a spot similar with a library attached in Istanbul, so would love to check this out in Buenos aires
It is a real shame speaking to the locals and hearing about the economic crisis is a big eye opener. Think Steves Schwab would be the same as our Monzo, it'll work fine but only ever with the official rate, we spent the first week using it and I still can't get over how much money we wasted that way!
Thank you SO MUCH! Very, very helpful!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Going to BA in 2 weeks and this was sooo helpful!! I'm so used to not carrying cash anymore so that'll be an adjustment, but with those savings... I think i can manage lol... but damn, that's crazy what a big difference it makes!! Thank you so much!
You’ll have a great time in BA it’s an awesome city 😎 we have a few more videos coming up on it but the blue rate cash is such a huge deal out here. You’ll see lines at every Western Union and ‘Cambio’ written and shouted out by locals on the street.
It was very nice captured video .The places are very attractive .
Thank you
Wow, that was quite the process...but I think it is worth it!
I like that you went back to the same place to compare the cost, it was so much cheaper!
I am impressed with how calm you two were...going primarily on coffee 😆 I def would have been hangry.
Craig was definitely flagging without food 😅 it's been so worth the effort, everything we have been doing since we could not have afforded to do with the official rate.
@@TideKnotTravellers yeah, I can't imagine how much money it will end up saving you. Definitely worth the inconvenience!
It’s crazy how hectic the process is getting as we travel around the country 🤪
Wow, great tips! This is gonna save us a ton of money when we (hopefully) make it to Argentina. Bless you guys for detailing us so much for everyone. Probably will save many people creating the same heat map that you did, though the circus music industry is going to lose some business 😂 Love the earrings hack for you SIM cards, by the way! That's really clever!
We really hope this saves you and many others a lot of stress and money. It’s made our trip so much more affordable ☺️
We love the earrings hack, a little lesson we learnt back in a hostel in Lithuania 🇱🇹
@@TideKnotTravellers Some Casas de Cambio also exchange at the blue rate without asking for IDs. Some jewelry shops also do it. Just ask.
Well explained ! THX
You’re welcome, we hope it helps ☺️
Are you guys really had to work for that exchange rate, but glad to know all of the tips and tricks. I hate going anywhere with my passport while I'm travelling so I usually leave it in a safe so I would have been in the same boat. So crazy about the finance situation there though. I'm sure so many people don't know this. Also I love grocery shopping in other countries 🤣
The two things we generally avoid doing while travelling are carrying our passport around and carrying lots of cash around. Unfortunately, they're the two things everyone has to do in Argentina, it's totally normal to see people booking tours or making purchases with notes spread across the sales counter, so weird!
You're right, lots of tourists visiting for a week or two don't seem to realise this scenario and are literally paying twice as much for everything, crazy situation!
Thanks for the info.
You’re welcome ☺️
Great tips, thank you. Does this work for lodging as well?
Yes, if you book accommodation and pay in cash it will save you a lot of money. We sometimes had to book Airbnb which means we paid way too much but you can book hostels/hotels and pay in cash.
Great video! I'm going in March 2023. Is this still true about the blue rate? Why western union vs just going to an ATM? Thanks
We went to an ATM during our first week in BA and learnt the hard way 😅 you don’t want to use your card anywhere in Argentina to withdraw cash or pay vendors as you get charged double. Western Union allows a transfer rate similar to the blue dollar that’s why everyone goes there.
@@TideKnotTravellers so do you exchange money at the blue rate or just use the dollar when shopping dinning, or either? Thanks so much and so helpful!! Eric
@@EK-lp8od you can actually do either, you can exchange USD pretty easily for the blue dollar in many places but it’s also readily accepted a lot. We have heard you get better pricing if you pay in pesos than USD.
Oh my goodness - After all that you must be on 1st name terms with the bank!🤣 began to wonder if it was all legit or they had you on a price of string!
What a great a great ‘tip’ - helps lots who now go!
Laughed at the Benny Hill you should have speeded up your walks back & forth!🤣
Pleased you eventually got lunch in that super cafe & that burger!WOW! Bet it went down a treat! Thanks for the hacks & tips. Looking forward to seeing the sites!
If only the WU staff had been more helpful we’d have saved a lot of time. They gave minimal time and short blunt responses in Spanish. We only figured all this out because of another tourist in the line who explained the crazy situation.
I sure enjoyed your enthusiasm and hack. By the way a paper clip works great too, if no earing is available 😀.
Ahh great minds! 😉
Such a cool video! I just subscribed ☺️
Thank you and welcome to the adventures 😊
Western union isn't the only money transfer outfit.
I use Ria Money which I send money to my name in whichever city. Of course you need a passport but you don't need an Argentina SIM. I send US$1000 and that lasts 2 weeks including hotels.
Now, in 2023 you supposedly can now use foreign Visa and Master card and get almost the black market ("dolar blue") rate. NOT AMEX. I've heard some complaints about this new system. At least you don't have to carry around so much cash.
That’s helpful to know about Ria too. We have heard mixed reviews about the new system supposedly giving the unofficial rate, some say it’s close others say it’s still not.
hey what flights would you reccomend from the uk buenos aires
We flew with EasyJet to Madrid and then Argentinas Aerolinas to BA, all left on time so would recommend.
I’m sorry, I have question again ..;)
Can I change cash there ( WU) or only send the money to yourself? 🤔
Also is it possible to change cash there?
Thanks!
Don’t worry, all questions are welcome. You can’t change money (cash) at WU only send yourself the money and withdraw from there. You can change USD and Euro at one of the many ‘Cambio’ places that are everywhere. In shops, restaurants etc. you give them cash and they’ll give you pesos at the blue dollar rate.
@@TideKnotTravellers Alright!
Thanks for your advice!
Which one is the best way & secure? WU?
That won’t get any fake pesos..🤭
If I change somewhere except WU,yeah?!
@@valentinawalentina9836 we only ever used WU as we didn’t have USD because we came straight from the UK so can’t personally say about the Cambio places but we never had any issues with WU money.
Hey!
From where did you get Argentinian number free? By western Union or from the other place?
Thanks!
It was from a little shop/kiosk nearby. We just kept walking and asking in shops and got pointed in this direction. There’s a few around so you should be able to find your nearest one, the people are helpful ☺️
I wish you would have shown us all your food you purchased for 1 week at approximately $25 USD! Amazing thanks for the valuable tip!
We’re glad to be able to help ☺️ If you scroll to 16:25 of this video from when we first arrived in BA, we show it there: ruclips.net/video/CbF-tubLoeE/видео.html
Brilliant informative video, thanks so much. Re cash, can you just risk bringing in a load of US dollars in cash and change directly
Yes bring USD if you can, it’s easy to change everywhere at the Blue dollar rate.
When you pay by card, the terminal will usually ask you if you would prefer to pay in the local currency or in your home currency. Choosing the local currency usually works out to be the best option. Is this the case with Argentina? Also, have you tried using something like a Transwerwise "Hello World" debit card? It supports multiple currencies and I've used it a few times in the US.
We always choose to pay in the local currency and we have a Monzo card which gets us a great rate everywhere in the world. We used it here and got the best rate we could but it will only ever be the official rate. Argentina is the only country that we’ve ever known to have this situation. It is crazy, when we meet other travellers from Europe or USA some know about it already and others are confused/shocked and then keen to get cash via this rate. The economic situation here is nuts 🤪
@@TideKnotTravellers Nuts indeed! An exchange rate that is just a half of the official one sounds too good to be true! Also, high five to you fellow Monzo clients! Such a breath of fresh air after the likes of HSBC and Lloyds TSB.
@@TideKnotTravellers Cuba is similar with their currency for TOurist.
@@robertrogina oh, that’s interesting. It’s so crazy how much hassle/extra stress it all creates for people. We’ve seen some videos of some fairly crazy situations in Cuba so this fits in with that.
If you bring USD on your trip, will some restaurants accept USD if the exchange places happen to be closed ?
Yes bring USD with you if you can it will make your life a lot easier.
@@TideKnotTravellers thank you! Love your videos!!
Hello, does anyone know if it's cheaper to book flights from/in Buenos Aires and pay with cash rather than book on Skyscanner before our trip to Argentina?
Nope.
Great video! Two questions, does the western union app always display the unofficial rate? I’ve never gotten a SIM card in another country, what makes them free, or was it just in this situation?
Thank you. Yes Western Union will always give you a much better rate than the official bank rate. Today on WU it was 245 pesos to the £ which is worse than it was when we made this video (was 300) but still very good in comparison to the banks rates. If you're from Europe or the US just bring Euros or USD in cash and change it directly with the 'cambio' guys you'll find them everywhere in BA and you'll get the real blue rate.
Yes Claro sim cards are free, there's a few others that are free as well, but we have since managed register to get cash out at WU with my UK phone number as well so you might not need an Argentinian Sim card, if you're here for a while though I'd recommend it as it's very affordable to top up and gives you data and calls for 30 days for 810 pesos. Hope you have a fantastic trip, it's a beautiful city!
@@TideKnotTravellers thank you sooo much extremely helpful!!!
@@rayzary you’re welcome ☺️
Planning to go to Argentina (Buenos Aires) in July. Thank you for the hints and tips in this brilliant video. Learnt so much and will now save so much.
Great to hear, thank you! Enjoy every second it’s such a lovely city ☺️
in Retiro the number of Western Unions that gave money out was limited, maybe because the area. But after i found the right place it was great
Welcome to Argenina :) Here we say: "Why do it simple if you can do it complicated." The problem with the country is that our currency looses value every moment due to high inflation. Therefore, all that can save a cent, need somethin that at least looses less value. So the dollar is much sought. Many government officials tell that there are no dollars in Argentina, but the problem is that the state doesn't have them, the Argentinians have many many dollars saved.
It's such a cool place but definitely takes a bit of figuring out!
How crazy is this!!
It is honestly insane! Cash is king here 💵
I don't understand how you did. Did you send money to themselves through the app with the cash withdrawal option?
Yes, you have to send yourself Argentine pesos from your bank to yourself in the Western Union app.
Hey guys! Quick question I'm trying to figure out.. So if leaving the US to Argentina they don't require you to have the COVID vaccine. I'm like 99% sure of this if you guys could confirm. But my more important question is they require you to have a return flight booked. Now.. the flight to Argentina is $400... the flight back to LA is $1300.. I might get the tourist visa if I like it out there, and would hate to have wasted that $1300 on a flight if I don't plan to come back to the US at that time. What is your advice?
I think you’re right about the vaccine situation but would double check on the gov website. With regards to the onward flight booking we did not need it and did not get asked when landing in BA. However my no.1 recommendation for this scenario is to arrive at check in early and if you’re unlucky enough to be asked for your onward travel ticket then just book one on Expedia there and then using their free cancellation option and cancel within 24 hours. We have done this many times and it’s saved us.
Great tip and extremely helpful.
Q. Can you exchange cash £ on the blue rate?. Or is it only $US they are interested in?.
Thanks.
Mainly USD, unfortunately for us GBP is useless there. Some places will exchange euros though but still not as happily accepted as USD.
Sorry to hear about that western union bank fiasco. 🤣🤣. Glad you finally ate breakfast 😋
It certainly was a fiasco! 😂 we're so glad we did it though, it's been great getting everything half price ever since!
In Argentina now getting money from western union is quite an ordeal. Maybe the area I’m in but been to been to 2 offices either they don’t give money out or the hours of operation are different than the website . Finally got money just gave him passport no phone number was needed
It has been quite an ordeal getting money out for us too. As we move around Argentina in the smaller towns there are limits and they run out of cash after hours of waiting in line, it's not easy! We also learned that we didn't need an Argentinian phone number if we switched the settings in the app.
How long do the transfers take? For example if I transferred 100$ tomorrow morning, will it be ready the same day!? Or does it take longer?
@@fraserlong964 it’s there within 30 seconds to a minute.
Minutes
May I ask where is this Western Union branch?
It is the main Western Union branch near to Palermo Soho in Buenos Aires. It was open everyday that we were there except Sundays.
I lived in Buenos Aires for nearly 10 years. Here is a hint send money thru Western union from your home country. Just take your Western Union paper documents. Or bring cash and go down to Florida Street and you can change your money for the blue rate. It is safe and legal.
They do seem to really want USD here, even at Western Union they do a few things that make it easier for those transferring USD to pesos. If we had come from a country with USD, we would definitely gave brought some with us to get the blue rate.
Did he really eat the burger with fork and knife? Maybe that's a Europe thing we don't do that in America.
😂 it’s just a Craig thing! I don’t do it.
@@TideKnotTravellers That is hilarious!! haha go Craig! do you!
Great info! But please don't call it the "unofficial rate." It has a name: Argentinians call it the "BLUE Dollar." You need to clarify for those who don't know. Thanks. 😀
I think we did call it both in this video 🙂
Lo hubiesen cambiado en la calle sin tanto problema o en el hotel o quien les alquiló
Only with USD or Euros in cash. We had neither on us.
Es así, "Bienvenidos a Buenos Aires". Lugar donde te boludean todo el día; y todos los días, en todas partes... Jajajaj
Si no lo tomás con humor y paciencia...JAjaja..!!!
por suerte tenemos mucha paciencia y buen humor 😄
@@TideKnotTravellers Si si, y están siempre sonrientes..!!!! 😄😄😄😄