Schedules - Times - Hours

Argentina’s Time Zone is GMT-3, Between 4 and 5 hours west to Europe & South Africa, and 1 east from the Caribbean and the US East Coast.
Business hours go from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm.
Banks are open from 10 am to 3 pm. Exchange bureaus ("casas de cambio") open till 5 pm.
Shops and Supermarkets have extended hours, normally until 10 pm. The same applies to shopping malls.
Restaurants start preparing dinner after 8 pm, exceptionally from 7:30 pm. Clients are welcomed usually until 2 am.
Pubs & Discos normally close at around 6 am.

Forms of payment

Bills are issued in Argentine pesos (ARS). Most establishments accept pesos and US dollars. A few of them will also take Euros (at the exchange rate of the day).

Traveler's checks can be used in Buenos Aires, but they are not so common in the rest of the country. Payments should be done in cash or credit card: VISA, AMEX, MASTERCARD, DINERS are accepted almost everywhere.

Tips

Although not compulsory, it is customary to tip 10% of the bill in restaurants and cafés. Tips are paid in cash, as they can’t be included in the credit card payment.

Electricity

Electric energy in the whole country is 220V / 50Hz. To adapt to 220V / 50 Hz from 110V / 60 Hz you will need a simple transformer.

Telephone

International Calls

The country code for Argentina is +54, and the area code for Buenos Aires is 11.
If calling from abroad to a domestic phone in BA you need to dial (+54 11) before the 8 digit number.
For Mobile phone numbers, when calling from Buenos Aires, dial (15) before the 8 digit number.
To call mobile numbers from abroad, dial (+54 9 11) before the number 8 digit number (without 15).

Useful telephone numbers

Toll-free numbers, from any telephone, public or private:

Emergency Number: 911
Tourist assistance (9 am to 8 pm): 0800 999 2838
Jorge Newbery Domestic Apt: (+54 11) 4576-5300
Ezeiza International Airport: (+54 11) 5480-6111
Retiro Bus Central Station: (+55 11) 4310 0700

Report lost or stolen credit cards

VISA from Buenos Aires: 4379-3333
VISA rest of Argentina: 0810-666-3368
AMEX: 0810 555 2639
MASTERCARD from Buenos Aires: 4340-5700
MASTERCARD rest of Argentina: 0810-999-5700
DINERS: 0810-666-3663

Airports

Presentation Time in advance

Jorge Newbery Domestic Airport

Domestic flights and flights to Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil: at least 1 hour before departure time.
Average time from downtown to the airport: 20 minutes.

Ezeiza International Airport

All International destinations: 3 hours before departure time.
Average time from downtown to airport: 40 - 60 minutes.

Airport TAX

International Airport (Ezeiza): 29 USD
Domestic Flights: 8 USD

Domestic Flights duration

Most of the domestic flights are to and from Buenos Aires; there are only two daily connecting flights between provinces:

Daily Patagonia Roundtrip: Buenos Aires - Puerto Madryn - Ushuaia – Calafate - Bariloche - Buenos Aires.
Daily NorthWest Roundtrip: Buenos Aires - Bariloche - Mendoza - Salta - Iguazú - Buenos Aires.

Flight durations from Buenos Aires to...

Bariloche: 2 hours 10 min
Mar del Plata: 45 min
Córdoba: 1 hour 15 min
Mendoza: 1 hour 50 min
Iguazú Falls: 1 hour 45 min
Salta: 2 hours
Calafate Glaciers: 3 hours 15 min
Ushuaia: 3 hours 20 min

Domestic Baggage Information

Aerolíneas Argentinas

15 kg per person, not including the Golf Bag (1kg = 2.2 pounds)
One person is allowed to take 2 bags of 15 kg total plus the Golf Bag.

LATAM

20 kg per person, including the Golf Bag.
One person is allowed to take up to 2 bags plus 1 golf bag, all of which have to weight 20 kg or less in total. The extra kg costs around USD 4.

Verify the size of your carry on luggage since it should not be bigger than the size of the compartments on the airplane you are about to board. Carry on luggage should weight no more than 5 kg in domestic flights and 10 kg in International flights.

Argentina General Information

Location / Extension (Southern Hemisphere)

With a mainland area of 2,8 km2 (1,07 sq mi), Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.

CLICK to see Argentina in a World Map

Geography

Its relief is characterized by the contrast between the eastern plains, facing the Atlantic Ocean, and the Andes mountain range (the longest range in the world) on the West.

Aconcagua, at 6.959 (22,851 feet) is the highest peak in the chain and the highest in the western hemisphere.

Capital City: Buenos Aires

Population

Argentina has a population of around 45 million inhabitants.

Buenos Aires City, the Capital district, holds 3 million. Buenos Aires province, 15 million.

Population density is of 15 people per square kilometer of land area, well below the world average of 50 people.

Origin: 95% of the population descends from Europeans, mainly Italian and Spanish immigrants.

Language

The official language is Spanish, or “Castellano” (Castilian)

Religion

Roman Catholicism is the official religion, with an overwhelming majority.

The Constitution states that the federal government is Roman Catholic, but it also guarantees freedom of religion for all. Therefore, Argentina has many Jews and Muslims (Buenos Aires has the second largest Jewish population in the Americas after New York), as well as members of Russian, Greek and Syrian Orthodox churches and Protestant denominations.

Currency / Exchange Rate

The official currency is the "peso".

There are $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $200, $500 and $1000 pesos notes, and $5, $2, $1, $0,50, $0,25, $0,10, and 0,05$ coins.

The exchange rate is variable. Although it fluctuates, the current rate is about 62 pesos per USD, and 72 pesos per Euro.

Constitution and Government

23 provinces + Buenos Aires Capital City form the National territory. The government, according to the national Constitution, adopts the representative, republican and federal form, as well as the division in three powers: executive, legislative and judicial. The President and Vice President, as well as the Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires, the governors of the provinces and the members of the legislative bodies are chosen by universal suffrage, secret and obligatory by both sexes citizens older than 18 years.

President: Mauricio Macri (2015-2019)

Buenos Aires City Mayor: Horacio Rodriguez Larreta (2015-2019)

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