The Getaway: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Day 0: Before you leave

June to September are Argentina’s winter months with daytime temperatures in the 60-degree range, dropping to the low 40s at night. October ushers in spring and more pleasant, but still chilly, temps. Plan your layers since you’ll be out and about. Fortunately, it doesn’t snow in the city, so heavy boots and insulated coats aren’t needed. Many Argentinians favor a jacket (cotton or down) over a sweater; pack Ridge Merino’s Pursuit Ultralight Merino Hoodie ($99; ridgemerino.com), Prana’s Encinitas shacket ($178; prana.com), and Toad&Co’s Blasam 5 Pocket Lean Pant ($120; toadandco.com) for an easy day-to-day uniform.

Like many other countries in Latin America, Spanish is the official language, and English is not as widely spoken even in the touristic sector. Either brush up on your Spanish or download Google Translate and save the Spanish dictionary for real-time translations.

Money Matters

If you have traveled to Argentina before April 2025, you’ve probably gone through the circus of exchange rates in the country. There’s the official rate, the blue rate, and the tourist rate. Well, you can forget all of that now; you just need to deal with the bank’s rate.

In Buenos Aires, you can use your credit card at most commercial establishments. You might receive a lower exchange, but it’s hardly a deal-breaker. Just think of it as a tourist tax.

If you have to get cash, there are three ways to do it:

ATMs. They are fickle and have low limits—if they even take your card, and charge high fees on top of things. (When I was there, I withdrew AR$35,000—about $29—with an AR$8000 fee.) Use them to get some cash; they’re not meant for high amounts.
Western Union. Create an account at westernunion.com, and send yourself money. You then head to a branch in Argentina and claim the money in pesos.
Cuevas. These are unofficial exchange places in Calle Florida and elsewhere. Make sure you have crisp, almost-new $50 and $100 bills, otherwise it will be rejected.

Create a WhatsApp account (you use the same phone number you have back home). It comes in handy when making restaurant reservations, getting in touch with hospitality staff, and communicating with locals for tours.

For first-timers, Palermo, Recoleta, and San Telmo are the best neighborhoods: They are well-located and are very safe, assuming you take basic precautions.

Tap water is perfectly drinkable in the city but as always, bringing a water bottle with a filter never hurt anyone—literally.

Pick up an eSIM from any Claro branch in town. Ask for a “Chip Turista” (AR$20,500) that gives you 25GB of LTE data for 30 days. Using WhatsApp and social media does not deduct from your data allowance.