Argentina Costs: Not as Cheap as It Used to Be
Argentina’s not as cheap as it used to be. When the economy crashed in the early 2000’s Argentina was an amazing bargain. Now, it’s a good, but not amazing, deal.
We are pretty frugal people, but we enjoy a good meal and a comfortable bed occasionally. So, before I list our average daily costs, realize that you could shoestring it and spend less in Argentina, but you could also spend a lot more.
On average we spent about $50/person/day in Argentina. There were days we spent a good amount less and days where we spent a bit more. This includes all in-country costs: transportation, souvenirs, food, lodging, and excursions. (Round trip plane tickets from Minneapolis to Buenos Aires were not factored into this).
photo credit: alex-s
It would be easy to spend a lot more if you stayed solely in private rooms, at a hotel, and ate all of your meals out in fancier restauarnts. You could spend less by sleeping in only dorm beds and getting by on $1 US empanadas for your meals and not ever traveling around the country.
Here are some average costs in US Dollars:
Lodging:
Dorm bed: $10-$15 /bed /night
Double Room: $30-$50/room / night
Apartment: $35+ / night
Food
Empanaada $0.75-$1
Steak: $8-$10
Salad: $3-$6
Ice Cream Cone: $3-$4 (Surpringly expensive when compared to other food)
Bottle of Wine (in a Resturant): $7 and up
Pizza: $7-$15
Coffee: $1-3
Transportation (Getting Around Argentina)
Local Bus: $0.30-$1.50
Taxi: Varies Immensily (see note below)
City to City Bus: $40-$75
Plane City to City: $175 and up
Activities
Park Entarance Fees (for Iguazu Falls, Punta Tombo, Penninsula Valdes, etc) $12-$15
Museums: $5-$15
Day Trips and Guided Tours: $40-$60
Note: Prices are significantly more expensive in touristy towns — especially those in the South. For instance, in Buenos Aires we paid less than $3 US for a Lomito (steak sandwhich). In El Chalten, the cheapest Lomito was $10 US. Similarily, we paid about $5 US for a 15 minute taxi ride in Buenos Aires. In El Calafate, Patagonia a 20 minute taxi ride was $20 US.
Great post! I was going to add that it was going to be even more expensive to travel to Argentina as a US passport holder due to the reciprocity fee being initiated this month but I see that that plan has been indefinitely put on hold! It would have been equivalent to ~$131. The following article states that tourism has been falling in Argentina for the pat 3 months and there’s no end in sight. That may bode well for US travelers considering a trip to Argentina! Bargains may be lurking ahead once again…
P.S. Love your site overall, gals! Welcome back home from your travels!
1.
Great post! I was going to add that it was going to be even more expensive to travel to Argentina as a US passport holder due to the reciprocity fee being initiated this month but I see that that plan has been indefinitely put on hold! It would have been equivalent to ~$131. The following article states that tourism has been falling in Argentina for the pat 3 months and there’s no end in sight. That may bode well for US travelers considering a trip to Argentina! Bargains may be lurking ahead once again…
P.S. Love your site overall, gals! Welcome back home from your travels!
Correction to comment:
Article mentioned is here:
Argentina’s Proposed Tourist Entry Fee Postponed Indefinitely
Sorry for the flubs!
We’re in Buenos Aires right now, after having spent three weeks in other parts of Argentina back in December. It’s interesting to see the difference in costs. Ice cream is definitely pricier here. In Cordoba, for instance, we were getting two cones for 6 pesos, here it’s at least 8 pesos for one cone. The subway is really cheap at only 1.10 pesos a ride. The trip to Tigre at only 2.70 roundtrip was also cheap. Steak costs seem to be about the same in most places. It’s harder to find a budget hostel in BA, but there are great apartment deals. Overall I think it’s a pretty affordable city, but it’s definitely not as cheap as rumors like you to believe.
we’re off to argentina & have 3 weeks in middle jan to feb . anyone got any suggetion about getting around the country . i will laeve the ic cream & go for the wine myself . cheers for any feed back gary
@ Gary Shannon The coach buses in Argentina are great. Depending on the line and the class of ticket you buy, you get movies, a reclining chair, food, and even wine.
It is really interesting - prices have definitely gone up since I first went down in 2003. I know go every year as I love it so much - the ice cream is strangely expensive but really really good. A cool eco-project are hoping to get places like icecream palours to cut down on their packagaing which might bring the prices down a bit… Ambientate doesn’t have a website live yet but is one to look out for. http://www.ambientateargentina.com
It is still really good value in Buenos Aires if you avoid some of the tourist traps. You can get a great bottle of wine for less than USD 5 in a restaurant for example.
In terms of staying in places a lot of the boutique hotels have gone up in price recently which is shame but I have taken to the local trend of renting an apartment when I visit which is great value and something I would highly recommend - you can find some amazing places which are seriously cool in terms of design. I have used Oasis BA - http://www.oasisluxuryrentals.com - for the past two trips and loved it.
Argentina is great - it could do with a lot more Eco-conscious tourism but it is definitely beginning. Check out Casa Felix - the amazing closed door restaurant - if you go. http://www.diegofelix.com