Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Appendix A:
Argentina Fast Facts
& Websites
1
FAST FACTS: ARGENTINA
AMERICAN EXPRESS
O ffices are
located in B uenos Aires, Bariloche, Salta,
San M artín, and U shuaia. I n B uenos
Aires, the Amex office is at Ar enales 707
(
&
11/4310-3000
).
BUSINESS HOURS
Banks ar e open
weekdays fr om 10am to 3pm. S hopping
hours are weekdays from 9am to 8pm and
Saturday fr om 9am to 1pm. S hopping
centers are open daily from 10am to 8pm.
Some stores close for lunch.
CLIMATE
See “When to G o,” in chap-
ter 3.
CURRENCY
See “M oney & Costs, ” in
chapter 3.
DOCUMENTS
See “E ntry R equire-
ments & Customs,” in chapter 3.
DRIVING RULES
In cities, Argentines
drive ex ceedingly fast and do not always
obey traffic lights or lanes. S eat belts ar e
mandatory, although few Argentines actu-
ally wear them. When driving outside the
city, r emember that
autopista
means
motorway or highway , and
paso
means
mountain pass. D on't drive in r ural areas
at night, as cattle sometimes o vertake the
road to keep warm and ar e nearly impos-
sible to see.
DRUGSTORES
Ask y our hotel wher e
the near est pharmacy
(farmacia)
is; they
are generally ubiquitous in city centers,
and ther e is always at least one open 24
hours. In Buenos Aires, the chain
Farmac-
ity
is open 24 hours, with locations at
Lavalle 919 (
&
11/4821-3000
), and A v.
Santa F e 2830 (
&
11/4821-0235
). Far-
macity will also deliver to your hotel.
ELECTRICITY
If you plan to bring any
small appliance with y ou, pack a trans-
former and a E uropean-style adapter
because electricity in Argentina r uns on
220 volts. Note that most laptops operate
on both 110 and 220 v olts. Luxury hotels
usually hav e transformers and adapters
available.
EMBASSIES
All in B uenos Aires:
U.S.
Embassy,
A v. Colombia 4300 (
&
11/
4774-5333);
Australian Embassy,
Villan-
ueva 1400 (
&
11/4777-6580);
Canadian
Embassy,
Tagle 2828 (
&
11/4805-3032);
New Zealand Embassy,
Carlos Pellegrini
1427, 5th F loor (
&
11/4328-0747);
United K ingdom E mbassy,
Luis Agote
2412 (
&
11/4803-6021).
EMERGENCIES
The follo wing emer-
gency numbers ar e v alid thr oughout
Argentina. For an
ambulance,
call
&
107;
in case of
fire,
call
&
100;
for
police
assistance, call
&
101.
INFORMATION
See “ Visitor I nforma-
tion,” in chapter 3.
INTERNET A CCESS
C ybercafes called
locuturios
ar e found on ev ery corner in
