Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
424
424
Buenos Aires and in other cities and towns
as w ell, so it won 't be har d to stay con-
nected while in Argentina. A ccess is r ea-
sonably priced (usually av eraging just
under $1 per hour) and connections ar
hotels (rates fall 10pm-8am). H olders of
AT&T credit cards can r each the money-
saving
USA D irect
fr om Argentina b y
calling toll-fr ee
&
0800/555-4288
fr om
the north of Argentina or 0800/222-1288
from the south. Similar services are offered
by
MCI
(
&
0800/555-1002
) and
Sprint
(
&
0800/555-1003
fr om the nor th of
Argentina, or 0800/222-1003 fr
e
reliably good.
MAIL
Airmail postage for a standar d
letter fr om Argentina to N orth America
and E urope is about $3. M ail takes, on
average, between 7 and 10 days to get to
the U.S. and Europe.
MAPS
Reliable maps can be pur chased
at the offices of the
Automóvil Club
Argentino,
A v. del Liber tador 1850, in
Buenos Air es (
&
11/4802-6061
or
11/4802-7071).
SAFETY
See “H ealth & S
om the
south).
Public phones take either phone car ds
(sold at kiosks on the str eet) or coins (less
common). Local calls cost 20 centav os to
start and charge more the longer you talk.
Telecentro offices—found ev erywhere in
city centers—offer priv ate phone booths
where calls ar e paid when completed.
Most hotels offer fax ser vices, as do all
Telecentro offices. D ial
&
110
for dir ec-
tory assistance (most operators speak Eng-
lish) and
&
000
to reach an international
operator.
TIME
Argentina is 1 hour ahead of East-
ern Standard Time in the United States in
northern summer . I n 2007, the countr y
introduced daylight saving time in the east
of the countr y with Buenos Aires and the
coast moving forward 1 hour from Decem-
ber 30 to March 16. This means the capi-
tal will be 3 hours ahead of Eastern
Standard Time in nor thern winter, while
the Andean pr ovinces will be 2 hours
ahead.
TIPPING
A 10% tip is expected at cafes
and r estaurants. G ive at least $1 to bell-
boys and por ters, 5% to hair dressers, and
leftover change to taxi drivers.
WATER
In B uenos Air es, the water is
perfectly safe to drink. But if you are trav-
eling to more remote regions of Argentina,
it's best to stick with bottled water for
drinking.
afety,” in
chapter 3.
SMOKING
People who hate smoke can
rejoice. Antismoking laws hav e finally
been passed in B uenos Aires, as w ell as a
few other Argentine cities. These ar e
among the few laws actually paid attention
to in Argentina.
TAXES
Argentina's v alue added tax
A
(VAT) is 21%. You can r ecover this 21%
at the airport if you have purchased certain
local products totaling more than 70 pesos
(per inv oice) fr om stor es par ticipating in
tax-free shopping. F orms ar e av ailable at
the airpor t and par ticipating stor es, but
beware that y ou may be asked to display
your purchases when leaving.
TELEPHONE
The countr y code for
Argentina is
54.
When making domestic
long-distance calls in Argentina, place a 0
before the ar ea code. F or international
calls, add 00 befor e the countr y code.
Direct dialing to N orth America and
Europe is av ailable fr om most phones.
International, as well as domestic, calls are
expensive in Argentina, especially fr
om
