Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Traveler's Checks
Be aware that very high commissions are levied on traveler's checks, which are difficult to
cash anywhere and specifically
not
recommended for travel in Argentina. Stores will
not
accept traveler's checks, and outside Buenos Aires it's even harder to change them.
Opening Hours
There are always exceptions, but the following are general opening hours:
Banks
8am to 3pm or 4pm Monday to Friday; some open till 1pm Saturday
Bars
8pm or 9pm to between 4am and 6am nightly (downtown, some open and close
earlier)
Cafes
6am to midnight or much later; open daily
Clubs
1am to 2am to between 6am and 8am Friday and Saturday
Office business hours
8am to 5pm
Post offices
8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm Saturday
Restaurants
Noon to 3:30pm, 8pm-midnight or 1am (later on weekends)
Shops
9am or 10am to 8pm or 9pm Monday to Saturday
Post
The often unreliable
Correo Argentino
(
www.correoargentino.com.ar
) is the government
postal service. Essential overseas mail should be sent
certificado
(registered). You can
send packages less than 2kg from any post office, but anything heavier needs to go
through
aduana
(a customs office). In Buenos Aires, this office is near Retiro bus terminal
and is called Correo Internacional. Take your passport and keep the package open as
you'll have to show its contents to a customs official.
Domestic couriers, such as
Andreani
(
www.andreani.com.ar
)
and
OCA
(
www.oca.com.ar
)
, and international couriers such as DHL and FedEx are far more de-
pendable than the post office. But they're also far more expensive. The last two have of-
fices only in the largest cities, while the first two usually serve as their connections to the
interior of the country.
If a package is being sent to you, expect to wait awhile before receiving notification of
its arrival. Nearly all parcels sent to Buenos Aires go to the Correo Argentino office, near
the bus terminal. To collect the package you'll have to wait (sometimes hours) first to get it
and then to have it checked by customs. There is also a processing fee. Don't expect any
valuables to make it through.