Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drivers
Being a pedestrian in Argentina is perhaps one of the country's more difficult ventures.
Many Argentine drivers jump the gun when the traffic signal is about to change to green,
drive extremely fast and change lanes unpredictably. Even though pedestrians at corners
and crosswalks have the legal right of way, very few drivers respect this and will hardly
slow down when you are crossing. Be especially careful of buses, which can be reckless
and, because of their large size, particularly dangerous.
Police & Military
The police and military have a reputation for being corrupt or irresponsible, but both are
generally helpful and courteous to tourists. If you feel you're being patted down for a bribe
(most often if you're driving), you can respond by tactfully paying up or asking the officer
to accompany you to the police station to take care of it. The latter will likely cause the of-
ficer to drop it - though it could also lead you into the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the Ar-
gentine police system. Pretending you don't understand Spanish may also frustrate a po-
tential bribe.
CALLING ARGENTINA
To call a number in Argentina from another country, dial your international exit
code, then the country code for Argentina, then the area code (without the zero)
and number. For example, if you're calling a Buenos Aires landline number from the
United States, you'd dial:
011-54-11-xxxx-xxxx
011 is the United States' international exit code
54 is Argentina's country code
11 is Buenos Aires' city code without the beginning zero
xxxx-xxxx is your local Buenos Aires phone number, usually eight digits
When dialing an Argentine cell phone from another country, dial your international
exit code, then 54, then 9, then the area code without the 0, then the number -
leaving out the 15 (which most Argentine cell phone numbers start with). For ex-
ample, if you're calling a Buenos Aires cell phone number from the United States,
you'd dial:
011-54-9-11-xxxx-xxxx
