Buenos Aires has been called the Paris of South America, but that seems a backhanded compliment; it’s a living, breathing organism of a metropolis distinct and unique in it’s own right. It is a city that is both weary and aware of its charms. It’s also rather overwhelming in size and scope—especially for a foreigner. It’s a difficult city to get a handle on, and there are many quirks that can make your life frustrating, so here are a few tips for those making the journey smoother, easier, and altogether more enjoyable.
If you choose to travel to Buenos Aires in the middle of winter (i.e. Late December/January)—and in turn the Argentinean summer, be prepared to be met with warm sun, beautiful weather, and an onslaught of tourists. Most of the people who live in Buenos Aires take off for most of January—much like the Italians and French do in August. Restaurants, bookstores even museums are closed for most of the month and yet hotels and hostels are filled with tourists with nothing to do.
If you are here to hear classic music or opera, good luck! If you are looking to party, well, it’s still “possible” but most of the clubs and djs relocate for the summer with the crowds to beach resorts. By mid-February life resumes here, but by then, most tourists have moved on.
The line up at the airport of frustrated tourists trying to take out sums of cash is a testament to how few people understand the way the interact machines work here; most BANCO machines (with a few minor exceptions), will allow you to withdraw no more than 300 pesos a day at a rate of $5 U.S. per transaction (over two weeks this can obviously add up to $70 of wasted funds). This was put in place a few years back as a way to earn some money off tourists. Now this might now sound a little unfair, and exploitive, but not so bad, when you realize that that 300 Pesos works out to be about $80-100 US in a city where cash is vital…
Which leads to another fact about Buenos Aires…this is cash based economy. Bars, restaurants even some shops and hotels, will NOT accept credit cards. This is where that limit of 300 Pesos a day becomes a major problem (try to pay for your room at your hip hotel or hostel, a meal or two on that budget for a day…good luck!). It is astounding to discover that one can’t pay for their schooling, if one wishes to learn 
Spanish, or an apartment through a professional agency with credit. My tip to you is bring some US cash with you (if I had done this I would have saved myself a lot of hassle AND money). Buenos Aires is a relatively safe city given its size and population.
If you get into a taxi and you do not speak Spanish, chances are pretty good you will be taken by a “ride”. Now this is not a big deal for the scenic route will usually cost you about two or three pesos more (which is less than a dollar); but if the cab driver doesn’t turn the meter on, GET OUT. This happens often, and people are charged 40 pesos for a ten-peso ride. Also, if you have a dispute with a cabbie, I would say simply, tell them that you want to talk to the police. That should solve that problem
While strolling the cobbled, and often busted up, sidewalks of the city, do not be alarmed by the frequency of policemen and women on numerous street corners. It is not uncommon to find a policeman at a dark corner, on a side street at 4 or 5 in the morning. They are there to make everyone—citizens and tourists alike—feel safe and do not denote a “dangerous” part of the city. It is just the norm (and at first hard to comprehend).
The nightlife in Buenos Aires is well known, and justly so, but be prepared to be left bewildered when a club is labeled THE place to be one week is shut down the following month. This happens with alarming frequency here, and even the websites can’t keep abreast what is open or not. So, your best bet is to talk to locals about where to go.
Also, if you go to a club, and you find the doors looked, that may because of the simple fact that many clubs in Buenos Aires do not open till 2 in the morning. Yes, that’s right, 2 a.m. is when clubs open, not even when they get going which leads to this invaluable tip…
Sleep. Many a person in Buenos Aires function of about 4-6 hours a sleep a day. People usually go out for diner at about 11 or 12 at night, then the go to a bar, and eventually a club. By the time they leave the club it is about 7 a.m. or so they go for breakfast and then to work. After work, around 5 or 6, they go home and sleep for a few hours so they can go have diner at 11 at night again (and repeat the whole cycle over again). To most North Americans this is not merely radical, yet lunacy, however, it seems to work.
Someone told me recently that Argentineans are supposed to be some of the impatient people in the word; I am not sure where that information is filtered from but it is absolute nonsense. Argentineans are nothing BUT patient. Standing in line here is a common way of life…and tourists can get bewildered, and infuriated by the speed of how s-l-o-w-e-l-y things happen here. It is not uncommon to stand in a line of five people in the supermarket for a half hour as the cashier swipes each item individually, and the customer heckles over every time (by the way, this doesn’t happen once in a while, yet ALL the time). Instead of getting infuriated by this my advice is to look at these “scenes” are art pieces. It’s performance art! Otherwise you may drive yourself mental.
And finally, when you are Argentina be prepared to feast on a lot, and I mean A LOT, of red meat. If you are a vegetarian there are a few alternatives (and possibly the finest dining establishments in Buenos Aires), but they do take some work to track down. Red meat is it’s own food group it seems; chicken and 
ham are considered “vegetables” (this is not a joke; if you purchase a vegetarian sandwich, it may actually contain meat). The unfortunate fact is, the food here (unlike the wine) is often greasy, tasteless, and bland; there are a few exceptions if you are a meat and potatoes man or woman, but on the most part, be prepared to eat a lot of pizza with no sauce, sushi stuffed with mayonnaise and a lot French fries.
I could write an entire dissertation on how the bus system works here (the Guia T has it’s own book that everyone—including the locals religiously refer back to). The buses here has hundreds of lines that zigzag throughout the city, but this is neither the time or place for it…happy trails.
Written by Nicholas Kazamia
