pmacher61

Though not stated, I assume you are US cits. There has been a temporary stay on the need of US cits to obtain a visa/pay reciprocity fee to enter Argentina.https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294266-i977-k9440112-Reciprocity_fee_suspended_for_US_passport_holders-Argentina.html

You should follow the status of this suspension.

You will need a visa for Brasil and, as mentioned, will not be able to board w/o it.

Sugarloaf and "Corcovado" can both be done independently quite easily via cabs. It should not take more than 7 hours to catch a taxi from ship/pier and take the cable car to the top of Sugarloaf and spend a few minutes there. Then come down and take a taxi to the train station for the ride up to the Christ statute. If you disembark at 9 am you could be at GIG by 4 pm.

The only problem would be the bags and possibly long lines depending on when and what day you are going to disembark in Rio. You should consider a private tour with a licensed tour guide (eliminates lines if you will there at a very busy time). If you can't arrange a pvt tour before you sail (price for 2 probably less than a ship tour would be for both sites), it would be very easy to hire a cab at the pier for the entire day (again for less than what 2 people would pay for a ship tour just to Sugarloaf). I would guesstimate $150 would buy you a nice cabbie with whom you could store the bags, go to both sites and wait for you and then drop you at GIG. PAY AFTER the ride/drop off at the airport.

Just off the Diadema in a Samsara cabin allowed to eat there if you are now Perla Diamante only, the old type of Samsara Restaurant appears to have gone, yet one couple informed us that Suite guest can eat there.

Have only tried it once, can't say it was much better than MDR at that time, still serving healthy food. but the Club Restaurant is awesome, ate there twice worth the money.

Assuming "Perla Diamante" is a high level frequent cruiser status, I ,for one, will never achieve it. (See my recent Fascinosa review titled "Caveat Emptor, etc." http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=618 )

I just disembarked a Samsara cabin on the Fascinosa and much to my chagrin there was now a $28.50 surcharge even for Samsara cabin occupants to dine in the samsara restaurant.

Moreover the brindiamo drinks package doesn't include bottled water. They give you a glass at a time. Forget about it.

For empanadas and other simple Argentine specialities many tout San Juanino on Posadas near Patio Bullrich. There's also Fervor and Mirasol de la Recova for moe sophisticated dining. I like Marcelo in the hotel Intersur a short cab (5 min) away.

For shopping , you need to stroll the neighborhood near your Recoleta hotel although the shopping malls are ok. Besides P Bullrich, there is Galleria Pacifico (Jorge Borges Cultural Center alone a reason to go) and Palermo Shopping. Av Santa Fe is a big commercial street filled with shops big and small, but the side streets in Recoleta are where you will find finest quality goods. Ask at your hotel. Remember that most merchants give a discount for cash and will give the best rate of exchange for USD.

thank you all for your feedback. Indeed I guess my question about the shuttles originated because of all the info I'd read about the taxi situation at the port. We will be staying in the Recoleta district and I do look forward to trying an empanada or two! Can you recommend any place in the area? We will be close to Pull Bullrich and I've heard that there are restaurants inside but I would appreciate any recommendation within walking distance for a nice meal and shopping (I've heard that prices are pretty high in that mall.

 

Thanks again..

For empanadas and other simple Argentine specialities many tout San Juanino on Posadas near Patio Bullrich. There's also Fervor and Mirasol de la Recova for moe sophisticated dining. I like Marcelo in the hotel Intersur a short cab (5 min) away.

Be careful with the taxis at the port.

 

Be sure they are radio taxis and not any other kind.

 

Keith

Yes, taxis at the port tend to overcharge. Try walking across the street or up the block and hailing one not in the taxi line.

Radio taxis have an element of safety only when one is called by telephone since a record of the responding cab is made by the central dispatch service. When a radio cab is hailed on the street this element of safety is nullified so they are no safer than any other cab.

I suggest hailing cabs that look clean whether radio or not. I also suggest passing up any cab or cab driver that emits any negative vibe for any or no reason after it has been hailed. Unkempt drivers, unclean interiors, smoke or an initial bad vibe of any kind suggests passing it up and waiting for another. Cabs in BA are numerous, cheap and, by a great majority, safe.

We were there a month ago, Star Princess staying overnight from Rio. Shuttle buses take cruisers to the "terminal del cruzero" a five minute ride. There are souvenir stores inside the terminal, even Wi-Fi. The shopping/business area is located at Florida Street. Taxi is about US$8.00 15-min ride depending on the traffic. Or with a tourist map a leisure walk takes about 35 minute, passing a parque, the pink palace (Eva Peron's), an obelisk monument, etc. At Florida, US$ can be converted to local currency using the Cambio people or a bank. One can get a better rate for 50s/100s. There is a McDonald if you get hungry. From there, take a taxi to go to La Recoleta (cemetery) and see the Duarte's (Eva's) famous tourist site. If you still have time to spare, take a taxi to La Boca, El Caminito, another tourist place. On your way back, tell taxi driver to take you to "terminal del cruzero" There you go a tour for <US$50 for two. BE SAFE AND ENJOY.

Lots of mis-info or poor info here.

There may not be free shuttle buses to or from the cruise terminal. There were no such shuttles the last couple of times I arrived at the BA terminal. The business/shopping district is not limited to, or even centered on, calle Florida. The bloom has been off that rose for some time now - it is full of shops selling low quality goods to tourists who think it still is what it was 30 years ago (Galleria Pacifico being an exception). Things change and that includes the wisdom of changing money on the street. It is no longer necessary and only adds an unnecessary element of risk to obtaining local currency.

The term "Recoleta" is commonly considered to refer to the entire barrio, not just the cemetery. Eating at a McDonalds in BA is to waste a meal. Try an empanada or choripan if nothing else. The pink palace aka Casa Rosada (Presidential executive office) is not "Eva Peron's." It was built around 1879 and has been used by all presidents (and not wives thereof) since.

You wouldn't normally walk past the landmark obelisk at the corner of Av 9 de Julio and Av Corrientes walking from the cruise terminal to Calle Florida. More likely to walk via Av Cordoba as Corrientes would be an indirect way to get to Florida, but in any case, there are lots better ways to spend time and see more interesting things than to stroll on Florida.

^^^ Thank you for that update. Will be staying in Recoleta at the end of the month for a few days. Previous posts have suggested using the blue market exchange in the Galeria Promenade at the back of the Alvear Palace Hotel - still a good location/suggestion?

 

Also a recent post from Dr___Dawggy suggested the best rate from a bank (not neccessarily an ATM) would be from Banco de la Nacion. Do you know if the bank makes a specific charge for an FX transaction, or do they make their money via the spread on the exchange rate between buying and selling. That assumes of course that they also would buy pesos/sell dollars.

That casa de cambio was still operative last time I checked, but the utility of that or any casa de cambio (vs any bank) is questionable now that the blue market rate is virtually the same as the official exchange rate. See http://www.ambito.com. I would guess that the difference in the exchange rates of all the banks would be very slight and not very much different that what you could get at a casa de cambio.

We had thought that we wouldn't be carrying as much US $ for our trip this year, but feedback seems to be you can get a discount on meals and things using US cash, so we are now rethinking this strategy!

Anyone whose been there since the devaluation in December able to help clarify this???

Merchants give a discount for peso cash so that's not a reason to bring USD instead of using ATM acquired pesos, however today I obtained 2000 pesos from an ATM and it cost me $145 which translated to about 14 pesos per USD which is about 5% less than what I could exchange my USD for in the blue market. And that ATM did not allow me to withdraw more than 2000 at a time so the 88 pesos charged by the ARG system can add up if your bank doesn't refund such fees.

Today I paid a merchant with my Schwab debit card (works like a credit card here - no pin necessary) and it came to about 14.3 pesos per USD on my account. I attribute the difference to the 88 peso ($6) fee chargedby the ARG banking exchange. Today I could probably get 14.7 for USD on the blue market. The USD has gone up a bit in the past couple of days. It hit 15 peso to the USD for a while and may be there next week.

So assuming your bank refunds your ATM fees (like Schwab does) I figure there is about a 5% benefit from bringing US 100s and exchanging them on the blue market.

Despite the liberation of the peso, I am unsure how easy it would be to trade your unused pesos back into USD. You can use your unneeded pesos at the duty free, but I wonder whether you can readily exchange them for other hard currency. Anyone know? Until you find out be judicious re acquiring more pesos than you will need.

Quando sei a Roma, fai come i Romani.

 

When in Rome, do as Romans do.

The Romans threw Christians to the lions. Are you suggesting doing the same just because the majority of a group/culture do it? Ethical relativism can lead to continuous bad outcomes. Maybe it would be better to set a "good" example.

Some useful info on carnaval and samba schools:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/travel/where-to-watch-samba-and-rest-in-rio-de-janeiro.html?emc=edit_tnt_20160203&nlid=23566254&tntemail0=y&_r=0

Things cool down quickly after carnival ends so your party options may be quite limited. If it is still functioning , the Cidade do Samba (in Gamboa) may be a fun evening. It is where the the samba schools build their floats and in the lead up to carnival they put on shows during some days of the week. Here is a link and you can also google and search here for Cidade do Samba.

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.rio-carnival.net/carnaval/cidade-do-samba-rio-de-janeiro.php&prev=search

You can walk across the street from the terminal exit and hail a street cab. It should not be overly difficult if you can wheel your bags. At most, you may need to walk a block. The mafia gives cabs not waiting in the cab line a hard time ergo the need to distance yourself a bit.

The cost of a ride from the pier to EZE should not be more than around 400 pesos, maybe less (about $28 at todays rates). Get agreement in advance. Meter would also run about that amount.

If the pier line cabs are asking no more than $30 (now about 420 pesos) then it probably isn't worth the hassle of getting a street cab. I suspect it's more like 40 or 50.

That's the price the desk clerk at my Valparaiso hotel quoted me about 2 weeks ago. I opted for a comfy 4 pax van (that held lots of luggage) that provided a full day tour (8 hours) which we designed including a stop at Casa de Bosque winery for lunch. It cost $80 pp.

How about jobs with dignity where you don't have to wiggle your bare a$$ in the face of titilated tourists in order to feed your kids? And an education system that prepares you for that dignified job?

Lighten up. One need not politicize a floor show in Rio or anywhere else in order to argue the meaning of life (or to demonstrate one's own political correctness). Hey, dude, it's entertainment. And I 'm sure most dancers and performers love what they do. If you don't, skip the show.

Likewise, if you want to discuss new Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa's promised economic reforms, there might be an appropriate blog on line, but this ain't the place.

We disembark Jan 17 in Valparaiso and spend a night before flying out. Can anyone suggest good transport (limo or van) from Valpa to SCL on Jan 18 evening?

Pmacher61, that's not true for all countries. For Aussies it only lasts one year! Same with the Brazilian visa!

As a yank (a septic tank) I was not aware the duration of the Argentine and Brasilian "visas" for Aussies was so limited. Of course, that may have something to do with the lingering perception of Australia as a British criminal colony. :)

A better way is to not go there. Been there before any of that. No intention to again. Not the same as a visa. It's an entry tax.

Once paid, the reciprocity fee is good for 10 years of unlimited entry to Arg. You don't pay on each entry. Seems like a visa to me.

A hotel car will be more expensive than using Taxi Ezesia and no more reliable. TE is reliable and has a booth right OUTside the secure area. A cab to the centro cost 500 pesos (3 days ago). You can probably split the 3 couples into 2 cabs.

There is a taxi line at the cruise terminal for departing pax. The distance from there to the city center is so short that it hardly matters if the driver attempts to add a small surcharge (say, per bag). Just insist on using the meter. Any city center destination won´t cost more than $10.

There is no need to pay a premium that a hotel arranged car will cost. A regular cab to the terminal will be convenient and cheap. A cab away from the terminal may cause you to incur waiting charges unnecessarily.

We are a party of 8. What is the best way to travel as a group from the City centre to the cruise terminal? How about from the Cruise terminal to City Centre? Any advice very much appreciated!! Thank you.

The cruise terminal is close to the city center (CBD) or Retiro/ Recoleta.Cabs should do the trick easily in 10-15 minutes. Expect to pay about 50-60 pesos per cab. You can hail them on the street with ease.

You think I´m going to disclose the best steak joint to you guys and, in the process, ruin it for me and other residents? OK, I´ll add El Estrebe and Parrilla Pena to what has been mentioned. By the way, see http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar for a pretty reliable Zagat-like guide to food joints.

Any discussion of Argentine currency exchange rates has to consider an important corollary, i.e., what will happen to local prices of goods and services in Argentina.

When the euro was made mandatory, prices thoughout EU countries rose more than a simple mathematical calculation of existing exchange rates would have yielded. So, for example, suppose the German mark was initially trading at 2 to the euro when euros were an alternative currency. A beer selling for 4 marks should have cost 2 euros. However, before the conversion to euros became mandatory that beer cost 2.5 euros because the barkeeper wanted a margin of comfort that the exchange rate was not going to fluctuate to his prejudice. Many merchants simply took the opportunity to increase profits. This is likely to happen in Argentina.

In other words, the cost of living and/or visiting in Arg will rise for both locals and tourists. There will be even greater pressure to increase wages than the 30% annual inflation rate normally causes. Strikes are likely to occur with greater frequency. Macri has already said he wants to limit the rights of strikers to block streets.

How long it will take for matters to achieve some stability is yet to be determined. Hopefully, the transition away from a controlled currency will not be too painful or longlasting. Interesting times for Argentinians. My sense of things since my arrival here 2 days ago is that no one is overly agitated. Argentinians have become so accustomed to social and economic turmoil that the national character appreciates that this too will pass and life goes on. Pass the chimichurri.

p.s. Aside to Dr D - Are you in BA now?