When you’re budgeting for a trip to Argentina, there are a few things to understand and it’s much better to know about them before you come here. The country has been struggling economically for years, making it difficult for Argentinian’s to keep up with the inflation rate. The cost of food, entertainment, gas, etc keeps going up, but wages are not so things are a little difficult here. However, in that same vain, it makes it much easier for people traveling on the US dollar more affordable IF you are exchanging for pesos on the black market or what’s known as the Blue Dollar or Dolar Blue rate. If you do not exchange your US dollar at the Blue Dollar rate, you will ultimately spend double of what everything is worth.
Exchanging at the Blue Dollar is definitely an odd occurrence because it’s not exactly illegal as police don’t seem to mind it as long as they get their cut, but it’s obviously not the official rate.
Why are people willing to selling pesos at the Blue Dollar rate? They want American dollars because the Argentinian peso holds horrible value, and if the market tanks even further, then their pesos can be worth nothing. It’s a scary thought. Imagine a small bottle of water suddenly costing you $8, but you’re only making $15 an hour. This is the reality Argentinians are facing and having dollars is a sense of security.
What is the Blue Dollar rate?
The Blue Dolar fluctuates a bit regularly and technically, it’s the rate at which item’s true cost should be had there been no inflation. You can monitor the Blue Dollar rate surprisingly on Twitter and this is what all “legitimate” Blue Dollar money exchangers should and will go by. When I exchanged my money the rate was at $14.70 ARS to $1, and now it’s slightly gone down to $14.13 which is not big change. The official exchange rate is currently $8.50 ARS to $1. Would you rather get almost 15 pesos for your $1 or only $8 pesos? Obviously you would want more pesos.
Dolar Paralelo: $14,70
— Dolar Blue (@DolarBlue) October 17, 2014
How does the Blue Dollar affects you as a consumer?
Exchanging at the Blue Dollar rate basically gets you a 50% discount of the inflated official rate. Traveling through Argentina at the official rate would be much more expensive and I don’t see how I could last in Argentina for an extended period of time without the Blue Dollar Exchange Rate with my budget. This also means having to bring enough US dollars with you into Argentina to last you as long as you may need. You will absolutely not be able to withdraw US dollars from any bank or ATM in Argentina, it is impossible. Your options are to going into Uruguay or Chile to withdraw US Dollars from an ATM.
Cost comparisons
Hotel:
A hotel room in Palermo, Buenos Aires costs 1224 pesos per night. At the official rate your room would cost $144 USD per night. At the Blue Dollar rate the nightly rate is $83 USD. You save $61 per night at the Blue Dollar rate.
Food:
A steak dinner with salad and a beer at a parilla costs about 160 pesos per person. At the official rate your meal will cost about $19 USD. At the Blue Dollar rate your meal will cost you $11 USD. You save $8 at the Blue Dollar rate.
Taxi:
A 10 minute taxi ride can cost about 60 pesos. At the official rate your 10 minute ride will cost $7 USD. At the Blue Dollar rate your taxi fare will cost $4 USD. You save $3 at the Blue Dollar rate.
Where can you exchange money at the Blue Dollar rate?
When you are going to exchange money, it is important you exchange money with someone who is reliable and as a tourist you will have no idea who that is. You do not want to risk the chance of receiving counterfeit money which tends to be a huge issue with money exchanging. Who should you not exchange money with? The guys or gals standing on the streets with heavy tourism such a Florida, that say, “cambio, cambio (change, change)” as you walk by. There are professional people with good reputations that you can exchange money with. The best thing to do is follow a couple of options. One is, ask your hotel reception where you can exchange money at the Blue Dollar rate. They will probably tell you to go to an official exchange center, but just tell them you prefer to go to someone who offers better Blue Dollar rates. Remember, this is not uncommon and you will not get in trouble for exchanging money at a better rate. The other option is to visit places that are listed on this website. Usually it’s a shop owner, who is ready and willing to exchange your US dollars to Pesos.
When you get to one of the locations ask them how much they are selling pesos for and make sure it’s close to or the same as the Blue Dollar rate. In case the rate improved in my favor the following week, I exchanged about $1,000 the first time and exchanged another $1,000 before I left Buenos Aires. I also asked whether he knew and trusted anyone in any of the cities I will be visiting in the future in case I needed to exchange more money and got that information down. Once you receive the fat stack of pesos, it may seem daunting or awkward to count out all that cash as every 100 pesos (the largest denomination) is only about $7. However, just say, “if you don’t mind I’d like to count just to make sure” because once you leave and you find that you’re short on the amount you agreed upon, you’re going to have a hard time proving yourself.
Last Thought
The Blue Dollar rate is a great way to save money in Argentina especially if you are earning US dollars back home because without that rate, traveling in Argentina will be expensive. It’s just important that you exchange your pesos with someone who seems reliable and perhaps someone you are to recommend by a staff member of your hotel. One last thought, if you end up using a credit card during your travels, you will be paying the official exchange rate. Personally, unless it’s an emergency or an absolute must, I would not use my credit card for a single purchase. You will also notice that many restaurants no longer even accept credit cards and take cash only. If you plan to use a credit card, make sure you ask ahead and verify whether they will accept it.
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I had no idea about the blue dollar rate! Thank you so much for this information. I planning on backpacking through SA next year and this is super valuable, its incredible how much money you can save. Ps. the exchanged rate dropped to $13,10
Very valuable to know for sure! Don’t even tell me, I’ve been watching it drop down every day these last 2 weeks, but it’s still much much better than the official rate. Hopefully it goes up in our favor again while we’re here!
Thanks for this really clearly written explanation. We’re visiting Argentina in around 6 months and have either heard 1) it’s really expensive now or 2) it’s not too bad if you take in your own USD. Article bookmarked!
Andrew @www.alongdustyroads.com
Great tips – something I wasn’t even aware of! And I have been looking at Argentina too! Thats a lot of money saved if you’re in the know! 🙂
Huge money saver! I can’t believe how many people who do come here and don’t exchange at the Blue Dollar rate.
It’s defintely affordable if you bring USD. A huge dinner…steak, salad, a bottle of wine is what like $10. at the Blue Dollar rate. If you’re on the official, it’s ridiculously more. Come here and enjoy it!!
Going back to Mendoza this week (Mar 12, 2015). I exchange my US$ at Casa de Cambio, on the corner of San Juan and (not sure) the other street. A couple blocks from Plaza de Independencia. The ‘blue rate’ there is better than on the street. Don’t stand in line at the main counters, but go to the far left end and someone will take you downstairs and exchange your US$ privately and safely.
Hey Dennis, thanks for the solid info! Are you able to exchange relatively close to the blue dollar rate?
I posted on the email site but I see it didn’t make it here. The Casa de Cambio was 1500 to 100US$. A week later $100US got 1440pesos. The blue rate on the sidewalk right outside was 1300. I asked the guy from C de C if these street guys were safe to deal with. He said no and they have tricks when counting as well as fake bills. Maybe true, maybe not, but since I don’t know fake from real pesos I’ll give him my business. He gave a better rate anyhow. I’ll repost the current (Mar 2015) rate when I get back.
Also. I bought a suit down there for 1300 pesos (about $90US) I thought I would save the cash and pay with my Visa. Got the Visa bill later and was charged $180 Canadian. Paid double. Don’t use credit cards to pay for anything.
Thank you for sharing all of this information and yes exactly if you use a credit card you cannot take advantage of the Blue Dollar rate and are essentially paying close to double. BTW, which email site did you mean?
Yahoo.mail
Just got back from Mendoza Argentina. I have a few corrections to make on my last posts. I went back to the same place I exchanged $US last year, since I was satisfied with their rates. So first off, the place is called: Cambio Santiago Turismo and is located on the corner of San Martin and Catamarca (three blocks east of Plaza Independencia). The rate of exchange was $US 1.00 = 12.3 pesos, which is down from 14.4 in Oct 2014. A good way of travelling between the two airports (Ezeiza and Newberry) is the bus company TiendaLeon. It costs 140 pesos, very easy to find–right outside the exit from customs at EZE, very secure for luggage–tagged, and must have tags to claim them, takes about 1 hour, 1.5 during rush hour. Weather between March 12-26 was hot when the sun was out and cold when cloudy. Out in the desert very cold–winter coat recommended.
Dennis, thank you for such a thorough update! I notice the blue dollar has dropped quite a bit, still better than the official of course. I hope you had a great time again. Wish I could be in Argentina now!