7:50 PM Argentina – Travel guide at Wikivoyage | ||||
Argentina is located in South America. and is the eighth-largest country in the world. The highest and the lowest points of South America are also located in Argentina: At 6,960m, Cerro Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the Americas while Salinas Chicas. at 40m below sea level, is the lowest point in South America. At the southern tip of Argentina there are several routes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans including the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and the Drake Passage---as alternatives to sailing around Cape Horn in the open ocean between South America and Antarctica . The name Argentina derives from argentinos. the Ancient Greek diminutive (tinos) form for silver (argentos), which is what early Spanish explorers sought when they first reached the region in the sixteenth century. Buenos Aires and the Pampas are temperate; cold in the winter, hot and humid in the summer. The deserts of Cuyo. which can reach temperatures of 50°C, are extremely hot and dry in the summer and moderately cold and dry in the winter. Spring and fall often exhibit rapid temperature reversals; several days of extremely hot weather may be followed by several days of cold weather, then back to extremely hot. The Andes are cool in the summer and very cold in the winter, varying according to altitude. Patagonia is cool in the summer and cold in the winter. Extreme temperature shifts within a single day are even more common here; pack a variety of clothes and dress in layers. Don't forget that seasons are reversed from those of the Northern Hemisphere. The central region of Argentina is the rich plain known as La Pampa. There is jungle in the extreme northeast. The southern half of Argentina is dominated by the flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia. The western border with Chile is along the rugged Andes mountains, including the Aconcagua. the highest mountain outside the Himalayas. The western Cuyo regions at the base of the Andes are mostly rocky desert with some poisonous frock trees. Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals. In the first decade of the 20th century, Argentina became the richest nation in Latin America, its wealth symbolized by the opulence of its capital city . European immigrants flowed into Argentina, particularly from the northern parts of Italy and Spain; by 1914 nearly 6 million people had come to the country. After World War II, a long period of Peronist rule in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983 after the battle over the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands ) with the United Kingdom . A painful economic crisis at the turn of the 21st century devalued the Argentine peso by a factor of three and ushered in a series of weak, short-lived governments along with social and economic instability. However, later in the decade Argentina seemed to find some new stability, and currently has a much better economic outlook - albeit with the eternal problem of high inflation. Argentine electricity is officially 220V, 50Hz. Adapters and transformers for North American equipment are readily available. The best way to use imported electrical equipment in Argentina is to purchase an adapter once there. These are available in the Florida shopping area in Buenos Aires for around USD2 or less in hardware stores outside the city centre. Buildings use a mix of European and Australian plug fittings. The Australian-style plugs are IRAM-2073, which are physically identical to the Australian AS-3112 standard (two blades in a V-shape, with or without a third blade for ground). However, the live and neutral pins in the Australian fittings are reversed. Therefore Australian equipment may be incompatible despite the apparent plug-compatibility. This is not a problem for battery chargers for devices such as Thinkpad, iPod, iPhone, and Blackberry. European standard CEE-7/7 "Schukostecker" or "Schuko" outlets and the non-grounded, but compatible, European CEE-7/16 "Europlug" outlets may still be found in some older buildings. US and Canadian travellers may want to pack adapters for these outlets as well. Many sockets have no earth pin. Laptop adapters should have little problem with this. If your laptop adapter requires an earth pin you will need a plug adapter that takes three pins from the laptop and requires only two from the wall socket. This does work but may reduce electrical safety or affect your warranty. Some Argentine sockets accept North American plugs, particularly ones on power strips. Beware - this does not mean that these sockets deliver 110 volts. Make sure that your equipment can handle 220 volts! Simply changing the shape of the plug with a USD2 adapter will not allow 110V equipment to operate on 220V Argentinian voltage, unless the device is specifically designed to work on both 110 and 220 volts, irreparable damage and even fire can result. Most laptop power adapters and many portable electronics chargers are designed to work on either voltage; check the specifications for your equipment to be sure. If your equipment cannot accept 220V voltage, you can purchase a '220-110V' transformer for approximately USD6 in most Argentinian electronics shops. This is much heavier and bulkier than a small adapter. There are two types of these transformers. One supports heavy loads for short durations, for example a hair dryer. The other supports light loads for long durations, for example an inkjet printer. Do select the right one. Passport holders of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Argentina when the purpose of the visit is tourism for up to 90 days: Andorra. Australia ,* Austria. Barbados. Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada,* Czech Republic, Chile, Cyprus, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada (30 days), Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong. Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica (30 days), Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia (30 days), Malta, Mexico. Monaco. Nicaragua. Norway. Netherlands. New Zealand. Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Singapore. Slovakia. Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America,* Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela (60 days). Reciprocity Fee [ edit ]While visas are not required for tourist visits for US, Canadian, and Australian citizens, the Argentinian Government charges a "Reciprocity Fee" for citizens using passports from those countries. The fees paid by travellers are dependent on their nationality and similar to the amounts that Argentinian citizens pay for visa applications to visit the US, Canada, or Australia. Since 2015, ALL entries to Argentina at ALL ports of entry have required pre-payment of the reciprocity fee at the Argentinian Department of Immigration website . For US citizens, the USD160 fee allows multiple entries to Argentina for a period of 10 years. For Australians, the USD100 fee allows multiple entries for 1 year. Canadian citizens must pay a USD92 fee for a period of 10 years or valid until 1 month before the passport expiration. Proof of payment needs to be printed out and presented to immigration officials upon arrival. Citizens of India or Morocco have to obtain a visa in their country of usual residence, but the visa is free. When entering Argentina the immigration officials will take a photo of you and scan your fingerprints, the same procedure as when entering the United States. You are also required to fill in a customs form where one of the things they ask is the serial number of your cell phone. You may bring in goods worth of USD300 without paying duties. If you are just changing planes at the same airport and not actually enter the country you will still be given that customs form to fill in but as of May 2015 nobody asks for it at the airport and travelers basically get to keep it as a souvenir. Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN Chile offer connections between Buenos Aires ' international airport Ezeiza and many cities throughout South America, as well as North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Qantas no longer offers direct flights from Sydney to Buenos Aires. instead flying to Santiago - home of its OneWorld Partner LAN, where travellers can connect onto multiple destinations in Argentina. There are international flights to other airports, such as to Mendoza with LAN from Santiago Chile. On flights to and from Argentina the cabin is sprayed with insecticide before the security demonstration before take off (flight attendants walk down the aisles with spray cans). This is also done on flights in some other parts of the world where tropical diseases are prevalent like between Singapore and Australia. The spray doesn't have a particularly unpleasant smell and they state it is not dangerous for passengers, but the situation can be a bit uncomfortable when experiencing it for the first time. If you're flying in or out of Argentina, Buenos Aires is the most common point of arrival and departure. The city has two airports, Ministro Pistarini International Airport (IATA. EZE ) some 40km southwest of downtown Buenos Aires and the more centrally located Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (IATA. AEP ). The former is for intercontinental flights and a few domestic ones (mostly to Rio Gallegos and Ushuaia), which leave early in the morning but if you're continuing to another location in Argentina or to nearby international destinations (one flight hour away or so) by plane you'll in most cases have to travel from Ezeiza to Jorge Newbery. There are cheap shuttle buses which take you there in about an hour, but travel time varies greatly depending on traffic. Also, there are some flights to Jorge Newbery from three other important South American hubs, namely Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Santiago so if you have a changed planes at those airports, your connecting flight might actually arrive at (or leave from) Jorge Newbery. Take an extra look at your ticket and make sure you are at the right airport! You should be able to ride a motorcoach or hire a service taxi from one of the booths after you clear customs. The fixed rate for a taxi from Ezeiza international airport to Buenos Aires is ARS130, the rate from the Jorge Newbery domestic airport to town is ARS40. (Mar 2015)
If visiting another city there are a number of airports throughout the country. Many find it far easier to travel to a neighboring country and then take a short distance hop to the smaller airport. All major cities in Argentina and major tourist destinations like Mendoza, Perito Moreno and Iguazu Falls have airports nearby. There are several national airlines, with different levels of service. In general flying gets you everywhere quickly and cheaply (relatively). Although the buses in Argentina are among the most comfortable in the world and are reasonably priced, travelling takes a lot of time because of the distances and slow road travel involved. Passengers leaving Ezeiza Airport no longer have to pay the "departure tax" of USD29 (USD8 to Uruguay and domestic flights) after check-in, as they are now included in the prices of the tickets. There are currently no international services to Argentina. A connection between Chile and Argentina is under construction.
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