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This is a tough one, the name Buenos Aires means "Good Air". The city is very flat and next to a large wide (160 kilometer wide) river, the breezes are great and I think keep the air pollution pushed out to sea. We live in a high rise and can see vistas in every direction and you almost never see "haze" or dirty air hanging over the city. The air here is very clean in my opinion. However, the buses, autos and 2 stroke motor scooters seem to have no enforced air emission controls in place. Sometimes walking down a street you have to hold your breath for 1/2 a block if a bus goes by, this is a concern I have as I don't smoke and I hope I'm not getting 2 packs of smoke a day just walking around town (sometimes it feels like that). I don't know of any published tested levels of air quality in the city. However, because we are "near" the south pole, there are notices in the paper when the ozone level is way down, to avoid sun bathing at dangerous times. (click here to return to topic heading) www.travelocity.com also works from here. From: Brendan McNulty, September 04, 2006 A very good search engine for flights is... www.itasoftware.com A friend of mine in the airline industry recommended it, and I´ve been using it for about a year now. You can even do a month-long search to see which days the cheapest fairs will be offered. You can´t buy tickets from the site though. You need to write down the codes and times and then contact the airline directly. Cheers, Brendan From: Marcie Ley, April 7, 2006 The search engine I always use to find cheap flights is www.itasoftware.com You can't buy tickets online here like you can on Orbitz, Expedia, QIXO, etc, but you will almost always be able to find the rock-bottom advertised price for airfare. But if you originate in BsAs (or anywhere outside the US) you must change the ticketing city (default is Boston since the site was developed by MIT wiz-kids). The site gives you the ticketing info (booking codes) and an 800 number for calling the airline directly. Some airlines charge US$5-10 for booking via phone. The 800 number won't work from outside the US so I always use Skype Out ( www.skype.com ) which charges about 2 cents a minute or have my mom call for me. I just give her the info and my credit card info and it has never been a problem. Also, someone just told me that he found a cheap flight on www.despegar.com but I have never personally used it. From: Pam Fuente, April 6, 2006 I highly recommend checking out the web site, SeatGuru.com , for ANY airlines before choosing your seats. From: Jvanka, April 6, 2006 AA Miles: Also with AA even if you have no complete award miles for a trip depending on seasons with fewer miles and a co-payment you can book a flight. Finding this information on AA website was no easy, but is there ;-) If you use Citibank AAdvantage Credit Card there are times of the year you can book flights for about 5000 to 7000 miles lower out of your rewards. I know is hard to keep track of the rewards and programs but I have these chart print out so it gives me a good idea when to get out the most of my miles
Phone Number 1-800-882-8880 From: Frances Perry, April 3, 2006 one of the members recommended http://www.itasoftware.com/ and it really is fantastic. From: Bob Stapp, April 3, 2006 there's a website called "cheap argentina" where i have been successful at getting relatively low fares... interestingly, my itinerary usually always takes me through dallas to connect with american's non-stop from there to eze... their url is: http://carbone-travel.com/ (click here to return to topic heading) www.gatewaytosouthamerica.com Our travel wholesaler has advised us this is the latest on the AR and LAN travel increases that have listed. Here is a copy of their bulletin. The increases advised by AR last week we are now told only applies to Argentine Residents. Foreigners traveling to Argentina will be paying different fares to Argentine Residents. Foreigners traveling to Argentina will also pay different fares depending on what international carrier they arrive on. There will therefore be two different fares for Foreigners: Those arriving on Aerolineas Argentinas. Fare code basis DVAD / QVAD / BVAD Those arriving on any other carrier. Fare code basis JVAD / YVAD. Fares for Foreigners have increased more than the announced 20% by AR. In the case of the Fare code basis JVAD / YVAD the increase is over double the current fare. We regret the inconveniences you will suffer due to this information. As you can imagine we are doing all possible to see if these enormous increases can be reverted as travel to Argentina will suffer. Lan Chile have not changed their announcement of a 20% increase. P.S.: Warning. We are still getting conflicting news from AR about rates. For the moment the above is the latest information we have. (click here to return to topic heading) No non-stops to LA.. everything logical goes through Houston and Atlanta... an interesting alternative is COPA Airlines.... 7.5 hours to Panama, 2 hour layover, and then 7 hours more to LAX... real cheap, too...! Saludos, John Richard From: Sean, September 03, 2006 One could take a flight across the stunning andes through Santiago and then LAN From: Daniela Melton, September 03, 2006 I have never found one but a shorter route is on Varig - B.A. to Sao Paulo- L.A.- depending on the length of your layover in S.P, you can be there alot quicker. Also stock up on Brasilian spices and coffee in S.P. airport:) Varig is a partner of United for those much needed frequent flyer miles! (click here to return to topic heading) We had new air conditioners installed 3 years ago. They were out of warranty and one of them wasn't functioning last January. We called our architects who recommended this business to have it repaired. "Ingeaire" gave us a written estimate and then completed the repair quickly and efficiently. (click here to return to topic heading) Visit Argentina Pass - Can be purchased only outside of Argentina Official fares for Visit Argentina Pass http://www.aerolineas.com.ar/index.asp?secc=2&subs=5&id=1 (click here to return to topic heading) We had excellent experiences with our Prosegur alarm representative who speaks basic English. His name is Miguel Artola. His email is miguel.artola-gonzalez@ar.prosegur.com His biz tel is 4513-4350 al 58 his cel is 15 6363-2957 and his home 4431-1949 We found Miguel to be a very pattient, concerned guy who has our best interests at heart (didn't try to sell us). He has provided excellent professional follow up. (click here to return to topic heading) There are several cable companies to choose from, they have DirectTV (those little satellite dishes that are mounted somewhere on your building or balcony). Some apartments might have restrictions on where you can place dishes, but I see them everywhere so I don't think this is an issue. Also, depending on your neighborhood you have a choice of a direct cable connection. We have something called Fibertel www.fibertel.com.ar for our cable TV (as of June 2005 it's $59.90 pesos a month for basic cable of almost 90 stations) We don't subscribe to any premium stations, but they have several like HBO, CineMax, Movie City, etc. (click here to return to topic heading) Argentina Group for Animal Protection: http://www.mapa-online.com.ar/index.htm You can find pets for adoption and/or take your pet for veterinarian care. People working at MAPA are volunteers and they care very much for pets. Headquarters are located at "Catulo Castillo" Vet Hospital: Av. San Juàn 3345 - Ciudad Autònoma de Buenos Aires - Repùblica Argentina. Tel / Fax: 054+(011)4956-2463 4956-2481 And also several branches around Argentina, check the web site for locations or call. For AR$20 monthly you can get medical-healthcare insurance for ALL your pets. The fee applies to the owner independently of how many pets you have. From: Heidi November 18, 2003 Animal Protection Societies (click here to return to topic heading) An Apostillo is an internationally recognized notary, there are ones for every state in the USA, you need documents “apostillo’ed” for different reasons: obtaining residency, bringing in animals into the country, etc. and the documents need to be “apostillo’ed” in the state that the document originates, for example: if you were born in one state, married in another and then brining in your pets from another state. http://www.apostilla.com/A1.html Apostille is also a French word which means a certification. It is commonly used in English to refer to the legalization of a document for international use under the terms of the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Documents which have been notarized by a notary public, and certain other documents, and then certified with a conformant apostille are accepted for legal use in all the nations that have signed the Hague Convention. In countries which are not signatories to the 1961 convention and do not recognize the apostille, a foreign public document must be legalized by a consular officer of the country from which the document is issued. For California http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/notary/notary_authentication.htm (click here to return to topic heading)
From BANewComers Diego Basch April 12, 2005 Rule of thumb: bring small electronic appliances (100 watts or less, requiring cheap transformers) and leave the big ones behind, especially refrigerators, washers and microwave ovens. It's not just the voltage that's different (220v vs. 110v) but also the frequency (50hz vs 60hz). Large appliances with electric motors would not work properly, even with a (large and expensive) transformer. http://www.monstermoving.monster.com/International/Essentials/CompuElectric/Appliances/ (click here to return to topic heading) We purchased an apartment that needed major remodeling. We interviewed 6 architects before making our decision. It was an extensive remodel as we moved walls, bathrooms, replaced water pipes, electrical, windows, etc. Our architects are Ricardo Torandell and Alberto Bozzi EMail: boyto@ciudad.com.ar Phone: 4784-9934 / 15-4478-9152 Even if you don’t want something so drastic, you can still call them to see what kind of services you require and what they can help with. I recommend them highly. They gave multiple suggestions on different stores to visit to choose materials. We ended up choosing "Mi Cocina" in San Isidro as the store to design and build our kitchen cabinets. Alberto and Ricardo had plenty of suggestions on ways to make the kitchen and bathrooms more useful, functional and enjoyable, including lighting, plumbing, cabinet depth and height and colors for the kitchen. They also gave us a set price for their services, some architects would base their commission (10-15%) on the final cost of the project which doesn't make a lot of sense to us. Why should they get a higher commission if I use granite over ceramic tile? The mason has to do the same amount of work. Alberto and Ricardo gave us a set price for their services and stuck to it. Architects here act as general contractors, they hire all the workers, coordinated removal of debris, deliveries and bargained with the stores for discounts on EVERYTHING we purchased. We feel they paid their commission in the amount of money they saved us. We paid them 25% of their commission before work began, then 25% at each quarter of the expected completion date, the last payment was 15% and the last 10% was held until all detail follow up work was completed. No matter who you use, one way to get results is you don't pay them till the work is completed. With our remodel I was thinking about putting a clause in the contract to penalize them for going over the expected termination date, however, we thought about it and figured that since the remodel was so extensive, we'd rather have a job well done, then one rushed to fulfill a projected date. You have to pay the workers weekly, our architects would send as an Excel spreadsheet every week with what we had to pay the workers that week. With Alberto and Ricardo (Click here) to see examples of our apartment remodel here. (click here to return to topic heading) In the airport when you arrive, after you get your passport stamped and checked, you'll enter into the luggage claim area. There is a currency exchange booth where you can exchange some money, I haven't checked to see if the exchange rate is good, so only exchange $50 - $100 USA, enough to get you into town where you can find ATM machines that will give you better rates. As you exit the customs area where they Xray your luggage and into the terminal there will be people in booths asking you if you need a ride to your hotel. Continue on past them, you’ll see a big car rental and taxi booth area directly in front of you, keep going around it either to your left or to your right (they both lead to the same area), follow the usual flow of exiting passengers. You’ll then come into an open area where people will be waiting to greet their arriving relatives, loved ones, etc. Further in the back, in the middle of this open area you should see a booth that says “EZE TAXI”. The cost is currently (as of March 2005) 48 pesos, not 48 USA $$$, however, this seems to go up every time we return. This is why you need to exchange some dollars for pesos in the baggage claim area. I’m not sure if they accept all currencies at the booth, we pay in pesos. As you approach this booth you may be approached by people asking you if you need “cambio” or change for your money into pesos, obviously, avoid them. Also, if someone approaches you asking if you want a taxi, politely avoid them, go directly to the counter of the place that says TAXI $42. The trip into the downtown Buenos Aires area is 30 to 40 minutes so make sure you hit the bathroom first if you need to! ;o) From the BANewComers List: March 5, 2005 Re: Transportation for a family of 5 and lots of luggage (and 1 dog) You have to do that AT LEAST 24hs before your arrival, because they might not have the van available. You have to secure your reservation with your credit card. They are perfect, never had a complaint in the last 4 years. It would be cheaper to take 2 cars (with chauffeur) at $55 pesos each, but then you would have to split the family. You can make the reservation on line.
(click here to return to topic heading) I am partial to a Buenos Aires (modern) artist named Marcia Schvartz, whose series of works shown here... From: carnivaljane, September 04, 2006 You might want to go to some gallery openings. This place lists most of them: From: Kaisha Johnson, September 06, 2006 Obviously, art is a subjective thing but I am a big advocate of the work of Buenos Aires artista plastica, Maria Alvarez. As the style of her paintings varies, I would suggest checking out her altelier in San Telmo. Her workshop is located in the Galeria del Viejo Hotel at Balcarce 1053 (entre Calvo y Humberto 1) on the ground floor. This building also houses two floors of local modern artists working in various mediums. Maria Alvarez's work can also be seen at the weekly Sunday "Feria de Artes" in San Telmo from 12pm to 6pm located on Defensa and Bolivar. If anyone decides to visit, please tell her that I sent you. (click here to return to topic heading) I had a "situation" with a piece of framed art work I wanted to take out of Argentina, it was wrapped in brown paper and bubble wrap. The ticketing agent asked what it was and I said it was a framed poster, I have heard that even contemporary art painted yesterday is considered a piece of national heritage and you can have problems getting it through customs. The ticketing agent said customs could pull it off the conveyor belt and hold it for inspection and verification, meaning it would not get on the same flight with me. She said I could try and take it up to the gangway, but it is at the discretion of the flight crew if they will allow me on board with it, she said if they won't allow it, I'd probably miss the flight because of backtracking to customs. I asked here what I should do, and she said I had to have customs sign off on it. As you face the large exit area in the new terminal, where all the people are coming out and meeting loved ones, the customs window is at the right in the back, it's just a little window and usually only has one person in attendance. The custom's agent asked what it was, I said it was something I bought at the San Telmo / Plaza Dorrego antique fair and he just rolled his eyes and signed the outside of the package. He said next time, have the ticketing agent call him so I wouldn't have to come down to see him. Nice guy! (click here to return to topic heading) Re: Does anyone know why a Bank of America ATM card will get me 3 withdrawals at an argentine ATM of $ 500 (pesos) and not one transaction of $ 1500 (pesos) ?? (click here to return to topic heading) Buying a Car in Argentina; Winter Cruises From New York Are there resources that could help me buy and drive a car in Argentina? - Dan Berger, Richmond, Calif. According to the State Department's Consular Information Sheet, found online at travel.state.gov/travel, United States driver's licenses are valid in the city and province of Buenos Aires, but Argentine or international licenses are required elsewhere. (click here to return to topic heading)
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