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JOURNEY LATIN AMERICA BRIEFING DOSSIER YOUR BRIEFING DOSSIER Join our online communities and share your holiday experience with us: Facebook: Twitter: JourneyLatinAmerica @JLA_UK Instagram: Pinterest: JourneyLatinAmerica JLAUK Journey Latin America 401 King Street • London • W6 9NJ Holidays: 020 8747 8315 Email: [email protected] J O U R N E Y LATIN AMERICA JOURNEYLATINAMERICA.CO.UK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY CONTENTS 1 DESTINATION GUIDE 5 SAFETY 2 MONEY 6 COMMUNICATIONS 2.1 Cash 7 PHOTOGRAPHY 2.2 Credit and Debit Cards 2.3 Local Currency 8 FLIGHTS 2.4 Travellers Cheques 8.1 Seating 2.5 Cost of Living 8.2 Online Check-in 2.6 Bargaining 8.3 Luggage 8.4 Document Checklist 8.5 Airport Security 3 TIPPING 8.6 Duty Free 7 HEALTH & VACCINATIONS 8.7 Airport Transfers 4.1 General Health 8.8 Baggage Allowances 4.2 Travel Health & Vaccinations 8.9 Delayed Baggage 4.3 Yellow Fever 8.10 Airport Taxes 4.4 Malaria 9 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 4.5 Dengue Fever 4.6 Zika Virus 10 GUIDEBOOKS & MAPS 4.7 Chikungunya fever 11 LANGUAGE GUIDE 4.8 Insect Repellent 4.9 Altitude Sickness DISCLAIMER 4.10 Traveller’s diarrhoea 4.11 General 4.12 Medical kit DESTINATION GUIDE cash and avoid having lots of Pesos left over: these are accepted at the duty-free shop in Buenos Aires airport but outside of Argentina Argentina it’s hard to exchange unwanted Pesos. Country facts Budget: Prices do vary within each Size: Total land area 2,736,690 sq km country and high end restaurants tend (approx 11.5 times the size of UK). to be similarly priced to a UK equivalent. Population: 44 million. Hotel restaurants are also usually more expensive. As a rough guide at the time of Capital: Buenos Aires. writing, in Buenos Aires: Language: Spanish. • The cost of a 2 course lunch/ dinner at a mid-range restaurant = Electricity: 220-242 volts. Standard British US$25.00/$35.00 plugs will need an adapter to a two-pin plug. • The cost of a small (0.33l) bottle of national beer in a mid-range restaurant Time zone: GMT-3 hours. = US$4.00 Currency: Argentine peso (ARG$). • The cost of a glass of “house wine” You can exchange money at hotels or (Chilean or Argentine) = US$4.00 banks.Banking hours are Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm. Please note: Prices in Patagonia vary and can be up to 30% more expensive Argentina is cash-orientated, although in Buenos Aires and main tourist centres Entry requirements cards are widely used. In remote areas you may find only cash is accepted. It’s best to Visa and health regulations: No visa take US Dollars cash and change these into requirement for British citizens though Pesos within Argentina. This can be done other nationalities may require an entry at a Casa de Cambio (passport needed) visa or pay a reciprocity fee in advance. and at some hotels. Many (mid-range and For the most up-to-date entry and health up) restaurants will also accept US Dollars certification requirements please check for payment and give you change in Pesos. www.iatatravelcentre.com. Tips are always paid in cash, even if you On arrival make sure to check the entry pay for a meal using a card. stamp in your passport and always Although ATMs are available in Argentina keep safe any entry cards or other some clients have reported difficulties documentation handed to you by withdrawing cash so it’s best not to rely immigration officials as these are usually on them. Local ATM fees can be high and required when leaving the country. the amount you can withdraw is usually Departure tax: For international flights, much lower than in the UK. When using an airport taxes are included in the ticket. ATM with a debit card you may be offered a choice of account type from which to Internal flights: Domestic airport taxes make your withdrawal. Select ‘credit may apply. (See section 8.10 on ‘Airport card’ (not ‘checking account’ or ‘savings Taxes’) though they are generally account’ options). included within the ticket cost. Aerolineas Argentinas permit a maximum of 15kg Check your insurance limit for carrying hold luggage on all domestic flights. When the internal flight ticket is issued with an semi-arid climate at the higher altitudes international flight, the latter’s baggage and warmer subtropical climate in the allowance is respected. Alternatively, eastern parts of the region. Excess luggage can be paid for locally. Clothing tips Weather Buenos Aires: Appropriate dress is Trelew/Peninsula Valdés can get very required when dining in the high-end windy though temperatures generally restaurants. considered mild for Argentina. Iguazú Falls: Pack quick-drying clothing/ Buenos Aires & the Pampas is hot and waterproofs, essential if a boat trip is humid throughout the summer months incorporated. (Nov-Mar) with tropical rainstorms a Bariloche: Weather can be unpredictable possibility. In the winter (Jun-Sep) there and layered clothing is recommended. are pleasantly warm sunny days but it can Bathing costumes for swimming in the be cool and drizzly. lakes in the summer (Nov-Mar). Patagonia region is very unpredictable Mendoza: Lightweight clothing for with a better chance of good weather excursions. Can become much cooler in over the summer months (Nov-Mar). the evening. Winter (Jun-Sep) can be bitterly cold, but there is a chance of some cloudless skies Salta: Pack for a dry climate, warm during and great views. The southernmost parts the day but often very cold at night due to of Patagonia can experience strong winds altitude. throughout the year. Patagonia: Famous for having four Iguazú Falls has a subtropical climate with seasons in one day, pack appropriately two main seasons; summer, from Aug- (see ‘Patagonia and the Andes section). Apr, is hot (27°C) and humid, and winter, Travel Health & Vaccinations from May-Sep, is cooler (occasionally much cooler) and drier. This information is intended as an overview only. Please read Section 4: Salta has plenty of sun throughout the Health and Vaccinations and always year but it can be cool in winter. It is drier consult your GP. with little rain falling Apr-Oct. At the time of writing, no vaccinations are Mendoza is a year round destination with mandatory. plenty of sunshine. Temperatures dip from a high of 30°C to 15°C in winter but most Yellow fever: Vaccination is rain falls in summer. recommended if travelling to Corrientes and Misiones Provinces including the The weather in the Argentine lake district Iguazú Falls. Vaccination is generally is at its best in the summer months Dec- not recommended for travel to Formosa Feb. Mar-Apr and Sep-Nov can be lovely Province and designated areas of Chaco, seasons with rich autumn colours and Jujuy and Salta Provinces. Vaccination is blossoms respectively. Snow is likely in not recommended for other areas of the winter (Jul-Aug), the ski season. country. Northwest Argentina is predominantly dry Malaria: There is no risk of Malaria in and hot. In general, the climate can be Argentina. divided into 2 main types: a cold arid or Water: Make sure you drink plenty of fluids especially water. Tap water is A Funny, Dirty Little War-Osvaldo Soriano drinkable in Buenos Aires, but you might This classic novel exposes the folly and prefer to protect yourself by only drinking horror of Argentina’s “Dirty War”. Osvaldo bottled water. In other towns, avoid tap Soriano brilliantly emphasizes the farce water (even when brushing teeth) and underlying the terror. ensure ice cubes are made from purified water. Some notable events Sun protection: Use sunblock (SPF 30 Feb/Mar: Carnival (annual dates or higher), a hat and sunglasses for vary): Celebrated all over the country. protection from the harmful effects of Corrientes in the El Litoral region has a UV sun rays. Be particularly careful in lively tradition and murga groups (a form the south where the ozone layer is thin. of musical theatre) operate in Buenos Aires. Recommendations Feb/Mar: Buenos Aires Tango Festival: Eat: Steakhouses are in abundance and There are performances all over the city meats served are tender and succulent. and lots of opportunities to learn a few Meat-eaters should not miss the chance steps of the famous national dance. to try an asado barbecue, especially on 1st week of Mar: Fiesta Nacional de la an estancia or in Patagonia. Also, lamb is Vendimia in Mendoza: A world-renowned excellent in Argentina. celebration of wine and the winemaking Drink: Malbec wine characterised by its industry. A great time to sample some deep colour and intense fruity flavours. of Mendoza’s finest whilst watching the Torrontés, grown at altitude in the Salta elaborate processions. region, is increasingly popular. Also try 11-18 May: Feria de Galerias de Arte mate – the national infused hot drink with in Buenos Aires: Huge contemporary a grassy, herbal flavour. art fair showcasing painters, artists, Read: Labyrinths-Jorge Luís Borges photographers and designers from The best short stories by the father of Argentina. modern Latin American fiction. End of Oct: Eisteddfod takes place in The Honorary Consul-Graham Greene Trelew. A remarkable tribute to the Welsh Charley Fortnum is the ‘Honorary Consul’, heritage of the region. a whisky-sodden figure of dubious Nov: (week of the 10th) Día de la Tradición authority taken by a group of rebels in in San Antonio de Areco: A week of Argentina. In this spare, tense novel, celebrations in honour of Argentina’s Graham Greene explores the morality Gaucho tradition. of a political system that turns priests into killers.