The official exchange rate right now is 1 US Dollar = 8.1 Argentine Pesos. This is a good exchange considering only 5 years ago the exchange was 1 USD = 3.5 Argentine Pesos.
So, no matter what, you’re richer in Argentina than you are in the USA.
Then, you have to consider that Argentina’s black market (they call it the blue market) exchange rate is 1 USD = 12.4 Argentine Pesos. [track the blue dollar’s rate against the USD here: bluedolar]
The black market in Argentina is giving your dollar 33% more value right now. That’s enormous. That makes all of Argentina 33% cheaper than it already is… and it’s already cheap. Lift tickets, hotels, travel, food, booze… all 33% off.
How do you exchange your dollars in Argentina’s ‘blue’ market? Easy, just ask your hotel’s front desk where the best, safest place to exchange your dollars is and head over there. It’s very normal and up front down there to exchange dollars and you’re helping people out. You can also exchange them on the street, but we don’t recommend this as there is a lot of counterfeit money floating around in Argentina.
Why is the ‘blue’ market dollar so valuable? Argentina has heavily restricted the exchange of dollars by money changers and others, so Argentines have essentially no legal access to dollars. The Argentine peso is very volatile (it lost 17% of it’s value against the USD in 2 days in January 2014) and Argentines want stable US Dollars so that they can avoid all the inflation and fluctuations of the Argie peso. Thus, there is a huge demand for dollars and they’re willing to pay more to get them.
Yep, this means that every Argentine household has a huge pile of dollars under the mattress.
If you’re coming to Argentina this year, make sure you bring a lot of dollars and buy yourself 33% more money for free.
Learn more about South America here: SnowBrains South America
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Hi, I’m Rafael and I’m from Argentina. This is not true, for the prices in Argentina are calculated using the blue Dollar, as we call it here. A pair of football boots which cost USD$170 here they cost ARS$2500 (They are even more expensive).
Rafael, You’re right. Luxury goods in Argentina are very expensive. The luxury tax in Argentina is huge. But if you’re buying food, rent, and ski lift passes, Argentina is much much cheaper for us.