The peso. Since 2025 the gap between the blue and the official rate has been a percent or two, and from January 2026 foreign cards lost their surcharge and settle near the official rate. Pay by card wherever you can; a bank ATM gives a small amount of cash for a fee. Prices move with inflation, so treat every peso figure as a guide.
SUBE and the Subte. The Subte costs about AR$750 a ride and most stations take a tapped contactless Visa, Mastercard or phone. Buses and trains take only the SUBE card: buy one at a Subte window or a kiosco for around AR$2,000 and load it with cash.
Dinner at 9:30 p.m., the asado and the tip. Kitchens are empty before 8:30 p.m. and full at 10 p.m.; eat a late lunch and arrive with the locals. At a parrilla order bife de chorizo or ojo de bife, a provoleta to start and a Malbec; a punto is medium, jugoso is pink. Tip 10 percent in cash even when you pay by card, because the machine has no tip line.
Recoleta cemetery. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Foreigners have paid since 2025, around AR$24,000 (about US$16) by card at the gate or online; the ticket office takes no cash and Argentine residents enter free with their DNI.
Tango. A dinner show (El Querandí, La Ventana, Rojo Tango) costs US$100 to US$250 and is polished, not local. A milonga is where people dance: La Catedral in Almagro runs a class around 9 p.m. and the milonga from 11 p.m. for a few thousand pesos.
Ezeiza and Tigre. From the airport, 35 kilometers out, the Tienda León coach reaches Retiro in about an hour for AR$17,000 (about US$11); an Uber or a taxi booked at the official booths inside the terminal is roughly US$40 to US$50. For Tigre, the Mitre line from Retiro takes about 50 minutes for well under AR$1,000 on SUBE; then a lancha colectiva through the delta.
Safety. The crime that touches visitors is a phone snatched from a hand on the street. Keep it in a front pocket, use taxis after dark in La Boca, Constitución and around Retiro, and see Caminito by day.
On the day. Carry the SUBE card and a few thousand pesos. Book the cemetery and the Colón tour before you fly, save the confirmations in Waystop’s Documents, and let dinner set the pace: a long lunch, a rest, then the parrilla when it fills.