Good to know if you go to Argentina
 

Hi
As often here, there can be an offical exchange rate and an unoffical one (called Dolar Blue).

So if going to Argentina, it is better to have cash or use WesternUnion to send money from your bank account to yourself in Argentina.

Official Rate for u$ is 1u$=85 pesos
Western union rate 1.00 USD = 141.7100 ARS

so that you know...

The Exchange rate offered by western union is even better than the "inofficial" bluedolar.net!

Thank s for that tip!

I had to edit my previous Post bier

The times with walking away with "dealers" like guys in the streets of buenps aires seems to be away :-)

Surfy

in nearly every big city there is what is called "cuevas" that make you the change. Often there are travel agencies or offical exchange but that change it without registering it.

When you arrive somewhere you just ask at your hostal if they know one ;-)

Offshore bank transfer
 

Both Argentina and Venezuela have deep economic issues. The official exchange rate and 'private' exchange rates are wildly different. Why are locals willing to pay more for foreign currency? I heard there is a lack of faith in the stability of their own currency. They are looking for some stability.

Take USD or euros with you when entering these countries, then trade anywhere except in a bank. I have exchanged USD on the street in a few countries with cambio guys on the street. They often wear safety vests and caps. In Peru, you get a better rate than in the bank, less time while forms are processed, and the good cambio guys stamp the bills with their personal seal to ensure they are you are not receiving counterfeit bills.

In Argentina and Venezuela, I moved funds from my US bank account to a local friend's US bank account (free within the same bank), then they gave me local currency. This is hard to do if you are traveling hard and fast.

Remember to spend all of the money before leaving Argentina or Venezuela. Fill up your gas tank, buy snacks, whatever, because you'll get a bad exchange rate in the next country...

We're currently in Argentina. Been in Esquel since 9th March 2020 having been caught out by Covid. I use Western Union to send money to myself and collect it at one of the local kiosks.

Official rate is about 114 pesos for my British pound.
Western Union rate is 192 pesos for my British pound.

I think the reason that the WU rate is so good is that inflation here is about 50% per annum. So if you have 100 pesos it will effectively be worth about 50 pesos in 12 months time. Of course, my British pound will still probably be worth more or less 1 GBP. So they are playing a slightly longer game in order to be quids in a little further down the line.

For us it has meant that our time here in lockdown Argentina has been pretty cheap. An added bonus is that the Argentinian wine is great and also very cheap.

Happy new year all
Steve

Of all the places to be stuck Esquel. The wind is the main thing I recall about that place. Was so strong on the afternoon we arrived there from the north the police were stopping high trucks and camper vans. We stopped ourselves from about 3.00 pm until 4.00. It was not easy to find a place to park the bikes where they were not blown over.

Argentina has had this problem for decades. When I was down there I supported myself by doing a side gig as a part time money changer. Made a lot of friends among the locals and the travelers.

Was stuck in Esquel for about a month waiting on parts in 2014 or so. Stayed in the camp site, and paid part of our fee by giving the camp site owner 2 bicycles we had with us. Seem to recall a great icecream shop in town, and and a steam engined train that was pretty cool.