In 2023 I took a trip to South America for 3 months. I had such a good experience that I wanted to write a guide to Argentina and Brazil.
Argentina
After this trip, Argentina is now one of my favorite places in the world to visit, to work, to enjoy. The country has one of my favorite capital cities in the world for food, Buenos Aires, while simultaneously having the most beautiful nature with the Patagonia region in the south. You can eat the best pasta and steak in the capital, bike around to different wineries in Mendoza, go skiing in Bariloche, hike a glacier in El Calafate, or take a cruise to Antarctica from Ushuaia. Definitely recommend spending some time here, so if you can swing working remotely it makes it easier to see this whole country. First, there are a few things you’ll need to know:
- There are 3 currency exchange rates:
- The official rate if you pay with Dollars.
- The credit card rate, which is a good exchange rate but not the best.
- The “Blue Dollar” rate if you go to one of the many small businesses that exchanges cash throughout the city. You can find the best rates by asking around or by asking other travelers if you’re staying in a hostel.
- As you can see the currency situation can be dicey and can pretty much change your experience in BA. I’ll give you an example. I went to a Vini Bar with a friend from the hostel. We ended up having 4 small shareable plates and 8 glasses of wine total (It was a great dinner!). It ended up being 17,815 Argentine Pesos (ARS). If I paid in USD, the business would use the official rate of 185 ARS/Dollar and cost $96.30. I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve and charged in ARS to get 333 ARS/Dollar for a total cost of $53.50. If I had gone to the Western Union earlier, I would have gotten 375 ARS/Dollar and my meal would have cost $47.51(!!!). As you can see, the cost of the meal quickly went from the cost of a normal meal in the US to an incredibly cheap meal and less than half the original price. So it’s very important to come with USD and exchange them for Pesos here!
- You can pay other bills here with Pago Pay through a Western Union. Just go to a Western Union agent, go to the website on their computer, and you can pay in cash at that location. This will make things that are not generally paid in cash, like hotels and flights, much more affordable
- Crime: In general you should exercise caution, especially in some parts of Buenos Aires. Be aware of your surroundings, keep your belongings close, don’t walk around with your phone in your hand or keep it on the table in a busy area, as phone thefts are the most common crime. Don’t walk down empty streets in the middle of the night. If you are good at doing these cautionary behaviors, which I recommend doing in most countries anyway, then the country is not much more dangerous beyond that.
- Mendoza has many restaurants and cafes where people work from, and wine tours
- Be careful changing dollars here. It’s more difficult, and I got scammed out of 4,000 pesos. Which is only 11 dollars, but it’s the principle!
- Make sure to change dollars on weekdays and look up holidays beforehand. A friend couldn’t exchange money for 5 days because of the weekend and then 3 days of holidays with Carnival
- If you are solo traveling and working remotely as a digital nomad then I definitely recommend Selina Hostels, which give you a private room or an even cheaper shared dorm, plenty of work areas, a designated coworking area, and daily events with other travelers or remote workers. Be sure to join the WhatsApp group to make the most out of your stay.
- Argentina travelers WhatsApp groups also help solo travelers looking for a social scene
Brazil
Brazil is such a vivacious country, everyone loves to have fun, be social, and dance to music. This is especially true during Carnival (finally crossed off on my list as one of the best parties in the world that was on my list), which happens between mid February to early March depending on the year. During this time, working remote can be lots of fun as there is plenty to do at all times of day and night. Some tips:
- Blocos are rolling block parties that start at various points throughout the city. Dress up, join one of them, and enjoy! Sing and dance, or hum if you don’t know the Portuguese lyrics. You can go to this instagram account and type in the location to Google Maps. Here’s an example:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3qQiNjJmVt/?hl=en
- Dress up as anything! I saw the regular Carnival costumes of glitter and rave-type clothes, but also halloween type costumes like Luigi/Superman/etc. A common group costume is the inflatable sumo costumes ( I forgot the name).
- Wear shorts with zippers and bring a fanny pack! Pickpockets are everywhere and you need to be aware. AE has a short that has a hidden zipper pocket that lies pretty flush even when in use, so no body can tell that you have an extra pocket there unless they feel your pants. Or else, put your phone in your underwear, or don’t bring it at all.
- You have to try the feijoada – a stew, and a rodizio – all you can eat Brazilian bbq — barbacoa
- If you go to Sao Paulo instead, check out: Paulista Ave, Madalena ave, Batman Alley
- Everything can be bought with credit card in Sao Paulo. I don’t smoke, but even single loose cigarettes can be paid for with a card. In fact, trying to pay in cash can be difficult because many merchants won’t have change.
- Check out Iguazu Falls if you have a chance, 1 day for the Brazil side and 1 day for the Argentina side should be enough for the largest waterfall system in the world.
- Need a CPF to book on a lot of Brazil travel sites, so try to pay with Paypal, Google Pay, or some other method. And definitely book in advance as flights can be 10x more expensive last minute.