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Travel
LANDSCAPE
Buenos Aires is a sprawling, international city with a lively social scene blended
into a mix of modern and colonial buildings. An efficient interstate system
connects the city to other parts of the country. The only thing that may might
make the roadways less efficient are the maniacal drivers that make a jaunt
on the roadways an excursion of madcap lunacy. Cordoba lies in central Argentina
as a powerful agricultural and industrial center with over one million residents.
It is smaller and much less expensive than the metropolitan Buenos Aires, yet
is a major site for international exhibitions because of its developed foreign
trade infrastructure.
AIRPORTS
Ezeiza International Airport to City Center
Ezeiza Airport lies 20 miles (34 km.) from Buenos Aires. A half-hourly coach
service, operated by Manuel Tienda Le?n (4383-4454/8), travels downtown to all
of the major hotels for a price of about US$15 between 5:30a.m. to 10p.m. The
trip takes around 45 minutes. You can find the ticket booth just outside of
customs. If you seek service from the hotel to the airport, call 4314-3636.
The San Martin Bus also serves the airport and downtown with buses, minibuses,
and automobiles. For information and reservations, call: 4816-7676, or email:
resmb@sanmartinbus.com.ar. A taxi counter also exists in the arrivals area.
Cabs to and from the airport cost about US$35, including a freeway charge.
Pajas Blancas Airport to City Center
The airport, located at Pajas Blancas, is nine miles (15 km.) from the city
center. Buses and taxis are readily available.
VISA & PASSPORT
Foreigners with a valid passport can stay up to 90 days. Passports must remain
valid for 6 months beyond the intended stay. Visas are not required for tourists
from the U.S., Canada, and the E.U. Other nationals must obtain visas (fee)
from an Argentine embassy or consulate. Australians and New Zealanders must
pay US$30 for a visa. Documents or tickets proving your onward travel are also
required for all visitors. Business travelers are technically required to obtain
special visas, but most enter as tourists. Business visas require a letter from
an employer stating reason, length, and acceptance of financial responsibility
for visit.
CUSTOMS' ENTRY
Duty-free
Tobacco: 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars
Alcohol: 2 liters of alcohol
Food and others: 5 kg of foodstuffs, goods to the value of US$300 (inclusive
of any duty-free items listed above)
Note: For residents returning to Argentina after a stay of less than one year
in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay or Uruguay:
Tobacco: 200 cigarettes, 25 cigars
Alcohol: 1 liter of alcohol
Food and others: 2 kg of foodstuffs; goods to the value of US$100 (inclusive
of any duty-free items listed above)
Prohibited or Restricted
The following are either banned or may only be imported under license:
• Animals and birds from Africa or Asia (except Japan); parrots
• Fresh foodstuffs: meat, dairy products and fruit
• Hunting guns may only be imported with a license that the traveler must procure
before arrival from an Argentine Consulate. The hunter must submit personal
documents, a certificate of good conduct issued by the local police of the district
where the hunter lives, together with the serial number, caliber, type and brand
of each gun (a maximum of two guns allowed per hunter)
• Explosives, inflammable items
• Narcotics
• Pornographic material
Note: gold must be declared upon arrival; it is also advisable to declare expensive
consumer items as well.
HEALTH CERTIFICATES
No vaccinations are required unless arriving from an area infected with yellow
fever. Tetanus vaccination and hepatitis A immunization is recommended.
TIPPING
Restaurants
Restaurants will most likely add a service charge. Otherwise, foreigners are
generally expected to give a 10 percent tip (propina).
Taxi
The tipping of metered taxicab drivers is optional. Rounding up the fare should
prove sufficient as a courtesy. When unmetered taxis are used, negotiate the
full fee in advance.
Porters
US$1 per bag at 1st class hotels.
Hotels
Hotels will add moderate service charges to your bill. Additional tips may be
given to bellmen and maids.
Other
Beauty shop or barbers 5 percent; doormen 5 centavos; ushers and maitre'd, 5
percent.
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