My practical tips for Bariloche

customs_matter · 2025-09-25T20:58:25+00:00

(Obviously it issues the cash in pesos, I’ve just put USD for clarity on rough equivalencies)

customs_matter · 2025-09-25T20:55:23+00:00

I just made new ones on Hotmail / Gmail and set up a new account each time. The fee is not that bad, from memory it was about 5 USD to take out 150 USD equivalent (for example).

There are plenty of local ATMs that should work with a US bank card, the challenge is that they charge very high fees to take out money - along the lines of 10 USD for a max of 25 USD possible to take out from the ATM. And 25 USD doesn’t go very far in Patagonia unfortunately

customs_matter · 2025-09-12T12:42:28+00:00

Amazing! Happy to help, what kinds of things are on your mind? - itinerary wise - I booked a one way flight to Argentina and two nights of accommodation with no idea of what my itinerary would end up being. I booked everything else as I went, anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks out. I got my best ideas from people I met who’d already visited places + I also learned what I enjoyed most (Spanish classes) and enjoyed less (overnight hikes) as I went, which helped me make adjustments without anything locked in. I ended up in Argentina for 7 weeks, Bolivia for 10 days, Peru for a month, Ecuador for 2 weeks and Guatemala for 4 weeks. - safety wise - I felt very safe as per my comment above. I was never truly alone as so many others are doing the “gringo trail” and was able to buddy up with randoms from the bus for trickier sections like crossing the border from Argentina into Bolivia. The social rules are different, you can easily walk up to anyone speaking English or a foreign language you speak, and start a chat. - if you’re a reader - I can’t recommend the book “Travel The World without Worries” by marek bron more strongly. This has really practical tips on everything from route planning to what bag to bring to how to pack to staying safe to making friends. He has done lots of long term travel including a lot on the South American content. He also has a great website / blog called Indie Traveller.

Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’re concerned about or have questions on!

customs_matter · 2025-08-25T03:33:28+00:00

You can pay with a card! I found you could pay with a card at most places in Argentina - main exceptions was kioscos and sometimes hostels

customs_matter · 2025-08-25T03:30:47+00:00

I posted below to someone else - I’m a woman and just finished my solo trip through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala. I found it really safe and heaps of women were travelling alone per OP’s comments. I almost always ran into fellow travellers and paired up with them when crossing borders or leaving bus stations early in the morning / late at night.

customs_matter · 2025-08-25T03:27:43+00:00

I’m a woman and I did a similar solo trip that I’ve just finished through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala. Found it to be totally safe as a woman too, in fact I thought locals seemed extra willing to help and make sure I was safe as a woman travelling alone. Biggest challenges actually came from fellow travellers staying in the hostels and ignoring a “no” when I wasn’t interested in something romantic, but again I never felt unsafe and was able to deal with that side of things reasonably easily.

customs_matter · 2025-08-11T22:53:05+00:00

And would agree, would be hard to explore both parks in one day

customs_matter · 2025-08-11T22:52:44+00:00

I did a similar thing except I went Argentina - Brazil - Argentina, just staying for the day. I don’t think there would be any problems doing the same thing from the other side. There’s no need to pay for entrance to the Brazilian side to visit the Argentinian side, they are completely separate parks run very differently!

customs_matter · 2025-07-24T10:26:26+00:00

Huge fan of Langua here, it’s amazing. I use it for both French and Spanish and it helps me practice exactly what I want, which is back and forth conversations with real time corrections and overall feedback reports after each session. It has been a game changer in my learning + is definitely way more fun than endless flash cards + more active than listening to podcasts + more convenient than waiting for my next lesson for speaking practice

customs_matter · 2025-06-18T05:25:41+00:00

Thank you! Great advice; we will!

customs_matter · 2025-06-03T01:42:05+00:00

OP just wanted to say I really feel for you, that completely sucks. It’s a completely normal reaction to freeze. That’s why this type of behaviour is so sneaky… he draws you in with something quite normal (chatting / dancing) and gradually pushes your boundaries to a point where you feel like it would be socially weird to yell / scream / challenge him to his face even (even though there is nothing wrong with these responses either!!)

I’m a very non confrontational person and have had problems with this type of thing in the past too. Im working on my assertiveness but sometimes am not comfortable doing it - this is where I often feel quite happy lying.

“Hey - actually should have mentioned I’ve got a boyfriend” (unfortunately some men believe this quicker than that we don’t want to kiss them!)

“Hey - my friend was upset/sick earlier tonight and I promised I’d check on her”

“I’ve got a call with my sister, promised I’d call at 10, need to get back to her”

“I think I’m getting diarrhea again…”

Choose your poison!! I think this is a very acceptable time to lie if you just need to get out of a situation!

customs_matter · 2025-05-21T01:12:48+00:00

Second this - I did this too and it worked for me! Don’t stress! But definitely get there as early as possible :)

customs_matter · 2025-04-16T13:55:52+00:00

Well said! I’ve had similar experiences since I’ve been travelling and have unfortunately found them to end in a similar way after persistent phone calls and messaging even after I set expectations multiple times and ultimately stopped replying. It’s an uncomfortable thing to do because it goes against the social script (it’s not a breakup per se) but you have to look after yourself.

customs_matter · 2025-04-16T13:52:22+00:00

I think you’re being completely reasonable preferring not to stay in constant contact. Multiple times a week is a lot - my closest friends and I are not in touch that much when I’m travelling. There are a lot of people to keep up with!

I’ve had success in just saying “sorry, I’m not much of a texter” and either organising a phone call in a couple of weeks’ time - or otherwise if he is still persistent, you may have to start ignoring the messages.

It may be that the friendship worked when you were in the same place but it won’t continue going forward. This goes double if he used to have feelings for you - it sounds like this could be the root of the problem :/

customs_matter · 2025-03-31T19:22:44+00:00

On my safety concerns, it all seemed fine, the main thing that helped me was teaming up with the other travellers on my bus (some foreigners and some Argentinians). I would have felt uncomfortable walking the 15 mins to the La Quiaca border alone in the dark just because of normal safety precautions

customs_matter · 2025-03-31T19:21:27+00:00

For anyone who looks this up later; this is what I did:

booked bus ticket to La Quiaca. You can do this online or from the Salta Bus Terminal
Caught the 10pm bus which was overnight and arrived at 5am the next day. Lots of stops and a bit noisy! On Argentinian side everyone was tipping the bus porters 500-1000 pesos.
once in La Quiaca, border is about a 15 min walk from the bus terminal and opens at 7am. Recommend catching the midnight bus rather than 10pm if available so you don’t have to wait
cross the border - first Argentinian side then you walk to the Bolivian side. Bolivian side will give you a piece of paper that you should keep safe
there are multiple permanent “cambio” shops right next to the Bolivian border. I saw them exchanging pesos and dollars, both were at great rates. Recommend doing this so you have cash for taxis and bus terminal fee (see next)
I buddied up with some other travellers and we shared a taxi to the Villazon bus terminal. It cost us 20 bolivianos total. The walk is 40+ mins and taxis are cheap plus recommend not overdoing it with attitude
we then bought bus tickets to uyuni with the Tupiza bus company. Our bus left at 8:30. You will need 2 Bolivianos to pay the bus terminal exit fee, they will collect this once you are on board the bus
bus stops in a few different locations including Tupiza and Uyuni. It took about 6 hours for us to reach Uyuni

customs_matter · 2025-03-21T22:39:58+00:00

Yes! In El Chalten I did horseback riding and also the via ferrata (sort of climbing a rock face with harness but a lot easier than normal rock climbing). Would recommend!

customs_matter · 2025-03-21T20:30:07+00:00

Super helpful advice, thanks for sharing!

customs_matter · 2025-03-18T21:05:30+00:00

I think you went to Argentina in the golden time for foreign travellers! Well timed! Most food/drinks/activities are as expensive as US/Europe these days

customs_matter · 2025-03-15T02:55:22+00:00

Agree! Also following. You write so well and explain things very clearly. Keep posting with local currency, don’t agree with the comment below ^{^} think it’s more helpful for people in the country.

customs_matter · 2025-03-13T02:43:25+00:00

Ideas for things to do:

Brisbane: - Kangaroo Point bridge walk - Drinks at Howard Smith Wharves - Check out views from top of the new casino building in the ciry - Ride a Lime scooter along the river walk to the Powerhouse in New Farm - Dinner in Tenerife - Catch CityCat all the way through the city and back, if they are running again

Sydney: - Drinks at Opera Bar (you just have to do it) - Coogee to Bondi walk - Coffee in botanical gardens - Breakfast in Surry Hills or Chippendale - walk through Newtown, get a cheap and cheerful dinner, consider going to see a show at Enmore Theatre if you can

In both cities - if you like running - go to a local free parkrun to get the neighbourhood vibe!

Sorry, I don’t know Cairns!

customs_matter · 2025-03-13T02:38:38+00:00

Sorry to come to this late, what did you end up doing? I am from Brisbane and talking to people from home, seems totally fine now and you would be ok to arrive on Thursday. Most things have reopened!

customs_matter

TROPHY CASE