The $131 dollar reciprocity fee that you're not expecting...

Well... yes, it's true. Upon entrance to Argentina Americans, Australians and Canadians will have to pay a reciprocity fee. Interestingly enough only if you fly in. If you take a bus across the border you do not have to pay the fee. Americans have to pay 131 (U.S. dollars) that cover your entrances for 10 years. Australians, have to pay 100 (U.S. dollars) every time they enter Argentina by flight, ouch! I recall seeing that Canadians have to pay 100 (U.S. dollars) not sure what the terms on that are. You can pay cash (pesos or dollars), credit card or debit card - no worries they make it easy taking that money off your hands. This fee started in 2010.

Autobus Tips for traveling through North West Argentina

Some tips for traveling on bus through Tucuman, Cafayate, Tafi del Valle, Salta and Mendoza.
-Choose the cama option ALWAYS. For 10 dollars more you won't suffer from a terrible neck ache the rest of your vacation.
-When given a chance to choose a seat it's best to go for the one without a passenger in front and farthest away from the bathroom (stinky and lots of transit by it).
-Tickets do run out on buses so if you have a chance to buy them all at once do so and try to stick to that schedule.
-Bring your own toilet paper while traveling- major lack of it in all public bathrooms.
-Many buses don't offer food or snacks even if it is over an 8 hr ride so I highly recommend buying some stuff before you get on since most buses won't make stops.
-Invest in one of those neck pillows preferably the ones that blow up (they're around 15 pesos or 4 U.S. dollars).
-Take a sheet with you, it gets pretty chilly and it's always nice to be able to snuggle on an 18 hr. bus ride.
-It does matter what bus line you take- I was stuck in the Andes for over 5 hours because I chose the wrong bus and another one of my bus rides broke down because of the AC. All in all about 8 hrs. lost on waiting for the buses to get their act together.
-Bus lines I recommend in Argentina: CATA and Flecha Bus (Cata served champagne- this is the type of buses people rave about BUT be careful they're not all like this).
-Always have some change on you for the people that load and unload your luggage- sometimes the baggage handlers won't give you the ticket label of your luggage unless you hand over a few pesos (often will complain if the amount is too small) and you need this in order to get your luggage at the end of the ride.
-Keep your stuff close to you, no incidents of theft but I made sure to hold on to my stuff while I slept or stuff it under my seat.

Learned lessons from being robbed in Buenos Aires

While walking on a sunny afternoon through La Boca I was mugged by two teenagers (maybe 13 and 17). As I have told this story to my friends and acquaintances I have found that it's really not that uncommon. In realizing this I wish I would have taken the following steps prior and during the assault in order to be more prepared. Take my lesson learned so that even though you might not be able to avoid being robbed you can avoid some of the hassle associated with the event.

Prior:
-Keep a spare debit/credit card at home so that you're not left without access to ALL of your accounts.
-Always carry some amount of spare cash hidden on you (in your bra/socks/tiny pocket in your jeans) so that you at least have that left.
-Avoid writing specific information that could be useful to someone who has robbed you i.e. your address.
-Continually download pictures from your camera so that if it's stolen at least you still have the memories.
-Try to carry your keys on you; this was the biggest hassle and most expensive part of being robbed. If I would have had to replace the keys of my building it would have been close to a thousand dollars- yes dollars, not pesos.
-Learn your home phone number.

During:
-I wish I would have asked for my keys, most of the time they have no value to the thieves.
-Maybe run?

Post:
-I gave my information to the police and felt very uneasy about it afterward; it's hard to know who to trust.

I hope this helps in either preventing or preparing for this type of event.

How to legally exend your stay in Buenos Aires

There is another solution other than paying the 180 pesos fine or taking a day trip to Uruguay. The legal way to prolongue your stay in Buenos Aires is to fill out a form at the Direccion Nacional de Migraciones. Here is the link to all the paper work. the fees range depending on where you're from and what you are doing in Buenos Aires. Suerte!

Best websites for Buenos Aires

In no particular order (drumrolllllll):

• Planeta Joy For ratings of all things yummy i.e. top parrilladas in the city.
  
• VuenosAirez For concerts, theatre and more
  
• OLX Craig's List of Argentina: Free classifieds
• Subte Map Map of Buenos Aires metro/subway
• Mercado Libre The Amazon of Argentina: Buy and sell whatever, whoever.
  
• Musicovery For those missing Pandora this will do
  

Useful Tips while in Argentina

This will be an evolving list, but here are a few:

• Buy a Guia T right away- it will become your bible while you're here.
  
• On the metro instead of buying one by one your ticket you can buy a card and put money on it. This card then automatically is debited each time you swipe it when you go on the metro. The lines are sometimes really long so it saves you time and effort overall.
• Don't forget to pick up your change when you ride the bus.
  
• Hold on to your change and break 100's when you make a larger purchase. Often vendors will simply turn you away if they don't have change so make sure to either keep it or make more of it as you spend.
• The Metro closes at 10:30, but you could get lucky up to maybe 15 min. after this.
  

You don't have to live without Craig's List

Okay yes so there is a Craig's List in Argentina, but it's in its very early stages of usage hence there is not a lot going on. And what is going on is mostly geared toward foreigners from foreigners. However, there is a site that might help in the same fashion as Craig's List so check it out:
http://www.olx.com.ar/