Type and plugs at 220 V, dinner at 22:00, a two-hour lunch, and Spanish that sounds like Italian and uses "vos" instead of "tu". Almost nothing opens early.
- Plug types and at 220 V, 50 Hz. Type is the angled two-pin with a ground and is the one you actually need; many modern sockets take nothing else.
- Argentina eats late. Restaurants open for dinner at 20:30 and fill at 22:00, arriving at 19:30 gets you an empty room, and nightlife starts at 01:00.
- Shops open 09:00 or 10:00 to 20:00, with smaller ones closing for a siesta from roughly 13:00 to 17:00 outside Buenos Aires. Sunday is quiet and much of the country is at an asado.
- Spanish here uses "vos" instead of "tu" and says "ll" and "y" as "sh", so calle is "ca-shay". English is common in Buenos Aires tourism and rare elsewhere.
- Long weekends fill every hotel in the country. Carnival in February and the 25 May, 9 July and 17 August holidays are the ones to book around.
Power
- Plug types and at 220 V, 50 Hz. Type is the Australian-style angled two-pin with a ground, and it is the one you actually need.
- A European two-pin plug fits the type sockets you will find in older buildings, but many modern sockets are type only. Bring a universal adapter.
- Power cuts happen in Buenos Aires in the summer heat, when air-conditioning load takes out a neighbourhood for a few hours.
The clock
- Argentina eats late. Restaurants open for dinner at 20:30 and fill at 22:00. Arriving at 19:30 gets you an empty room and a confused waiter.
- Lunch is 13:00 to 15:30 and is the bigger meal in many places.
- Shops open 09:00 or 10:00 to 20:00, with smaller ones closing for a siesta from roughly 13:00 to 17:00 outside Buenos Aires.
- Sunday is quiet. The asado is a family occasion and much of the country is at one.
- Nightlife starts at 01:00. A club at midnight is empty.
Language
- Spanish, with a distinctive accent that pronounces "ll" and "y" as "sh". Calle is "ca-shay".
- "Vos" replaces "tu", with its own verb forms. Locals will understand your textbook Spanish perfectly.
- English is common in Buenos Aires tourism and rare elsewhere. Learn numbers and directions.
- "Che" is how Argentines get each other's attention, and yes, that is where Guevara's nickname came from.
Public holidays and the calendar
- Seasons are inverted. January and February are high summer and the whole country is on holiday; June to August is winter and Patagonia largely closes.
- Carnival (February), 25 May, 9 July and 17 August are national holidays, and several move to create long weekends (fines de semana largos) that fill every hotel in the country.
- Book anything at all around a fin de semana largo well in advance.
Small things
- Mate is shared from one gourd and one straw. If offered, drink it and hand it back; do not stir it and do not wipe the straw.
- The cubierto on a restaurant bill is a cover charge, not a scam.
- Argentines greet with one kiss on the right cheek, including between men.
- Public toilets often have no paper. Carry tissues.
- Prices are quoted with a dot as the thousands separator, so ARS 15.000 is fifteen thousand pesos.
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