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Is it really cheap? The answer is yes. Where else can you buy a 750cc
bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label whisky for £4 (yes, £4) imported from
Scotland. All brand named spirits cost about £2 and brand named liquors
between £1-£3 for a large bottle and local liquors cost about £1. A fact barely
known, is that Argentina is one of the worlds leading wine producing
countries. Wines start from as little as 50p a bottle up to about £5 for the best.
Champagne is just as cheap. There are so many vineyards and each vineyard
name the wines after a family member i.e. Santa Julia, Santa Ana and so on.
Even in restaurants and bars, wine is very cheap. What about beer? Beer is
just as cheap as wine and Argentina has many of their own brands, the most
famous being Quilmes which costs about 30p for a large bottle from the
supermarket, even so, restaurants and bars do not overcharge and just charge
slightly more than you pay in the supermarket.
The funny thing is, a fresh fruit milkshake and a large coffee can cost the same
as an alcoholic drink. You pay about 60p-£1 for a fresh fruit milkshake. A small
coffee is about 50p and the largest about £1 and this is in very nice coffee
shops. There are places where you can pay less such as in small local cafes.
Soft drinks normally work out about 50p a bottle in restaurants and many
restaurants serve 2 litre bottles for about £1-1.50. Buying a regular bottle in the
shop can cost about 20-40p and mineral water is about the same price.
Where else can you find a supermarket chain that only sells sweets and
chocolates - paradise for sweet lovers - packets of sweets for 5p and packets
of biscuits for 15p - spoilt for choice. All brand makes also at low prices i.e.
Cadburys and Milka.
If you have read my restaurant page, you will know that you can eat in a good
restaurant for under £5 per person including starters, desserts and drinks.
You will find that the designer shops and brand names are very cheap. If you
pay £60 for a jumper in London, you will pay 60 pesos (£10) here. Mar del Plata
is famous for jumpers, so you can pick up some bargains.
There is no shortage of exclusive shops with low prices. Guemes is the
upmarket shopping area with shop after shop of clothes, both well known
designers and Argentine designers and shoe shops. There are also many
summer flea markets with loads of traditional goods, especially leather goods,
at silly prices.
Entertainment is cheap - the cinema is £1.50-2.00 with all the latest films in
English. The theatre is about £5 per person and the museums are about £1
each (even less). Day trips are about £7 each.
Gas, electric and water are very cheap and a house pays £10 every two
months for water (a flat pays £3). Internet is about £15 a month unlimited use
and cable TV (which is excellent (over 100 channels) - with many English
channels) £15 per month. The house phone is cheap about £7 per month
including line rental and 1000 free minutes of local calls.
Travelling is extremely cheap (not flying). A bus ride of 1 stop or 51 stops
costs 20p. Mar del Plata is the only city in Argentina to have a prepaid system,
whereby you put credit onto a credit like card and you scan it on the bus.
There are ample buses and you rarely have to wait. Although there are many
bus stops, you can stop the bus as and when you want to get on or off. Going
to the next main town towards the south which is called Miramar and is about
50 minutes, costs about 90p each way. Buenos Aires which is 5.15 hours,
costs about £10 one way. All long distance journeys are made with double
decker coaches whereby the seats can be laid down flat - like a bed - in fact,
they call these coaches "bed cars".
Petrol is 50p a litre and gas (GNC which many cars run on) is 25p per litre.
Taxis are the best way to get round and they are also cheap. In fact, if four
people travel by taxi, it can be cheaper than the bus. The taxi meter starts at
40p and a local journey of say 8 blocks costs 60p. We normally pay about
£1.50 for a taxi to and from the centre. It is very easy to flag a taxi down and
there are taxi ranks on most corners. There are also mini-cab companies with
and without meters and they are slightly cheaper than taxis, but you need to
phone for one.
Want to join a gym, expect to pay about £8-£10 per month for unlimited use
and various classes and often the sauna is included. The gym is a very
popular pastime and there are many many gyms sporting the latest equipment.
Hair and beauty salons are in abundance and charge ridiculous prices. Today
I had my nails re-done (gel) and my hair washed, trimmed and thinned for
£11.50 including two tips plus coffee and biscuits/cake. This was done at a
very nice hair salon. There are no specialist nail shops - all nails are done in
hair salons. Barbers charge between 1 pound and 1 pound fifty including
washing.
One thing that I found expensive is newspapers and postage. The local daily
newspaper "La Capital" is about 30p. Argentina has hundreds of newspapers
and magazines, and the most famous English newspaper is the Buenos Aires
Herald. There are also hundreds of TV channels, many of which show English
programmes including many films. Radio stations are also in abundance.
bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label whisky for £4 (yes, £4) imported from
Scotland. All brand named spirits cost about £2 and brand named liquors
between £1-£3 for a large bottle and local liquors cost about £1. A fact barely
known, is that Argentina is one of the worlds leading wine producing
countries. Wines start from as little as 50p a bottle up to about £5 for the best.
Champagne is just as cheap. There are so many vineyards and each vineyard
name the wines after a family member i.e. Santa Julia, Santa Ana and so on.
Even in restaurants and bars, wine is very cheap. What about beer? Beer is
just as cheap as wine and Argentina has many of their own brands, the most
famous being Quilmes which costs about 30p for a large bottle from the
supermarket, even so, restaurants and bars do not overcharge and just charge
slightly more than you pay in the supermarket.
The funny thing is, a fresh fruit milkshake and a large coffee can cost the same
as an alcoholic drink. You pay about 60p-£1 for a fresh fruit milkshake. A small
coffee is about 50p and the largest about £1 and this is in very nice coffee
shops. There are places where you can pay less such as in small local cafes.
Soft drinks normally work out about 50p a bottle in restaurants and many
restaurants serve 2 litre bottles for about £1-1.50. Buying a regular bottle in the
shop can cost about 20-40p and mineral water is about the same price.
Where else can you find a supermarket chain that only sells sweets and
chocolates - paradise for sweet lovers - packets of sweets for 5p and packets
of biscuits for 15p - spoilt for choice. All brand makes also at low prices i.e.
Cadburys and Milka.
If you have read my restaurant page, you will know that you can eat in a good
restaurant for under £5 per person including starters, desserts and drinks.
You will find that the designer shops and brand names are very cheap. If you
pay £60 for a jumper in London, you will pay 60 pesos (£10) here. Mar del Plata
is famous for jumpers, so you can pick up some bargains.
There is no shortage of exclusive shops with low prices. Guemes is the
upmarket shopping area with shop after shop of clothes, both well known
designers and Argentine designers and shoe shops. There are also many
summer flea markets with loads of traditional goods, especially leather goods,
at silly prices.
Entertainment is cheap - the cinema is £1.50-2.00 with all the latest films in
English. The theatre is about £5 per person and the museums are about £1
each (even less). Day trips are about £7 each.
Gas, electric and water are very cheap and a house pays £10 every two
months for water (a flat pays £3). Internet is about £15 a month unlimited use
and cable TV (which is excellent (over 100 channels) - with many English
channels) £15 per month. The house phone is cheap about £7 per month
including line rental and 1000 free minutes of local calls.
Travelling is extremely cheap (not flying). A bus ride of 1 stop or 51 stops
costs 20p. Mar del Plata is the only city in Argentina to have a prepaid system,
whereby you put credit onto a credit like card and you scan it on the bus.
There are ample buses and you rarely have to wait. Although there are many
bus stops, you can stop the bus as and when you want to get on or off. Going
to the next main town towards the south which is called Miramar and is about
50 minutes, costs about 90p each way. Buenos Aires which is 5.15 hours,
costs about £10 one way. All long distance journeys are made with double
decker coaches whereby the seats can be laid down flat - like a bed - in fact,
they call these coaches "bed cars".
Petrol is 50p a litre and gas (GNC which many cars run on) is 25p per litre.
Taxis are the best way to get round and they are also cheap. In fact, if four
people travel by taxi, it can be cheaper than the bus. The taxi meter starts at
40p and a local journey of say 8 blocks costs 60p. We normally pay about
£1.50 for a taxi to and from the centre. It is very easy to flag a taxi down and
there are taxi ranks on most corners. There are also mini-cab companies with
and without meters and they are slightly cheaper than taxis, but you need to
phone for one.
Want to join a gym, expect to pay about £8-£10 per month for unlimited use
and various classes and often the sauna is included. The gym is a very
popular pastime and there are many many gyms sporting the latest equipment.
Hair and beauty salons are in abundance and charge ridiculous prices. Today
I had my nails re-done (gel) and my hair washed, trimmed and thinned for
£11.50 including two tips plus coffee and biscuits/cake. This was done at a
very nice hair salon. There are no specialist nail shops - all nails are done in
hair salons. Barbers charge between 1 pound and 1 pound fifty including
washing.
One thing that I found expensive is newspapers and postage. The local daily
newspaper "La Capital" is about 30p. Argentina has hundreds of newspapers
and magazines, and the most famous English newspaper is the Buenos Aires
Herald. There are also hundreds of TV channels, many of which show English
programmes including many films. Radio stations are also in abundance.
| The cost of living is getting cheaper for tourists as the pound grows stronger - these prices are based on 5.70 pesos to the £ sterling - now you get 6.70 pesos (as at 17.08.08) and getting stronger by the day. |