Which Country is the Best Deal for Your Money? Colombia? Bolivia?
Replies: 13 - Last Post: Feb 15, 2013 8:51 AM Last Post By: MALUSHINA
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Which Country is the Best Deal for Your Money? Colombia? Bolivia?
Given the significant changes in inflation and exchange rate vs. the US dollar / Euro over the past few years, which countries remain as the best deal for someone with US Dollars?Back in 2006, I recall Colombia and Bolivia both being very cheap with Bolivia a bit cheaper.
Argentina was also very cheap, but not nearly as cheap as Bolivia. Does Argentina still qualify as a cheap place to travel to South America? What other countries qualify as a good deal / cheap?
Thanks
4
My last long trip in Argentina was in 2005.It was wonderful (for travellers..not for the people that live there).....great hotels,food,wine etc. at bargain prices.
Those days are long gone....
5
Although the inflation in Argentina is high (and much higher than the government tells us), and prices in pesos have climbed accordingly, the buying power of foreign currency remains high. If comparing prices with prices in 2002, after the last peso collapse, then it does indeed seem expensive, however in real terms the cost of living in Argentina is not as high as many think.In Purchasing Price Parity terms, here is the league table:
Most expensive - Brazil (no surprise there), then...
Uruguay
Chile
Venezuela
Surinam
Colombia
Paraguay
Argentina
Peru
Ecuador
Bolivia
and finally, least expensive, Guyana.
French Guiana is part of France and has costs appropriate to this.
7
In the case of these data, they are "calculated using figures from the IMF World Economic Outlook Database". The IMF is hardly an uninformed source, and has recently taken Argentina to task on its under-reporting of inflation.10
For prices relevant for travellers..have a look at a site like hostelworld.comThat will show you that a dorm bed or a private room in a hostel in BA costs about 30% more than one in Asuncion...and with the REAL currency rate in Venezuela (rather than the official one) more than a room in Caracas as well.....
11
For what it's worth, I have lived in Venezuela, currently live in Colombia, and have done (and do) a lot of travel around the continent.Travel styles differ, and so spending profiles vary. I guess the key is to look at different sources of information, and seek to find what makes sense for the type of travel you plan.
Just as an example of the kind of thing which makes a difference, but is not immediately obvious, getting a two page letter notarised in Colombia costs about USD1.50; doing this in Argentina it used to cost ARS30 a few years ago, so probably now costs double that, so around USD 12.00; in Venezuela it cost me USD 430.00 (!).
