buenos aires virgins

I'm travelling to Buenos Aires for 8 days and 1 Day in Santiago (chile), in may with my 10 year old son, and I was hoping that someone be able to help with the following:

Taxis / Transport from the airport? We will be staying at the Tribeca Apartments near Plaza de la Republica have read not to use the taxis outside the airport, but a suttle service. How much should I pay ?

Also transport from the airport in Santiago as we arrive at 1.30am, and don't want to end up with some cowboy! Stay at the Radisson Ciudad Empresarial Hotel. How much should I pay ?

ATM's daily limit's, read 300 pesto's limit per day same's very low, is this also the case in Chile?

The best way to get to Colonia in Uruguary ? Do you need a Visa for a day ?

Great places to eat and visit in Buenos Aires ?

Any ideas and info whould be most helpful

Many thanks for your help

Lee

Previous post

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

there is a fair every sunday in Matadero with gauchos that your son and you might enjoy, I love it

There is not any definite rule about the ATMs´limit for withdrawals. You can get 1000 pesos or more per day.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

there's a shuttle service from the airport in santiago to down town, or anywhere you want to go in santiago. they run 24 hours a day, they have fixed prices, and you can buy a ticket in the airport.

The following are previous posts:

If you are in Buenos Aires for a while and feel the need to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city just for the day, you might consider taking the ferry across the River Plate to Colonia, Uruguay. You will not only get another stamp in your passport; you will also have the opportunity to explore a totally charming town that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The historic barrio of the former Portuguese colony is well-preserved. Its cobblestone streets, secluded courtyards, and many cafés, restaurants, and shops make Colonia a delightful surprise just 60 kms across the river from Buenos Aires. Give yourself an entire day, take the slow boat, and unwind in Colonia. This one-day return trip costs 32.00 US$.

We did this as a day trip from Buenos Aires. It was raining that day, so we rented a little golf car in the harbour to avoid getting wet, but you can easily do the interesting parts of town on foot. I did not find any sights that were ouside of the small city centre so not really worthwhile renting a bike I would say. If you have more time it might be worth continuing to Montevideo and Punta del Este before heading back to Buenos Aires. There are no "hovercrafts" from what I know, only ferries and faster ships but they are nice. It takes a few hours, depending on which service you choose and how much you pay. There is specially discounted ticket if you do a round trip over the same day with the slow ferry. That is the one we took.

www.coloniaexpress.com</a><BR><a href="http://www.buquebus.com">www.buquebus.com</a><BR><BR>Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

www.aeropuertosantiago.cl</a><BR><BR>Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

Do you need a visa for a day to visit Colonia?

No, you do not.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

Previous reports on the reciprocal fee you have to pay when entering Chile by air:

If you are simply transiting internationally at Santiago then you do not have to pay the reciprocity fee. I have done this a number of times, and only ever pay when actually entering Chilean territory via the airport border. As you know you do not need to pay the fee at land border. Having previous stamps in your passport makes no difference though, you still need to pay ( I have 14 Chile stamps, and still had to pay last time I went through the airport ). I actually like the sign they have saying "We welcome all people to our country free of charge, we only charge the citizens of countries whose government charges Chilean citizens to visit their country". I have paid the fee three times and chuckled to myself each time.

The fee does not apply if you stay in transit. The transit lounge is upstairs on the same level as you arrive when you leave the plane. If you go down the escalator then you will be heading to enter Chile. Remember that the reciprocity fee is only a kind of recompense for the exorbitant fees your governments charge Chileans for a visa.

The reciprocity fee pertains to Americans as well as Canadians entering Chile. In the case of Americans, it is US$ 100.00 but you get a visa valid for the life of the passport.

I am pretty sure that the fee is not for the life of the passport (for Australians at least). I first flew to Santiago in 2001 and had to pay it then. I went back to Santiago in 2003 and had to pay again (I showed them the stamp/receipt from 2001 but had to cough up again). I am not looking at the stamp in my passport right now, but from memory it said 90 days.

The reciprocity fee is US$56.00 for Australian passport holders and good for 90 days. Australia is the exception to the life of passport rule.

The reciprocity fee is not affected by where your flight originates from. If you are a US citizen and arriving in the Santiago airport on an international flight, you will have to pay the fee before passing through immigration. The only exception is that you have paid it before while using the same passport; the fee is good for the life of your passport. This fee is not charged when entering Chile overland.

Australia - 56.00 US$.
Canada --- 132.00 US$.
USA ----- 100.00 US$.
Mexico --- 15.00 US$.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

msE, In Santiago airport there is a stand inside the customs area where your luggage comes out for booking an official taxi or shuttle. I'm not sure how late the shuttles run but the taxis are there always. Do not take a taxi after exiting the customs area unless you go to an official stand on the arrivals level. Do not take a taxi from anyone just standing around, no matter what sort of ID he seems to have hanging around his neck. It isn't a safety issue but a monetary one. For 2 there won't be that much difference in the cost. The taxi will be 12,000 to 15,000 Chilean pesos. About 25 US.

The Radisson Ciudad Empresarial Hotel is in a sort of satellite city for business only and is not really near anywhere.
Unless you have a conference or something in the area I would suggest you stay elsewhere.

Las Condes or Providencia for instance.
In this upper price range the Park Plaza is nice.

LOCATION

Santiago Park Plaza
Av Ricardo Lyon 207, Providencia, Santiago, 6650385 Chile

Telephone: 56 2 372 4000 - 56 2 372 4010
Fax: 56 2 233 6668 - 56 2 233 8521

Here at least you can go out and wander around and have the pick of twenty good restauarants within a few blocks.

At airport, right after exiting customs, you will enter a circle of kiosks--hire a "remis" to take you to the Tribeca, which is quite a nice place--well located, good breakfast and snack food. Your 10-year-old might enjoy a "lomito" filet mignon sandwich instead of the usual hamburger. My kids loved the Recoleta Cemetery--and don't miss the self-guided tour of the historic convent in the chapel (go through the "secret door" on the left as you walk towards the altar! I have not found an ATM that will let me withdraw more than 1050 pesos each day, which is about $350. And after withdrawing that, the other ATMs say I have a zero allowance. No one seems to be able to help with this. By the way, I am a legal resident and am here 11 months of the year. Love it!

I agree with #10 as far as the hotel, unless you have a specific reason, better to stay somewhere more centrally located like Providencia.

In Chile, I have been able to take out up to 250,000-300,000 pesos at once from an ATM.

How much are doubles at the Tribeca? It looks pretty good.

I visited Colonia, Uruguay for a day trip and it was really beautiful and fun! I recommend it! We took buquebus (http://www.buquebus.com). I recommend getting the express catamaran, it is a very nice 1 hour trip. We took the fast boat one way and the slow boat on the return and really preferred the fast boat! The slow boat (3 hour trip) is cheaper and lets you sit outside on the upper deck which is nice but it takes a long time and has a weird shopping mall ambience, with a gift shop, video arcade, several bars, a canteen serving plastic-wrapped sandwiches, and the upper deck is very clogged with smokers.
We rented a motor-scooter near the ferry and it was really fun riding around! I recommend climbing up the lighthouse.
Buy your ferry tickets in advance (you can purchase online) because they can sell out.
have fun!