Budget Traveler´s Guide to Living in Buenos Aires: Part 2

Part 2 to A Budget Traveler’s Guide to Living in Buenos Aires

(or go back to Part 1)

Food

I really did believe Lonely Planet when it said you could get a steak for $4, which in retrospect seems ridiculous. The prices in Buenos Aires are good, but they’re not that good. For realistic budgeting, budget about 45 – 60 pesos a day for lunch and dinner ($20 a day – like I said, still pretty good, but $4 steaks it is not.)

eating at DesNivel

If you’re looking for cheap eats, there’s a place around the corner from Hostal de Granados that sells great empanadas for 2.50 pesos each. Take a left out of the hostel, a left on Defensa, cross the first intersection you come to, and take a right. It’ll be right before the supermercado. Top the empanadas off with some Quillmes (3 pesos at the supermercado) and you got a great meal.

Other eateries for the budget traveler in Buenos Aires:

Directly to the right of the hostel, on Chile, is a hole-in-the-wall with a small menu, but great value in their meals. 16 – 18 pesos will get you good portions of beef or chicken.

Take a left on Defensa, and you’ll run into a pizza place, where you can get a “Promo Pizza” (a plain pie) for about 17 pesos. It’s enough to split 2, possibly 3 ways.

Finally, Des Nivel also comes highly recommended, at Defensa 855. They have an asado in the back, and fantastic cuts of beef from 22 – 36 pesos.

DesNivel

Drink

We quickly learned bottled water (agua sin gas) is an expensive drink in Buenos Aires. If you want to do yourself a favor and save some pesos, fill up a water bottle from the tap before heading out for a day of exploring. If drinking foreign water unsettles you, buy water in bulk, fill up your bottle, then leave it in the hostel.

Beer (Quilmes) and wine (go with the house) are almost always cheaper alternatives in restaurants, so drink up! And as any college student will tell you, the key to saving money on nights out requires one hyphenated word: Pre-game.

Want to know how you can save money on transportation and entertainment in Buenos Aires? Part 3… coming soon!

What do you think about these tips? Do you have any money saving tips from your traveling adventures?