Which SA countries offer a good exchange rate for the U.S. dollar?

If you mean "which countries are cheapest to travel in when using the worthless U.S. Dollar?" then look at Bolivia.

In Argentina where the dollar buys 3.1 pesos, would that mean reduced costs for dining, shopping, concerts, etc.?

Absolutely. Also, as far as comparisons, it is relatively "normal" there, not dirt poor. The infrastructure works. It could easily be confused to almost be in Italy or Spain, if that makes any sense.

Thanks.

Sounds like BA is at least one country where the dollar is in good standing.

1/3 of the cost...sounds excellent!

What? Your location says you are in Korea. There you can get 995 Won for a dollar. Doesn't mean Korea is 1/995 the cost of America. It's all relative.
If you're looking for somewhere cheap Bolivia is your spot, as static said.
Argentina is definitely cheaper than the US, but not exactly 3.1 times cheaper when $1=3.1 pesos.

Hi: I'm a local from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
as Cyberssust says, rate with US dollar doesn't mean anything.
But in the case of Argentina it's real that prices are lowest than in any other south american country.
Also take into account you will find a very rich nightlife in the city and many nice and friendly people. Definetely, a place to visit and a good jumping point to another places.

Also the country, toghether with Uruguay are the safest in SA.

Some prices in UD dollarsbe carefull when you see argentina websites: our pesos sign is $, the same that US dollar).
Normal dinner with good wine: 10-15$
Beer, 1 liter bottle at supermarket 1$
10 subway trips card 2,70 $
Bus with sleeping seats to Iguazu falls
(18 hours trip) 40$
Accommodation:
A cheap hostel $7-10/night
Guesthouse $70/week(see website in my profile)
Group Tango class 1,5 hours - $5-10
Spanish one-to-one private class 2hours $20
Spanish group class institute 2hours $20-30

NOTE: we have about 1% monthly inflation,
so prices jump every 3-4 month to addapt
them to our real expenses, so compare date
of this post with present date.

I remember seeing a lot of prices in US Dollars in BA. Rent for apartments was listed like this U$1,000 in many of the windows of real-estate agencies. I thought they were not allowed to charge prices for anything in BA other than in their own currency.

Ha..ha.. it depends when you were here in Argentina...

As a local, I can explain: Always it was usual to trade real state and cars in US dollars, to have an stable parameter in front of inflation.
In the '90 and for near 10 years our $AR(peso) was tied to u$s currency (1=1) and it was alowed to use as peso as dollars for all.

This stopped inflation, but at the same time it was the reason of an economic desaster, because it's no posible to tie for such long time our economy to US economy.

After a big devaluation (2002) (to 3 pesos = 1 US dollar) we change again to an independent currency, but we continue again using US dollars just for real state and for automotive sales. At least trade can be in pesos, but we think in terms of dollars for these.

Hope this help to understand...

quote:

Originally posted by Zander01:
.........I thought they were not allowed to charge prices for anything in BA other than in their own currency.

Here's a great website, for all travelers, which gives you the exchange rate for every currency in the world (including a pretty nifty currency calculator).

www.xe.com

quote:

Originally posted by juanka:
Hi: I'm a local from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
as Cyberssust says, rate with US dollar doesn't mean anything.
But in the case of Argentina it's real that prices are lowest than in any other south american country.
Also take into account you will find a very rich nightlife in the city and many nice and friendly people. Definetely, a place to visit and a good jumping point to another places.

Also the country, toghether with Uruguay are the safest in SA.

Cheapest in South America? Ehh...ever been to Bolivia?
I agree with great nightlife and friendly people but I know three people (me included) who traveled South America and only got robbed in Argentina. One of them got a gun pointed at his head, he was on the news and everything!

static,

You wrote that the U. S. Dollar is worthless. LOL - Sometimes the U. S. Dollar is a little down against some currencies and sometimes it's a little up, but never is it worthless.

The U.S. is still the strongest economy in the world and the U.S. dollar is still the currency most prized throughout the world. The U. S. Dollar is still king.

When the U. S. Dollar is down a bit, other countries can buy U. S. goods for a bit of a lower price. U. S. exports are up in this case, and the U. S. gets to sell more. When the U. S. Dollar is up against other currencies, U. S. imports are up, and other countries get to sell more. It's what makes the world go 'round, and none of it is worthless. Currencies going up and down allows for better trade in our world. If the U. S. Dollar was always on top nobody could afford to buy U. S. products; namely needed argricultural goods, and when another country may be experiencing a drought at the time. If they don't have crops of their own to sell on top of having to pay higher prices importing crops..............

The market is designed (intententionaly or not) to go up and down for good reason.

The U. S. Dollar will always be king because people in the U. S. do not have the attitude about anybody elses currency being worhtless. We don't think like that. We are too smart for that.

Larrybk,

Keep an eye out for a favorable exchange rate, but don't let it dictate your travel plans.
Belize and Chile are nice visits.

Indiaonthe moon, good post and all, and jolly good try at defending the dollar and educating us all on exchange rates and their relationship to international trade, however i see you are new here, so something I must warn you about most of these characters, present company excepted, is that they take particular delight in disparaging just about anything American and in particular are most vehemently not neo conservative in inclination. But they are all good people and entitled to their opinion, but to try and correct them on minor trivialities, much less important matters, will wear you out to a frazzle in no time and will not change anyone's opinions.

But having said that, welcome aboard and nice to hear a viewpoint I can agree with for a change!!!

rgds

charlie