Obtaining pesos in Ushuaia

[lindaa]

We are doing a cruise through South America and Antartica in March. Can anyone who has done this cruise from Valpariaso to BA tell us when docking in Ushuaia(the first Argentina port for us) -- how did you get Argentina pesos? We want to send post cards from the end of the world post office so we are thinking we will need pesos. Do you know if they accept USD$ there? If so, we probably wold be OK without having to obtain pesos. Our ship docks at 2 and our Hollland shore excursion is at 2:45. I am just concerned we won't have time to find pesos before our tour. Thanks for your advise! I always appreciate it.

[kazu]

We are doing a cruise through South America and Antartica in March. Can anyone who has done this cruise from Valpariaso to BA tell us when docking in Ushuaia(the first Argentina port for us) -- how did you get Argentina pesos? We want to send post cards from the end of the world post office so we are thinking we will need pesos. Do you know if they accept USD$ there? If so, we probably wold be OK without having to obtain pesos. Our ship docks at 2 and our Hollland shore excursion is at 2:45. I am just concerned we won't have time to find pesos before our tour. Thanks for your advise! I always appreciate it.

 

We were there too long ago to give you accurate information. I did have some as we were going to other Argentinian ports. I ordered them through my bank and I believe the airport exchanges still carry them.

 

Don't forget though, if you only want to send post cards, you can do this from the ship. As long as you are back on time, they will arrange to mail them (you pay in cash or on your on board account) and they will be postmarked from your port. You can double check with the front desk before you arrive at the port as to timing.

[localady]

Lindaa-

As I recall Ushuaia, there was minimal infrastructure at the port. I would suggest contacting your bank and getting a small amount of Arg. pesos before you travel. We have done this before and it was handy.

 

Additionally, you can always mail your posts at the front desk or concierge just before the visits and they will handle it.

 

Have a fabulous trip, it was one of our all time favorites!

[KirkNC]

I am sure there were ATM's there.

[Vict0riann]

We never managed to find the end-of-the-world Post Office! That said, you might be better off getting some pesos from your bank before you leave, or at least try to get a few pesos from the front desk. You probably won't have much time to get pesos from an ATM in Ushuaia if your tour leaves so soon after you dock. You'd have to walk a few blocks to find a bank.

 

The funny thing about our post cards from Argentina (aside from them taking a looong time to arrive) was that they put strange sticky private postage "stamps" over the stamps we had already stuck on them, and they went in some sort of a private mailbag, I think.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Vict0riann

[Loreto]

We never managed to find the end-of-the-world Post Office! That said, you might be better off getting some pesos from your bank before you leave, or at least try to get a few pesos from the front desk. You probably won't have much time to get pesos from an ATM in Ushuaia if your tour leaves so soon after you dock. You'd have to walk a few blocks to find a bank.

 

The funny thing about our post cards from Argentina (aside from them taking a looong time to arrive) was that they put strange sticky private postage "stamps" over the stamps we had already stuck on them, and they went in some sort of a private mailbag, I think.

 

We were there a year ago. On our excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, the guide talked about the little post office that truly was at the "end of the world." When the tour arrived there, the post office was closed.:( I bought a stamp on board the Zaandam at the front desk and was handed a pricey DSL shipping company stamp. That must be an air mail stamp the city uses. I thought I would get a beautiful Argentine stamp. The recipient did get the card in a timely fashion and was thrilled.

 

I thought the dock in Ushuaia was pretty big, with shops and restaurants.

 

A note about pesos....the front desk may have them or your bank, but they will only be paper currency. Buying Argentine pesos was a big mistake. No bank will take them back, and we made it our mission to get rid of what we had left at the gift shop at the national park.

 

Karen

[Vict0riann]

We were there a year ago. On our excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, the guide talked about the little post office that truly was at the "end of the world." When the tour arrived there, the post office was closed.:( I bought a stamp on board the Zaandam at the front desk and was handed a pricey DSL shipping company stamp. That must be an air mail stamp the city uses. I thought I would get a beautiful Argentine stamp. The recipient did get the card in a timely fashion and was thrilled.

 

I thought the dock in Ushuaia was pretty big, with shops and restaurants.

 

A note about pesos....the front desk may have them or your bank, but they will only be paper currency. Buying Argentine pesos was a big mistake. No bank will take them back, and we made it our mission to get rid of what we had left at the gift shop at the national park.

 

Karen

 

We were there for 4 days and had a car, but no one to tell us where the Post Office was! We did go in the park to where you could see Chile across the water, so maybe it was near there? Anyway we just mailed postcards in town. Better luck next time!

[crystalspin]

We were there last month, sailed 24 Nov 2014 and were in Ushuaia some day or two into December. You need to take an excursion (or private hire) to Tierra del Fuego National Park as someone said above. There is a tiny post office with attractive postcards for sale -- there was quite a line to mail! But it would have been possible, it wasn't THAT long a line.

 

We got Argentine pesos from our bank, but I recommend getting the smallest amount reasonable or permissible -- we got too much! -- I think but do not know that they would only take pesos at the post office, but all private establishments in Ushuaia and Buenos Aires not only prefer US$ but generally give you a better exchange rate than the bank besides! 10 to 1 was average and I heard you can actually get 12 to 1 some times or places.

[take us away]

In 2013 we had no problems using US$$. The 1 time we needed pesos, a local was more than willing to exchange with us as we only needed about US$1.50 in pesos.

[RMLincoln]

What time does you ship leave port?

 

We were in Ushuaia for a port call. We had a ship-sponsored boat tour excursion that day which met on the pier.

We walked to the excursion along the pier and there were several shops on the pier. One had post cards and stamps for mailing to the US. It was a bit crowded but I was able to get cards and stamps... then I quickly wrote the cards that day (on the excursion boat) and dropped them at the shop on the way back to the ship. The shop took US$s, gladly - Argentinians give a premium for US$s. I think I paid $20 for 4 post cards and stamps to USA, foreign mailing is expensive but the exchange was good. I recommend you leave your ship as early as possible before your excursion.

 

There are money changers who walk the pier and the streets and give a good exchange for US$s so I would not bother exchanging money while still in the states, other folks might....

 

We did purchase a few things in Ushuaia and always used US$s.... same for our other Argentine ports. Ushuaia is a busy port and a busy town with streets full of shops, much local commerce is just 1 or 2 blocks up from the pier. It's a nice place with plenty of infrastructure and very friendly helpful people, many of whom speak English. We found a camera shop and managed to buy an extra camera battery in addition to the usual souvenirs. I love my Terra del Fino T-shirt!

 

Enjoy your exciting adventure. m--

[lindaa]

Thanks everyone for all the great tips! We have 45 minutes before our tour and 45 minutes before our departure. Such a short stay there. Must be tide related. Really appreciate all of the help!

[NMLady]

I see that some people recommend you have the ship mail them. The problem with that is they're not always mailed from that port but often from a future port

Because of that experience we no longer have the ship mail our postcards if we want a postmark from the port pictured on the card.

[grayjay]

There is a small (official) post-office directly at the dock. It was rather crowded, but offered a variety of postcards and stamps - very reasonable prices, and there were chairs and 2 small tables. As many others I used these to write my postcards and mail them directly. They arrived about 3 weeks after the end of our cruise, but they all did!

We had pesos left ( we changed US-$ into pesos at our hotel and got a good rate, I wouldn't use the street sellers except for a really small amount - lots of forgeries etc.) but I seem to remember they also took US-$. Otherwise buy something small in a shop at the dock - they'll take your money gladly.

We went there a year ago.