Bolivia

Bolivia is a unique country within South America, being completely landlocked due to a complex history with some of the other countries in the continent. Having a majority population that identifies as indigenous, the culture of this country is very unique.

Regions of Bolivia

Bolivia's Fast Facts

Language

Spanish

Capital City

La Paz and Sucre

Currency

Boliviano

Budget Range

$ - $$

Visa Info (Learn More Here)

Find out more about the visa requirements for Bolivia here, especially for United States citizens.

Know Before You Go to Bolivia

hola

OH-la

hello

gracias

GRAH-see-ahs

thank you

por favor

POHR FAH-vohr

please

no entiendo

NOH ehn-tyEN-doh

I don’t understand

¿Hablas inglés?

hah-BLAHS een-GLEHS

do you speak english?

buenos días, buen día (inf.)

BWEN-hos DEE-as, BWEN DEE-a

good morning

buenas tardes, buenas (inf.)

BWEN-ahs TAR-des, BWEN-ahs

good afternoon (until sunset)

¡chau! / hasta luego

CHOW / AH-sta loo-EH-goh

bye! / see you later (also used as “bye”)

buenas noches, buenas (inf.)

BWEN-ahs NOH-ches, BWEN-ahs

good evening or goodnight

¿Dónde está el baño?

DOH-ndeh ehs-TAH EHL BAH-nyoh

where is the bathroom? (IMPORTANT: women’s restrooms are often indicated with an M (mujer=woman)

¿Me da ___, por favor?

MEH DA ___ POHR FAH-vohr

Can i have ___ please? (casual but polite way to order food and drinks)

Quisiera ___, por favor

KEE-see-yehr-ah ___ POHR FAH-vohr

I would like ___ please. (formal and polite way to order food and drinks)

buen provecho

BWEN proh-VE-choh

Enjoy your food or meal. People may use the phrase as they walk by someone eating when in a restaurant. Waiters will say this phrase when they serve you your meal.

As we become more and more cash free in the United States, Argentina still sees cash as king. Cash is truly still widely used in Argentina. Some local establishments only accept cash. Others give you a slight discount if you pay with cash, essentially removing the card fees that they usually have to pay when processing cards. Finally, tipping is always done with cash, so we would recommend having some on you if possible.

This comes after decades of financial instability and government and banking distrust. Prior to the current political administration (inaugurated in October 2023), the Argentine currency was propped up by the government, causing an immense amount of inflation and the requirement for people to exchange their pesos into U.S. dollars to maintain the value of their earnings. You may have heard about the need to bring crisp $100 bills to Argentina and to exchange them on Florida Street and the Blue Market (an underground currency exchange market that exchanged currency at market rate when the government was propping up the local currency) or needing to wire money to a Western Union.

Because the government has stopped propping up the Argentine peso, it is can currently be extracted from bank ATMs at a very similar rate to that on the Blue Market. However, the withdrawal limit at most ATMs is incredibly low and should only be used in an emergency. So what should you do?

- Bring your currency in large bills, preferably in dollars or euros, that you can exchange on a Blue Market, which can be found in most tourist destinations
- Have a travel credit card that you can use internationally so you can still purchase things upon arrival. You should still exchange cash when you can because some of the best food can only be purchased with cash (and all tipping happens with cash)

Something that you will see people carry and share with friends is the mate drink. This is an herbal drink that is integral to local culture and interpersonal relationships. It is often shared amongst friends and colleagues throughout conversations. You will often see people in parks or on benches sharing the drink out of the same gourd-like cup and metal straw.

Because it is a social drink, if you are talking to someone in a social setting who is drinking mate, they may offer it to you. If you accept, they will fill the cup with the yerba mate leaves and add hot water to it. When it is ready to be drunk, they will hand it to you to drink all the liquid from the straw. It is not polite to not finish the full cup of liquid! Also, avoid moving around the straw as it is typically placed in a particular way to best enjoy the drink. When you are done drinking all the liquid, you then hand it back to the person pouring the water and they will add more water and hand it to the next person to drink. (You can always refuse the mate drink and it will not be seen as impolite!)

With how large the country of Argentina is, there is so much regional diversity that ranges in the landscapes and local cultures you will find. The following are just some examples of the regional diversity that you can find:

- Buenos Aires – urban city that combines a local culture with European architecture for a unique flair unlike anywhere else in the world
- Southern Patagonia Region – an area full of rugged mountains, glaciers, and landscapes
- Northern Patagonia Region – a place that is full of forests, lakes, and European-esque moutain villages
- Mendoza – an area known for its world-class wine with full of expansive vineyards and delicious restaurants within a valley
- Salta and Jujuy areas – located at much higher elevations with colorful mountains and a culture that is tied to the indigenous people of the region
- Miciones and the Iguazu Falls – a tropical environment with one of the largest waterfall systems in the world that will leave you in awe

So where should you visit?

The main meal periods in Argentina are the following:

Breakfast (desayuno): until 10 AM and typically involves coffee and a small pastry

Lunch (almuerzo): 12 – 3 PM and tends to be the largest or heaviest meal of the day

Afternoon snack (merienda): around 5 PM and people usually eat a small pastry or a sweet treat

Dinner (cena): starts around 9 PM although many restaurants don’t start filling up until 10 PM. If you are going to a social event after dinner, do not be surprised if it starts after 11 PM.