Buenos Aires Budget per Day (2026): What Tourists Really Spend, with Dated Prices
What foreign tourists really spend per day in Buenos Aires (INDEC, 2026), plus dated menu prices, subte and bus fares, and Ezeiza transfers.
Last checked on 30 Oct 2026. Every price shows the date on its source.
This page is general information for planning a trip, not financial advice. Prices in Argentina change often: check the linked sources before you book.
How this page is made: researched and drafted with AI tools, fact-checked against the linked sources, and checked by a second, AI-assisted editorial review before publishing. See our editorial policy.
Quick answer
- What foreign tourists actually spend: USD 94.5 per person per day, on average, in July–September 2026. That’s non-resident tourists leaving through Ezeiza and Aeroparque airports, for their whole stay in Argentina, excluding international flights (INDEC, international tourism statistics, Sept and Q3 2026, PDF).
- Travellers from the US and Canada spent more: USD 117.2 per person per day in the same period (same source, same scope).
- A sample day in the city, without accommodation, comes to about ARS 88,000 (about USD 57) using menu prices and official fares published online: café breakfast, a set lunch, four subte rides, one museum and a steak dinner with a glass of Malbec. See the breakdown below.
- A subway ride costs ARS 1,887 with a registered SUBE card (higher fare if your card isn’t registered), for your first 20 rides of the month, from November 2026 (SBASE fare table, PDF; SBASE Resolution 253/2026).
- You don’t need a SUBE card for the bus: SUBE says buses across the Buenos Aires metro area take contactless Visa and Mastercard cards, including cards issued in other countries, at the registered-card fare (SUBE). The subte takes them too.
What foreign tourists actually spend (INDEC)
INDEC, Argentina’s statistics office, surveys non-resident tourists as they leave; its daily figure is total spending divided by total nights. “Total spending” means everything bought during the stay, including transport inside Argentina, but not international transport (INDEC, same PDF, definitions). Two limits: it’s the whole trip in Argentina (Buenos Aires city accounted for 60.1% of these tourists’ nights in Q3 2026, INDEC table 20), and it covers only tourists who left through Ezeiza and Aeroparque.
| Where tourists live | Average spend per person per day | Average stay | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| All non-resident tourists | USD 94.5 | 11.1 nights | INDEC, table 19 |
| United States and Canada (one group) | USD 117.2 | 12.5 nights | same |
| Europe | USD 71.9 | 21.6 nights | same |
| Australia | Not published separately; INDEC’s “rest of the world” group (USD 79.1, which INDEC says to use with caution) has no country breakdown | n/a | same |
Scope: non-resident tourists, Ezeiza and Aeroparque airports, July–September 2026.
By type of accommodation (Q3 2026)
| Main accommodation | Share of tourists | Average spend per person per day | In pesos (BCRA reference, 29 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4- and 5-star hotels | 36.7% | USD 164.7 | ARS 253,571 |
| 1-, 2- and 3-star hotels | 11.6% | USD 120.8 | ARS 185,983 |
| Rented house or apartment | 24.9% | USD 104.8 | ARS 161,349 |
| Staying with family or friends | 23.3% | USD 46.4 | ARS 71,437 |
| Other | 3.5% | USD 82.6 | ARS 127,170 |
Source: INDEC, infographic on p. 5 of the PDF. Peso column: our calculation at the BCRA Com. “A” 3500 reference rate of 1,539.593 ARS per USD on 29 Oct 2026 (BCRA API). You won’t get that exact rate; see our exchange rate guide.
Buenos Aires price index (checked 30 October 2026)
Each price comes from a menu or fare table published online by the venue or the authority, linked in its row and read on 30 Oct 2026. One venue’s menu is an example, not a city average.
| Item | Price (ARS) | ≈ USD | Where, and the date on the source | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Café con leche + 3 medialunas | 5,200 – 9,300 | 3.38 – 6.04 | Sánchez & Sánchez, Almagro (menu page, undated); Las Violetas, Almagro (menu file dated October 2026) | Sánchez & Sánchez; Las Violetas menu, PDF |
| Beef empanada (one) | 5,100 | 3.31 | Bodegón Devoto, Villa Devoto (menu file dated September 2026) | Bodegón Devoto menu, PDF |
| Bife de chorizo (sirloin steak) | 29,000 – 45,000 | 18.84 – 29.23 | Pippo, Centro, 16 oz with a side (menu dated 18 Sep 2026); Bodegón Devoto, 400 g, with a side of your choice | Pippo menu, PDF; Bodegón Devoto, PDF |
| Malbec, 350 ml / 750 ml bottle | 7,500 / 13,000 | 4.87 / 8.44 | Pippo, Benjamín Malbec (18 Sep 2026) | Pippo menu, PDF |
| Beer, 950 ml bottle (Quilmes) | 12,000 | 7.79 | Pippo (18 Sep 2026) | same |
| Lunch set menu (starter, main, dessert or coffee), weekdays 12–16 | 24,000 | 15.59 | Bodegón Devoto (September 2026) | Bodegón Devoto, PDF |
| Cover charge per person (cubierto) | 1,000 – 3,000 | 0.65 – 1.95 | Pippo; Bodegón Devoto (not charged at weekday lunch) | menus above |
| Subte ride, registered SUBE (rides 1–20 of the month; higher fare if unregistered) | 1,887 | 1.23 | From November 2026 | SBASE, PDF |
| City bus, 0–3 km, registered / unregistered | 920.48 / 1,463.56 | 0.60 / 0.95 | October 2026 | Red SUBE |
| SUBE card (physical) | 1,500 | 0.97 | Checked 30 Oct 2026 | SUBE |
| Teatro Colón guided tour, general admission | 34,000 | 22.08 | Checked 30 Oct 2026 | Teatro Colón |
| MALBA, general admission (Wednesday) | 14,000 (7,000) | 9.09 (4.55) | Checked 30 Oct 2026 | MALBA |
| Tango show at El Querandí, show only / dinner and show | USD 70–88 / USD 110–147 | n/a | Rates for visitors who live abroad; the lower figure is a same-day web discount, checked 30 Oct 2026 | El Querandí |
USD column: our calculation at 1,539.593 ARS per USD (BCRA Com. “A” 3500, 29 Oct 2026). Fares and menus may have changed since the dates shown. The Teatro Colón takes only pesos, in cash or by card (Teatro Colón).
A sample day, without accommodation
| ARS | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast: café con leche + 3 medialunas | 5,200 | Sánchez & Sánchez |
| Lunch: weekday set menu (no cover at weekday lunch) | 24,000 | Bodegón Devoto |
| Four subte rides, registered SUBE (from November 2026) | 7,548 | SBASE |
| One museum: MALBA, general admission | 14,000 | MALBA |
| Dinner: bife de chorizo with a side, 350 ml Malbec, cover | 37,500 | Pippo |
| Total | 88,248 (≈ USD 57.32) | our calculation |
Our sum of the prices above, for one person, with no tip and no accommodation. With an unregistered SUBE card, the rides cost more.
Where to stay
Room prices depend heavily on your dates, so check them on booking sites for your own stay. The INDEC table above shows how much the type of accommodation moved tourists’ daily spending.
VAT refund on accommodation. Registered hotels refund the VAT on your room (and included breakfast) if you pay with a foreign card or a transfer from a foreign bank, show your foreign passport and get a class “T” invoice (ARCA; RG 3971/2016, arts. 2, 5 and 6). Cash doesn’t qualify. ARCA’s list doesn’t mention apartment rentals or Airbnb. Full details are in our exchange rate guide.
Getting around: subte and bus fares
You have two ways to pay: a contactless bank card or phone, or a SUBE card.
Paying by contactless card or phone (buses and subte)
SUBE, the national fare system, says all metro-area buses (national, province and City lines) accept contactless Visa and Mastercard cards from any bank, including foreign ones, plus NFC phones and watches. There’s nothing to sign up for, and the fare is the one a registered SUBE user pays. RED SUBE combination discounts need a SUBE card (SUBE, new payment methods). On City bus lines, while the system is still a pilot, contactless payers pay a flat fare: the 3–6 km fare (ARS 1,022.81 in October 2026) on regular City bus lines, or the 0–3 km fare on the electric Mini MUBE minibuses (City of Buenos Aires fare resolution, Oct 2026, art. 3, PDF); that amount may change with the November table.
Every subte station has signposted gates for contactless cards, phones and QR codes, and Emova, the subte operator, says Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Argentina work. You pay the full fare in force, frequent-rider discounts apply per card, and one card can pay up to 10 rides a day (Emova). As of 30 Oct 2026, Emova’s page doesn’t say whether the full fare in force means the registered or the unregistered SUBE fare. Fares are in pesos; for how foreign cards convert them, see our exchange rate guide.
Paying with a SUBE card
- Price and where to buy: ARS 1,500 for the card (SUBE), sold at SUBE points of sale, service centres and online, and at the City’s Tourist Assistance Centres. As of 30 Oct 2026, SUBE’s list of service centres includes one in Ezeiza (Nicolás Avellaneda 51, Mon–Fri 8:00–13:00) but none at the airport (SUBE, how to get one). At the airport, our editor, Emiliano, told us in October 2026 that you can buy a SUBE card at the Open 25 kiosk, past the arrivals doors after you leave baggage claim. That kiosk isn’t on SUBE’s list, so contactless remains the fallback.
- Registering is optional. An unregistered card works the same way but pays the higher fare.
- With a passport: you can register a card at the City’s Tourist Assistance Centres, which ask for an identity document or passport, an email address and a phone number (City of Buenos Aires).
- With SUBE itself: SUBE’s registration terms (updated 21 Oct 2025) say adults must use a valid DNI, Argentina’s national ID, and its own service centres ask for one (SUBE, registration terms).
Subte (subway)
| Rides in the calendar month | Registered SUBE |
|---|---|
| 1 to 20 | ARS 1,887.00 |
| 21 to 30 | ARS 1,509.60 |
| 31 to 40 | ARS 1,320.90 |
| 41 or more | ARS 1,132.20 |
Higher fare if your card isn’t registered: see the official SBASE fare table, PDF.
Sources: November fares from SBASE, Annex II, PDF, approved by SBASE Resolution 253/2026, which applies them from November 2026; press reports give 1 November as the start date (El Cronista). In October the registered fare for rides 1–20 was ARS 1,817 (SBASE, October table, PDF). Fares include VAT. SBASE has changed the table from month to month. The cheaper rows only apply after your 20th ride in the same calendar month.
City buses (colectivos)
Buses that run entirely inside the City of Buenos Aires charge by distance, under the City’s own fare table. Official lists of those lines don’t match: the City’s October 2026 fare resolution, PDF names 27, while Red SUBE lists 31 (adding 6, 23, 90 and 99), and Red SUBE puts all 31 under its City bus fare table. Check your line on Red SUBE.
| Distance | Registered SUBE | Unregistered SUBE |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 km | ARS 920.48 | ARS 1,463.56 |
| 3–6 km | ARS 1,022.81 | ARS 1,626.27 |
| 6–12 km | ARS 1,101.59 | ARS 1,751.53 |
| 12–27 km | ARS 1,180.44 | ARS 1,876.90 |
Source: Red SUBE, October 2026; registered fares also in the City’s October 2026 fare annex, PDF. These are October fares; check Red SUBE for November.
National lines, which run between the city and Buenos Aires Province (such as line 8), use the national table: 0–3 km costs ARS 742.81 registered and ARS 1,485.62 unregistered (Red SUBE, October 2026).
From Ezeiza airport to the city
| Option | Price, as published on 30 Oct 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi Ezeiza (prepaid airport taxi), to Capital Federal | ARS 60,000 (per car, our editor told us in October 2026; confirm at the stand) | taxiezeiza.com.ar; operator listed by Aeropuertos Argentina |
| Tienda León bus to Terminal Pellegrini | ARS 18,000 list price, ARS 16,500 buying online, per person | Tienda León |
| Bus line 8 (common route, full trip) | ARS 1,337.06 registered SUBE, ARS 2,674.12 unregistered (fares in force since July 2026) | CNRT line 8 fare table, PDF |
| UberX from Ezeiza | Average ARS 39,397 over the past month; Uber says averages aren’t fixed or guaranteed | Uber, EZE pickup |
Prices may have changed since 30 Oct 2026. Full comparison in our Ezeiza airport to Buenos Aires guide.
Free (and cheap) things to do
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes: free entry (Ministry of Culture). Tuesday to Friday 11:00–19:30 and weekends 10:00–19:30 (last entry); closed Mondays (MNBA).
- Recoleta Cemetery guided tours: free tours in Spanish leave the main entrance every hour, 10:00–16:00 on weekdays and 9:00–16:00 on weekends and holidays. Visiting hours are 9:00–17:00 every day, and the City sells entry tickets for Argentine and international tourists on the same page (City of Buenos Aires); check the ticket price there.
- MALBA on Wednesdays: general admission is half price, ARS 7,000 instead of 14,000 (MALBA).
Money tips that change your budget
- Card or cash? Foreign-issued Visa, Mastercard, Cabal and Discover cards get a special non-resident rate (Payway). Compare it with what a bank pays for cash on the day: see our exchange rate guide.
- Pay in pesos, not your home currency, on the card terminal. Visa says a price in your own currency “includes exchange rate and additional fees” (Visa).
- Check the menu for a cover charge. Both restaurant menus in our price index list a per-person cubierto or table service charge (ARS 1,000 at Pippo, ARS 3,000 at Bodegón Devoto, except weekday lunch).
FAQ
How much money do I need per day in Buenos Aires in 2026?
Foreign tourists spent USD 94.5 per person per day on average in July–September 2026, across their whole stay in Argentina (INDEC). Our sample day in the city, built from published prices and without accommodation, comes to about ARS 88,000 (about USD 57).
How much for a week in Buenos Aires?
At INDEC’s average, seven days comes to USD 661.5 per person, or USD 820.4 at the US and Canada average (our calculation from INDEC, Q3 2026). Add your flight.
How much is a steak dinner, a coffee or a beer?
On menus we checked on 30 Oct 2026, a bife de chorizo cost ARS 29,000 to 45,000, a 950 ml beer ARS 12,000 and a café con leche with three medialunas ARS 5,200 to 9,300 (Las Violetas menu, PDF). See the price index for venues and dates, and check for a cover charge too.
Can I pay the bus and the subte with a contactless card?
Yes. Buses across the metro area take contactless Visa and Mastercard cards and NFC phones, including foreign cards, at the registered-card fare (SUBE); on regular City lines a card pays the flat 3–6 km fare during the pilot (0–3 km on Mini MUBE minibuses). On the subte, use the signposted contactless gates (Emova).
How much is an Uber in Buenos Aires?
As of 30 Oct 2026, Uber’s published UberX average from Ezeiza was ARS 39,397 over the past month, not a fixed price (Uber). We didn’t find a published average for trips within the city.
How much does a tango show or Teatro Colón cost?
At El Querandí, visitors who live abroad paid USD 70–88 for the show only and USD 110–147 for dinner and show, as of 30 Oct 2026 (El Querandí). The Teatro Colón guided tour costs ARS 34,000, paid in pesos (Teatro Colón).
Methodology and sources
- Official statistics: INDEC, international tourism statistics, September and Q3 2026 (published 26 Oct 2026), PDF: tables 19 and 20 and the infographic on p. 5. Next INDEC release: 27 Nov 2026 (INDEC calendar). Definitions follow INDEC’s survey methodology, PDF.
- Consumer prices: from menus and price pages published online by the venues themselves (linked in the price index). The venues’ pages were read on 30 Oct 2026; each row shows the date printed on its source, if any. They are examples from specific venues, not averages.
- What we credit to our editor, Emiliano, is his own experience, as he told us in October 2026.
- Transport fares: Red SUBE; SBASE tables for November and October 2026; City bus fare resolution and annex, October 2026; SUBE pages on contactless payment, getting a card and registration; Emova; CNRT line 8.
- Airport transfers: taxiezeiza.com.ar, Aeropuertos Argentina, Tienda León and Uber, checked 30 Oct 2026.
- Exchange rate for conversions: BCRA Com. “A” 3500 reference, 29 Oct 2026: 1,539.593 ARS per USD. It’s a benchmark, not the rate you’ll get.
- Free things: MNBA, Ministry of Culture and City of Buenos Aires pages linked in that section.
- Card payments: Visa on dynamic currency conversion.
- Rules: ARCA VAT refund, RG 3971/2016.
- How this page is made: researched and drafted with AI tools, fact-checked against the sources above, and checked by a second, AI-assisted editorial review before publishing. See our editorial policy.
This guide is general information, not financial advice. Prices and fares change often: check the official sources before you budget.