Destination Information - Argentina
AIR INFORMATION – HOW TO GET THERE
All of our Antarctic cruises begin and end in Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina. Polar Star Expeditions is not able to arrange your international air but here are some details that will help you with planning. Most international flights to Argentina will arrive at Ministro Pistarini (Ezeiza, EZE), the International Airport in Buenos Aires. Please note that most flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia will depart from the Domestic Airport (Jorge Newbery, AEP) so please allow enough time between flights (at least 3-4 hours) to travel between airports. The journey from Ushuaia International Airport (officially called Internacional Malvines Argentinas) to downtown Ushuaia is approximately 20 minutes.
CLIMATE
In November/December, the average high temperature in Ushuaia is approximately 12°C and the average low is 2°C. Temperatures warm up a little in January/February/March, average high temperature is approximately 14°C and the average low is 4°C.
CURRENCY
Argentina’s unit of currency is the Argentine Peso. Approximate exchange rates (at time of writing) are:
1 USD = 3.1 ARS
1 CAD = 2.7 ARS
1 GBP = 5.8 ARS
1 Euro = 3.9 ARS
1 AUD = 2.3 ARS
1 NZ = 2 ARS
ECONOMY
The major industries in Argentina are lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock, food processing, motor vehicles, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, and steel.
ELECTRICITY
The electrical current in Argentina is 220 volts and sockets are two pronged with round pins (but different to European plugs).
GEOGRAPHY
Argentina is located in Southern South America between Chile and Uruguay. It also shares its borders with Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. It is 2,736,690 km² in size with a varied terrain including plains in the northern half, flat to rolling plateaus in Patagonia and in the west, the rugged Andes mountains.
GOVERNMENT
Argentina is a republic, who’s president acts as both the chief of state and head of government. At time of writing, the president is Nestor Kirchner. The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires.
The official language of Argentina is Spanish but English is also widely spoken.
RELIGION
Approximately 92% of Argentineans are Roman Catholic. Other religious groups in Argentina include Pentecostal and Judaism.
PEOPLE
The population of Argentina is approximately 39 million, made up mostly of people of Spanish and Italian descent. The remainder of the population consists of mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) and Amerindian.
TIME
GMT - 4
WILDLIFE
In Tierra Del Fuego, some of the wildlife that can be found includes, Magellanic penguins, South American sea lions, southern elephant seals southern right whales, foxes, beavers and guanacos. Some of the birdlife includes Ruddy-headed Goose, Peregrine Falcon, Two-banded Plover, Baird's Sandpiper and Patagonian Yellow-Finch.