Buenos Aires vs Cape Town vs Larnaca vs Rio de Janeiro

	Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Remove	Cape Town 🇿🇦 Remove	Larnaca 🇨🇾 Remove	Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Remove
Population	2,900,000	4,617,560	144,900	6,718,903
Official language(s)	Spanish	Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans and English	Greek	Portuguese
Level of English	High	Very high	High	Low
Main airport	Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE)	Cape Town International Airport (CPT)	Larnaca International Airport (LCA)	Galeão International Airport
Most common months to visit	September - December	March - May, September - November	March - May, October - December	January - March, December
Currency	ARS - Argentine Peso ($)	ZAR - South African Rand (R)	EUR - Euro (€)	BRL - Brazilian Real (R$)
Credit cards	Accepted everywhere. (ID required!)	Accepted almost everywhere, but cash still needed in smaller shops	Accepted everywhere	Accepted everywhere
Remote worker visa	No	No	No	No
Average monthly costs	$1321	$1549	$1959	$1833
Rent	$844	$618	$678	$1066
Groceries	$98	$129	$157	$95
Dining out	$121	$269	$261	$210
Cafe	$25	$32	$56	$25
Coworking space	$95	$151	$209	$130
Mobile internet	$11	$27	$35	$7
Public transportation	$9	$55	$63	$33
Taxis	$9	$21	$42	$14
Shared bicycles and scooters	$14	$49	$45	$16
Sport and cultural events	$24	$19	$28	$55
Museums and sights	$4	$15	$8	$26
Nightlife	$23	$43	$110	$54
Gym	$14	$36	$107	$31
Yoga	$19	$56	$105	$40
Massage	$10	$30	$54	$32
SIM card options	Movistar, Claro, Personal	MTN, Vodacom	Primetel, Cytamobile-Vodafone and Epic/MTN	Tim, Claro, Vivo
Tipping	10% at restaurants and cafés is common, not common at bars	10 - 15% at restaurants, round up elsewhere	10% usually added and expected at restaurants, round up at bars	10% usually included in restaurants, 10% at bars and cafes with table service is common
Taxi apps	Uber (not official), Cabify, BA Taxi (Spanish only)	Uber, Bolt	nTaxi	Easy Taxi, 99 Taxi, Uber
Tap water	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable	Not drinkable
Overall cuisine	Argentinian style with an emphasis on red meats, pastries, and Italian-inspired options	South African cuisine has been shaped by a long history of Dutch, Malay, British and Indian settlements, making the food diverse and strong in flavor. There is a strong emphasis on game in all of its different forms, as well as spicy sauces and sautéed vegetables and dry-cured meats. Creamy desserts and liqueurs compliment large and flavorful meals.	Mediterranean style with emphasis on seafood, meats, olives, cheesed and traditional sauces. Some food with Middle Eastern influences as well..	Emphasis on rice, beans, pork and beef with a variety of root vegetables and fresh fruits. Fresh seafood is also very common.
Local food specialities	Asado, empanadas (Argentinian style), locro, milanesa napolitana, facturas and alfajores	Bitlong and droewors, boerewors, Cape Malay curry, bobotie, melkert, gatsby, bunny chow	Souvlaki, sheftalia, kleftiko, stifado, halloumi, koukepia and moussaka	Feijoada, bolinho de bacalhau, fried sardines, caldo verde, pao de queijo and brigadeiros.
Eat like a local	Local restaurants serving asados grill-to-dish (Parrillas), markets (San Telmo, Recoleta) and local cafés for maté and facturas	Cape Malay shacks, food trucks, street food joints, local grills, small bakeries and food markets	Opt for smaller, outside eateries and taverns serving traditional foods. Fast food kebab shops and falafel bars offer authentic options, too.	The "snack capital" of Brazil, Rio is a perfect place to try street food as well as the wide varieties of small, traditional eateries and churrascarias easily found across the city.
Vegetarian / vegan options	79 options on Happy Cow	24 options on HappyCow	14 options on HappyCow, but non-meat Mediterranean/Middle Eastern options are always available	54 options on Happy Cow