My 50th birthday trip was supposed to be a mega-trip to both Chile and Argentina, but that didn’t happen due to Covid. We’re looking at 10 days between Xmas and early Jan to go to one of them at this point, and it looks like Chile is still closed to tourism, so it might have to be Argentina.
I hope it happens for you but from a Covid perspective it’s not pretty at all especially in Brazil. Still lots of deaths and a less than 20% full vaccinated rates across most S. American countries. We are looking at Lima in January and have my doubts. I just had a colleague come back and most everything is still shut down.
Todd, best of luck in being able to travel to the region later this year. Hopefully Uruguay will open up or else things will likely be really crowded during that time of year. And get ready for some major heat wherever you go!
For lodging in MDZ, I last stayed in Chacras de Coria. It’s ~15km from downtown MDZ. It’s much more spacious/airy, less chaotic, and it is closer to Tupungato/Valle de Uco.
For a wine tour, I can recommend this group: https://www.mendoza-andes.com/en/home/. I met Stephane randomly in Santiago, and in addition to leading wine tours, he also does high country tours.
If you decide you want a wine guide in Mendoza, Peter Cubillos is your man. I always do some upfront research, share it with him, he makes additional recommendations and off we go. https://peterwinetours.com/. We usually stay at the same Airbnb on our trips and Peter picks us up at that location. He has also arranged to have a driver pick us up at the airport when we arrive. We always have the driver drop us off at the airport at the end of our last day of touring.
Michael,
This is exactly what we did. Stay at the Belmond on the Brazil side then venture to the opposite side. Amazing place. The boat ride into the Devil’s Throat is so fun. Great trip.
It’s been 7-8 years since I spent time in Argentina so what was cool may now be a dud and I am sure new things have come on the scene. We really enjoyed a night in Buenos Aires when going to http://www.floreriaatlantico.com.ar/ - a very cool and fun bar. While in Mendoza we had a memorable meal at 1884 (Mallman’s place) and we stayed at a very nice B&B onsite at a vineyard https://www.fincaadalgisa.com/ - each night they had some small bites and a glass of wine for the guests and it was just a great overall experience and stay.
If you have time while in BA, take the ferry to the UNESCO site at Colonia del Sacramento just across the Rio Plata from BA. It is about an hour’s ferry ride each way and well worth the visit.
We were supposed to do BA, Mendoza, Iguazu Falls, and Uruguay in the spring, but like you had to cancel. I’m sitting on my airline credit, but I don’t have much hope for it happening by January.
A friend’s family goes frequently to Mendoza and always stays at The Vines resort and Spa which is south of Mendoza about an hour’s drive. They return at least once a year. It sure looks good to me. They travel around the area from here.
Her parents actually ended up buying a few acres of vineyard there - “private vineyard estates” are offered for investment in the area - and there is a team that produces wine for them - they go down for the blending I gather. I had a bottle a few months ago when they were visiting and it was a delicious red blend and they really are enjoying this in retirement. My friend has the name of the person they coordinate with if you’d want to know more. You obviously don’t need to buy a vineyard to stay at the resort.
By late December Buenos Aires is way too hot to walk around and enjoy the city, it’s like going to NYC in August, you won’t be able to avoid it but I would minimize my stay there.
I would do Buenos Aires → Mendoza → Bariloche (Stay in Villa la Angostura, about 55 miles from Bariloche) → Calafate (2 nights to visit the Glacier) → Buenos Aires.
Where to stay:
-Buenos Aires: Puerto Madero or Palermo Hollywood.
-Mendoza: Chacras de Coria if you like to keep one foot close to the city. Valle de Uco if you prefer the scenery and you don’t mind to be far away from the civilized world (The Vines of Mendoza is a great recommendation if you decide to stay in Valle de Uco).
Wineries to visit:
Bodegas Lopez, Bodegas Weinert, Carmelo Patti, Ver Sacrum, Zuccardi and SuperUco.
Where to eat:
-Buenos Aires: Elena, Crizia, Tegui, Don Julio. Avoid La Cabrera
-Mendoza: My best experience so far was those never ending lunches at the wineries, there are plenty of those with excellent quality. I personally had a great experience at Mallmann’s 1884 and if you stay at The Vines he also runs 7 Fuegos.
And don’t forget to bring cash, as we speak the exchange rate is AR$100 per U$D if you pay by credit card or you get AR$ from the ATM, but you can get AR$180 per U$D if you change it in the black market, which is so common that it feels like is “the” market. If you hire a local guide he’ll be glad to do it for you.
Enjoy your trip and don’t forget to post your adventures, cheers!
Agree, one of the very most amazing things in South America. There’s a Melia (former Sheraton) on the Argentine side that is in the park itself. UPDATE - I just checked prices and the Belmond was cheaper for the day I checked. Belmond should be a lot more classier than a former Sheraton; when I went, the Argentine side was much cheaper.
I personally enjoyed Cordoba more than Mendoza culturally (not big into Argentine wine). They have a tradition of celebrating the law school graduation throughout the town by have the graduates wear cap and gown all day and the citizens pelting them with eggs and shaving cream. I was invited to share a pitcher of beer with them and I told the adults how much the folks in the US wish they had the same egg and shaving cream opportunity with their lawyres. (apologies to my lawyer friends here).
And no need to hike in Patagonia, if you go to Bariloche, you can take a boat ride to Chile (if the border is open) crossing an Alpine Lake. (But I prefered the Chilean Lake District vs. my brief encounter at Bariloche).
That tradition goes country wide and for every career, so when you go to take your final exam you make sure you are wearing something that can go directly to the trash can. I’ve graduated in economics in Buenos Aires and had my fair share of eggs, flour, mustard, yerba mate and misc…
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