After an incredible road trip through the northern and southern loops of Salta in northwestern Argentina, the city of Mendoza completely stole our hearts! Initially, we thought we’d stay just a few days, then decided to rent an apartment for a week or two. In the end, we stayed for a month! We needed a little break, to find a routine again, to have a somewhat normal life. And we can definitely say that this city is perfect for an extended stay in Argentina! Here’s an overview of what there is to see and do in and around Mendoza!
We took this trip in 2014, but the article was completely revised and updated in January 2025. If you see any price changes or have additional information that might be relevant, please feel free to leave us a comment!
How to get to Mendoza?
As a major city in northern Argentina, it’s easily accessible. However, since the country is vast, distances are quite significant, so overnight buses are recommended!
From Salta
Getting to Mendoza from Salta is straightforward though somewhat expensive. By bus, it’s an 18-hour journey in semi-cama seats starting at 120 euros. Ouch… By plane, it’s actually cheaper: starting at 70 euros for a direct 1h45 flight. Honestly, we recommend breaking up the journey by stopping at Cafayate, Tafi del Valle, and San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. It’ll feel less lengthy, and most importantly, you’ll get off the beaten path by exploring these smaller towns :).
From Valparaíso
We did the reverse journey, Mendoza-Valparaíso, and honestly, it’s quite manageable by bus! Since you cross the Andes mountains, the scenery is magnificent! For a direct 9-hour journey in semi-cama or cama seats, tickets cost around 40 euros per person. The price difference between the two seat categories isn’t huge, so if you’re traveling overnight, opt for a cama seat.
From Buenos Aires
Between Argentina’s capital and Mendoza, there’s over 1000 km! The fastest option is, of course, by plane. It’s a 2-hour flight with tickets starting at around 40 euros. By bus, whether in cama or semi-cama seats, tickets cost around 60-70 euros for a 15-hour journey!
As with Salta, we’d recommend breaking up the journey. For reference, going through Córdoba first takes 9 hours by bus (30-40 euros per ticket). You can also take the train! The rail network isn’t very developed considering the country’s size. This is truly slow travel as the Buenos Aires-Córdoba connection takes 19 hours! For more information on schedules and fares, visit this page, and this website to book your ticket.
From Córdoba
Córdoba is only 610 km from Mendoza. Buses take about 7 hours to connect the two cities. The cheapest tickets (semi-cama) cost 30 euros per person.
From San Carlos de Bariloche
This is quite a journey! To connect Bariloche and Mendoza, we recommend going through Pucón in Chile. It’ll give you a break, and given the area’s beauty, it would be a shame to miss this last Patagonian stop! Even by plane, there are no direct flights between the two cities; you’ll necessarily have a stopover in Buenos Aires.
Where to stay in Mendoza?
Before finding our little apartment, we spent 5 nights in a hostel. Honestly, it was undoubtedly one of our best hostels during our world tour. Unfortunately, it has closed since… If you like youth hostels, you’ll find plenty around the main square!
If you want to rent an apartment, you’ll definitely find something suitable as there’s plenty of choice. Monthly rates are often more advantageous than nightly rates. If not, don’t hesitate to write to the owner to see if a small discount would be possible for the month – it’s very common to do this.
You’ll find plenty of accommodation options (hotels, hostels, and apartments) on the map below.
What to do in Mendoza?
When we arrived in Mendoza, one of the first things that struck us was the calm that reigns in the city. Compared to Salta where the streets are crowded and everyone’s running around, we had the impression that Mendoza moved at a slower pace… Less traffic, less stressed people, but also and especially lots of green spaces. Surprising when you know the city is in the middle of a desert!
Visit the city center
The city center is built around Independence Square (Plaza Independencia), an oasis of freshness with a beautiful fountain. It’s surrounded by 4 smaller squares (Plazas Chile, San Martín, España, Italia) that are worth checking out. Don’t miss the pedestrian street Sarmiento, the San Martín passage, the Nuestra Señora de Loreto Cathedral, the San Francisco Basilica, and the Central Market!
For all the secrets of the city center and historic center, we recommend taking a free tour. In our opinion, it’s the best way to visit a city on the first day. It’s very pleasant, inexpensive (you give a tip at your discretion), and very informative!
In short, we immediately felt good in Mendoza, and it’s never been so pleasant to wander whether among the colonial buildings of the center or the squares and parks! Promise, I’m not just saying that because we tasted one of the best ice creams of our lives on the first day. Well OK, that helps! Find all our best addresses in Mendoza in the middle of the article!
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Stroll through Parque General San Martín
A lovely walk to take in central Mendoza is exploring San Martín Park. Located less than a kilometer from Plaza Independencia, you can easily access it on foot and discover the lake, various trails, or simply stroll in the shade of tall trees. It’s very well maintained and equipped, and you could easily spend the day just enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. You’ll see many locals relaxing in the shade, roller skating, running… For us, it’s a must-see, especially if you’re staying several days in Mendoza.
For info, on Sundays, this park is the favorite meeting point for Mendocinos (Mendoza residents) for a good asado, the Argentinian barbecue. In short, the wonderful smell of grilled meat is guaranteed! (If you want to taste a real asado with locals, we recommend this activity :))
Climb to Cerro de la Gloria
At the eastern end of San Martín Park, you can take the trail right next to the entrance of the old zoo. It leads to Cerro de la Gloria near the Deportivo de Montaña Park. It’s a nice 8 km walk from San Martín Park to gain some elevation and get a view of the city and surrounding mountains. You’ll see the imposing monument celebrating the victory of the Army of the Andes at the Battle of Chacabuco, which marked the continent’s history. Indeed, this army led by General José de San Martín crossed the cordillera to face the royalist troops and thus liberate Chile from Spanish forces.
Hike Cerro Arco
Lesser known, the Cerro Arco trail takes you up for a beautiful 360° panorama of the region, at 1600m altitude. Tip: if possible, go for sunset! In total, it’s about 3 hours of walking for just over 8 km round trip and 580m elevation gain (14 km round trip and 750m elevation if you push to the summit of the neighboring Cerro, Santo Tomás de Aquino). To access the trailhead, park at the Puesto Puerta de la Quebrada restaurant parking lot (1500 pesos per car) or take the bus from the center. Download the GPS track here.
Tour the wineries
Well, we’ll admit, if we decided to settle in the area, it wasn’t just for the pretty streets and visiting San Martín Park. We’re not crazy, right?! Mendoza is also an excellent stop for tasting more of Argentina’s superb wines in the heart of the bodegas! After our first contact with the Salta region and the delicious Cafayate wines, we thought we could allow ourselves a little stop in Argentina’s wine capital.
By bike
Mendoza is especially known for its guided bicycle tours of the vineyards! Well, we didn’t try it despite our 1-month stay. The reason is simple: the bodegas are increasingly close to the city center, and the bike ride we saw wasn’t exactly a bucolic ride between the vine rows… So, no bodega by bike for us. Today, we would have loved to do the wine bike with other travelers, but it didn’t exist back then :).
By bus
In retrospect, we probably should have tried the experience with a guided bus or car tour. Since the alcohol tolerance while driving is 0, being guided is probably a good thing!
We recommend these tastings through the wineries and the wine bus. Yes, you read that right! You know the Hop On-Hop Off bus concept for visiting big cities? The principle is the same: you get off and on when you want. The bus picks you up at specific locations in Mendoza, and you’re off for a half-day or full-day in the wineries around Mendoza. Each day, the bus takes you to a different wine area: Valle de Uco, Luján de Cuyo, Maipú… However, the guide on board only speaks Spanish. Given the ticket price (which doesn’t include tastings), you’d better be somewhat bilingual to benefit from the information!
Learn Spanish in Mendoza
We didn’t take Spanish classes in Mendoza because we had opted for classes in Quito when we first arrived on the South American continent. But taking classes here must be an excellent option. We spent 3 weeks in Mendoza and simply loved the city’s atmosphere!
Taking Spanish classes is an excellent way to refresh your Spanish basics or acquire knowledge. We really started from zero, and in just 2 months, our Spanish was good enough to communicate with locals and, for example, contact our apartment owner!
Get close to Cerro Aconcagua
During our trip, we had our fill of ascents in South America. And since we took a break in Mendoza, we didn’t really look to do more hikes than that. However, Aconcagua is dizzying with its 6961m altitude: it’s the highest mountain in the Americas!
Located in Aconcagua Provincial Park, you can approach the behemoth via several hiking trails. The easiest is the one leading to Confluencia base camp via Laguna Horcones. From the parking lot, it’s a nice little 14km round-trip hike with 570m elevation gain – that’s the long version. The view is magnificent from the parking lot to the viewpoint at the lagoon. After that, you take the Quebrada de los Horocones, and the further you go, the less visible Aconcagua becomes! If you’re short on time, you can just go to the viewpoint next to the lagoon, located 2.1km from the parking lot – that’s the short version. There’s only 150m elevation gain, so it’ll take you a good hour round trip with photo stops. To download the GPS track, click here :).
For your information, the long hike to the Confluencia campsite is only open in summer, from November to early May, and you need to start it between 8 and 11 a.m. As for the short hike, it’s open all year round and can be started between 10 and 4 p.m.
Getting to Aconcagua Park
If you don’t have a vehicle, you can choose between taking a bus or a guided tour to cover the 3-hour route between Mendoza and the Aconcagua Park entrance.
All buses to the park depart from Mendoza’s Terminal De Ómnibus. Only Andesmar company covers this route, you’ll find them at platforms 40-50. On weekdays, they leave at 5:55 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. to the provincial park entrance near the parking lot, and 3:30 p.m. to Inca Bridge (Puente del Inca), with returns at 11:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. from the park entrance and 8 p.m. from the bridge. On weekends, they depart at 7 a.m., 10:15 a.m. for the park entrance and 3:30 p.m. for Inca Bridge, with returns at 11:40 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. from the park and 8 p.m. from Puente del Inca.
Note: Inca Bridge is located 2 km east of the provincial park entrance. This UNESCO World Heritage monument was naturally formed by sediment accumulation and stands out with its colors brought by salt and sulfur. It’s definitely worth seeing!
If you prefer to opt for a guided tour of the region, we recommend this excursion. The price is decent for a day trip between Mendoza and the Chilean border, including, of course, Mount Aconcagua, Inca Bridge, typical villages…
Tickets for hiking around Aconcagua
Important: As no tickets are sold on-site, you must book your ticket in advance on this website. You need to select which trail you want to take: the first goes to Laguna Horcones, the short hike version (5000 pesos per person), and the second to Confluencia base camp, the long version (30,000 pesos each). Then, in the Cantidad de Personas box, indicate the number of people and click on Ver disponibilidad. There, you must select the date and time slot for your visit to the provincial park. Finally, all you need to do is enter your personal information (name, passport…) and pay online.
Note that to go beyond Confluencia camping, basically if you want to do a multi-day trek to attempt the ascent of Aconcagua, you must have a special permit.
Our favorite places to eat in Mendoza
We thoroughly enjoyed good bottles of wine on our terrace. And even though we cooked nice meals in our kitchen, we hermits did occasionally emerge from our cave to test some good addresses. Here’s our selection for tasting Mendoza’s fine products!
Get good ice cream
Oh my, artisanal ice cream is a true institution in Argentina! You find it on every street corner, and it’s delicious! There are some major chains like Grido Helado that are reliable and present throughout the country. But in Mendoza, some artisans are really worth trying! For us, the pleasant surprise of our stay was the ice cream at Ferruccio Soppelsa, a delight! You’ll find several shops in town, notably on the corner of Independence Square and Belgrano Avenue. Another institution (since 1947!) is Famiglia Perin’s gelatos on Sarmiento Avenue, which connects Independencia Plaza to San Martín Park.
Have a good glass of wine and a bite
As mentioned earlier, we fell back on wine tastings in downtown Mendoza, and no doubt, we probably tasted a good portion of the best nectars the region has to offer. Our favorites? Without contest, the Malbecs are absolutely divine in the area! Needless to say, the aperitifs on our terrace were quite nice, especially since we had the pleasure of hosting some passing travelers…
One address to recommend: Anna Bistró. It’s a great restaurant with a beautiful terrace in the heart of Mendoza. The food is refined and the aperitif platters (saucisson, cheese, olives) are an excellent way to start the evening around a good glass. Prices are slightly higher than elsewhere but remain reasonable. Count about 27,000 pesos for 2 people for 1 bottle of good wine and an aperitif-dinner platter and water. Another good address for wine tasting in a small garden: Tintulia.
If you don’t know where to go, head to Arístides Villanueva Avenue, the street of nice bars and small restaurants. And one last option: why not treat yourself to an asado, the typical Argentinian barbecue, prepared by and enjoyed with locals?
Buy bread or a sweet treat for the road
When you’ve been traveling for a while, sometimes you have moments where you cave in for quite ordinary things. Craving a pain au chocolat? Then look no further, the Brillat Savarin bakery/pastry shop will win you over. It’s more expensive than the average bakery, but honestly, their macarons, tarts, and pastries are so divine that it’s worth treating yourself a little. And for those missing a good fresh baguette, we recommend Bröd, a small, unassuming bakery. There’s one 2 blocks east and another 1 block south from Independence Square.
Getting around Mendoza
If you’re staying in downtown Mendoza, chances are you can do everything on foot – it’s not huge and above all, it’s very safe! But for transportation, there are many buses and taxis.
For a taxi ride, it’s 25 pesos for pickup, then about 8 pesos per kilometer. For buses, the easiest way is to plan your route with Maps or consult the bus line map with the schedule map. If you’re staying in Mendoza for a long time, download Mendotran, the city’s dedicated transport app.
There you have it, you’re now an expert on Mendoza! We hope you’ll enjoy this city as much as we did! After traveling in northern Argentina, we left the province to cross the Andes Cordillera. So we’ll see you on the other side of the border, in Valparaíso for a colorful visit!
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