Mendoza is known for its beautiful wineries and high quality Malbec wine. It is also known for its stunning views of the Andes. However, there is a lot more to do in Mendoza than wine and mountains. This 3 days in Mendoza itinerary covers how you can spend 3 days in the region. There truly is something for everyone in Mendoza.
Table of contents
Notes About the Itinerary
- Feel free to switch the days! However, I do recommend that you have 3 full days for what I have listed below!
- A visit to Mendoza can broadly include two types of activities – wineries or adventure
- This 3 days in Mendoza itinerary covers a mix of both. However, you can fill all 3 days with either and still have plenty to do
- If you want to skip adventure altogether and just visit wineries, this post below lists out all the best wineries in Mendoza. You can easily visit them in your 3 days in Mendoza.
- I visited 4 wineries on days 1 and 3 (including a wine paired multi-course lunch). If you want to take things slower, only do 3 wineries instead of 4.
- If you want to visit wineries only 1 day and do adventurous things the other 2 days, I highly recommend visiting the wineries in the Uco Valley. These wineries have the best wines and the best views.
See my post for the best wineries in Mendoza HERE
Getting Around Mendoza
The post above has a very detailed section on how to get around Mendoza. Definitely check it out for your options.
Your options are:
- Self-drive
- Hire a driver
- Public transport
- Taxis and cabs
- Bike (short distances)
- Tour companies
- Tours with trasfers
You may find that renting a car is cheaper to do the activities I have listed on day 2, but if you are planning on fully immersing in the tasting activities of days 1 and 3, then self-driving is not the best option (unless you have a designated driver)
Itinerary for 3 Days in Mendoza
Day 1
As I mentioned above, if you are only planning on doing one day of touring wineries, then you should definitely check out the wineries in the Uco Valley. There is one exception to this and I will call it out below! Here is how I spent day 1 of this 3 days in Mendoza itinerary! If you don’t like the wineries I went to, feel free to pick others from the best wineries list that I provided above!
Morning
Today, I decided to visit 3 wineries before I had lunch! The reason for this is because, lunches, especially multi-course lunches take a long time and I wanted to leave it for last this day.
My first visit was to Catena Zapata. This winery is the only exception to the ‘visit only Uco Valley if you only have one day for wineries’ recommendation. Catena Zapata was voted the best winery in the world! It is one of the oldest Malbec producing wineries in the region. Their building is shaped like a step pyramid and the top floor terrace, offers some stunning views of the Andes.
From Catena Zapata I made my way to the Uco Valley, first visiting Andeluna and then Bodega Salentine. Salentine is also on the ‘Best Wineries in the World’ list. Both wineries were stunning! The verdant vineyard with the snow capped mountains in the background really made for some amazing views!
Lunch
I had lunch at Bodega Azul. This highly rated boutique winery whips up quite the 5 course meal. It comes with wine and the wine is bottomless. Meaning, they keep the entire bottle at your table and go away! After lunch, you are taken for a tasting and get to drink wine straight from the barrel.
Day 2
Spend day 2 of this 3 days in Mendoza itinerary doing some outdoor activities. If you love to hike, then I highly recommend hiking to the base camp of Aconcagua. I will list the adventure activities I did but will also include some other alternative. If you prefer wineries over adventure, pick a few from my best wineries post and spend your 2nd day enjoying some amazing wine!
Morning – Base Camp of Aconcagua
Wake up early and leave Mendoza to head to Parque Provincial Aconcagua. It takes about 3 hours to get there but the views of the Andes on the way are absolutely stunning! If you don’t have your own vehicle, you can look into a tour like the one below. The base camp of Aconcagua is located in this park. The name of the base camp is Confluencia. It takes about 4-6 hours to hike to the base camp. It is a high altitude hike but nothing too difficult if you are used to hiking.
See HERE for a detailed guide on hiking to Confluencia (the Base Camp of Aconcagua)
If you don’t have your own car, then you can take a tour like this one. However, note that you won’t be able to do the spa activity with this option.
Late Afternoon – Cachueta Thermal Spa
Between Parque Provincial Aconcagua and the city of Mendoza lies a thermal spa that is an ideal way to relax your muscles after hiking! There are two experiences here. A bit of a crowded waterpark and a thermal spa. Since I only had an hour and a half to spend here I opted for the cheaper waterpark option, but if I do it all over again and have more time, I will go for the quieter thermal spa experience.
Night – Casa Vigil
Reward yourself after your hike at a Michelin Star restaurant. I can honestly say that this was one of my top 3 meals I’ve had in my life! It was so good that I wrote an entire post about it!. Check it out below!
See my review of Casa Vigil HERE
Tip – Do not drive to Casa Vigil even if you have a car. Take a taxi or Uber so that you can have an enjoyable evening!
Alternative Activities
If you don’t like hiking or don’t have your own car, then here are some other activities that you can enjoy! Some of them include pick-up from your hotel or accommodation.
High Andes Tour
If you don’t like to hike, but would still like to tour the high Andes mountains, then take a day trip of the High Andes Mountain range from Mendoza. You will take the same road (Ruta 7) as the drive to Aconcagua but instead of hiking you can just stop for a picture of the views instead. You can also check out a couple of other nearby attractions. The drive itself is truly spectacular.
Things to See
- Potrerillos Dam
- Uspallata
- Puente del Inca
Check out these tours if you don’t have your own car!
Horseback Riding
Argentina has a strong gaucho culture and Mendoza (with its stunning mountain views) is the perfect place to experience it! There are many ranches around Mendoza who offer a glimpse into gaucho culture. These ranches have horseback riding and asado dinners that you can be a part of. Check out these highly rated experiences.
White Water Rafting
Mendoza is a popular destination for white water rafting. There are many companies that offer this service and most include hotel pickup. Check out this tour if you are looking for a half day activity.
Rock Climbing
Mendoza also has excellent rock climbing about an hour away in a town called El Salto. Check out this highly rated tour if you are interested! They offer hotel pick-up which is ideal if you don’t have a car.
Thermal Spa
I mentioned Cachueta Thermal Spa above but wanted to provide a few more details. Both the waterpark and the spa have various experiences that you can book. Some offer a transfer from Mendoza. You can also book full day packages that come with food and drinks. If you love thermal spas as much as I do, then you have to check out Cachueta even if it is for a couple of hours.
You can check out more HERE!
Day 3
Spend day 3 of this 3 days in Mendoza itinerary exploring more wineries! If you would rather do outdoorsy and adventurous activities, then you can easily pick a few activities from the ones I listed on day 2.
Here is how I spent my day 3. But, definitely check out this post if you want to visit other wineries!
Morning
In the morning, I visited two wineries, starting with Clos de Chacras and then making my way to Ojo de Agua. I did a tour of just the winery at Clos de Chacras but did a full tour of the winery and a tasting at Ojo de Agua. I was the only person at both places and really enjoyed the personalized tours and tasting.
Lunch
I had lunch at a beautiful winery called Ruca Malen. This Michelin recommended restaurant serves a multi-course meal with wine pairings. All the dishes and wines are explained and were excellent! It definitely makes sense why they are a top rated restaurant for lunch. Note that this lunch took me about 3 hours! Definitely keep enough time for the lunch and to get to the next winery if you are visiting more after lunch.
Afternoon
After lunch, I headed to Bodega Susana Balbo. This winery is female owned and operated and the tour is really great! Glad I was able to visit this winery.
Note that most wineries close around 5 PM.
Where to Stay
I stayed in Chacras de Coria, which is located in Lujan de Cuyo. It was about 20 minutes from the city center and 30 minutes from the airport. For complete peace and quiet, stay at the Uco Valley but you will need a rental car or a driver to get you there and back.
My favorite way to look for a place to stay is to use booking.com. I love their many filter options where you can filter for location scores and various amenities.
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