Argentina Wine & Colours - 11 Days

Day 1: Arrive in Buenos Aires

Your guide will be waiting at the airport and he will transport you to your hotel in Buenos Aires (which is approximately one hour away). The guide will give you a briefing of the exciting trip ahead as well as help familiarize you with Buenos Aires. 

The rest of the day and evening is free for you to explore this bustling city.

Day 2: Explore Buenos Aires

Today, you will have the chance to explore some of the top spots in Buenos Aires. One of the best ways to do this is by using a private city tour. This tour can be adapted to your personal interests and tastes.

Some of the areas we cover with the city tour are:

• Plaza de Mayo: which is home to the national government palace & the Metropolitan Cathedral. This historical, political, and foundational epicenter of the city is a great starting point for the city tour.
• One of Buenos Aires' oldest neighborhoods, San Telmo, which boasts a vibrant tango and arts scene. Its antique markets, candle street lighting, cobblestone roads, and old buildings with original facades and décor create a lovely bohemian atmosphere. Sundays buzz with activity as the main antique market comes alive around the Plaza Dorrego.
• You will visit La Boca, a neighborhood famous for its brightly-painted houses and coventillos (communal housing tenements) as well as for being home to the legendary Boca Juniors football club where Diego Maradona made his name.
• You will also visit the city's youngest neighborhood, Puerto Madero, which is situated on the riverside along the Río de la Plata. This major gastronomic and business hub is situated in former commercial docks. Along the canals, these former industrial warehouses were converted into elegant bars, eateries, and offices during one of the most successful urban waterfront restoration projects in the world.
• Palermo, the largest neighborhood in town, is home to huge parks as well as some of Buenos Aires' trendiest bars, clubs, and fashion boutiques. This neighborhood—which has nearly 350 acres (142 hectares) of parks, lakes, and wooded areas—offers a peaceful retreat from the busyness further in the city.
• The European style district, Recoleta, is home to an array of fashionable restaurants, cafés, boutiques, malls, and luxury hotels which you'll find along tree-lined avenues. One of the main attractions, The Cemetary, is the final resting place for generations of well-known Argentineans including Evita Peron.

*This is a half-day tour (four hours).

Day 3: Transfer to Mendoza

In the morning, you can pack your bags before departing to the airport where you will catch a flight to Mendoza. Your guide will pick you up and take you to your new hotel.

Mendoza is a famous wine region in Argentina. A particularly famous specialty is the tasty red Malbec that the surrounding valleys are known for producing. With more than 1,200 bodegas (wine cellars) in the area, you will have your pick of vineyards and wineries to visit. You can book tours to explore them, rent a bike, or stay in one of the family-run fincas (estates) as you immerse yourself in wine country.

Day 4: Lujan de Cuyo Wine Experience

Lujan de Cuyo, also known as the land of Malbec, offers a unique experience of discovering Argentina's different varieties of legendary wine. We will visit and taste wines in a number of world-renowned wineries as well as indulge in a full gourmet lunch.

Some of the wine vineyards we will visit:

• Renacer Winery, which is designed for premium wines production and is at the foot of the Andes mountain range. The architecture combines modernity with classicism with well-defined straight lines and Tuscan-inspired walls. The cutting-edge Italian technology, which ensures the winery is carbon neutral, also reflects the winery's commitment to the environment.
• Caelum Winery, a family-run and boutique winery, is located at the heart of Agrelo, Lujan de Cuyo. This vineyard—which is well-known for its high-end reds as well as its whites and sparkling wines—grows all the grapes used on the estate. The renowned winemaker here, Giuseppe Franceschini, also adds an authentic and elegant Italian touch to the wines.
• Ruca Malen Winery, which started as an initiative of Jean Pierre Thibaud in 1998, who started the winery at age 73. The family winery grew slowly and in 2015 it was acquired by the Perez Companc Group. Ruca Malen represents the restless spirit of Jean Pierre Thibaud and leads the way as one of Argentina's most innovative wineries.

*This tour includes transport, a bilingual guide, a visit and tasting at each winery as well as a seven-course lunch paired with an array of wines.

Day 5: Uco Valley Wine Experience

The spectacular mountain views in Uco Valley offer the perfect setting as we enjoy the different aromas and flavors of these high-altitude wines at the best wineries in the region.

The wineries we will visit include:

• Andeluna Cellars, which was started in 2003 with the intention of providing some of the best models of quality wine in the country. The winery has a romantic atmosphere as its set in the Valley of Tupungato at the foot of Tupungato Volcano. In the evening, the moon illuminates the Andes mountains. During this visit, you'll visit the vines and learn about the winemaking methods which make their wines special.
• Domaine Bousquet Winery, a winery that holds the legacy of a long and prestigious history under the Bousquet name. This winery comes from a family with four generations of winemaking history who started making wine in Carcassonne in southern France. The winery is located in Tupungato, at the foot of the Andes, and is surrounded by vineyards that produce high-quality organic grapes. These grapes express the purity and intensity of varietal character which is reflected in the wines.
• Salentein Winery, where you will taste an array of legendary wines in an area with a rich history that goes to the 17th century. The land now belongs to Salentein but reflects innumerable feats that have been overcome: from the indigenous people to the Jesuit missionaries and even important characters like General San Martin. Back in the 17th century, the land formed part of a farm called "De Arriba" that belonged to the Jesuit missionaries. Within the heart of the vineyard, which is 4922 feet (1500 meters) above sea level, you can also find the ruins of "Casa Grande".

*This tour includes transportation, a bilingual guide, visit and tasting at each winery as well as a seven-course lunch that is paired with wines.

Day 6: Aconcagua Experience

Today, we will discover unforgettable views of the Andes as we get remarkably close to America's highest mountains. Afterward, we will discover spectacular trails in Aconcagua Provincial Park where we will visit the Horcones lagoon and enjoy some of the best views of Aconcagua's South Face.

Along the way, we will drive through the road to Chile which crosses the Andes as we travel through tunnels, over bridges, and alongside the old trans-Andean train railway. We will also stop and visit the beautiful "Puente del Inca" (Inca's Bridge) where you will learn about its rare history.

Day 7: Transfer to Salta

A driver will transport you from your hotel to the airport so that you can catch your flight to Salta. After arriving in Salta, our guide will meet you and drive you to the hotel.

You will find that further north in Argentina, people are a lot more traditional and many travelers find that traveling in this part of the country is culturally enriching.

Originally, the native Argentineans occupied the northern territory. However, after the colonizers moved to this region, this gave rise to a mixture of races that form a new identity of people living in the north. The Salta people are famous for the way they talk, their music, dances, the vibrant clothes they wear as well as being serene, cordial, and lovely overall.

Scenically, there is a lot to enjoy and discover in this region. The province of Salta has diverse landscapes including an arid desert in the west and a luxuriant jungle in the east with valleys and gorges in the middle.

Day 8: Scenic Drive to Cafayete - Wine Experience

Today we will visit Argentina’s second center for quality wine production, Cafayate, which is a popular tourist destination that has a tranquil small-town feel. 

We will depart from Salta and travel south. The drive has impressive views of tobacco plantations along the way.

Our first stop will be the Dique Cabra Corral, also known as a "water mirror", where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the mountain reflecting on the water. We will also visit the Quebrada del Río Las Conchas or Quebrada de Cafayate, which is a large semi-enclosed rock formation that is renowned for its acoustics, and also known as "The Ampitheater".

After arriving in Cafayete, we will embark on a special sightseeing tour of the town and its various wine cellars, which are famous for producing torrentés, an Argentinean white fruity wine.

Day 9: Discover Colors of Humuhuaca

The Humahuaca Gorge, a World Heritage Site, offers a mixture of landscapes, history, and culture that is unique to this region. Here, you can expect to find Inca towns, oases in the middle of the Puna, multicolored hills, music, and traditional dishes.

We will depart from Salta to the most picturesque part of the Valley, up to Humahuaca. On the way, we will pass by a number of picturesque villages and cities. This includes Tumbaya, Purmamarca (with the Mountain of Seven Colors), Maimará (with the Painter's palette), Tilcara (that attracts for its famous Pucara), Huacalera (a few steps away from the Tropic of Capricorn), Uquía (with the chapel built in 1691 and the most ancient wooden altarpiece in the region, and the paintings of the “Arcabuceros Angels”) and finally, charming Humahuaca; the village known for it's Carnival Norteño (Northern Carnival).

Day 10: Buenos Aires Tango Evening

In the evening, you will be picked up from the hotel to enjoy a memorable night out in Buenos Aires and experience the passion of the Argentine tango. This includes live orchestras, professional dancers and singers as well as a delicious three-course dinner. 

After the show, you will be transferred back to the hotel.

Day 11: Depart Argentina

Depending on your departure time, a private transfer will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the international airport in time for your flight home.

We hope to see you again!