Highlights
- Enjoy free-flowing wine and a tango show in Buenos Aires
- Take a cooking class and learn how to prepare a traditional Argentine barbecue
- Ride Salta's scenic cable car high above the mountain scenery
- Visit wineries near Cafayate and enjoy its pleasant year-round climate
Brief Itinerary
| Day | Highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrive in Buenos Aires, Tour the City | Buenos Aires |
| Day 2 | Sightseeing, Tango & Dinner Show | Buenos Aires |
| Day 3 | Visit a Traditional Argentine Estancia | Buenos Aires |
| Day 4 | Fly to Mendoza, Sightsee | Mendoza |
| Day 5 | Explore Mendoza on a Wine Tour | Mendoza |
| Day 6 | Take an Argentine Cooking Class | Mendoza |
| Day 7 | Enjoy a Free Day in Mendoza | Mendoza |
| Day 8 | Fly to Salta, Cable Car Ride | Salta |
| Day 9 | Cafayate Tour & Wine Tasting | Salta |
| Day 10 | Quebrada de Humahuaca Excursion | Salta |
| Day 11 | Fly to Iguazú Falls | Iguazú Falls |
| Day 12 | Discover Iguazú Falls (Argentine Side) | Iguazú Falls |
| Day 13 | Continue Exploring the Falls (Brazilian Side) | Iguazú Falls |
| Day 14 | Fly to Buenos Aires, Depart |
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Buenos Aires, Tour the City
Welcome to Argentina! Your adventure starts in the bustling capital city of Buenos Aires, known as the "Paris of South America." Transfer from the airport to your hotel and take some time to get settled before heading off on an afternoon tour. Your guide will start by showing you Plaza de Mayo, home to the national government palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral. See the famous Obelisco and continue to nearby San Telmo, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods; it's famous for its bohemian atmosphere, street tango performances, antique shops, and cobblestoned streets.
La Boca is known for its brightly-painted houses, and Puerto Madero is on the riverside, with former industrial warehouses turned into elegant bars, restaurants, and offices. Palermo is home to many of the city's best bars, restaurants, and clubs, as well as picturesque parks and gardens. Recoleta is famous for its cemetery, where some of Argentina's most famous residents are buried—including Eva Perón, also known as Evita. After the tour, have dinner near your hotel—try an Argentine parrilla, or steakhouse—and get some rest before traveling onward tomorrow.
Day 2: Sightseeing, Tango & Dinner Show
You'll have part of the day free to explore the city today. After breakfast, head to the Teatro Colón, one of South America's premier opera houses, which opened in 1908. Take a tour of the theater, with its horseshoe-shaped gallery and incredible acoustics, and the backstage, including the costume department. Then go for coffee and churros in Café Tortoni, one of the city's many classic cafés. Sample Argentine cuisine for lunch, then stroll around San Telmo, Puerto Madero, or La Boca.
In the evening, you'll attend a traditional tango show at a historic venue in San Telmo. Enjoy a classic Argentine menu with wine pairings as you watch dancers twirling to live music by a tango quintet. During the show, you'll learn about tango's roots and how the art form has developed over the years. You'll return to your hotel late in the evening to relax and get some rest.
Day 3: Visit a Traditional Argentine Estancia
Today you'll make a side trip, leaving the city of Buenos Aires and venturing into the nearby countryside to a working estancia (ranch). The drive takes about 1.5 hours each way, and you'll notice how the landscape shifts to vast grasslands filled with cattle as you transfer out of the city. When you arrive at the ranch, tour the grounds before choosing between hiking or horseback riding around the property. You could also go for a ride in a rustic horse-drawn carriage!
The outdoor activity will work up your appetite for a hearty lunch that begins with freshly baked empanadas and a glass of wine. Sit back and relax as your hosts prepare a traditional asado (barbecue), grilling a variety of meats and vegetables served with salads and more wine. Later, you'll sample classic desserts made with dulce de leche, Argentina's favorite sweet condiment. Return to Buenos Aires late in the day and enjoy a free evening.
Day 4: Fly to Mendoza, Sightsee
After breakfast, a driver will meet you, and you'll transfer to the airport to catch a two-hour flight to Mendoza. This western part of the country is ground zero for the country's booming wine industry. Mendoza also features breathtaking scenery and opportunities for outdoor adventures. With the Andes looming high above the area's vineyards, there is a wide range of opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting.
Upon arrival in the city, you'll have the rest of the day to relax and explore at your leisure. The city center features expansive plazas and wide boulevards shaded by sycamore trees. One of the most popular local meeting spots is Plaza Independencia, with its impressive fountains and elegant acacia trees. The largest park is Parque General San Martín, and it's a great place to go for a walk around well-manicured grounds and palm trees. Enjoy some Argentine cuisine and wine in the evening at one of Mendoza's many excellent restaurants.
Day 5: Explore Mendoza on a Wine Tour
It's time to get out and explore Mendoza's vineyards and wineries today. On this tour, you'll visit the most famous wine destinations around Mendoza, from Luján de Cuyo to the fertile soil of the Maipú Valley. Throughout the tour, you'll learn about Mendoza's history, beginning with Jesuit priests and European immigrants. They settled here and combined their winemaking knowledge with irrigation techniques passed down from the native Huarpe people, transforming a vast desert into a productive oasis.
You'll visit two wineries that still rely on traditional irrigation methods today and one or two more that use the latest technology in the winemaking process. On tours of the wineries' facilities, you'll learn about the cultivation of grapes, the harvest, and the bottling and labeling process. Of course, you'll also taste the wines! Sample several varietals alongside locally grown olives and artisanal cheeses at each winery. Return to the city of Mendoza in the evening.
Day 6: Take an Argentine Cooking Class
Today, you'll take part in a unique culinary experience in Mendoza. This is your chance to learn how to cook the traditional cuisine of Mendoza from an Argentine chef who will teach you how to prepare traditional recipes. Learn how to use the most primitive method of heat—glowing red flames and smoky embers—to cook vegetables and meat while delighting your senses with wine pairings of varietals produced in the region. You'll return to your hotel in the evening to relax and digest!
Day 7: Enjoy a Free Day in Mendoza
Today is a free day to enjoy Mendoza at your leisure. If you'd like to visit more wineries, consider a day trip to Valle de Uco, another wine region nearby. Or rent a bicycle and go on a self-guided tour around Chacras de Coria or one of the other wine-producing areas closer to the city. It's also possible to arrange a horseback riding excursion in the foothills of the Andes. If you're feeling less energetic, walk around town, soak up the sun in a chaise lounge, or have a leisurely meal in one of Mendoza's finest restaurants.
Day 8: Fly to Salta, Cable Car Ride
A driver will meet you at your hotel this morning and transfer you to the airport. You'll then board a two-hour flight to Salta. This well-preserved colonial city, founded in 1582, has been a traveler's favorite for years and has recently become a popular tourist destination. It's easy to see why—Salta offers fascinating museums, colorful nightlife, and a picturesque central plaza lined with cafés and restaurants that make great people-watching spots.
Upon arrival, you'll be transferred to your hotel. You'll have the rest of the afternoon to explore the town. Stroll around the city center to admire its colonial mansions and 18th-century buildings. On the central Plaza 9 de Julio, the rose-hued Salta Cathedral was completed in 1882. Visit one of two history museums on the plaza, then take a cable car up to Cerro San Bernardo, the most famous lookout point in the area, for views over the city and scenery—sample regional cuisine, like empanadas and tamales, for dinner at a restaurant near your hotel.
Chat with a local specialist who can help organize your trip.
Day 9: Cafayate Tour & Wine Tasting
Today you'll be visiting the village of Cafayate, located in the middle of the Calchaquí Valley. The optimum growing conditions here rival Mendoza's, so you're in for scenic vistas with mountain landscapes and impressive rock formations. The excursion begins with a drive through the Lerma Valley, passing alongside tobacco fields and colonial villages featuring German-style architecture. You'll then enter the Quebrada del Río de las Conchas, where you'll see otherworldly rock formations (the result of erosion caused over time by wind and water).
Continue along National Route 68, arriving in the village of Cafayate, internationally recognized for its wine production. The most popular varietal grown here is the fragrant white wine torrontés, which you'll get to taste when you visit a local winery. At the end of the day, return to Salta by the same route which you arrived. The high-altitude landscapes will be even more breathtaking with the sun lower in the sky.
Day 10: Quebrada de Humahuaca Excursion
Argentina has few more mystic, historical, and evocative areas than the Quebrada de Humahuaca. This arid desert valley starts in the high-altitude Andean plateaus before running down into Jujuy Province and meeting the Río Grande, forming a 96-mile (155 km) corridor. This valley gorge runs from north to south and has been populated and used by humans for over 10,000 years, starting with the earliest hunter-gatherers. It became an important Inca trading route in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Your tour of the area begins in the village of Purmamarca, where you'll find the famous Cerro de Siete Colores (Hill of the Seven Colors), notable for its strata seemingly "painted" various shades of red. Head a few miles north to the town of Tilcara and Pucará de Tilcara; the hilltop remains of a prehistoric fortress. Next is Huacalera, located just north of the Tropic of Capricorn (a giant sundial marks the exact location). From here, you'll visit the tiny village of Uquía, which boasts one of the most impressive churches in the region, the Iglesia San Francisco de Paula, built in 1691.
Before lunch, arrive in Humahuaca, known for its labyrinthine streets, adobe houses, and its monument to independence, El Indio, done by sculptor Soto Avendaño. Break for lunch, then continue to the town of Maimará, notable for its haunting hillside cemetery and the brightly colored mountains surrounding it. These are known as La Paleta del Pintor (The Painter's Palette). Return to Salta via the Abra de Santa Laura (a mountain path lined with subtropical vegetation), surrounded by stunning scenery.
Day 11: Fly to Iguazú Falls
After breakfast, a car will pick you up and transfer you to the airport. You'll then catch a two-hour flight to northeastern Argentina and Iguazú Falls, the largest network of waterfalls in the world. Upon arrival in Puerto Iguazú, you'll check into your hotel and have lunch before venturing into the park, which straddles the borders of Brazil and Paraguay.
Board the train inside Iguazú National Park, then take a short walk to observe the cascade of waterfalls from different perspectives. One of the most incredible sights on today's introductory tour is the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), a dramatic section of the falls accessible by a long wooden walkway.Day 12: Discover Iguazú Falls (Argentine Side)
After breakfast at your hotel, a driver will pick you up and transfer you to the entrance of Iguazú National Park on the Argentine side of the falls. This is where you'll begin the day's hiking adventure. It's a full-day excursion that involves traversing three circuit routes around the falls, each offering unique vantage points to view this magnificent natural wonder.
The upper circuit features 2,624 feet (800 m) of catwalks. These walkways are elevated from the jungle surface so as not to disrupt the natural pathways used by local wildlife. The circuit affords views of the upper portion of Iguazú and countless panoramic vistas of the surrounding falls. The lower course has about 5,250 feet (1,600 m) of trails directly below and around the falls, allowing you to feel the magnitude of Iguazú up close. At the end of the tour, the driver will pick you up and transfer you back to your hotel.
Day 13: Continue Exploring the Falls (Brazilian Side)
The Brazilian side of Iguazú (known as Iguaçu in Portuguese) may lack the number of hiking routes on the Argentine side, but it makes up for it with a wealth of amenities in the form of conveniences and restaurants with terraces overlooking the falls. Upon arrival at the visitors center, you'll board a double-decker bus for a 30-minute ride into the park.
After you hop off the bus, your first stop is a balcony offering panoramic views of the Argentine side of the falls (be sure to keep your camera ready). You'll then hike 3,116 feet (950 m) along the Iguazú River until you reach the falls on the Brazilian side. The walkway passes over the river to the Salto Floriano (Floriano Falls). This magnificent wall of plunging water makes quite an impression, as do the vistas of the lower Iguazú River.
Day 14: Fly to Buenos Aires, Depart
This morning, transfer to the airport for your flight back to Buenos Aires and catch your return flight home. Safe travels!
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