Argentina 7 Day Itinerary | Buenos Aires + Mendoza

My recent trip to Argentina was such a blast, and while this was only my first visit to the vast country {I hope to visit again!} I wanted to share my itinerary and thoughts/recommendations with y’all. From staying out until 4AM in Buenos Aires, to spending pretty much an entire day at the Mendoza airport, it was a PACKED Argentina 7 Day Itinerary.

NIGHT 1 | Flight to Buenos Aires

• Travel day | Landed around 8PM. The Buenos Aires airport is clean and modernized. I got through customs fairly quickly.
• BRANDON on Fitzroy for a late night cap of nibbles + wine | Cute, modern ambiance. Felt very American in feel actually. Unintentionally, we walked in a little on the ‘late’ side for the restaurant. They were already tidying up and the kitchen wasn’t serving the entire menu. Staff was friendly, but defiantly not overly friendly. They continued cleaning/sweeping around our table, while our waitress made it abundantly clear we had a limited amount of time to eat. I ordered the pulled pork tacos, which were delicious!

DAY 2 | Buenos Aires

• SLEPT in | sometimes it’s needed ya know?!
• Brunch for two at NININA CAFE | Yes yes yes. So many food options, including an amazing ‘breakfast for 2’ with all the fixings
• Self Guided TOUR | Walk around + take pictures of the streets, cafes, restaurants, architecture + street art. Grab a late afternoon coffee and just people watch. This is honestly one of my favorite things to do when I’m in a new city. Passes some time, but also makes you feel like you’re ‘living’ amongst the people {if only for a couple hours}. 
• Dinner at the apartment | Christina + I opted for a more casual night-in with wine {obviously} and some light bites {grocery store empanadas can be seriously so good 3+ glasses deep}. After not seeing each other for a while, it was nice to just do ‘normal friend’ stuff – i.e. stay in + just hang out!
• Wine at TROVA | Great little neighborhood wine bar. Grab a glass or a bottle and hang out in a more rustic atmosphere – the bar is equipped with large wine barrel tables and other Restoration Hardware-esk
• Late night drinks + toast at FINISTERRA BAR | Open until 3-5AM almost every night of the week, which makes it a great spot to either continue the night’s festivities, or just stay out chatting until the wee hours of the morning. I don’t know about y’all, but my girlfriends and I can chat + chat all night long, but in the US it’s rare to find a place that stays open that late, which caters to a chill late night drink + bite. Prices are great also, which doesn’t hurt. 

Day 3 | Buenos Aires + Flight to Mendoza

• Brunch at OUI OUI | Darling little cafe with outdoor + indoor seating, not to mention they have the cutest stripe awnings. Serving up local favorites along with eggs {not always prevalent on menus in Argentina} + other savory dishes. Be sure to try the housemate lemonade – it’s a fan favorite.
• Sight seeing around the SAN TELMO NEIGHBORHOOD | We took a taxi to this neighborhood, which has a large number of antique + vintage markets. I scooped up this amazing basket woven top-handle purse for $15. Be sure to bring cash {whether it be pesos or USD}, as all the vendors are pretty much cash-only. There’s also some great grab-and-go food spots in the area {empanadas, juices, fruit, etc}.
• Night flight to MENDOZA | Flew out of the regional Buenos Aires airport, and I would note – arrive 2 hours early just to be safe! We figured since it was regional we wouldn’t need to arrive so early…we were wrong. The lines were crazy long, we ended up having to ask to skip the security line {which was also astronomically long}. Ugh, makes my skin crawl. But we made the flight, to our surprise haha, and made it to Mendoza that evening.

Day 4 | Wine country

• Tour + tasting at EL ENEMINGO | A winery that quite literally means ‘the enemy’. But have no fear, regardless of what the name may lead you to think, it’s a great family owned spot! They follow the ‘theme’ of the winery to the T. Everything from the artwork to the food is a play on light vs. dark. ORDER. THE. BEEF. EMPANADAS. The best on the trip. They literally melt in your mouth.
• Tour + tasting at LAGARDE | Beautiful and extensive, high-end lunch menu. A little over-priced in my opinion, in comparison to some of the other options in the area, but the caliber of food on the menu is amazing. It’s elegant, well plated + delicious. Just be aware this won’t be a budget friendly visit.
• Tasting at CHANDON | Having visited Chandon in Napa several times, Christina and I were extremely excited to see the brand’s Argentina location! We ended up driving over an hour actually to visit the property, and planned our day around it. Sadly, it didn’t quite live up to our expectations. We arrived a little later then our reservation {totally our choice} and opted for the tasting portion only – no tour. The tasting consisted of 3 sparkling varietals, all originated from Argentine vineyards. Following the tasting, we were interested in hanging out at the bar for a while longer and asked if it would be possible to order a glass of one of the tasting options {a pretty standard request at a winery}, but were told they were closing soon and didn’t have any additional bottle already chilled for purchase. Granted this was just our perspective, but it was a little bit of a strange experience, and not a spot I’d recommend be on your ‘must-visit’ list.
• Pre-dinner bottle at LA BUENA COSECHA | Very much so a local joint. Nothing too fancy, but good food, great service and a fun place to experience some local flare. We grabbed a bottle of wine and posted up for a bit before dinner, which typically starts around 11PM {yes, for dinner!}
• Dinner {terrible} at ILO | Maybe it was an off night, but be fair warned…this place was terrible. We should have heeded the red flag that the place was completely empty upon arrival. It was recommended to us so we went for it. Never again.

Day 5 | Wine country: Valle de Uco

• Tour + tasting at SALENTEIN | Salentein was the winery connected to our hotel, but little did we know upon booking, it’s one of the most popular spots in Uco Valle.
• Lunch + pairings at BODEGA LA AZUL | I cannot say enough wonderful things about this experience! Y’all, if you’re anywhere near Azul during your visit, it’s 100% worth a drive out of your way to experience. Photos on TripAdvisor don’t do it justice. It’s the cutest little spot, tucked away on the side of the road – doesn’t look like much from the outside, but they have comfy sofas with fire pits for lounging pre or post lunch, and the interior is a super cool mix of old world Argentine art + modern colors. It’s pretty cool. And don’t get me started on the food!!! Oh my goodness. The chef surprises you course after course, pairing after pairing. And they’re not skimping on the pours either – your glass will always be full. It’s a pre-fix menu {you are able to choose your main course from 3-4 daily specials}, at a crazy affordable price. If I remember correctly, Azul ended up being about 1/3 of the cost of the pre-fix at LaGarde.
• Dinner at POSADA SALENTEIN | We opted for a late {around 11:30PM} dinner at our hotel, although it’s also open to non-guests, and quite popular. The menu is pretty extensive

Day 6 | back to Buenos Aires

• Drive down from WINE COUNTRY | Depending on where you’re staying in wine country, it takes 1-2 hours to get back to the Mendoza airport. Christina and I both had work to get done that day, so we chose an earlier flight to get back to the city. Our hotel was kind enough to leave a few nibbles out for us {boiled eggs, granola, pastries}, prior to their normal guest service, but we also had Jorge stop at a gas station on the way down for drinks…oh, and Pringles. Haha. The breakfast options were limited, so we went with it – it’s like a bagel, right?!
• Flight to MENDOZA | Sadly, our flight was delayed, delayed, and delayed again – about 5 times throughout that day. I think it ended up being an 8 hour delay. SO this was basically a hangout day at the airport – joy. Luckily, Sterling has me hooked on the Priority Pass app. It located lounges in airports/terminals nearby, which has come in handy quite a number of times. Case in point – Mendoza. If you’re a member, the lounges include complimentary beverages {including alcohol}, snacks + usually better wifi {not this time around, but usually}.

Day 7 | Back in Buenos Aires

• Breakfast at DECATA | There are two Decata locations in the city. We went to the Palermo Hollywood location, but I will say the location at Paul Deco looks darling with an outdoor patio area.
• Walk around PALERMO HOLLYWOOD | This is considered a safe + super cute area of Buenos Aires. Filled mostly with cafes + drinking spots. It’s definitely worth a stroll. I really appreciated Gringo in Buenos Aires’ in-depth guide of the neighborhood.
• Work from the apartment | Just keepin’ it real on the schedule. When you work for yourself, even during fun trip, you have to carve out time to get caught up and stay on top of obligations.
• Traditional Argentinian steakhouse dinner at DON JULIO | So glad we saved this until the end, although I could have eaten steak everyday! Don Julio is a very popular, traditional steakhouse in the city – be sure to make a reservation or arrive early. It’s a favorite of locals and tourists a like. It’s of course a little on the ‘pricier’ side {think US prices}, but totally worth it. Also worth noting, the portions are a bit larger so splitting a steak + sides is totally doable. They’ll even split the steak portion for you at the table! Consult the in-house Sommelier as well for the best of their current wine selection. It doesn’t get much better then a local Malbec + steak combo.
• Tango show at TANGO PORTEÑO | I honestly went into this thinking it would be a bit cliche or corny, but was pleasantly surprised. The ambience, venue {a beautiful open two-story stage concept} + performance WAY exceeded my expectations. It was amazinggggg!! Apparently tango in Buenos Aires is like their equivalent of Broadway in the US, if that helps your perspective. I would highly recommend during your visit. Of course we only went to one tango show {if I knew how amazing they were, I would have wanted to go to more!}, so I don’t have another to compare it to, but from my perspective the talent was incredible. Even the costumes weren’t too kitchy or over-the-top. You know what I mean. It was very well produced. We opted for the ‘show-only’ ticket. Which DID include house wine + snacks, so I can’t speak to the food portion specifically. However when we walked in, it seemed we were one of the few parties that didn’t opt for the food addition.

Any additional questions about my trip?! Would be happy to answer/share more! Pin/share this image to reference for later!

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