Argentina for Foodies
Duration: 10 days
Highlights: Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Salta, and Cafayate
Wrap your palate with the flavors and textures of Argentina, embrace the wonderful landscapes of Mendoza and explore the Cafayate
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Itinerary
Day 1 - Welcome to Buenos Aires
You are met and transferred to your hotel upon arrival in Buenos Aires.
Welcome to Buenos Aires!
Elegant, old-worldly, with a touch of Paris here and a touch of London there, a dash of New York cosmopolitanism, and a big splash of Italian exuberance, the city also has a strong Latin America personality as well as uniquely Argentine elements such as tango bars. Here, everything is grand, on a scale fit for kings: Tourists photograph vast steaks at restaurants, Nueve de Julio avenue ranks as the world’s widest, a cemetery so fancy that it occupies one of the poshest parts of the poshest neighborhood, while the entire city fronts onto the world’s widest river. Buenos Aires never fails to impress.
Explore the highlights of the South area of this magnificent city in a five-hour sightseeing tour accompanied by one of our experienced representatives. They will introduce you to the history and culture of Buenos Aires, showing you the most significant spots.
Discover the most important square in the country: Plaza de Mayo (May Square). Here, where the country was founded in 1580, the most important governmental buildings are located, including the Casa Rosada (Government house), the Cabildo (City Hall), and the Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Cathedral). Nowadays it is possible to visit the Government Palace, so if you are interested, we will join one of the regular groups to tour the building.
Walking down Defensa Street we will enter San Telmo, one of the oldest areas of the city. This neighborhood maintains a great part of its architectonic patrimony intact, including colonial-style houses, cobbled streets, and a bustling collection of artists’ studios, ethnic restaurants, and boutiques. We will walk through the oldest and narrowest streets of this protected colonial district to Plaza Dorrego. Discover the 21st Century Buenos Aires. The area is home to some of the most important antique shops.
Stop at a local Market “Mercado de San Telmo”, one of the famous landmarks of San Telmo, which is a massive market that provides a good mix of products ranging from antiques and clothing shops to fruit and vegetable stands, butcher shops, and bakeries. Have a cup of coffee with a delicious pastry in a local cafeteria.
Overnight: Four Seasons Buenos Aires
Meal Plan: B
Day 2 - A Taste of the City
Familiarize yourself with some of the most recognizable landmarks in the northern area of Buenos Aires. Visit the Recoleta neighborhood, home to many mansions that take you back to Argentina’s grander days. The Recoleta Cemetery is renowned for its rich architecture and sculptures that make it more of an open-air museum than a place of rest. Continue to Palermo, a district with several faces such as classic Palermo Chico and contemporary Palermo Hollywood and Soho. Head towards Palermo Chico with its impressive townhouses, tree-lined boulevards, and parks, then continue to Bosques de Palermo woods for the Japanese Garden and Rose Garden and their incredible sculptures and lakes as well as the race track and polo grounds. Palermo Soho, meanwhile, fuses the flavor of a working-class neighborhood with contemporary twists such as ethnic restaurants, design stores, and bars. Its bohemian atmosphere makes it popular with Argentines as well as foreign visitors. Gastronomy options appeal to all palates. Finally, taste traditional pastry with a cup of tea at Café Las Violetas (an elegant 19th-century cafe & restaurant known for afternoon tea & sweets, plus classic local fare).
Overnight: Four Seasons Buenos Aires
Meal Plan: B
Day 3 - Cooking Class
The cooking class has been specially designed to learn how to prepare typical Argentine meals. Bring the willingness to learn and have fun, we will provide everything else, including cookware and aprons.
Afternoon at leisure.
Overnight: Four Seasons Buenos Aires
Meal Plan: B
Day 4 - Welcome to Mendoza
n due time, transfer from your hotel to Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery local airport (AEP), local guide, and a private vehicle.
Flight Buenos Aires/Mendoza is not included.
Upon arrival at Mendoza (MDZ), you will be met by your local guide and a private vehicle to drive you to your hotel.
Welcome to Mendoza!
Argentina has literally taken the international wine world by storm. Coming out of near obscurity, the Argentine wine industry has shown the world’s wine professionals and consumers the incredible potential for quality in its high-altitude, mountain vineyards. The international press has been gracious with its praise and recognition. In 2009, the respected pages of Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate awarded Argentina no fewer than 200 wines rated above 90 points. While consumers throughout the world have been excited by the reasonable prices of these wines, they have been frustrated by the difficulty finding the rather limited amount of bottles produced. Let us show you these exceptional wineries that are rewriting the history of Argentine wine.
Mendoza is the most important wine region of Argentina. It represents 80% of the total production of the country. Actually, there are 1.341 active wineries and the cultivated area is 226,450 hectares, a mere 3% of the province’s total surface area. Basic wine geography in Mendoza can be divided into 5 great wine oases, each subdivided into many different terroirs. Each of them presents specific characteristics and differentiate from one another quite notably according to location, height, and soil composition.
City Tour with the central market
We will lead an intimate tour of the city of Mendoza, from the picturesque settings of the city’s many plazas to the manicured grounds of Parque San Martin, with its bird’s eye view of the city, to the extensive shopping experiences. We will have you feeling at home in Mendoza’s beautiful, tree-lined streets in no time!
We will start the Orientation Tour by discovering the history of Mendoza through the four main Plazas (Chile, San Martin, España, and Italia); downtown, the shopping area, and the financial area. The highlight is the Parque San Martin, considered to be the most beautiful Public Park in all of Latin America. Designed by Carlos Thays, the Park was built in 1896. Today the park has an extension of 389 hectares and contains valuable sculptures and monuments, an artificial lake, several pedestrian walks, over 5000 roses, a campus university, and several health clubs. Walk through there is a must, and we strongly encourage you to discover the perfectly manicured trees and bushes that are the pride of the city.
Overnight: Cavas Wine Lodge
Meal Plan: B
Day 5 - Full-day tour of Uco Valley
Off the beaten path, take a full-day tour of Uco Valley, named after an Indian chief who ruled the area hundreds of years ago. Still relatively underdeveloped, top wineries have found optimal soils to grow high-quality grapes and are constructing monumental wineries in tribute to this magical land. Intensely green, never-ending vines, golden poplar trees along the dirt roads, and the snow-capped Mount Tupungato dominate this beautiful landscape.
On top of touring and tasting, you will be able to make your own wine.
Overnight: Cavas Wine Lodge
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 6 - Mendozino Cuisine
There is no better way to learn the secrets of a regional cuisine than by cooking it yourself. We have teamed with the area’s best chefs to create an interactive cooking experience that presents the region’s wide array of fresh produce and ingredients while demonstrating the local culinary techniques and highlighting some of the most authentic dishes.
It’s not all about learning, however. You will have the chance to feast upon the fruits of your labor with special wines hand selected by us to pair with your personal creations.
This day combines the visit to the monumental architecture of Salentein Winery, Chapel, and Art Museum with the hearty typical country food in Andeluna. After lunch, visit Salentein’s Winery and Art Museum
Cooking Class Includes:
Preparation of several dishes, recipe booklet, wine tasting, and a visit to the winery, Lunch, wine, and waters.
After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel and the rest of the day will be at leisure to relax.
Overnight: Cavas Wine Lodge
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 7 - The Northwest
In due time, transfer from your hotel to Mendoza airport (MDZ), a local guide, and a private vehicle.
Upon arrival at Salta (SLA), you will be met by your local guide and a private vehicle to drive you to your hotel.
Welcome to the Northwest!
The Northwest, including Salta, Jujuy, and Tucumán provinces, is still a hidden treasure of Argentina. The charm and the character of this region lie in the culture and folklore of its people, in the architecture of its small towns, in the traditions and customs present in its markets, its food, its music, and its religious festivities. It is a mix of pre-Columbian civilizations and the Spanish colonial past. Known for its magnificent natural sceneries and settlements where time seems to have stopped, this area gives guests the possibility to travel back to the times of colonization. The city of Salta, the gateway city, is the best preserved Spanish colonial city in Argentina. Desert, cacti, high-altitude salt lakes, yungas, llamas crossing the Puna... An incredible variety of colors, climates, and activities await.
Enjoy the hotel activities.
Overnight: Legado Mitico Salta
Meal Plan: B
Day 8 - Cafayate
Discover the Calchaquies Valley through a region molded by a turbulent pre-Incan and colonial history. Dramatic scenery carved out by the wind and sun, and towns built from adobe clay transport you back in time.
Drive through the breathtaking Quebrada de las Conchas gorge, a deep valley of red canyons, characterized by intense colours and spectacular geological formations, determined by the concentration of different minerals in the soil. Stop off at amazing rock formations, such as the Anfiteatro, and travel through the breathtaking Quebrada de las Conchas gorge, characterized by intense colors and spectacular geological formations. Your next stop is Cafayate, the most important town in Valles Calchaquies, known for its white wine made from the Torrontés grape.
Visit and Taste at “Fábrica de Quesos Cabras de Cafayate”
A fun family experience consisting of spending some time at “Cabras de Cafayate,” a unique place where goat cheese is made. Learn about the cheese-making process, its development, and its importance to the Argentine diet. Walk along and interact with hundreds of goats.
Overnight: Grace Cafayate
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 9 - Visit the Oldest Vineyard in Argentina
We leave Cafayate up north on road Nº40 through the “Quebrada de las Flechas”, a curious arrow-like formation on an eerie and almost lunar surface. We will go through beautiful small villages like San Carlos and Molinos before arriving at Colomé: one of the famous wineries and the oldest vineyards in the country surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty. We tour the vineyards and winery facilities in the company of Colome´s wine experts who will explain to us the sustainable concept of the Swiss owner and also the experimentation of the highest wines in the world that they are leading. There is also the possibility to visit their new contemporary museum created by James Turrell. In the afternoon we return to Cafayate to spend the last night at Calchaqui Valley.
Overnight: Grace Cafayate
Meal Plan: B,L
Day 10 - Departure
Transfer from your hotel to Salta airport (SLA).
Flight Salta/Buenos Aires is not included.
Upon arrival at Aeroparque (AEP), you will be met by your local guide and transferred to the International Airport (EZE).
Overnight:
Meal Plan: B