Argentina - Travel Blogs & Travel Guides: 2023

Uco Valley Wine Tour, Mendoza, Argentina

With beautiful wineries, vineyards and top restaurants, find out whether going on an Uco Valley wine tour is the best way to explore this region near Mendoza, Argentina.

It was just after 9am, and all I could think about was wine. It may sound like I’m bordering on alcoholism but no, I was in Mendoza, Argentina – an area known specifically for its production of Malbec. Today, I’d be learning about wine, exploring a few vineyards and hopefully tasting a whole load too.

In the safe hands of Kahuak (one of Mendoza’s top tourism agencies) and with bubbly tour guide Anna Laura leading the way, we headed out of the city to the Uco Valley. The tour would take us towards the snow-capped Andes to visit three of the Uco Valley’s top wineries – Salentein, Domaine Bousquet and Andeluna.

Beautiful views on the journey to the Uco Valley

The valley lies around 150km south of Mendoza. It’s a lush region

View of the pool from upstairs at Villa Mansa Hotel

Lush gardens, ancient vines, bright blue sky with pool to match, a gourmet restaurant and views of the snow-capped Andes… Villa Mansa is a secret hideaway in the heart of Mendoza’s wine country.

After escaping the traffic of downtown Mendoza, we found ourselves in the picturesque countryside, passing several upmarket hotels, wineries and mansions along the way. My main reason for wanting to visit the region was for the Malbec, but on top of the incredible wine, it turned out to be a great spot for a bit of R&R. Villa Mansa is at the end of a long, narrow drive, which opens out onto several rows of beautiful grapevines and antique wine making equipment.

Villa Mansa Hotel with a backdrop of the Andes Mountains

Vines and old wine-making equipment at Villa Mansa Hotel — Vines and antique wine-making equipment at Villa Mansa Hotel

Ziplining over Lake Potrerillos in Argentina

Find out all about ziplining in Argentina, at Potrerillos Dam close to Mendoza.

As I was handed a large blue hard hat, I knew straight away it wouldn’t fit. “I have a weirdly small head,” I said. They handed me another, and again it wobbled around. “Hmmmm…” I blushed. “Do you have any for children?”

Helmet on and mild humiliation almost over, I fixed the GoPro to my head, clambered into my harness, and waddled over to the first high line. I was about to go ziplining in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Afternoon view over Lake Potrerillos in Argentina

Today’s the day I leave for South America! Over the next 24 hours I’ll be flying from London – Atlanta – Santiago, Chile.

While most of my trips happen reasonably last-minute, this is different. A few months ago, the idea was floated of visiting Chile for a month. I’ll admit, Chile is not a place that was on my ‘must visit’ list for this year. I’d had vague plans to head to The Philippines and Thailand, as well as my resolution to see more of the UK in 2016. So where did this fit in? Was it sensible to go? No, probably not. Did I want to go? Hell yes!

Find out all about Contiki‘s South American Adventure tour. It’s the perfect introduction to Argentina and Brazil.

It’s been a while since my big trip through Mexico. I’ve dreamed of going to Brazil for years, and heard that Argentina (in particular Buenos Aires) is an amazing place, so this time I booked with tour company Contiki, who specialise in tours for 18-35s.