Salta or Mendoza

Hello brink;

I am no expert, but I do think you can enjoy Mendoza in a few days, where Salta and the NOA night require a few more to get the real feel and not experience yourselves as cutting it too short.

Even 1 night in Iguazzu is short - if you do go for 1 night, instead of 2, try to stay in the Sheraton to maximize your time there. You are probably talking about flights between BsAs and Iguazzu or Salta (there is also an Andes flight between them) though there is an overnight bus service - that option would eat into your limited time. Keep the airport and travel time in mind as you plan, as that can really detract from the time you have to enjoy either of these wonderful places.

I am sure you will get responses from those who know Mendoza well. So, whichever choices you make, have a great trip to Arg.

~MarnieWDC

Hi brink -

I have three weeks in BsAs and am having the same dilemma. I have decided to skip Mendoza and go off-the-beaten-track to Salta for at least 4 nights. I am not going to the falls either. But that is just me.

I am planning day trips out of BsAs to Colonia and Tigre.

Let us know what you decide.

I would not miss the falls. It is amazaing. I just came back a week ago from BA, Iguzau, & Mendoza. If you want to spend $300 a night stay at the Sheraton. You are in the middle of nowhere. Stay in Puerta Iguazu and take the bus to the falls. There are good local restaurants in the town. Stay at Los Troncos(US$100) for a two level which is close to town. You have the option of eating there, relaxing after the falls around the pool. Make sure you go on the boat trip under the falls. I would fly in the night before. Spend the day at the falls and fly out the next day.

You can only fly to Salta from Iguazua one day or maybe now two days a week. We flew back to BA on Lan and then flew out within an hour to Mendoza. A little money saver, if you buy a ticket BA-Iguazua-BA-Mendoza you will pay twice as much. We bought separate tickets for Iguazua and Mendoza. However, we flew on the same plane from Iguzaua to BA, and then BA to Mendoza. The flight crew that it was amusing.

We have not been to Salta. We enjoyed Mendoza and the area. We drove to the Chilean border and the Andes are amazing. We stayed overnight in Upsallatta. You can do the wineries on your own and not pay a US$100 per person to have someone drive you around. However, you need to be able to drive a standard. We are going back to Mendoza because we did not get down to the area south of Mendoza where the mineral springs area and other wineries.

The Falls are fabulous and I would stay more than 1 night if possible. I would not miss a visit to IF.

I have not been to Mendoza so can't speak to that region, but the NW is a beautiful area and u can do wine tasting there as well. MarnieWDC makes a good point about the time needed to visit the NW. I read about people doing a 4 day circuit to the North and then to the South of Salta and that is certianly possible, but I think it leaves u spending way too much time in the car. My suggestion is to fly from IF to Salta, spend a day and night there, pick up a car rental and go to Cafayate where there are some really good wines. The scenery is spectacular and Cafayate is a charming small town.

Not sure what the comment from sandiej is related to about paying $100 to pay someone to drive u in the NW 2 c wineries. That is not necessary. Very easy to drive oneself and the road from Salta to Cafayate is a 2 lane perfectly fine paved road with minimal traffic. Not a problem to drive ones' self at all to Cafayate and 2 wineries.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful trip whatever u choose 2 do.

Do not miss the falls! We took the first flight out of Buenos Aires in the morning, stayed at the Sheraton, and took the last flight out the next day. Given the time we had in Argentina, we felt this was enough time at the falls. ( of course, more would be better.)

We spent 6 days in the Salta area and it is absolutely stunning....just beautiful. I'm so glad we went there.

BUT, I do believe Mendoza is more of a wine region. If that is your real interest, I'd go there.
I'm going there in January, and I know there are many wine tours there.

Have a great vacation.

You guys are the best. I was just on the phone with my mom who is traveling with me and it's just such a pleasure to explain to her about the wonderful community on fodors.com. I read her each and every one of your responses, so thank you!

I was able to secure one night at the Sheraton in Iguazu using points... but just one night because then it was sold out.

I'm going to read up a bit more and see if it makes sense to spend a second night in Iguazu...

Will let you know where I end up.

Thanks again everyone

FYI- I just tried to see if I could adjust my flights on LAN to get a better price like sandiej recommended (end of December, begining of Jan) - it looks like many of the flights from Iguazu-BA-Salta are sold out now!

Brink:

If you will be in Iguazzu for only one night, then take the early plane out and the late plane back...and stay in the Sheraton - worth the $$. If longer and you want to stay in town, check out trip reports here and on TA for ideas. We loved staying in town, but were there 2 nights/3 days. Otherwise, we would have definitely stayed in the Sheraton.


Kidi and Yestravel have done it justice ! ~M

Great about scoring the Sheraton using points, if you're only going for one night, it's where you'll want to be. Nothing like walking out of the town and seeing the falls in your backyard (if you have a falls view room, it's the view you wake up to!)

I've been to both Salta and Mendoza, if you go North, you'll have a more desert like ambiance, reminded me or our Southwest w/the Inca influence. Salta is an interesting city, the drive to Calafate is scenic and there are a few wineries, we didn't visit any, but the town is very cute. We just stopped for lunch on our way to Mendoza (we had a driver that took us from Salta - Mendoza w/stops at the National Parks intbetween). We also spend two nights at Colome, which is an amazing finca near Salta.

Mendoza is bigger, we stayed in the suburbs (think Napa valley), at a "finca" which we loved. All the "big" wineries are in this area with the Andes as a backdrop. I have to disagree about driving yourself around if you like to indulge in any wine tasting, plus the wineries are far apart from each other. We loved having a car/driver and doing the tour, ending up with a 3 hour wine lunch at the end and being driven back to the finca afterward, not having to worry about where we were or how we were getting back

Both areas are great, I would probably lean toward Mendoza if wine is your main interest.

Personally I would prefer Iguazu and Salta.

I agree with graziella5b. I much preferred Salta to Mendoza. The scenery is truly amazing and, whilst not as famous for its vineyards, there are some great wines to be tasted.

I think the NW is for a much deeper experience, not just wines, but also some amazing sceneries, interesting architecture, great food, delicious and unique wines, wildlife, arts, crafts, music, traditions, and much more. But I should advice you. You can be tempted to move to SALTA... like Crellston! LOL!
Have a great time anywhere in the country, I am sure you will enjoy every single place here.
flintstones

Thank you everyone for your responses. I struggled with flights because of my last minute bookings, so am still doing the following:

Arrive 11/12 : B/A
Fly to Iguazu: 11/15
Stay in Puerto Iguazu 11/15
Sheraton Iguazu 11/16
Fly Iguazu - BA - Mendoza on 11/17
Return Mendoza to BA on 11/21
Depart BA 11/23

It's not perfect, but it will do. Today I'm trying to secure hotels in BA and Mendoza....may post later seeking additional insights if I can't find it in existing posts!

Thank you all again. I will post a final itinerary once it's complete so maybe I can help someone else