Ten days in Argentina
Three nights in Buenos Aires, five in Mendoza and a final night in the capital: a ten-day route for architecture, food and wine visits with time between them.
Follow the ten-day routeTwo contrasting stays
This itinerary counts ten calendar days, including arrival on Day 1 and departure on Day 10. Start with three nights in Buenos Aires, then move to Mendoza for five nights before returning to the capital for the final night. The two regions offer enough contrast without needing a third: monumental architecture and neighbourhood evenings in the city, then plazas, wineries and mountain scenery in Cuyo. Mendoza city is the default regional base because it keeps meals and non-wine days within easy reach. The outings separate Luján de Cuyo, the Uco Valley and Maipú, leaving a city day between tasting days. If wine is a minor interest rather than the reason for travelling, replace some winery visits with the places that actually draw you.
Choose this plan if an architectural visit, a winery conversation and a long meal belong among the main experiences. It is not built around a list of mountain hikes.
Five nights in Mendoza city avoid repeated packing and keep everyday services close. A vineyard overnight can replace one city night if you arrange the transport, meals and onward pickup first.
Return to Buenos Aires on Day 9 and depart internationally on Day 10. Any last city outing depends on the real flight arrival rather than an assumed free afternoon.
Route at a glance
Every transfer, recovery window and overnight base remains visible.
Nights 1–3 · Arrival and two full city days.
Nights 4–8 · Four full regional days from one base.
Night 9 · Return before the Day 10 departure.
Days 1–3 · Buenos Aires
Use the opening stay for two different Buenos Aires days. The historic centre brings civic history and architectural detail together around Plaza de Mayo and Avenida de Mayo. A Teatro Colón tour can add an interior perspective, but choose the actual tour time before arranging the rest of that day. The second full day can move north to Recoleta, where the cemetery's stonework and the Bellas Artes collection offer different ways to read the city's cultural life. Do not turn this into a requirement to visit every museum. One substantial interior visit per day leaves space for a café, a meal and the streets connecting them. A tango evening belongs on whichever night has room for its finish time and your energy.
Settle into the accommodation and get to know its immediate streets. Choose a nearby dinner and confirm the next day's cultural booking. Keep late-night plans flexible after the international journey.
Begin around Plaza de Mayo, then follow Avenida de Mayo for façades and a café stop. Build the afternoon around a reserved Colón visit or another chosen interior. A performance requires its own programme and ticket decision.
Choose Recoleta for the cemetery, art and avenues, or Palermo for gardens and contemporary cultural life. Stay with that part of the city rather than trying to complete both. Pack and confirm the airport transfer before the evening gets late.
Days 4–8 · Mendoza and wine country
Mendoza is more interesting when winery visits have different purposes. An introduction to Luján de Cuyo, a Uco Valley landscape day and a Maipú visit need not become three versions of the same tasting. Choose one or two meaningful appointments on a day, depending on their length and location, and leave the meal enough space. Arrange a driver or suitable organised outing for days involving alcohol. A vineyard restaurant may require a separate reservation from the tasting, and the length of lunch can shape the return. Between those outings, spend time in Mendoza itself: the plazas, Parque General San Martín, Mercado Central and the architecture of Pasaje San Martín give the stay a rhythm beyond cellar doors. Check each chosen visit's current arrangements rather than assuming all wineries welcome unannounced arrivals.
Travel from Buenos Aires and settle into the city base. If the flight leaves time, walk around the central plazas and have an uncomplicated dinner. Keep the first winery appointment for a full day.
Make a booked winery visit the centre of the day, with a meal and return transport arranged around it. Select a second appointment only when the locations and visit lengths fit comfortably.
Spend the day with the park, plazas and market rather than another tasting schedule. Choose a manageable route through Parque General San Martín and return to the centre for lunch or an afternoon café.
Give the valley its own full outing with a booked visit and lunch. Confirm the complete journey with the driver, including the return. Do not add a Maipú stop simply because both places grow wine.
Choose Maipú for a different wine and food chapter, including an olive-related visit if one interests you and is available. Alternatively, stay with Mendoza's cultural sights or a carefully arranged foothills outing. Commit to one version of the day.
Days 9–10 · Buenos Aires again
Fly back to Buenos Aires on Day 9 and sleep there before the international departure. If you use the same accommodation as the opening stay, you return to a familiar area and can choose a final meal without learning another neighbourhood. If the airport pattern or flight times favour a different location, let the actual journey decide. Keep the final afternoon light. A restaurant reservation can be moved more easily than a timed cultural visit, but it should still allow for delays and the ground transfer. Before buying wine to carry home, read the airline's baggage rules and the import rules for the destination where you will arrive. Packaging and allowance belong in that decision as much as the number of bottles.
Make the Mendoza–Buenos Aires journey, collect luggage and reach the accommodation. Use any remaining time near the hotel. Confirm the international departure airport and transfer, especially if it differs from the airport used earlier that day.
Leave for the international flight according to the airline's check-in requirements and the ground journey. A late departure may leave space for breakfast or a short neighbourhood walk; keep luggage retrieval and the airport transfer in the same plan.
Book the right details
The route needs nine accommodation nights, two regional flights and a small number of chosen visits. Resolve those commitments before filling the remaining hours.
Nights
Book three Buenos Aires nights, five Mendoza nights and one final Buenos Aires night. Day 1 arrival and Day 10 departure are included in the ten days. Extra nights needed for early room access or a later flight sit outside this example.
Wine regions
Use Luján de Cuyo, the Uco Valley and Maipú for distinct visits rather than collecting as many wineries as possible. Ask what the visit includes, how long it lasts and whether the meal is a separate booking.
Transport
Book a suitable driver or outing for days when you will drink. Confirm pickup, the full sequence, waiting time and the return. A rental car does not solve the journey home after tasting, and an improvised return from a rural property may be difficult.
Season
Vineyards change through the year, and a green summer photograph is not a promise of the view on your dates. Check the winery's current visit format and any harvest-period arrangements. Keep weather and daylight in mind for mountain or foothills outings.
Accommodation
A vineyard stay can add quiet evenings and a different relationship with the landscape. Replace one or more Mendoza city nights rather than adding a hidden extra stop. Ask about meals, check-in, luggage and the next day's collection before committing.
Non-drinkers
Ask wineries about the visit experience without alcohol, and make food, architecture and landscape the reasons for choosing a property. Mendoza's city day should remain a proper part of the holiday. If little about wine country appeals, choose another regional chapter altogether.
Useful visitor information
Use these official sources for the current detail behind the journey. Conditions and available services can change after you make the first plan.
Last editorial review: 6 September 2026
Let Cuyo stay with you
Once the booked visits are in place, leave space for the ordinary pleasures: shade in a plaza, a conversation over lunch, a clear mountain horizon. The fifth Mendoza night gives you room to enjoy the region between appointments.
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