Our itinerary for one week in Argentina! Truly one of my most favorite and memorable trips to date when we visited Buenos Aires and Mendoza. one week in argentina

Hi guys!! We just spent a full week in gorgeous Argentina. It was the first time we visited South America, and it was the longest I have been away from my babies. It was so hard leaving them for so long! But I have to say – if I didn’t love Argentina so much, it would have felt even longer to me.

Argentina was truly the trip of a lifetime for Jordan and I. I don’t think it gets enough hype and the country offers so much to do. When we first starting planing this with Elsewhere, we said we wanted to maximize our time as much as we can since we had 7 days to go away.

We worked with one of Elsewhere’s local experts, Matias, who planned our entire trip. I cannot recommend Elsewhere enough guys. They take care of all the planning for your trip. They have trip itineraries for all over the world too, so no matter what country you want to go to, they can likely help you.

From the moment we had our initial kickoff call with Matias, I knew we were in good hands. He got to know us and our preferences and what we prioritize for traveling. I told him we wanted a mix of city exploration and relaxing.

What I loved the most of our trip planning experience though is how Elsewhere customized the entire trip for us. Matias sent us 3 example itineraries and we worked together to pick the one best of us for our trip. They offer trips for all price points/budgets and you can book last minute up to 2 weeks before a trip! Basically what we did since we planned this a month out.

We decided to go with a mix of 3 days in Buenos Aires and 3 days in Mendoza. I had heard the best things about Mendoza and loved how it was a bit more secluded. Perfect for the second half of our trip. We were between there and Patagonia, but now we have an excuse to come back.

Day 1 – Day 3 in Buenos Aires:

Day 1:

We landed in Buenos Aires at 8am and headed to our hotel. Our guide, Enrique, became our best friend for our trip. He met us at the airport and guided us the whole time in Buenos Aires.

We stayed at the Faena which was about an hour from the airport. From there we dropped off our things, had a quick breakfast and headed out for a private tour with Enrique. We did a mix of walking and driving since Buenos Aires isn’t all walkable. We started in San Talermo then drove to La Boca, Recoltea and Palermo for the day. Enrique taught us so much. So much more than we would have learned going around just us. I want to have a tour guide now everywhere we go!

Some of the highlights of what we saw: Recoleta cemetery, San Talermo market, government buildings, women’s bridge, La Boca Juniors Football Club stadium and the colorful homes. Each neighborhood has so much history and it was great to learn a little bit about how the city of Buenos Aires has evolved over the years.

That first night we did the Rojo Tango show at the Faena hotel, which was amazing. It was dinner first then the show. And I loved how the food was actually delicious. Such a romantic yet fun vibe too. Highly recommend it. it’s pricier but worth the experience in my opinion. It was pretty long from 7:30pm – 11:00pm. They do not rush you in Argentina!

Day 2:

We headed to El Mercado in our hotel for a breakfast buffet then got in the car with Enrique and our drive up north for our day in the countryside. Elsewhere recommended a place called La Bamba de Areco, which was absolutely stunning. It’s a ranch on over 370 acres of land. It’s a hotel and has a pool, spa and it’s like going to the farm for the day. They made us our first ever asado barbecue lunch (an Argentinian classic) and we got to see horses, watch a horse show from the Gaucho. Plus we dined with such a sweet couple we met traveling from Florida and got to have some great convo. La Bamba de Areco also made us homemade empanadas (gluten-free for Jordan) and we had the best dessert. It was dulche de leche crepes with ice cream. I was obsessed!! Such a treat to enjoy a day like that.

The drive to the ranch from the city was 2 hours each way so it was more of a relaxing, travel type day. Elsewhere booked our car service and our guide from day 1, Enrique, took us there. It was so helpful having him because he filled us in on so much during the car ride and really walked us through La Bamba de Areco and the history of San Antonio de Areco and the Gaucho culture.

When we got back to the city, we went and bought leather jackets (obsessed). Then we had dinner and drinks at Faena hotel in El Mercado. The food was great – convenient if you’re staying at the property too.

Day 3:

Our last day in Buenos Aires. We started off with a food tour around the city. Elsewhere booked us a food tour with our guide named Stan who took us to the oldest bar in the San Talermo where we made a cocktail with Cinzano Rosso and Seltzer, had some snacks and then we went to San Talermo Market which is like a big food hall. They have tons of options like chorizo sandwiches, empanadas and more. Highly recommend going here.

Then we headed to our big lunch of the day at El Refuerzo for a 3-course lunch with Stan. This lunch was INSANE. We started with this grilled cheese of sorts with vegetables and arugula called provoleta (not like a grilled cheese sandwich!). Then had a steak dish with potatoes and corn salsa called bife de chorizo con salsa and it was too good. I have to make it at home for us. For dessert they served us a dulche de leche flan. Everything was also gluten-free, which was great for Jordan!

We went back to the hotel after to rest, did a little sauna session then headed to dinner around 8pm. Our dinner this night was the best dining experience of my life. We went to Casa Coupage for a 7-course dinner with Argentinan wine pairings. Santiago is a sommelier who has been hosting people for dinner in his home for 19 years. He works with this amazing private chef and I am still dreaming of the food. It was all so innovative, and flavorful and shockingly we weren’t stuffed afterwards.

The line up: Patagonian trout ceviche, cream of fermented cashew chest nuts with sautéed pears, broccoli, candied figs and roasted chestnuts. Then we had grilled sole with cream of carrots, oranges and cardamom, baked fennel with honey and lemon. And for the meat course, we had a 24-hour marinated beef tenderloin with smoked paprika, roasted red pepper polenta in a red wine and pink peppercorn reduction. INSANE and the best dish of my life.

Then we transititoned to an assorted cheese plate, grapefruit granita followed by dessert which was caramelized apples, fresh raspberries, toasted coconut and pistachio ice cream.

But the best part besides the food of Casa Coupage was Santiago. He has so much passion for what he does and his knowledge of wines was unlike anything we had experienced. And yes, I even had a taste of each wine. Highly recommend this experience if you are in Buenos Aires.

Days 4 -7 in Mendoza:

Day 4:

A big travel day! We headed to the airport and took a 2 hour flight to Mendoza (thank goodness for AirTags guys). From there we hoped in a car for 2 hours and went to one of the most gorgeous resorts I have been to, Casa De Uco. This was a resort like no other. It is secluded but in the best way and the staff here was just beyond amazing. Elsewhere coordinate for a driver to greet us at the airport and drove us to the resort where we were immediately welcomed with our itinerary and tour of the property.

Casa de Uco was designed by an incredibly talented architect and has a boutique hotel feel with just over a dozen rooms, plus some of their casas on property. We were fortunate enough to stay in Casa Paucho and it was stunning.

What really made Casa De Uco stand out though were the people that worked there. They had so much passion for what they do and such warmth for their guests. It is a really intimate place to say and so incredibly unique.

The food was spectacular, most of it grown in their garden. And they offered pretty much anything you need on property.

We did a cooking class the first night which consisted of making homemade grilled bread with fresh tomatoes from the garden, goat cheese, zucchini ribbons and fresh arugula. Plus roasted eggplant on top. They also offered gluten-free grilled bread making for Jordan. I ended up eating mine and some of his, I loved it so much. Then we did a traditional asado barbecue and crispy plantains with dulche de leche and raspberries for dessert.

Day 5:

This day started off with the breakfast buffet (delish!) and we headed out to horse back ride. Now I thought we were horseback riding at our hotel on flat land. I quickly learned we were driving 20 minutes further into the mountains to basically hike mountains riding on a horse. And yours truly hasn’t been on a horse since day camp 25 years ago. It was quite the experience but our guide, Danielo, was so patient and made us feel comfortable and helped us feel like pros! We hiked to the top of the mountain, had empanadas and then headed back.

After that we went for a light lunch at the resort and got some massages. It was glorious and we even did some dry sauna action after. If you stay here, ask for the granola bars they have in the spa – I couldn’t stop eating them!

For dinner that night, we went to the restaurant at Casa De Uco and had their tasting menu. It started off with a roasted vegetable soup, followed by burrata salad, t-bone steak with vegetables and a fried egg in a pepper (so unique) then some stone fruit sorbet for dessert.

Day 6:

We were first in line at the breakfast buffet and then we actually went on a walk with a couple we met at the hotel. We wanted more of a relaxing morning so we took it slow. Then in the early afternoon we visited Casa De Uco’s vineyard for a wine tasting and tour. We tasted half a dozen wines and picked some out to bring home for friends and family too!

Then we had lunch at the resort restaurant. We wanted something lighter so we did some smoked trout crudo with this avocado salad then some zucchini ribbons salad with parmesan cheese and like a hummus base of sorts. It was amazing and so refreshing to eat.

Day 7:

We woke up for our last breakfast buffet then headed on our journey home. It was a long 26 hours of travel (not kidding lol), but it feels so good to be back with our babies.

Elsewhere – you are gem! You plan trips like no other. Here is the link to our exact itinerary too.

My top 5 travel must-have’s for any trip:

A few candid thoughts of Buenos Aires as well:

Palermo – gives me west village vibes. Really great shops and tons of coffee shops and restaurants. This was my favorite neighborhood to explore. I also found a place that had kombucha here which I was happy about! if we had another day I’d go back to explore it more.

Recoleta – upper east side meets Paris vibes. I loved the shopping here and we had lunch there. Gorgeous to walk around and we did the cemetery which I loved!!

San Telermo – the San Telermo Market is here. I found this the most crowded section but also tons of history. our food tour was there and Enrique our guide took us around

Puerto Madero – we stayed at Faena in this area. It’s like the battery park of the city. I loved it and it was quieter and our hotel had great restaurants and bars which was convenient.

La Boca – It’s the colorful neighborhood! we only spent about 20 minutes so I don’t have much to say but it was really crowded there so left.

Chinatown – we went here on our way home. Enrique took us and it was soooo fun. So many unique places to go and eat and explore. I recommend it!

Things I wish we did – there’s a whole jewish section and i wish i saw it. Reason for us to go back!

Getting around – elsewhere helped us with cars for our planned activities. Uber is feasible too and lots of cabs. our 40 minute Uber was $5 USD