Solo travel · Mendoza · Argentina
Solo travel in Mendoza
How to enjoy Mendoza at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Pictured: Cerro Arco, Mendoza · Photo: Itsmemarttin, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Mendoza is easy for solo travellers: group wine and mountain tours make it simple to meet people, the centre is walkable, and hostels and wine bars are sociable. Many solo travellers base themselves in Microcentro.
Key facts
- Base
- Microcentro
- Getting around
- Walking
- Emergency number
- 911
- Language
- Spanish
Plan a trip to Mendoza
Compare flights, places to stay and rental cars, then book with the provider you choose.
Solo travel tips
- Join small-group winery tours so you can taste without driving and share the cost.
- Maipú bike tours are popular with solo travellers and other riders are easy to meet along the route.
- Stay in the Microcentro or near Arístides Villanueva for walkable evenings.
- Sit at the bar in wine bars, where staff are usually happy to talk you through local labels.
- Keep bags zipped and phones out of reach in busy central streets and bus terminals.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for first-timers, budget and solo travellers
Microcentro
The central blocks between Plaza Independencia, Plaza España and Plaza Chile hold most hotels, banks, tour agencies and cafés, with the pedestrian Paseo Sarmiento running east from the main square. Every city sight is walkable, and wine tours collect guests from hotels here.
- Good
- Walk to restaurants and plazas; Tour pick-ups at the door; Wide range of hotels
- Watch out
- Traffic noise on main avenues; Quiet during the afternoon siesta
- Nearby
- Plaza Independencia, Plaza España, Paseo Sarmiento, Mercado Central
Great on your own
Experience · Luján de Cuyo wine country
Luján de Cuyo wineries
Book a winery lunch rather than only tastings; the multi-course menus are the highlight of a Luján day and pace the drinking.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Food
- Couples
- Views
- Iconic
Landmark · Microcentro
Plaza España and the satellite plazas
Walk a loop of all four satellite plazas from Plaza Independencia; it takes under an hour and shows the city's grid plan.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- History
Viewpoint · Quinta Sección and Arístides Villanueva
Cerro de la Gloria
Go late in the afternoon for the view; the walk up from the park lake is steep, so taking a taxi up and walking down is easier.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- History
- Photo spot
Historic site · Microcentro
Área Fundacional and San Francisco ruins
Take a short taxi from the centre and combine the museum with the ruins on the plaza opposite in one visit.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Gallery · Luján de Cuyo wine country
Museo Casa de Fader
Combine it with a Luján winery visit or lunch in Chacras de Coria, both a few minutes away.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Quinta Sección and Arístides Villanueva
Museo de Ciencias Naturales Juan Cornelio Moyano
Pair it with a walk around the park lake; it is a good choice for a hot afternoon or a rare rainy day.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Nature
Meeting people
- Winery lunch — Many wineries in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley serve multi-course lunches paired with their wines, lasting two or three hours with views of the vineyards and the Andes.
- Bike-and-taste day — In Maipú, hire a bike and ride between wineries, olive-oil producers and liqueur makers, stopping for lunch at a bodega restaurant.
- Avenida Arístides Villanueva — Several blocks of bars, craft-beer pubs and parrillas in the Quinta Sección, crowded from about midnight at weekends.
- Microcentro — Wine bars and cafés around Plaza Independencia and Paseo Sarmiento for earlier, quieter evenings.
Sensible precautions
Mendoza is generally calm, but bag-snatching and phone theft happen in the centre and around the bus terminal, so keep valuables discreet. In the Andes, altitude, sun and sudden weather changes are the main risks; drink water and carry warm layers.
- Emergency number
- 911
- Staying connected
- Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, cafés and most wineries; local SIMs and eSIMs give good coverage in the city, but signal is patchy in the high mountains.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Mendoza good for solo travellers?
Mendoza is easy for solo travellers: group wine and mountain tours make it simple to meet people, the centre is walkable, and hostels and wine bars are sociable.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Mendoza?
Microcentro: The grid around Plaza Independencia, Peatonal Sarmiento and the satellite plazas.