When traveling throughout South America, especially by bus and if you plan to hit both Argentina and Chile, chances are you will find yourself spending some time in Mendoza at some point. Here’s a quick rundown of some things to keep ya entertained if your stay is longer than a brief layover.
Conveniently there are a number of attractions within relatively easy walking distance from the bus station. You only need a few hours to see quite a lot!
Where to Stay:
1. Savigliano Hostel
- 1 block from the Bus station
- 40 Pesos Per night (about 10 bucks)
- Breki included (consisting of bread and jam)
- Free Internet!
- It is close to a main road so be prepared for a bit of road noise.
2. Damajuana Hostel
- $18 per night
- Close to town center (and drinking)
- Outdoor Pool
- Breakfast complete with fruit, juices, muffins, and more
- Free Internet!
- About as quiet as a Hostel gets
Both Hostel Savigliano Hostel and Hostel Damajuana offer a comfortable, affordable stay.
Another bonus to the Savigliano Hostel: Their brochure is a map! Complete with must see tourist stops, this gives you a great starting place for your direction of wander!
Tourist Hitlist:
-Downtown
-San Martin Park
-Mendoza Museum
-Mendoza Bike’n’Wine tours (details here)
-Zoo (rumors are it’s a bit on the depressing side, but something to check out)
-Artistides Villanueva – this street is a bustling metropolis and a great place to dine, drink, and people watch
About 6 blocks from the Savigliano hostel is a quaint little Museum featuring the history of Mendoza. The entire museum is centered about an archeological pit, where you can see half uncovered artifacts. The museum is quite complete for it’s rather small size and walks you through the time of the natives up through the 1930’s.
Watch out for these bad boys in the wee hours of the morning when your trying to work your way back to the hostel!
Mendoza seems to have a park every other block, which is quite the nice reprieve when surrounded by so much city. The park located downtown is hands down the most spectacular, with a large statue, a large fountain, and even larger trees; it’s a busy scene with trinkets for sale and people about in generally high spirits,yet is remains vast enough to find a quiet corner to kick it.
The San Martin park is a bit more of a walk to reach (over a mile from the bus station) and it’s massive!! Even with a few hours set aside to wander about you want be able to cover all the ground. There’s not a ton of sight seeing to do in the park itself, it mostly harbors large old growth trees for relaxing under.
Overall Mendoza okay for a city, but the real fun lies in the surrounding directions where snow sliding activities await!