I have a friend who is traveling to Argentina in Feb and wants to rent a car and drive into Mendozas wine country. He and his wife speak no spanish and have not travel experience in South America, is it safe for them to travel this by themselves? I have driven through Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Belize and have been pulled over in all 4 countries. We made it completly safe but the police did not speak english and I am just a little worried about them doing this. Also, besides the logistic of traveling alone and finding where they want to go, is Argentina a safe country for two inexperienced travelers to drive through?
Thanks for the feedback
Ryan
Reply to this If they are just renting a car to visit the wine country around Mendoza, I think hiring a 'remise' would be a better idea. A remise is a car and driver for personal use. More than a taxi and often used in Argentina for a full day hire or for longer distances. It will be cheaper than hiring a car. Then they can taste the wine to their heart's content and not worry about driving. The roads are not that well sign posted around Mendoza and Argentine drivers can be imaginative about the rules of the road. Aside from that, it is quite safe for them to drive in the sense that they aren't likely to be carjacked or anything like that. If they want to drive they should get an international driver's license, cheap enough, and are an internationally recognized translation of their license. Some areas of Argentina are worse than others for getting stopped by police and Mendoza isn't high on the list unless you have Chilean plates. If they are stopped, not speaking Spanish is an advantage - just smile and shake your head in a puzzled way. But I really think the remise is the way to go. Their lodging can set it up.
Reply to this Ok, Great! Thanks for the info, do you have any guess on what the approximate cost of driving from Mendoza to the wine country would be? They will probably stay at a nice hotel so I am assuming that they could just speak with someone there and make the arrangements with them.
Reply to this I don't really, but I am guessing US$100 for a full day and visiting more than one winery. Half a day and fewer wineries would be cheaper. Hiring a car for the day would probably be about US$60 but then you have to drink and drive and maybe get lost! Note that most wineries require booking beforehand. I would think that wherever they were staying could set up the whole thing.
http://argentinastravel.com/activities/wine-tours/tour-tips/
A search on the Tripadvisor Argentina forum will turn up lots of recommendations about wineries and even drivers.
Reply to this I just got back from Mendoza and think that you should really consider renting bikes. It is very cheap and you can go to all the wineries in one day. Renting a car should be safe though as long as you dont drink to much😊 Keep in mind that most people there do not speak english so there might be a little trouble there.
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