Bus Vitivinicola — Local services in Mendoza

Coming to Mendoza to do a wine tour was always part of my plan but, with the array of options for experiencing the region overwhelming, I’m so grateful to the Argentinian couple I’d met for pointing me in the direction of Bus Vitivinícola.

Booking the tour was easy thanks to the helpful and responsive staff on their WhatsApp. I went on the Saturday Valle de Uco outing and from the moment I hopped on up at one of a number of customer-convenient pickup points in the city, our guide Hugo ‘Bus’ was excellent value over the day. He was warm, jovial and funny while at the same time very informative about the region, the different wineries we would visit and, of course, wine itself.

We visited four wineries, some younger and some more traditional, but all excellent. Knowing that Vitivinícola already had pre-reserved slots for the visit and tasting was a major advantage, avoiding all the stress of otherwise having to book visits in advance. The bus represents an affordable way (approx 25,000 pesos not including the individual winery prices) to visit more wineries than you would on the typical 3rd party website tours and save on exorbitant taxi metres without necessitating the risk of drink driving.

Hugo was punctual in collecting us at each winery but we were never rushed and this meant we had the full amount of time to enjoy the different stops at our leisure. As a solo traveller, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the thirty or so group and it was easy to make friends. The group was sensibly divided in two for one of the visits as well as the lunch, with a smaller company making for more personalised and intimate tastings. A highlight was the three-course lunch at Claroscuro and celebrating Ireland’s win in the rugby with Hugo!

After an unforgettable day out, we were all back at our accommodation for around 5:30.

I would have no doubt in recommending this trip to friends and family.

Outside of the tour, I have to give a huge thanks to the staff, especially Hugo, who went above and beyond when I left my phone behind on the bus. They went to the trouble of looking for it that evening and were able to meet me early on Sunday morning...

El bus vitivinícola es una muy buena opción para poder conocer varias bodegas en un día. El guía Hugo es muy atento y facilita todo, hace un gran trabajo. Tambien los dias antes de la excursion pude hablar con la oficina varias veces por whatsapp para que me respondan cualquier duda. Mi novia tiene restriccion alimentaria y facilitaron todo eso con la bodega avisandoles con 2 dias de anticipacion. La gran ventaja del bus es que tiene un precio muy razonable y si sos menos de 3 personas te sale mas económico que un remis hasta valle de uco. Ademas, ellos te hacen el cupo de reserva en cada bodega que facilita mucho. Me hubiera gustado un poquito de tiempo mas en cada bodega, pero la realidad es que recorres un monton y ya el dia es largo. El autobus en si es muy comodo y de muy buen nivel, hugo trae aguas para todos. Muy buena experiencia, Valle de Uco es espectacular no se lo pierdan!

(Hicimos el domingo a valle de uco con Andeluna, Domaine, y Salentein)

English: The Bus vitivinícola is a great option for getting to know several bodegas in one day. The guide, Hugo, is very attentive and facilitates the whole process, he does a great job. The days before the tour I was able to reach out to the office via whatsapp for them to answer any doubts I had. My girlfriend has dietary restrictions and they handled and coordinated that with the bodega we had lunch at (they ask you let them know two days before your tour ideally). For English speakers, while Hugo may not be fluent in English at each tour we had he looked to find individuals who could provide the tour in English for the english speakers of the group. It was very well done for both Spanish, Portuguese, and English speakers. The great advantage of using the bus is that it is a very reasonable price and for groups smaller than 3, I found it to be cheaper than renting a driver. In addition, they handle scheduling all your reservations and tours at each bodega so you don’t have to worry about that. A little more time at each bodega would have been nice, but the reality is you are seeing a lot in one day and they do a good job of scheduling it out. The bus is very comfortable and Hugo brings waters for everyone. Very good experience, don’t miss out on Valle De Uco, it is beautiful

(We did the sunday tour with Andeluna, Domaine,...

Absolutely horrible experience. We booked the half day tour. After the morning part was done, the bus pulled over just off the highway and told us to get out- they weren’t going back to the stop they picked us up at. We had never been told this despite multiple communications prior. When we questioned them we were told to “take a taxi”. We were left on the side of the road and had to find another way back to our stop. Truly awful service.

Edit to add: when I messaged Vitivinicola privately on WhatsApp before posting this review, they ignored me. They responded here confirming they left us at a different location. This was without our knowledge or consent. They didn’t give us any information on how to get back to the original stop. Still...