Fiesta Nacional De La Vendimia En Mendoza - Worth It?

[Girino]

Hey ya all! I still have to visit Mendoza and I'd like to visit it during summer or fall to appreciate its vines and vintage (not particularly interested in wine tasting, to be honest).
I read they host an annual Fiesta Nacional De La Vendimia at the beginning of March, I found package deals focusing on that so it looks like it could be interesting to assist to. From my understanding, it last a couple of days.

My questions for you are:
1) Is it a Fiesta worth visiting or it is just something not so cool in person like the Oktoberfest in Villa Belgrano?
2) If so, does the Fiesta last all day or would it be just something for half a day or at night?
3) What are the must visit of Mendoza that I should plan on visiting? I think that 3-4 nights should be enough to see the essentials.
4) Any other recommendations? Lodging, excursions, tour companies?


Thanks in advance!

 

[Girino]

Well, I will post again with other questions.

It looks like we will go see the main night show on March 5th, 2016. We have already made up our minds about the various excursions from Mendoza:

• Alta montaña por Villa Vicencio (1 full day)
• Cañón de Atuel con San Rafael (1 full day)
• Laguna del diamante (at the volcan's feet) (1 full day)
• 
  Parque Aconcagua (trekking inside the park) (1 full day)
• 
  Vino y Spa (Termas de Cacheuta) (1/2 to 1 day)

Then I found out about Ischigualasto and Valle de la Luna (between La Rioja and San Juan) and we are wondering if we should add another couple of days to go there (there is no daily trip from Mendoza because it's 500 km far!) or if we should dedicate another separate holiday to the northern area. Any suggestion?

 

[Rich One]

IMMO from what you suggest I would choose the options below . Some of the Programs are repetitive and travel over the same areas like Uspallata and Villavicencio. I have driven the area 12 times up to Paso Cristo Libertador and intermediate sites.

• Parque Aconcagua (trekking inside the park) (1 full day)
• Vino y Spa (Termas de Cacheuta) (1/2 to 1 day)

and Perhaps

Cañón de Atuel [background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]con San Rafael (1 full day) ?? Never been there[/background]

 

[Girino]

It was my understanding that the tour Alta montaña [background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]por Villa Vicencio [/background]stopped in various town (Uspallata, Villa Vicencio, etc.) to the Parque Aconcagua (just to take some pictures)
whereas the tour to the Parque tour skipped towns and went straight to the park. Maybe we should consider renting a car and combine both things?
The Laguna looked very nice, though I have no idea if there is something else to see / do during that excursion.

At this point I am more interested in understanding how many days we will stay so that I can book the flights.

 

[Roxana]

At Fiesta de la Vendimia days, the stay is around 30 to 30% more expensive. The weather is wonderful. Perhaps you may attend the Dia del Malbec events in April, where everybody offers a glass of Malbec, for free.

If you go to San Juan, I suggest you to visit the Auditorio (there are organ concerts almost every week) and Museo Bodega Graffigna (Won many international awards, like one from Unesco) in the city. And on your way to Ischigualasto, try stop at Jachal - a small town, one of the few places in Provincia de San Juan didnt destroyed by the earthquarque in 1944.

 

[wineguy999]

I'll take San Juan over Mendoza any time...just as I prefer Sonoma over Napa.

 

[Roxana]

The difference is that Mendoza has better services to tourists than San Juan, but because of nature, geography, zonda wind, San Juan is unique.

 

[r2d2]

The difference is that Mendoza has better services to tourists than San Juan, but because of nature, geography, zonda wind, San Juan is unique.

You have zonda in Mendoza as well. Actually most people try to avoid the zonda.