Winery Biking in Mendoza, Argentina

If you want to couple some outdoor activity like biking with a cultural activity liking drinking (hehe), the area around Mendoza, Argentina is a good place to do it.

There are three main wine regions around Mendoza:

Lujan de Cuyo, Maipu, and the Uco Valley.

The Uco Valley

The Uco Valley is furthest away – you’ll need a car to get here unless you are a hard core cyclist (we aren’t) – and the area is pretty spread out so I don’t recommend using a bike as your main mode of transport unless again, you are a hardcore biker. But don’t let that deter you. I’ll post details soon on visiting the Uco Valley which is a must-do if you’re visiting Mendoza.

However, both Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo have great wineries that are accessible by bike.

When I was researching this, it was slightly hard to gather information on exactly what it would be like so I wanted to share what I learned from my experience.

There was definitely more information online about biking in Maipu but we found that the better route was HANDS DOWN Lujan de Cuyo.

Maipu

Maipu is about 25 minutes from Mendoza and you can get there via city bus or by Uber, which is what we did. The area is pretty industrial so don’t be alarmed – your driver is (probably) not kidnapping you.

Maipu has a few bike rental shops, all of which have one or two horror stories to be found online about how terrible their bikes are. We rented ours from Maipu Bikes and Brian’s pedal was broken but the bikes were otherwise serviceable. I’m pretty sure I got a disease from the helmet though. Here is my full review of biking Maipu.

Lujan de Cuyo

Lujan de Cuyo is the opposite direction from Maipu (so don’t plan to do both in one day) and there is no bus to take you there. However, we rented bikes with Baccus Bikes and they have a very reasonably priced package that includes pick up and drop off from wherever you’re staying in Mendoza.

This area has a much different feel than Maipu. Where Maipu is gritty and industrial, Lujan de Cuyo is suburban and residential. While we preferred Lujan de Cuyo in part because of the wide bike lanes and tree-lined streets, it was the wineries that really sealed the deal. You can read all about our day in Lujan de Cuyo here.