Which direction should I take for the Salta–Mendoza loop from and back to Buenos Aires?

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a trip to Argentina in February. I’ll be starting from Buenos Aires and want to do a loop that goes through Salta and Mendoza before returning to Buenos Aires. I’m still undecided on the direction: • Buenos Aires → Mendoza → Salta → Buenos Aires or • Buenos Aires → Salta → Mendoza → Buenos Aires.

I plan to explore each region, alternating between buses and a rental car.

In your opinion, which direction makes more sense for this itinerary (climate, roads, logistics, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for your tips! !

Hi there

I’m not sure you’ll see a huge difference either way. Plus, these days, weather forecasts are pretty unreliable anyway. I’d look more at transport costs or car rental prices if anything. But back to the weather—just theoretically—if you start with Salta, you’ll be arriving during the rainy season, which could make your road trips in a rental car a bit tricky. We couldn’t even get up to Iruya because of the rain (March).

For Salta, you’ll also need to decide which direction to take for the northern and southern loops by car. I’ll let you check out this page for all the details on sights (GPS coordinates), routes, and things to do in the Salta region.

And if you’ve got a comfortable budget, I’d highly recommend the excursion to Tolar Grande!

You won’t see a more stunning landscape ;)

I agree with my predecessor—the direction of the loop doesn’t really matter. Just be aware that the distances are long, and the trip from Mendoza to Buenos Aires took me a good 15–20 hours by bus.

Thanks to both of you. @Chrissand your site is really well done and a great supporting guide. We’ll use it for inspiration.

Thanks 😊

...I’m planning a trip to Argentina in February. I’ll be starting from Buenos Aires and want to do a loop that goes through Salta and Mendoza before returning to Buenos Aires. I’m still unsure about the direction of the route: .... I plan to visit each region, alternating between buses and rental cars....

Hi there. If you take the distances into account, I’d recommend (in my opinion) starting from BA (by overnight bus) to Salta (1,550 km from BA), with a short stopover in between—like Córdoba (700 km from BA)—before continuing (overnight bus) to Salta (850 km from Córdoba). - After visiting the NOA (with a rental car), you could take a direct flight (1h45) to Mendoza (1,300 km from Salta). - After exploring the Mendoza region (by rental car, taxi, or bus), the return to BA (1,050 km from Mendoza) is doable by road (16-hour overnight bus) or by plane. Have a great trip! JLMA