Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
266
Parque San Martín (
&
261/420-5052
). The office is only open during the climbing
season, from December through March. During the r est of the y ear, you must contact
the
Subsecretaría Provincial de R ecursos Naturales
(
&
261/425-2090
). Permits to
climb the summit cost $500 (£338), and y ou must go in person to obtain one. I n addi-
tion, sev eral w ebsites offer useful tourist information: www .turismo.mendoza.gov.
ar, www .aconcagua.mendoza.gov.ar, www .welcomeargentina.com/mendoza, and www .
mendoza.com.ar.
GETTING AROUND
You can easily explor e central M endoza on foot, although y ou
will want to hir e a driv er or r ent a car to visit the wine r oads and tour the mountains.
Taxis and
remises
(private, unmetered taxis) ar e inexpensive: Drivers cost no mor e than
$15 (£10) per hour. Travelers should be war y of walking alone outside the main center
of town, especially at night. Traditionally Mendoza is one of Argentina's safest cities, but
it has experienced an incr ease in crime, par t of its gr owing pains. Ask y our hotel to call
a
remise
or radio-taxi, rather than flagging down a taxi on your own. For a
remise,
try
La
Veloz Del Este
(
&
261/423-9090
) or
Mendocar
(
&
261/423-6666
). For a taxi, call
Radiotaxi
(
&
261/430-3300
).
If you do rent a car, parking is easy and inexpensive inside the city, with paid parking
meters and priv ate lots (called
playas
) clearly mar ked. Easy to navigate, the city spr eads
out in a clear grid pattern ar ound Plaza Independencia. Avenida San Martín is the city's
main thoroughfare, Paseo Sarmiento is the pedestrian walking str eet that extends fr om
Plaza Independencia to Avenida San Martín, and Avenida Emilio Civit is the posh r esi-
dential avenue leading to the entrance of Parque San Martín. Outside the city, road signs
are sometimes missing or misleading, and you should pay careful attention to road maps.
The main highways ar e Hwy. 40, which r uns north-south and will take y ou to M aipú
and L uján de C uyo; and Hwy . 7, which r uns east-w est and will take y ou to the Alta
Montaña Route.
Both
Budget
(
&
261/425-3114;
www .budget.com) and
Hertz Annie M illet
(
&
261/448-2327;
www.hertz.com) rent cars at Mendoza's airport. Expect to pay about
$55 (£37) per day for a compact car with insurance and 200km (124 miles) included. I f
you reserve the car before arriving in Argentina, you can usually negotiate a similar rate,
but with unlimited mileage.
AutoMendoza
(
&
261/420-0022;
www.automendoza.
com), a locally run company, has flexible rates and will drop a car off wherever you need
it. Rates start at $55 (£37) per day. You'll get a better deal if y ou pay in cash.
Mendoza's public bus system is one of the best in the countr y. Regular buses depar t
from various stops in town to the outlying wine areas. El Troli, a trolley that follows the
main roads in the city, is fun and cheap, at 80¢ (55p) per ride. It's an easy way to get up
to Parque San Martín and back.
10
Fast Facts
Mendo za
Area Code
The area code for the cit y is
261.
The country code for Argentina is
54.
ATMs & Currency Exchange
ATMs are ubiquitous in Mendoza; currency-exchange
houses, however, are harder to find. Two reliable exchange houses, both at the
corner of San M artín and C atamarca, ar e
Maguitur
(
&
261/425-1575
) and
Cambio S antiago
(
&
261/420-0277
). They ar e open M onday thr ough F riday
