Full-day Tour Cafayate Calchaqui Valleys With Wine

Great day out. Well organised and interesting. Angie our tour guide made us feel very welcome and made sure our experience was the same quality, despite being the only English speakers in our group. She was very passionate and knowledgeable about the area, explaining the history in an engaging manner. Much better than another tour we had done in Salta with another tour provider.

This Cafayate tour was one of the highlights of my trip to Argentina. I was the only North American on the bus, but Angie, our guide, made sure I felt included—giving the tour in Spanish, then repeating it all in English just for me. Her warmth and passion made the experience unforgettable. To be fair, I’m not entirely clueless when it comes to Spanish. My ancestors spoke it, I watch a lot of Spanish films, and one of my close friends keeps me supplied with Spanish memes—so I could follow along with a good chunk of the commentary, even the jokes. A fun surprise: we even drove by the iconic bridge from the film Wild Tales—a movie I saw a decade ago and had forgotten was Argentinian. The burnt-out car is still there! This trip to Argentina has been incredible. The people, the landscapes, the food, the culture—it’s all left a mark on me. I’ll be talking about Salta and this tour for years to come.

If you're visiting Salta, this is a must-do day tour. The service is excellent. As the only non-Spanish speaker, my guide made sure to explain everything to me privately while the rest of the group enjoyed the Spanish commentary. She also showcased traditional Salta costumes and played the local recorder.

There was no wine tasting, and the company did not tell us until 10 minutes before we arrived at the vineyard. No refund offered and they could have told us in advance. The drive is really long and whilst scenic, it’s too far to go in a single day (6.5 hours in the bus)

An excellent tour. Our guide (Jazmin? of Nordic Travel) was very professional, knowledgeable, and entertaining. It is a long drive from Salta, but there were enough stops with breaks and photo opportunities to shorten the trip. The views are were amazing! We also had a short, but interesting, visit to the Bodega Tierra Colorada. Exceptional wines!

Great tour seeing countryside of Argentina. the guide was knowledgeable and spake both English and Spanish. We were the only 2 English speakers on the bus and we never felt left out. The day is long so be prepared for a 13 hour day.

Benjamin the guide is amazing ! He made the trip plus his driver . He made everyone welcome, gregarious, engaging, helpful and his local knowledge and tips were super helpful! This guy deserves a promotion! The trip was a fabulous way to appreciate the impact of the Andes on Santiago and the sheer magnificence of the mountains just takes your breath away !

A good day, long day but beautiful and there were only 3 of us that spoke English but she did a good job at keeping us informed

Good guide who spoke great English. Comfortable transport. Some remarkable landmarks to see on this tour, so worth doing despite it being a long way. A bit too much ‘downtime’ around lunch to mid- afternoon, particularly as we just drive straight back after. Could have been back at the hotel a bit earlier and wouldn’t have lost anything.

The guide was lovely and very knowledgable about salta. However, I don’t think that this is a great route for a day trip. There is only one stop at a vineyard with a quick tour and small samples of three wines so it’s definitely not a wine tour. The main stop is in the town of Cafayate which didn’t have much to explore other than the restaurants and the main square for lunch.

This was a great tour! It was more about the views of nature, the natural landscapes and unique rock formations. Just the drive itself was breathtaking. We briefly tried three wines, if you are doing this tour for the wine, don’t. The wines were very sweet and we were only there for about 30 minutes. Then we went into Cafayate for a delicious lunch and walk around town before heading back. Overall a great day!

The tour guide Ximena and the driver Mario were both fantastic. The drive is beautiful and we found a lovely place to try local food and wines in Cafayate on our own. I wish there was a tour that made more stops and spent more time in the scenic places. This itinerary seems pretty typical but I think instead of trying to do a little bit of everything (scenic stops, wine tour, shopping) having more focused tours would be better, even though it’s still obviously a limited time and there’s only so much that’s possible on such a far day trip. I understand why people say to rent a car and wish I could have but for those who can’t this was a good way to see the area.

Beautiful scenery and a good value. We chose the bilingual option and our tour had a mix of English and Spanish speakers. Our guide did a great job explaining things in both languages and it was overall a great experience. Pick up and drop off were easy, although the bus could have used a good cleaning.

The guide was amazing. She really made it a sensorial experience of Salta. She brought water of Jamaica, her poncho, am Andean flute and lots of anecdotes, which made the journey very enjoyable.

We had 3 tours in 3 days from Salta. All of the visitor attractions are so far from Salta that you have to travel 3-4 hours in a minibus to reach them. Our Argentinian travel guide in the UK suggested staying in Purmamarca to avoid a 3 hour drive back to Salta and another 3 hour drive the next morning. This was good advice. The Purmamarca hotel was wonderful. However, the drivers from the company Tiamar were so bad. They ignored speed restrictions, they ignored the double yellow lines in the middle of the road, they took risks when overtaking, they ignored loose animals at the side of the road including very young calves and goats. The trip with wine to Cafayate was not good. If they stopped at the amphitheater and turned around nothing would be missed. The wine tasting is terrible. The gorge is beautiful but there is no point in going on to Cafayate. Turning at the amphitheater would mean that they could drive at normal speeds and not make the passengers sick. On our drive to the salt lakes we had 3.5 hours before there was a toilet break. One passenger had to ask to stop and he had to relieve himself in full view of all of the road traffic. The women on the bus also wanted to go to the toilet but there was no possibility of them relieving themselves in the same way. We drove for 7 hours without food on the salt lake tour. The minibuses have two seats on the back row with no view. If you are unlucky to be the last hotel pick up then you will have these seats for 11 or 12 hours. Every passenger who was allocated these seats was unhappy. These seats should be sold at a discount as you cannot see anything from them. I had to spend 11 hours in one of them yesterday. If I had been last to be picked up this morning I would be phoning the company to ask for a refund. I have friends who have booked a trip to Salta. I will be advising them not to go in a minibus. These trips are uncomfortable and dangerous because of the driver behaviour.

The scenery was amazing. The wine was tasty as well, however it's a shame that we only got to go to one winery. I expected a few more, on a wine tour.

The guide, Angie, was knowledgeable and upbeat. The catch was the bus that was subpar: windshield had a large crack as did the window next to our seat. Also, a number of seats were malfunctioning: either the did no hold an upright position or would not budge from "sleep/rest" position. On a long bus trip, we find essential that the bus be in top condition.

The trip was well organized, and the scenery was spectacular. Angie did a great job narrating in Spanish and English.. It was a very worthwhile excursion.

I loved this whole day. We had a late start because overnight rain had caused landslides on the road but the earthmovers were in really quickly to clear the road for the tourist buses. Although I booked an English speaking tour, there were 24 Spanish speakers and only 4 English speakers. Angie, our guide did a really good job explaining to us the necessary details. …so it turned out ok. Despite the wet start, the day out there turned to magical blue blue blue skies and I was in awe.

Jasmin is wonderful, she helped us in explaining all attractions in English, even helped us order food in the restaurant . The driver is excellent too, stoped at multiple places for us to take photos

The scenery was great but there was not enough English translation on the tour. The tour guide spent a lot more time speaking in Spanish than in English. Yes, the places we stopped were explained in English but not to the same extent as in Spanish. On the way back from the tour, she spoke for an hour in Spanish and I did not get any translation of what was said.

The tour was very well organizef. Our guide (Angi) was very kind, knew a lot of things and funny as well! She and the driver Juan made sure that everybody felt safe and welcome. After an hour drive we stopped at a few famous spots and had enough time to take a picutre or buy a souvenir. After that, we had the chance to try 3 different wines. They were good too. Sadly, we couldn't try white wine, for which the region is famous for. In Cafayate we had two hours for ourselves which is enough to eat something and drink a coffee. On our way back we stopped at different spots and we were back on time. It was a really nice day and the landscape is so worth seeing it.

Amazing scenery awaits on this tour! It reminded me of the US’ western states, but grander and more colorful. Opportunities for purchasing locally made handicrafts along the way as well. Angie was very knowledgeable and spoke very good English, and provided historical and geological insight along the way. Tasting local wine was fun, although the tour was in Spanish (until we realized that the owner spoke great English). Cafayete was a very quaint and cute town. Don’t miss this tour!

This was a great value for money tour especially if you don’t have a lot of time in Salta, don’t want to rent a car and want to explore the regions beyond the city. Angie our guide was excellent - we were the only English speakers on the tour and she took really good care of us. In addition to informing us about the sights, she went above and beyond with sharing Salta’s culture (clothing, history, folklore music). Our bus always arrived at the touristic spots before the other buses, so we had some quiet time before the other crowds arrived. Highly recommend. One small note: the tour description on Viator said it would be less than 15 people but our bus had 27 passengers. It didn’t bother us though. And my advice to future travellers who do this tour - pack snacks, lots of water, and extra tissue/toilet papers or hand sanitiser (the regional toilets don’t always have toilet paper or soap).

Just be sure you choose your language well. It can make your experience better. The bus ride needed broken up in the way back. Long hot ride. The scenery was beautiful and the food in Cafayate delicious!

Angie and the team were amazing at bringing the tour to life. It is a long day but definitely recommend it.

Our tour guide Angie and driver Mauricio were phenomenal. She in particular brought a native instrument to play and a Salta poncho and explained in details all about them. Very knowledgeable of the area. She also gave tips regarding the “Peña’s” Salta local restaurants were locals play music and how to avoid tourist traps.

The bus ride along the gorge is amazing, I did not even want to blink. The visit to the winery is also nice. But most of all I will recommend this tour for the views.

This tour did not take place. After receiving a confirmation email in the afternoon the tour company phoned me after 9:00pm to say that the tour was cancelled. Too late to book anything else. A day wasted in Salta. Would never recommend this company. There are reputable tour agencies in Salta that do not cancel tours so do your homework before booking.

The trip did not happen. The company that I booked with phoned me at 9:30pm to tell me that the trip was cancelled after I had a confirmed booking. Too late to book anything else. A wasted day in Salta.

This was sold as an all day wine tour while also visiting the valley - in reality you go to one wine tour that gives you a thimble of wine to sample and then taken to a tacky gift shop that gives you a shot glass of some desert wine and that is it. If you don't speak Spanish they don't bother translating. You pass multiple wineries but there is no thought of going into any of them. Multiple people were annoyed that we didn't get to visit the wineries as sold originally. Spend around 8 of 12 hours of the day sitting on a bus. The agency were also extremely difficult to get in contact with and we were told to be there for 6:20am but we were still waiting around almost an hour later to leave centre of Salta. The scenery is very good and our tour guide Angie was very good and helpful. But would not recommend.

Good trip, the hosts were great, met great people along the way. All positives. Good wine as well, and the planned stops were great.

Although it was a very long day (13 hours), it was well-paced and interesting. We had enough time for photos and good explanations along the way. The guide and driver were great. The scenery is spectacular and Cafayete is charming. The wine tour and tasting were quite short, but that was okay with me.

A very long day was broken up with many stops of interest A decent amount of time to explore Cafayate for lunch and exploring Great stop at the winery for a tasting Our guide Jazmin was fabulous - she spoke great English

We had a nice day. We left on time from the meeting point. Our guide Angie and our driver Mauricio were great. We stopped a number of times on our way to Cayafate to look at various rock formations, and we had plenty of time to take pictures. The visit at the winery and the wine tasting were pleasant, but they were conducted by staff at the winery in Spanish only (our tour guide was not allowed to guide us there). So we could not totally enjoy this part at its full potential. The visit in Cafayate was great. We had a great meal, and we had free time to visit the village and do some shopping.

The place is amazing! Our tour guide, Andy, was excellent! She made sure to translate everything during the trip.

Leading up to the tour, Nordic travel was not very good at communicating with us about the details, but a friend had recommended them so we proceeded to book their 12-hour tour of cafayate with wine tasting. The tour said 12 hours, on one website it even said 11 hours. This was important to us because we had a flight that night and needed to be at the airport later. During the tour, we started being told we wouldn’t be back 2-3 hours late, and that there was nothing we could do about it. There didn’t really seem to be an explanation for this. 3.5 hours deep into the desert, we didn’t really have a choice but to just hope we’d be back on time. In the meantime, we tried talking to the office and they were EXTREMELY unhelpful and rude. They denied their descriptions said 11-12 hours, although I sent them screenshots of all of the listings. They basically denied everything that would make them responsible and said it was totally on us to get to the airport. They did not offer to help in any way, and were very rude in the conversation. Ultimately we made it to the airport on time. The tour guide helped us and so did the bus driver. They guide was helpful throughout the day with this problem. This company is rude, irresponsible, uncommunicative, unprofessional, lazy, and does not treat their customers with respect. I would never book with them again. This was the only group tour we did in salta, everything else we did on our own. And the tour was not unique in any way, it felt very manufactured and touristy. Not authentic. Would not recommend.

Worst tour I’ve been on so far on my travels in South America and my first ever complaint… The information said an English guide would be provided and maximum of 15 people in the group - 95% of the tour was in Spanish and our group was approximately 30 people. By the afternoon I felt ignored and wished I hadn’t bothered getting up early for the bus. I tried to cancel another tour I had with the same company the following day and was repeatedly told no refunds because it was in 24 hours - my poor experience and false advertising of the tour didn’t seem to matter. I was asked to come into the office where a nice member of staff gave me a bottle of wine for my trouble but I’m still pretty shocked the company feels it’s acceptable to not provide any refund.

Excellent scenery from a well informed and interesting guide - Jeremy - he really came in to his own and went the extra mile to help me out by arrangement of a taxi for me when he found the tour would over -run the time via tour stated it would take and saved the day allowing me to get back to the airport in time

Reading the previous reviews I was a bit hesitant going on this tour but decided to give it a gamble and believe it payed off. First off the company picked me up from my hostel and was very punctual with the timing, and finding out I was the only English speaking person on the tour, the tour guide Jeremy went above and beyond to ensure I got the same information as the rest of the tour, repeating everything twice and made sure i was entertained throughout the day. You stop off at some formations and natural wonders along the way with spending a few hours in Cafayette for lunch and to walk around the town. Following this was the wine tour which was a cute little winery with a tasting of one white and one red, a little less than I was expecting but still happy with the whole day. Would recommend

Unmissable tour when in Calafate: Jazmin, the tour guide, and Facundo, the driver, did a fantastic jib sharing their knowledge and expertise very generously and proficiently.

The only hard part was figuring out when and where the tour began : thankfully, I contacted Nordic in advance by WhatsApp to confirm and they gave me the information. But once I was safely ensconced in the bus, it was a wonderful experience! The landscapes were jaw-dropping, the wine was excellent, and our guide Angie spoke English very well and was full of helpful tips.

Avoid this company. They don¨t respect the itinerary, pick up to in the hotel 1 hour later, the devil's throat and the amphitheater at the end of the trip and plus they have this sociopath, Facundo, as a guide that is a manipulator, liar and an abuser with whom he dares to question him. He treat people like cows only to take them where he has his business: Wineries, the restoran the house of crafts.

The tour itself was a disappointment but the sights were beautiful. It was advertised as bilingual but it was completely in Spanish, including the wineries. I never knew what was happening or when. If I asked how long to the next stop or what it was, she couldn't give me the answer. Nice area but don't say you do it in English if you actually don't.

This is the worst tour company we have came across in Argentina. We have booked two tours with Nordic. The first one was a WINE TOUR TO CAFAYATE. It was one of those tours where you just feel like a “milk cow”. The bus passed most of the sightseeing spots in the road, only making a spot at four of them throughout the 12 hour drive! But of course we had a time to go to the “local artisans” who pay them commissions. F ex beer at the store they took us to was three times more expensive than in town. When we booked a tour, we were promised two wine tasting - there was only one, and the testing part took 2 min. It was the biggest joke ever. You get 10 ml of red and white wine - barely covering the glass bottom without any explanation, pushing you to buy wine there. It is not even possible to get a refill even though you are ready to pay for it. So the tour just made for you to buy stuff and simply sit on the bus doing nothing for 12 hours. Our second tour got cancelled at 9 o’clock in the evening a day before. So we have a wasted day of the vacation as it was too late to arrange anything new for that day. So unprofessional! Needless to say we weren’t offered any compensation. Avoid this organization. This is practically scam.

Great attention, we had to re schedule twice our transfer to and from the airport due to airline's issues and they were quick to give a solution. Martin and Omar are great guides, very knowledgaeble and funny. From now onwards Nordic is my way to discover the north.

Too many people in the bus, and guide tour needs to explain thing better and more concise, I guess she was ok.

I had no experience to comment, because they did not come to pick us up (two persons) from the hotel. Although the trip was advertised as having "pickup from centrally located hotels included" (mine was such - within 20 blocks from the travel agency office in Salta) they did not come. I was trying to phone the agency office but nobody answered until 8:15 when we understood that the agency deicided the prvious day to start the trip from a meeting point at their office and without picking up tourists from the hotels. We immediately went to the agency where an young man explained us that they tried to contact me by phone but I did not answer them. As a result they admitted that they did not succeed to inform me about the change. They did not try an alternative method of contacting me - they did not send me an email. They knew that we would miss the trip, but they did not send a message or a messenger to my hotel to deliver the change in the trip. Actually one day before the trip (22-Jan-2020) I received an email from Viator that Nordic Travel EVT wanted my full names and passport number!?! (which should have been available to them since the day of my booking the trip). So it turns out that they could send me silly and senseless messages but could not send me the important news that they will not pick us up from the hotel! Finally the travel agency officer told me that the agency will refund the full amount to my credit card. My question when that will happen was answered "Today we will make the refund to Viator and then you will receive the money from them". That "today" was 23-January-2020 and till 08-February-2020 the amount is still not credited to my bank account. It is a question of 54 US dollars, but it also a question of trust and honor. Please investigate and deal with that refund. I have been travelling the last 10 years a lot with agencies provided by Viator - maybe more than 30 trips so far and this is the first time a booked trip failed. Best regards, Evgeni Bonev

This is a great day tour to attend, the scenery was amazing and the tour guide (emmenule? lady) was very kind to us as we were the only English speaking couple. The weather was wonderful and this made the wine tastings sessions at two wineries worth it! If you are stuck for something to do while in Salta this is recommended (Nordic Tours)