What to do in Salta with kids? Salta is located in northwestern Argentina and this beautiful city has many Spanish influences. Among other things, this is reflected in the buildings in the city center. You can take beautiful trips from Salta to attractions in the Salta area with the family, and in this blog we list the best children’s activities in Salta.
Best travel time Salta with kids
You can visit Salta with kids all year round. There is not super much rain in the city and temperatures in the city are generally very pleasant. It is between 20 and 30 degrees in Salta throughout the year, and most rain falls from November through March. As a result, roads in the mountains may be slippery and it may not be as easy to drive a car.
Therefore, the best travel time to visit Salta with kids is from April through October. The least rain falls in the city during this period.
Transportation in and to Salta
Salta is located in northwestern Argentina and buses run to the city from most major cities. From Buenos Aires, it is more than an 18-hour drive to Salta. By plane, you can get there from Buenos Aires in about 2 hours. You can rent a car at the Salta airport and explore the Salta area that way.
Most of the activities from this list are in the Salta area, so having a car with kids can be nice. You can rent a car at Salta airport through the organization Sunny Cars. We are really fans of Sunny Cars because they work with a very nice all inclusive principle.
We always look abroad to rent a car through Sunny Cars. For more information on renting a car at Salta airport, take a look here.
Children’s activities Salta
#1 Center of Salta
The center of Salta is definitely worth visiting. You can still clearly see the Spanish influences and colonial past here in the city. The city’s central square is Plaza 9 de Julio. Around this square are many terraces where you can go for a snack and a drink, and it is also the place to watch local life.
Also located in this square is the Catedral Basílica de Salta. This is a beautiful pink cathedral that is definitely worth a look inside. You can see the city with a Free Walking Tour. These tours are Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. and last about 2 hours. You will then take a guided tour of the city’s various attractions. You can then tip the guide afterwards. For more information on these tours, visit the Salta Free Tours website.
If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city of Salta with kids, you can go to Parque San Martin in Salta. This city park is a great place to go for a walk, and you have an artificial lake here in the park, where you can take a boat out onto the lake. You also have several food stalls sitting in this park. In addition, it can be fun to walk around Mercado San Miguel. This is a local market in Salta.
In addition, it is fun to take the Teleférico San Bernardo up the mountain in downtown Salta. You can easily walk from the center to the cable car and at the top of the mountain you will have a beautiful view of the city. There are also some stalls here, where you can buy some food and drinks. By the way, there is also a statue of Christ on the mountain just like in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
#2 Cafayete
You can also go to Cafayete in the Salta area. This place is about a 2-hour drive from Salta and is known for its wine. Now we understand that it may not be interesting to go wine tasting with kids in this region (despite it can be done), but the area around Cafayete is also beautiful to see. Especially the route from Salta to Cafayete is really beautiful!
In fact, you can visit the Quebrada de las Conchas on this route. This is a gorge many miles long, and you can stop at several places to view the gorge. You have several rock formations here that you can view in this gorge particularly like Devil’s Throat and the Amphitheater.
If you don’t have a car at your disposal in Salta, you can also go here on an organized tour to this area. You will then be picked up at the hotel and set off with a guide. You will then go to see the different rock formations and in Cafayete you can then also do a wine tasting. For more information on this organized tour, take a look here.
#3 Las Salinas Grandes
You can also go to salt flats in the Salta area. We ourselves visited the salt flats in Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, but you can also go to salt flats like this in Argentina. This is a long day trip though, where you will spend quite a few hours in the car with kids.
You can interrupt the long journey to Las Salinas Grandes by first visiting the village of Pumamarca. In this village you regularly have a big market where they sell all kinds of products. It is always fun to visit a local market, especially since the market is also colorful. It is about a 2.5-hour drive to this village.
From Pumamarca, it is then about a 1.5-hour drive to Las Salinas Grande on a winding road. These salt flats are beautiful and when it has rained lightly it looks like walking on ice. You can take really crazy pictures here with kids, where you stand a little further away as parents, for example, and it looks like the kids are taller than you. You can drive even further from here to Quebrada de Humahuaca. Here you have a beautiful gorge with rocks of many different colors.
If you don’t feel like driving this yourself with a rental car, it is possible to join an organized tour to see these salt flats and the village of Pumamarca. For more information on these tours, take a look here.
What you do have to consider with kids is that on several of these trips you are driving to high altitudes, and then you may suffer from altitude sickness. Make sure you keep a close eye on it (especially with the kids) and move to a lower height if the kids are really bothered by the height. Also, drink plenty of water and make sure you ascend slowly.
#4 Ziplining
You can also go ziplining in Salta with kids. This tour takes about a day and is suitable for kids 11 and older. You will drive to the Juramento River Canyon in about 2 hours. In the morning you can spend time in this canyon with kids and you can hike here and have a drink at the bar by the river.
After lunch you will then go ziplining and zipline at an altitude of 200 meters. The longest zipline is about 600 meters and, of course, this activity gives you great views of the surrounding area. You can do this activity from Salta all year round except for the month of June.
#5 Tren a las Nubes
If your kids are absolutely crazy about trains, then this train ride might be a must. You go on this train ride through the clouds and this train ride takes about 4 hours. You go by train here through beautiful scenery. You can also do this train ride through an organized tour and you can find more information about it here .
Family-friendly restaurant Salta
You don’t have a lot of family-friendly restaurants located in Salta, but there are plenty of places where you can get some great food and drinks. We list some of these places below.
Doña Salta: at this restaurant you can eat delicious Argentine food, but there are also other options to choose from such as Italian pasta, for example. The prices in this restaurant are not that expensive at all, and for a bottle of wine you pay almost as much as in the supermarket. It’s a popular restaurant, but unfortunately you can’t make reservations, so be sure to eat at this restaurant on time.
El Café del Convento: This is a great place to go for breakfast or possibly lunch. You can have a sandwich or a croissant here and they also have delicious cakes at this shop that you can eat with kids. It is located right in the center near the San Bernardo Monastery.
Family-friendly hotel Salta
You can stay in Salta with kids just fine. You have plenty of family-friendly hotels you can book. We list some of the top rated accommodations in each price range. Click on the blue link for more information.
Budget accommodation: LEAD Pods Hostel
Mid-range accommodation: Posada La Casona
Luxury Accommodation: Kkala Boutique Hotel
For the entire list of family-friendly accommodations in Salta, take a look here.
