Day 1: Buenos Aires

Arrival in Ezeiza Airport. Private transfer to accommodation. Check in and free day

Day 2: Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires City Tour Half Day

Discover the beauty and wonders of Buenos Aires, view the National Congress, The Metropolitan Cathedral next to the Government House in May Square area. Admire the Colon Theater, one of the most important opera houses in Latin America.

Visit San Telmo, traditional neighborhood where Tango performances can be seen in many bars and restaurants. Stop at La Boca, colorful neighborhood, which was seat of immigrants - mainly Italians - and now home of some artists.

Enjoy Palermo, an area that combines its architecture and history with entertainment and amusement in its green spaces. Finally, La Recoleta, an exclusive and elegant neighborhood where the famous cemetery is found. Although it may seem unusual, fashionable restaurants, bars, cafes, discos and a cinema complex also surround the area. 

Departure time: 9:00 / 14:00 hs (depending on Hotel pick up)

Departure Point: any hotel in Buenos Aires Downtown. Note: there are hotels away from the city center so before booking please check if the city tours reaches the hotel.

Arrival Point: Downtown Buenos Aires, not the hotels, 3 hours – 3 and a half hour later, depending on traffic

Duration: 3:00 hs.

Frequency: Daily departures. Blackout 25 dec and 1 jan. Guaranteed departures 

Transport: Mini-Bus (24 pax) or Bus (40 pax)

No age limit

Activities and Services

Optional

Half Day Buenos Aires Bike Tour

Included

  • Bilingual Guide (English – Spanish)
  • Transportation

Excluded

Meals

Day 3: Buenos Aires

Free day to explore the streets of Buenos Aires, maybe going to Tigre in the outskirts.

In the late evening: Madero Tango Show and Dinner

The Executive Dinner Show at Madero Tango offers the possibility of enjoying the Best Tango Show tasting the famous Bife de Chorizo Argentino. Diagonally to the Stage, Four Options for each dinner course on the menu and an Additional Gastronomic and International Drinks. A Menu for those who like to taste special flavors in a different night.

Gastronomy: Three course dinner with four options that include the Bife de Chorizo

Seats: 3rd to 5th Lateral and sideways rows to the stage

Tables: Round tables, Shared

Transfer: In + out

Drinks: National label wine varietals or champagne FREE. Water, soda and beer FREE

Information

Activities and Services

Buenos Aires Tango Show

Included

  • Transfers from accommodation and back
  • Tango Show
  • Dinner
  • Drinks

Day 4: Overnight Travel

Breakfast and check out. In the evening find your own way to the Bus Station (Retiro) to take the  night bus to Salta.

Day 5: Salta

Arrival in Salta in the afternoon. Find your own way to the hotel or hostel. Check in at selected accommodation. Free day

Day 6: Salta, Cafayate

Cafayate and Villages Day Tour

We are leaving from Salta to the South, taking the route 68, passing through little towns like Cerrillos, La Merced, El Carril, Cnel. Moldes, La Viña (agricultural area which main production is tobacco). We are visiting the village of Alemanía, and from there we are entering to Cafayate Gorge, where we´ll see in the mountains the erosion of millions of years, created by wind and water (Devil´s Throat, Amphitheater, The Monk, The Castles, Parrot´s House, The Windows and The Toad). After visiting these places, we are arriving to the town of Cafayate to visit a winery and to taste the specialty of the region, torrontés wine. After walking through the town, we are coming back to Salta through the same gorge, which will offer us a different landscape in our way back to the city.

Departure time: 7:30 to 7.50 (there can be variations depending on location of accommodation)

Departure Point: any hotel or hostel in Salta Downtown. Note: there are hotels and hostels away from the city center so before booking please check if the bus reaches the place.

Arrival Point: any hotel or hostel in Salta Downtown

Duration: 10 hours

Frequency: Daily departures. Blackout 25 dec and 1 jan. Guaranteed departures 

Transport: Mini-Bus (19 or 24 pax)

No age limit

  

Activities and Services

Cafayate and Villages Day Tour

Included

  • Bilingual Guide (English – Spanish)
  • Transportation

Excluded

  • Entrances to National or Provincial Parks
  • Lunch

Day 7: Salta

Breakfast and free day to relax, walk around this beautiful colonial city and try to go to a “peña” at night. There are many available optional day trips.

Recommended

Day 8: San Pedro de Atacama

1 am or 7 am Salta to San Pedro de Atacama bus, depending on day or time of the year. Arrival in the morning or in the evening. Find your own way to your accommodation at San Pedro Backpackers.

Day 9: San Pedro de Atacama

Geysers del Tatio Excursion:  You will be picked up at the hostel between 4.30 and 5 am depending on season to be able to admire the driest and highest desert in the world. The road will take you between hills and mountains of the tough Andes range until you reach the geothermal site of the Geysers, 1 hour and a half after departure. There you will be able to admire the out of this world Geysers, fumaroles and steaming craters that show the volcanic activity of the region. The Geysers reserve is located at 89 km from San Pedro and 4.230 meters above sea level. So temperature is low in summer (-6 degrees Celcius) and even colder in winter (july-august) (-20 degrees Celcius). It is very important to take warm clothes and plenty of water to help your body adapt to such a high altitude. Breakfast is offered viewing the geothermic field and on the way back there is a short stop at Machuca Village. Back to San Pedro  hostel at about mid day

Activities and Services

Day 10: San Pedro de Atacama

Free day to relax or taking optional tours like Moon Valley or Altiplanic Lagoons.

Optional

Day 11: Villamar Mallcu

San Pedro – Uyuni Overland 1st day

6.30 am - 7 am pick up at your hostel for the beginning of the San Pedro to Uyuni Overland. There is a stop at the border to go through Chilean immigration before departing San Pedro. After a short but nice ride the minibus reaches Hito Cajon, the border with Bolivia and in the foothills of the Licancabur Volcano. There you will change to the Jeep 4WD you are going to use until the end of the overland and have breakfast meeting your driver and other staff. They almost don´t speak English and even their Spanish is basic but are normally very friendly and helpful. This is the beginning of the real adventure. The vehicle will ride along deserted landscapes, climbing higher and higher without even noticing it is happening. You will see lagoons with plenty of wild life (Red and White lagoons), huge white topped mountains and volcanoes, and altiplanic plains while you talk to your companions and learn about their travels. Lunch is provided at a place of hot springs and after that, the second part of the day takes you to the Sol de Mañana Geysers and finally to Laguna Colorada, where more than 30.000 flamingoes nest every year. The night will be spent at Huaylajara or Villamar at a family or communal hostel. Basic but clean and enough to sleep and eat to be ready for next day! Attention, this 1st day you will reach 4.500 meters above sea level, so take into account the many tips to avoid “soroche”.

Expert tips

San Pedro to Uyuni Overland Tour

To read before travelling.

This San Pedro to Uyuni overland is a true adventure, one you won´t forget. But if you are looking for a comfortable air conditioned seat, smooth paved roads, swiss punctuality and perfect information in your mother language, you may re think your destination.

The landscapes are incredible and unique but also extreme and rough.

People with high blood pressure and heart conditions should check with the doctor before coming.

The altitude reached is 4.900 meters above sea level. The lack of oxygen may affect people in some way or another. You need to be prepared to follow some advices to reduce the effect of altitude to the minimum, in order to enjoy the trip. Ref the age, it is not a matter of years but attitude and some minimum fitness.

In the extreme conditions of dirt and stone roads, things can go wrong: a flat tire, a cable burned, a broken battery, so schedules may need to be changed. Drivers have the experience to take you safely to destination but be open to changes in times, accommodation and meals places.

Although it is a desertic high plateau, it can rain and conditions in roads and in the salt flat can change rapidly, so again changes must be expected.

Drivers and other staff in Bolivia have not the education you have. They almost don´t speak English and Spanish is their second language. They speak quechua. Don’t expect a lot of information and communication. But they really know what they do. They look for you, adapt to changing situations, give advices when sick, prepare the food, book accommodation, look for the best times to be at destinations, and generally speaking, always try to help you to have an unforgettable time. Comparing to this, their different education is just another color of the adventure and the cultural immersion.

Accommodation standards: Close to the salt flat, accommodation is in a Salt Hostel or Salt Hotel. Close to the Lagoons and Avaroa National Park accommodation is a communal hostel taken care by village families. Basic but clean and comfortable enough to rest and continue the adventure.

Some useful tips for the overland:

If you are taking the trip from San Pedro to Uyuni, get some Bolivianos before the trip, you will need to pay entrances to National Parks and they only receive national currency. You may change at the entrance of the park but the exchange rate will be horrible.

Bring toilet paper or fresh baby towels with you, toilets are available only in specific places along the road, usually they don´t have paper.  In the desert: “inca toilets”!

The night before the beginning of the trip, try to avoid smoking, red meat and alcohol. The 1st day of the San Pedro trip or the 3rd day of the Uyuni – San Pedro direction, the cars get to an altitude of 4.900 meters. During the trip try to eat light and drink a lot of water to help your body to adapt to thin air. If despite the preparation you get “soroche” or “apunamiento”, don´t panic. It can be uncomfortable but your body will finally adapt. Common symptoms are headache, dizziness, nausea, and bad humor. Think positively, do everything slowly, breath calmly and drink lots of water. It is a good idea to buy some “soroche” pills before the beginning of the overland. If you don’t need them maybe a travel companion does!

If you are coming from La Paz or from San Pedro (and visited high places like the Tatio Geisers) your body may be already adapted to altitude and you will feel less its effects.

Try to avoid the last seats. You will end up switching with your companions but be aware that the last seats vibrate more and affect you more.

Accomodation is basic but clean and comfortable. A hot shower costs 10 Bolivianos so mind this money (less than 2 USD) if you want to refresh from dirt road.

Bring clothes for 30 degrees Celcius and 0 degrees Celcius the same day! Depending when you are travelling, weather can be extremely unpredictable. It is normally hot but in the rainy season (DEC-FEB a bit of MAR) storms can appear suddenly. Also take into account that every 180 meters, the temperature reduces 1 degree. Do the math and calculate the temperature when you are between 3.500 m and 4.900 m. So pack your swim suite along with good boots, polar clothes and a good jacket. Use the onion layers technique to adapt to ever changing temperature.

Plus: Bring sunscreen, sunglasses, trekking shoes, a hat and again enough water (Note: calculate how much water you will really drink, many people carry big bottles of 6 liters of water and it may be too much and uncomfortable)

Day 12: Chuvica

San Pedro - Uyuni Overland 2nd day:

Breakfast, a bit relax before everyone is ready and off you go to learn a bit more about life in the Altiplano. The second day, the road is less dramatic and lonely and you will see more signs of civilization.  You will visit the Siloli desert where the wind and sun and a bit rain carved strange volcanic rock formations.  By lunch time you will be at Laguna Escondida (Hidden Lagoon, also called Laguna Negra) and in the afternoon you will see the canyon of river Anaconda. In the evening, arrival at Salt Hotel in the shores of the Uyuni Salt Flat for a comforting 2nd night in the desert. 

Day 13: Overnight Travel, Salar de Uyuni

San Pedro - Uyuni 3rd day (Salt Flat) – La Paz:

4 or 5 am departure to cross the biggest and highest salt flat in the world. If weather helps, you will be able to see the sunrise in the middle of the salt flat, one of the most beautiful experiences the Altiplano has to offer…and being at the salt flat is already breathtaking! Breakfast in the salt flat.

The driver has to drive slowly and you will have plenty of time to relax, enjoy and be amazed by an “out if this world” landscape. You will never forget this day.

At midday there is a stop to have lunch at a sat hotel and restaurant in close to Colchani village, the gate way to the flats. So after lunch you will go out and arrive to Uyuni at about 1 or 2 pm. You will have time to relax, grab a coffee, eat something, charge your mobile devices and connect with your friends and family to tell them about your adventures. But Uyuni town is not a really nice place to be so, at 8 pm, cama bus to La Paz!

Day 14: La Paz

Arrival to La Paz Bus Station, find your onw way to your accommodation. Free day to explore this high city.

 

Day 15: La Paz

At 8 am, Tiwanaku Day Trip

After 1 hour and a half ride you will reach this pre Columbian ruins, surrounded by beautiful nature. The ancient city and culture of Tiwanacu is supposed to be one of the most important in the American continent. It is believed that they were even more advanced in pottery, astronomy and math than the neighboring Incas. If you are traveling further north you will see Tiwanacu influence in the archaeological sites of Peru. After a visit to the uncovered ruins (there is a lot that is being uncovered but is not open to the public), the tour returns to La Paz and will leave you at you hostel or hotel at about 4 pm. You will be amazed to learn how this ancient people used to leave and what they believed, so different from us nowadays.

Activities and Services

Day 16: End of Itinerary

Check out. End of services

 

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