We are really happy to welcome you in Argentina!
Upon arrival at Ezeiza International Airport your guide will meet and greet you and will introduce you to Buenos Aires, one of the most passionate and cosmopolitan cities of South America. While you are transferred to your selected hotel, you will learn about its rich architectural and cultural heritage, modern creative energy, electric nightlife, unique traditions, vibrant arts scene, extensive parks, and warm, friendly hosts that makes it one of the world’s most exciting capitals.
Your guide will assist you at check-in and you will have some time to rest and relax after the long flight.
BUENOS AIRES CITY TOUR
Today, you will discover the most important sites of this glorious city in a 4 hour city tour: The magnificence of the Northern Quarters, Palermo and the beauty of its parks and buildings, Recoleta with its French style architecture, bars and cafes; the imposing Colon Theater, one of the five most important opera houses in the world; Plaza de Mayo (May Square) surrounded by the Government's House (The Pink House), The Old Cabildo (Town Hall) and the Metropolitan Cathedral; San Telmo, residence of the aristocracy until the turn of the XIX century. The colors of La Boca, picturesque quarter of Italian immigrants; and the fashion area of Port Madero with its many bars & restaurants round off this excursion.
A visit to our emblematic “Café Tortoni” is a must!! Buenos Aires nightlife provides its own inhabitants and visitors with numerous entertainment possibilities.
This evening you will attend an unforgettable tango show performed by the best dancers and singers, while enjoying a delicious meal. This is the perfect way to live Buenos Aires, the city of tango.
* Transfer airport / hotel
* Accommodation with breakfast
* Half day city tour
* Tango show and dinner
* Extras at hotel
* Extras not mentioned
USHUAIA: "Towards the end of the world”
You will be making an early departure from your hotel to the airport to board your flight down to Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. Upon arrival, you will be greeted at the airport by a friendly and experienced guide, who'll transfer you to your chosen hotel, and then help you and the city become friends. Your afternoon will be spent at your leisure to walk around as you will. A couple of good hints would be to make your way to the End of the World Museum, and/or the Old Penitentiary Museum. Make sure to enjoy the typical dish at these latitudes: the ridiculously delicious king crab.
* Transfer hotel / airport in Buenos Aires
* Transfer airport / hotel in Ushuaia
* Accommodation with breakfast
* Domestic or international flights
* Extras at hotel
* Extras not mentioned
This morning you'll visit the Tierra del Fuego National Park, the only one in the country with a maritime coast. Within its 63,000 hectares, you'll find fire-bushes, beech trees, ñires, box-leafed barberries, along with endless profusions of flowers such as its spectacular orchids and violets. Hugging the mountains, you'll follow a road where you'll come across both peat bogs and beaver dams. After crossing the Lapataia River, a magnificent view of Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) and the upland geese and ibis that come here every summer will present themselves to your astonished eyes. A walk along the path up to Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon) or the Beavers' Path will be suggested at that point - your camera will be amply rewarded if you take either of these up. At Lapataia Bay, you'll witness the testimony of the original inhabitants of the Island (the Yamanas) at a fascinating archaeological site: the "concheros". On the way back to Ushuaia, take a brief stop at Lake Roca, whose colour changes as the weather does.
And from there, The Great Adventure will begin, as you find yourself on board the AUSTRALIS CRUISE. Captain and crew will welcome you with a cocktail reception on board, and then you will depart for the Ends of the Earth, pulling out of the Beagle Channel from Argentine into Chilean territorial waters. The lights of Ushuaia disappear as you turn into the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands.
* Half day shared tour to Tierra del Fuego National Park
* Transfer hotel / pier
* National park entrance fee
* Port tax or migration fee
* Extras not mentioned
CAPE D’HORN – WULAIA BAY
By early morning, the ship is cruising across Nassau Bay into the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, you shall go ashore on the windswept island that harbors legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition -- and named after the town of Hoorn in West Friesland -- Cape Horn is a sheer 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage. For many years it was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic, and was often referred to as the "End of the Earth." The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. The Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lightkeeper and his family, as well as the tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument. Sailing back across Nassau Bay, we anchor at fabled Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the human history is just as compelling as the natural environment. Originally the site of one of the region’s largest Yámana aboriginal settlements, the bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s during their voyages on the HMS Beagle. This area is also renowned for its mesmerizing beauty and dramatic geography. After a visit to the Australis-sponsored museum in the old radio station -- which is especially strong on the Yámana people and European missionaries in the area -- you will have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooden mountain behind the bay. On all of these you will be strolling through an enchanted Magellan forest of lengas, coigües, canelos, ferns, and other endemic fauna to reach a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the bay. Before leaving Wulaia Bay, drop something into the wooden mail barrel inside the museum – letters or postcards meant to be hand delivered by future travelers – an ancient mariner tradition revived by Australis.
* Accommodation
*Sea transportation
*All meals
*Open bar when on duty (without
additional cost for wines, beverages, and liquors)
*Shore excursions
*On board entertainment
* Optional tours
Keep sailing and discover the glaciers!
PIA GLACIER & GARIBALDI GLACIER
Casting off from Wulaia Bay, you retrace your route to the Beagle Channel and sail westward along the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego into a section of Alberto de Agostini National Park called Glacier Alley or Avenue of the Glaciers. Flowing down from the Darwin Mountains and Darwin Ice Sheet are a number of impressive tidewater glaciers, most of them named after European countries -- Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain and France. In amongst this frozen league of nations, you enter the narrow Pia Fjord and board the Zodiacs for a shore excursion to Pia Glacier. No one knows for certain how the hulking glacier got its feminine moniker, but one theory says it was named for princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the Italian king. After disembarking you take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier.
Making your way further west along the Beagle Channel, you enter another long fjord and drop anchor near Garibaldi Glacier for another shore excursion. Garibaldi is one of only three glaciers in Patagonia gaining mass rather than staying the same or slowly shrinking. This time you hike through virgin Magellanic forest to a glacial waterfall, a towering wall of ferns and moss, and spectacular viewpoints looking down on the glacier and fjord. The walk is demanding -- very steep, negligible trail, rough footing -- and not for everyone. For those who choose to stay onboard, the captain will point the bow towards the beautiful sky blue Garibaldi Glacier so you can enjoy the panoramic view from the upper decks.
* Accommodation
*Sea transportation
*All meals
*Open bar when on duty (without
additional cost for wines, beverages, and liquors)
*Shore excursions
*On board entertainment
* Optional tours
You never get bored of glaciers!
AGOSTINI SOUND - AGUILA GLACIER - CONDOR GLACIER
Early in the morning, you will sail through the Cockburn Channel and enter Agostini Sound. From there it is possible to see the glaciers that descend from the middle of the Darwin Mountain Range -- some of them reaching the water. You will disembark and go for an easy walk around a lagoon, which was formed by the melting of the Águila Glacier. You are going to reach a spot right in front of that glacier with stunning views. In the afternoon, you will approach the Condor Glacier via Zodiac -- and hopefully see some of the abundant Andean Condors in the area.
* Accommodation
*Sea transportation
*All meals
*Open bar when on duty (without
additional cost for wines, beverages, and liquors)
*Shore excursions
*On board entertainment
* Optional tours
Meet the penguins!
It won't be too late in the morning before you're striding around Magdalena Island - weather permitting, of course. Located in the Strait of Magellan, this landfall was an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers in the past. Now, it is left to the immense colony of Magellanic Penguins, which you'll stumble across on your walk to the lighthouse that guides ships on their way through the strait. In September and April this excursion is replaced by a Zodiac boat ride to Isla Marta to make friends with the sea lions. After meeting the penguins, the cruise will sail to Punta Arenas, from where you'll then be transferred to Puerto Natales and your selected choice hotel. Your evening is all yours to relax after your big day.
Upon arrival at Punta Arenas Pier, you will be drived to Puerto Natales, where you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the countless activities to do outdoors and you’ll be amazed by the vibrant colors that paint the sky at sunset, which you’ll see from your kayak or bike. Enjoy the Chilean Patagonian food and take the opportunity to recharge your batteries in this amazing place.
* Accommodation, sea transportation, all meals, open bar when on duty (without
additional cost for wines, beverages, and liquors), shore excursions, and onboard
entertainment.
* Transfer Punta Arenas / Puerto Natales
* Accommodation with breakfast in Puerto Natales
* Domestic or international flights
* Extras at hotel
Torres del Paine-National Park
Some quick advice before starting: Patagonia without a visit to Torres del Paine National Park is almost a sin. Lucky, then, that you'll be heading straight there this morning. First stop will be the Milodon Cave, which is of anthropological value impossible to overestimate. This old cave is thought to have been home to the prehistoric Patagonian Man, living side-by-side with the extinct, herbivorous Milodon. From there, it's on to Cerro Castillo for a handy coffee stop. Your coffee will be pretty good, but nothing compared to the scenery you'll drink up as you pass the Amargo Lagoon, home to red foxes and condors and backdropped by the dramatic Paine mountain range. But that's just the start.
Your path then winds around the Nordenskjold and Pehoé lakes, together with groups of guanacos and lesser rheas or ñandúes; before exposing the huge Salto Grande waterfall to your astonished eyes. It's on to the Grey Lake area from there, having a lunch stop at the appropriately-named Grey Inn. It's glaciers all the way from there, as you hike through lenga forests and the Grey Glacier's sublime ice-floes. It won't be until late in the afternoon that you make it to your hotel, where you'll have some well-deserved relaxing time, preparing you for the unforgettable experiences that are just around the corner.
* Full day shared tour to Torres del Paine National Park
* Accommodation with breakfast
* National park entrance fee
* Extras at hotel
Calafate, wait for me!
Good thing you relaxed yesterday evening, because you'll need to get up early this morning so that you can start your 5 hour bus trip through all the sublimity of the Patagonian Steppe and make it to El Calafate in time for lunch. After that, it's off to your hotel, from where you can take your camera and go for a walk along the shores of Lake Argentino and catch some of its stunning views.
* Transfer Puerto Natales / El Calafate
* Accommodation with breakfast
* Migration taxes
* Extras at hotel
"The breathtaking Perito Moreno Glacier"
Argentina isn't short on natural beauty, but today, you'll get to see one of the most irrefutably beauteous: the Perito Moreno Glacier. You'll have very little inclination to argue with UNESCO's decision to dub this a World Natural Heritage Site way back in 1981. Arriving at the Glaciers' balconies, you'll get to spend 4 or so hours walking along the various pathways to drink in its glory from different angles. Gorgeously framed by dramatic mountains, lakes and forests, the Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the most spectacular scenes going around. It owes its fame to its continuous movement, which produces a cyclical phenomenon of advance and backward motion, causing awe-inspiring periods of ice-toppling. You won't believe your eyes, so make sure you take plenty of photos!
* Full day shared Perito Moreno Glacier tour
* Accommodation with breakfast
* National park entrance fee
Today you will be transferred on a 3 hour trip by bus to El Chalten.
El Chaltén is a tiny mountain town located 220km north of El Calafate, in the province of Santa Cruz. It's situated along the banks of the Río de las Vueltas (The Laps River)and lies within the boundaries of The Glaciers National Park. El Chalten, is considered to be Argentina’s youngest town and boasts one of the most incredible settings in the world. The impressive mountain peaks of the Andes vie for your attention, together with ancient glaciers, national lakes and lagoons, and thick green forests, it's no wonder the town attracts so many adventure enthusiasts from all over the world.
El Chalten is a world class trekking destination, offering many other outdoor activities like mountain climbing, ice climbing. rafting, fishing and lake cruising.
Have the evening at your leisure and get ready for an amazing trek!!
* Transfer El Calafate / El Chalten
* Accommodation with breakfast
* Extras at hotels
Today you’ll have the chance of experience an amazing selfguided trek that can be selected from the menu below, you won’t believe your eyes!!!
FULL DAY TREKS MENU
RIO BLANCO
Difficulty: Medium
Duration: 8 hours
Description: Short drive to Hostería El Pilar next to Río Blanco 11 miles north of El Chaltén. The trail follows Río Blanco, pass Piedras Blancas glacier and up to Rio Blanco base camp. Piedras Blancas glacier is a hanging glacier that descends from the base of Fritz Roy. Lunch stoop will be in the vicinity of Río Blanco or Poicenot base camp. To return to town the group will follow the trail and pass Laguna Capri to enjoy even more view of mount Fitz Roy.
Distance to cover: 18 km
Elevation: 400 meters
PLIEGUE TUMBADO
Difficulty: Medium
Duration: 7 hours
Description: Walk through the little village and pass the Ranger Station where the Visitors Centre that you may visit is located. Pliegue Tumbado is a ridge and a summit that offers views of both Cerro Torre and mount Fitz Roy. It is also a less visited area of the park and it is well worth the effort of the climb.
Distance to cover: 24 km
Elevation: 1000 meters
PIEDRA DEL FRAILE
Difficulty: Low
Duration: 6 hours
Description: Short drive to Rio Eléctrico, 12 miles north of El Chaltén. This walk leads through beech forest and riverbeds to Refugio los Troncos, Piedra del Fraile. The place chosen by priest A. D’ Agostini to set camp during his exploration and climbs in the los Troncos, Piedra del Fraile.
Distance to cover: 12 km
Elevation: 135 meters
TORRE LAGOON
Difficulty: Medium
Duration: 7 hours
Description: Hike along the Río Fitz Roy valley to reach the Laguna Torre at the end of the valley. Get as close as non-climbers can get to the mystical Cerro Torre. You will also visit the base camp where climbers wait for the good weather to attempt the climb.
Distance to cover: 22 km
Elevation: 250 meters
You will return to your hotel a bit exhausted after your outstanding trek so take your evening to rest and relax.
* Accommodation with breakfast
Back to the big city!
After all this excitement, this morning will see you transferring by bus to El Calafate Airport to head on back to Buenos Aires and your comfortable city hotel. Have the night out on the town, taking in the many shops, art galleries, bars, restaurants and discotheques with which Buenos Aires is packed.
* Transfer El Chalten / El Calafate
* Accommodation with breakfast
* Domestic or international flights
* Extras at hotels
Come back soon!
After your last sumptuous breakfast, make sure you save some time to buy your last-minute souvenirs and/or photos. At the scheduled time, you'll be picked up from your hotel to be transferred to Ezeiza International Airport to board your flight back home. It's certain you'll carry the warmth of Argentina's people in your soul, not to mention the natural beauties of this wonderful country in your camera! It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if you're back over this way some time soon.
Argentina’s waiting...
* Transfer hotel / airport
* International or domestic flight
* Extras at hotel
