Argentina Package 1

Patagonia 13 days/12 nights
(click on photos to enlarge)

This tour is best taken between October and April. Due to its extreme southern locale, temperatures in Patagonia may remain chilly even during these summer months, necessitating the use of plenty of warm layers of clothing.

What's Included
12 nights hotel accommodations in 4-star or 5-star hotels
All airport transfers by PRIVATE vehicle
All tour-related road travel by PRIVATE vehicle.
Four Domestic Flights within Argentina
PRIVATE professional English-speaking tour guide
All breakfasts
Dinner at tango house
Lunch at estancia (ranch)
All admission to sites, museums, parks
All excursions described below
All taxes

What's Not Included
International airfare
Meals not listed in tour description
Drinks and beverages

Frequently Asked Questions

Day 2
In the morning, after breakfast, we will start a city tour including lunch, visiting the most important sites in Buenos Aires.

Among them are the Plaza de Mayo, La Boca, San Telmo, 9 de Julio Avenue (said to be the widest street in the world), the Obelisk, Puerto Madero and Recoleta Cemetary, where you can see the mausoleum of Eva Peron.

This tour runs around 3 hours and will still leave you some time in the afternoon for more shopping or plain relaxing.

In the evening, you will again be picked up at your hotel and taken to one of the most famous tango houses of Buenos Aires, Esquina Carlos Gardel, named after the famous tango singer, Carlos Gardel, who was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1939 and whose photograph still graces almost every coffee bar in Buenos Aires. You will be treated to an excellent dinner and a great tango show. Return to hotel and overnight.

Day 3
A full-day trip to a typical "estancia" (ranch) in the pampas outside of Buenos Aires. At the estancia you will be treated to an asado - an Argentinian barbecue. In addition, there will be a gaucho show, with cattle-handling and horseback riding skills demonstrated. Return to hotel and overnight.

Day 4
Pickup at hotel for transfer to Aeroparque (also called Jorge Newbury Airport). This is the airport for domestic flights and it is only around a 15-minute ride from most hotels. The flying time to Trelew, gateway to the Valdes Peninsula is around 1 3/4 hours. Transfer to hotel in Puerto Madryn, around 40 minutes from airport, for 3 nights.

Day 5
A complete day enjoying the beautiful landscapes and wildlife of Peninsula Valdés, one of the few places in the world which offers the possibility of watching  many animals in their natural habitat. The wildlife of the area: guanacos, rheas, Patagonian foxes, hairy armadillos, maras and the most important rookeries protecting large colonies of South American sea lions, dolphin gulls, kelp gulls, among others.
 
Your  trip will take you to Puerto Piramides, a beach protected by cliffs resembling pyramids. There you can find fossilized invertebrates  more than 9 million years old. You will also visit two elephant seal reserves In Caleta Valdes (a thin leg of land parallel to the coast) and you will be able to observe the elephant seal colony and a small developing Magellan penguin colony.

Day 6
Depart towards Punta Tombo crossing the rugged landscape of the Patagonian steppe.  Visit  Punta Tombo, the most important breeding colony of Magellan penguins in the world. You walk along a trail which cuts deep into the colony to observe  these fascinating birds up close. Other species such as kelp gulls, skuas, guanay cormorants, giant petrels, dolphin gulls, the Chubut steamer duck, hairy armadillos and Patagonian foxes also inhabit the area and may be seen here. On the way back you'll visit Gaiman, a typical Welsh settlement.

You can still discover the feeling that characterized the first Welsh inhabitants of the town by walking around the streets of Gaiman, which maintains its village essence, sprinkled with farms, typical chapels and Welsh-style houses. And the main attractions are the Welsh Tea Houses, where the descendants of the settlers prepare and serve the greatest classic Welsh tea.

Day 7
After breakfast, transfer back to the airport for the flight to Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world and your base for exploring Tierra del Fuego, at the End of the World. Take the rest of the day to relax and spend overnight at hotel.

Day 8
Drive to Tierra del Fuego National Park, around 7 miles from Ushuaia. The wildlife housed within the park is as varied and remarkable as the natural landscape. Such animals as beaver, red foxes, guanaco, and muskrats are commonly sighted, as well as the rare magellanic sea otter. There are also several non-indigenous mammals such as rabbits, musk rat and beaver, which are all thriving.

Tierra del Fuego is also a bird-watcher's paradise. On the various lakes and the seashore is an enormous range of birds, many of which are easy to identify and which do not seem to fear people. The region is home to such species as Austral parakeets, black-chested buzzard eagles, Andean condors, and South America's largest woodpecker, the Magellanic.

After stopping for lunch, you return to Ushuaia for a navigation of the Beagle Channel. The trip is on a specially designed catamaran with large domed windows offering excellent views. You can sit in enclosed comfort or wander on the outside deck. You travel along the channel as a naturalist guide narrates throughout.

The catamaran will cruise close to small islands known for their bird life and seals. The narrated tour takes you past the Isla de los Pajaros (Bird Island), where many species of birds congregate, including a large colony of cormorants. Further along, the ship cruises around Isla de los Lobos (Sea Wolves Island), a rocky outcrop that is home to a large population of seals and sea lions.
     
The catamaran manages to get quite close, offering great photo opportunities. We also view the Light House at the End of the World and more spectacular coastal scenery before returning to the pier. Then return to your hotel for a well-deserved rest and dinner.

Day 9
A scenic drive takes you northeast of Ushaia into the mountains to Lake Fagnano and Lake Escondido, in the heart of the Tierra del Fuego range. On the way, you pass the mountains known as the Five Brothers.
From the Garibaldi Pass, you climb higher --a spectacular drive culminating in an awesome view of Lake Escondido. Then continue to Lake Fagnano, straddling the border between Argentina and Chile, 100 km. north of  Ushuaia. Both Lakes, Escondido and Fagnano, offer opportunities for walks around their shores or inland. You then return to your hotel for your last night in Ushaia.

Day 10
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the short flight to El Calafate.  From the airplane, you should get a good view of the magnificent glaciers and mountains which you will be seeing up close during the next few days. Rest of the day is free to explore the town of El Calafate. El Calafate is a small town with one main street which is full of shops and restaurants. It looks more like a European ski town than a resort in South America. Overnight at hotel.

Day 11
 
After breakfast, drive to Lake Argentino for one of the highlights of this tour - a visit to the Perito Moreno Glacier. The glacier is part of Los Glacieres National Park and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Los Glaciares National Park is an area of exceptional natural beauty, with rugged, towering mountains and numerous glacial lakes, including Lake Argentino, which is 160 km long. At its farthest end, three glaciers meet to dump their effluvia into the milky grey glacial water, launching massive icebergs into the lake with thunderous splashes.

At first sight, you may be taken aback at the magnitude of the Perito Moreno Glacier. It towers 240 feet high, the height of a 15-story building, and is over three miles long. An unusual feature of Perito Moreno glacier is that it is dynamic, that is, it is changing all the time. Unlike other glaciers, which are slowly receding, the Perito Moreno is actually growing day by day. At the same time, large chunks of ice and snow are constantly falling off the walls of the glacier into the lake. This is known as "calving". The pieces fall into the water with a loud crash, making the viewing experience quite exciting as well as unpredictable. If you observe the glacier for a few minutes, you are likely to see this take place and, if you are patient, you can get a good photo or video of the calving process. The glacier will be seen in two ways. First, upon arrival, you will take a short walk (around 1/3 of a mile) to a series of 7 panoramic viewing balconies. These balconies are strategically placed to offer you unique views of the glacier. All of these balconies but the lowest are easily accessible. The lowest balcony, which brings you closest to the glacier, involves going down and then back up a flight of stairs. But most people are able to do it without much difficulty.

The second way you will observe the glacier is from the lake itself. Upon finishing the balcony walk, you board a boat for a  cruise which sails right up to and along the glacier. You will be seated in the exclusive VIP section, on the upper deck of the boat. This section will provide you with better views, more comfortable seats and an exclusive guide, who will interpret the fantastic sights you will be viewing.


Then return to the hotel in El Calafate for a relaxing evening and, perhaps, some shopping. El Calafate has a number of good restaurants, with especially good seafood.

Day 12
Drive to Puerto Bandera for a full-day boat tour, taking you into the North Arm of Lake Argentino to navigate among icebergs and to the front of the imposing Upsala Glacier. You will be in the VIP section of the boat.  

From there you  continue on to the Onelli Channel and disembark in Onelli Bay.  After a short and easy walk through a forest, you reach Onelli Lagoon, where glaciers Onelli (18 square miles), Bolado (6 square miles) and Agassiz (12 square miles) meet.  At noon you have free time for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Then you re-embark to see still more glaciers and icebergs.

The Spegazzini glacier was named after the botanist Carlos Spegazzini, who made the first studies of the local flora. It is the highest glacier within the National Park.

After a long day on the waters of the Lake, return to your hotel to relax and enjoy dinner at a good local restaurant and a good night's rest.

Day 13

After breakfast, fly back to Buenos Aires. Upon landing, you will be transferred to Ezeiza, the international airport, for your flight home. If you decide to go on to Iguazu or some other part of Argentina, you can probably schedule your flight back to Buenos Aires so that a same-day, ongoing connecting flight is possible without leaving the airport.

Hotels for 13-day/12-night Visiting Patagonia Tour

Please note that the hotels listed below for each city are the most likely to be used. However, in some cases, other hotels, similar in quality, may be utilized because the hotels indicated below may be fully booked. In any event, we will notify you of the hotel you will be booked into in each city along your tour route. We will do our best to get you the best hotels and the best rooms in those hotels available at any given time.

You may check reviews of these hotels on websites such as tripadvisor.com

Superior Category Hotels

Buenos Aires:
Hotel Pestana
Dazzler Tower

Puerto Madryn on Peninsula Valdes:
Hotel Peninsula Valdes

Ushiaia:
Hotel Albatros

El Calafate:
Hotel Kosten Aike
Calafate Parque

Deluxe Category Hotels
These are among the top hotels in each city.

Buenos Aires:
Four Seasons Hotel

Puerto Madryn on Peninsula Valdes:
Hotel Territorio

Ushuaia:
Las Hayas Hotel & Resort

El Calafate
Posada los Alamos

• International air tickets to and from Argentina are not included in the price.
• View details and photos of the hotel options for each destination.
• Prices displayed may vary with availability and during special holidays such as New Year and Christmas.