Argentina Train Journey

Arrival at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires international airport.

Meet and greet with your local host, transfer to your hotel (45 min) and assistance with check in.

Start with a full-day city tour of the southern part of Buenos Aires: discover the capital's main square, La Plaza de Mayo, from where the Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires's main avenue starts. All the landmarks of the nation's history can be found here: among which are La Casa Rosada, the seat of the Government, the white Cabildo, a historic place of administrative power now a museum retracing the history of the city and the city's imposing cathedral.
Later, take time to wander the streets of San Telmo, the neighborhood where the city's most illustrious families used to live which is also the cradle of tango. Nowadays, the cobbled streets are lined by antique stores and secondhand dealers.

Your next stop will be in La Boca, a typical and colorful neighborhood whose atmosphere reminds us of the strong influence of European emigrants, mainly Italian, on the city's history. Visit the famous 'Caminito', a street much like an open-air museum and stop by 'La Bombonera', the world-famous soccer stadium of La Boca.
Your tour will finish in Puerto Madero, a pioneer project for the rehabilitation of the old docks of the city that was started in the 90s. The modern feel of the area remains loyal to its maritime merchant past but all new buildings now host restaurants, bars and luxury apartments.

Free afternoon.

Free evening.

Morning tour of the northern part of Buenos Aires, starting with La Recoleta, the capital's original affluent neighborhood which has remained a highly sought-after area to live in.

Its local cemetery might be the most famous in the world where Evita Peron rests. The designs of the mausoleums are all unique, reflecting the many artistic and architectural currents that thrived during the building of the nation and behind every tombstone lies the story of the city and the country.

Right outside the cemetery, Our Lady of Pilar stands tall, a unique colonial church built in the eighteenth century.

Just a few blocks from there, on Alvear Avenue some of the most beautiful mansions and private hotels of the city can be found. This is also the place to go for art galleries. Another blocks away you will stop at Carlos Pellegrini Square which got its name from an Argentinean president of the late nineteenth century who created the Jockey Club.

This is also where some large Embassies are located, having taken residence in mansions previously owned by well-known families of the city.

In the afternoon you will visit the Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz Railway Museum, a journey back in a time when Argentina’s train network was one of the largest in the world. Learn about the historic importance of the railway in the country's economic, technological and cultural development.

Objects in the museum's collection include vehicles, models, telephones and telegraph equipment from the late 19th and early 20th century.

The museum hosts a Center of Railway Studies and a library with historic documents, photographs, and charts.

National Railway Museum currently not available. Please ask your Travel Expert for more information.

Free evening.

Early morning transfer to Buenos Aires domestic airport, assistance with check-in.

Direct flight to Ushuaia (3 hours 35 min).

Meet and greet with your local host, transfer to your hotel (15 min) and assistance with check-in.

Start exploring this incredible part of the world on a half-day tour in Tierra del Fuego National Park, a short drive out of the city center. The 240 square mile National Park (630 km²) is home to red wolves, beavers, rabbits, and foxes that have long become permanent residents since they have been introduced. It is also the natural habitat of more than 90 species of birds.

The End of the World Train is a unique experience allowing you to experience the last 5 miles (7 km) of the old convict's train, which took convicts from the city's prison to the slopes of Mount Susana where they would extract building material. Listen to the story of these convicts from another time as the train crosses magnificent landscapes, along with the winding Pipo River, past the incredible Macarena waterfall, the tree cemetery, surrounded by lush vegetation.

This journey through the remote Tierra del Fuego National Park is an amazing experience on the historic railway aboard elegant carriages drawn by a beautifully-restored steam-engine.

In the afternoon, board your cruise and set a course across Ushuaia's wide bay through the Beagle Channel (2 hours 30 min), a strait in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the southern tip of South America. Sail past Mount Olivia and Cinco Hermanos onto Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, Seal Lion Island and Despard Island, home to a colony of imperial cormorants.

Free evening.

Morning transfer to Ushuaia airport (15 min), assistance with check-in.

Direct flight to El Calafate (1 hour 20 min).

Meet and greet with your local host, transfer to your hotel (20 min) and assistance with check-in.

Your private driver and guide will pick you up from your hotel to go on a scenic drive along the shores of Lake Argentino (the largest freshwater lake in the country) towards Los Glaciares National Park (90 min).

There you will get close to Perito Moreno glacier, named after the Argentinian explorer Francisco Moreno Pascacio who played an important role in surveying the area and drawing the current border between Argentina and Chile. Enjoy a short walk on the lake's boardwalk to get great views of the 18-mile long (30 km), 3-mile wide (5 km) Perito Moreno glacier.

Get your camera ready and lend your ear as the massive shards of ice snap off the glacier in a tremendous roar causing mini-tsunamis in their fall.

Free evening. 

Early morning transfer to Punta Bandera (45 min).

Board your 5-hour cruise to the Uspala and Spegazzini glaciers located inside Los Glaciares National Park.

The 38-mile long (47 km), 3-mile wide (5 km) and 200-foot tall (60 m) Upsala glacier is the largest in the park and the longest in South America, spreading over 230 square miles (590 km²).

The access to the Upsala glacier is often restricted due to icebergs making the passage impossible.

On your way to the Spegazzini glacier, enjoy the views of the Onelli and Agassi glaciers and the occasional iceberg.
Sail on to the Spegazzini glacier, an impressive 440-foot tall wall of ice (135 m).

At the end of your cruise, transfer to your hotel in El Calafate (45 min).

Free evening.

Transfer to the airport (20 min).

Flight to Salta via Buenos Aires.

Meet and greet with your local host, transfer to your hotel (20 min) and assistance with check-in.

Free evening.

City tour of Salta: visit the city's main square, its museums and the religious buildings of the old colonial city.

Some of the wonderful architecture inherited from the 1700s include the Cabildo (an ancient symbol of local power), the imposing Cathedral, the Church of San Francisco, the Convent of San Bernardo and the Cerro San Bernardo. In the afternoon you will visit the quaint village of San Lorenzo, a 10-minute drive into the immediate countryside.

Visit the "Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana - MAAM": this museum was created after the incredible discovery of the children of Llullaillaco. The body of these Inca children whose death is attributed to an ancient religious ritual were found perfectly preserved by the cold and dry weather at the top of the Llullaillaco volcano in 1999. Their grave also contained 150 objects which have taught us a lot about what life was like in the area 500 years ago at the height of the Inca Empire before the Spaniard's arrival.

Free afternoon to explore the city at your own leisure.

Free evening.

In the morning, drive out to San Antonio De Los Cobres (2 hours 35 min) passing incredible landscapes and stopping at the pre-Inca ruins outside the small village of Santa Rosa de Tastil in the Toro Gorge (Quebrada del Toro).

You will then drive 6,500 feet (1,980 m) downhill and have the opportunity to see the majestic condors in Cuesta de Lipan. The zigzagging road will bring out the contrast between the desertic landscape of the Puna (high plateau) and the green landscapes of the fertile valleys below.

Tour to Salinas Grandes: marvel at the salt flats where the horizon disappears and changes colors as the sun slowly sets. The salt there is still extracted according to ancestral technique leaving the salt flats, the road climbs up to 13,400 feet (4,085 m) to the Abra Blanca (the white pass) in the vastness of the Puna.

Experience one of the highest train journeys in the world, reaching a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet (4,572 m), making it the world's fourth-highest functioning railroad.

The "Tren a las Nubes" (Train To The Clouds) covers a distance of 135 miles (218 km) from Salta to La Polvorilla Viaduct. The route, an impressive engineering feat, makes countless turnbacks, passing through 21 tunnels and crossing 31 bridges and 13 viaducts.

The train makes two stops at San Antonio De Los Cobres and The Polvorilla Viaduct. Get off at San Antonio De Los Cobres where locals sell and display traditional crafts and regional produces.

Food service (not included), nurses station, and bilingual video/audio guides are available on board.

Free evening.

Full day visit of Purmamarca and the Quebrada de Humahuaca.

Recommendations against altitude sickness: limit physical efforts, walk slowly and breathe deeply, eat lightly, drink plenty of fluids (avoid alcohol) and use loose-fitting clothing. Be also prepared: a sunny day, usually means a very cold night.

Start your day with a visit to the renowned traditional market of Pumamarca before driving to the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a valley with dramatic rock formations declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003. The extremely arid area offers landscapes of great beauty with stunning colours and traditional Quechuan villages. Stop at many pre-Columbian and colonial constructions that have stood the test of time in this harsh environment. Visit Tumbaya, a small earth village and the nearby "Seven Colours Hill," Maimara and the famous "Painter's Palette", Tilcara and its Pucará (ancient native fortress), Huacalera with its monument marking the line of the Tropic of Capricorn and unrivalled views of the colorful hill of Pollera de la Colla. Your tour then stops at the Church of Uquía that hosts paintings of the Arcabuceros Angels (important vestige in the area from the Cuzqueña school). your last stop will be in Humahuaca to see the town's imposing Cathedral and its Monument to Independence (El Indio) by the sculptor Soto Avendaño.

Return to Salta (2 hours 50 min).

Your tour will start in the Lerma Valley, a fertile region named after the founder of Salta, Don Hernando de Lerma. Stop at some of the villages along the valley road such as Cerrillos and discover what this region is known for, growing tobacco and fruits such as peaches and citrus (3 hours).

Entrance to the Quebrada del Río Las Conchas, a natural geological formation that separates two mountainsides that once met.

The erosion caused by wind and water has changed the landscape and created these unique geological features such as the devil's throat, the amphitheater, and the toad.

Cafayate is a small town dedicated to wine production, considered as a real oasis at the foot of the Andes. 5,250 feet above sea level the town has kept its colonial charm intact. The area around Cafayate is the second most important wine-producing region in Argentina. The vines grown in this province produce excellent Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the famous white Torrontes grape.

Transfer back to Salta (3 hours)

Private transfer to Salta Airport (20 min)

Direct flight to Buenos Aires (2 hours)

Meet and greet with your local host, transfer to your hotel (30 min) and assistance with check-in.

Morning transfer from your hotel in Buenos Aires to Tigre, the town located at the southern end of the Río Paraná Delta.

From there you will sail on the delta on a one-hour cruise to explore the many islands and unique flora on the only delta in the world that keeps advancing.

Your next adventure will take you on the coastal train to colonial San Isidro, the best way to discover the legacy of the British presence in Argentina.

8 of the 11 train stations along this route all display similar architectural traits inherited from 19th century British design using glass and iron framework.

Enjoy the great variety of landscapes rolling before your eyes as the train rides along the River Plate from the Libertador station to the Barrancas station.

This railway section, the most modern in the Republic, was once known as “El Tren del Bajo” as it rode along the lower part closer to the shore of the River Plate from Barranca through the suburbs of Vicente Lopez, San Isidro, San Fernando, and Tigre.

Return to your hotel (50 min).

Free evening.

 Transfer to International Airport to take the flight back (45 min).