Argentina / Chile

Best of Patagonia Tour

12 days | 11 nights
Private tour
From 5460USD per person
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Tour Description

Argentinean or Chilean Patagonia? You should not be faced with the dilemma of choosing between the two and leave out some of the best places to visit in the region. It is actually quite easy to navigate across the border and with the right budget visiting Patagonia in both countries is a must!

356 glaciers, 9 National Parks, and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field which is the largest expanse of ice in the Southern Hemisphere outside Antarctica as it stretches over both Argentina and Chile. With that much to see, it would be a real pity not to travel to both ends of the 'Land of the Big Feet'.

This tour will take you to the absolute best places in Patagonia. Discover 6 mythical glaciers: the Perito Moreno, the Upsala, the Spegazzini, the Balmaceda, the Serrano, and the Grey glaciers.

Hike 4 world-ranked National Parks: Tierra del Fuego, Los Glaciares, Torres del Paine. Cruise the freezing waters of Patagonia: the Beagle Channel, Lake Argentino, and the Ultima Esperanza Fjord.

You will also discover 4 great cities: Buenos Aires, 'the Paris of the South', Santiago the trendy city boasting the highest skyscraper in South America, the bohemian and artistic port of Valparaiso and the Garden City of Viña del Mar. 

Destinations

Multi-Country

Trip at a glance

Visits

ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires, One Tango Show, One Gaucho Tour, Ushuaia, El Calafate

CHILE: Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, Santiago

4 NATIONAL PARKS: Tierra Del Fuego (Argentina), Los Glaciares (Argentina), Torres Del Paine National Park (Chile), Bernardo O'higgins (Chile)

6 GLACIERS: Perito Moreno (Argentina), Spegazzini (Argentina), Upsala (Argentina), Balmaceda (Chile), Serrano (Chile), Grey (Chile)

3 CRUISES: Beagle Channel (Argentina), Lake Argentino (Argentina), Ultima Esperanza Fjord (Chile)

Trip details

Itinerary

Day 1 ARRIVAL, SOUTHERN BUENOS AIRES CITY-TOUR, TANGO SHOW

Morning

Arrival at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires' international airport. 

Meet and greet with your private English-speaking guide. 

Transfer to the city centre (45 min). 

Afternoon

Discover the historical center on a guided walking tour that will take you through the emblematic Plaza de Mayo and stop for pictures in front of la Casa Rosada, the pink Presidential Palace. 

Drive to San Telmo, the city's oldest neighborhood with its many busy cafes, tango parlors and antique shops lining the cobblestone colonial streets. A neighborhood much loved by local artists and dancers. 

Take time to tango around the colorful 'El Caminito' street museum, once home to Italian immigrants. 

Evening

At about 8pm, transfer to a traditional café where you will spend the evening (10 min).

Dinner at a hundred-year old tango institution in the capital followed by a 1h30 tango-show.

At about 11pm, transfer to your hotel (10 min). 

Overnight at your hotel in Buenos Aires. 

MEALS
  • Dinner Tango Show

Day 2 NORTHERN CITY TOUR & GAUCHO PARTY

Morning

Visit La Recoleta Cemetery, home of over 6,400 graves, famous for being Eva Perón's resting place. 

Drive along the exclusive Alvear Avenue and stop at the Alvear Hotel, one of the most luxurious and distinguished hotel in Argentina. 

After this quick tour, your driver and guide will pick you up to go to the Estancia Santa Susana, a ranch located in the Campana district. (1 hour 10 min). 

These ranches or 'estancias' have preserved their traditional form, with the impressive homesteads where the owners still live and its adjoining farming facilities used by the local gauchos. 

The term 'gaucho' refers to the original horse-riding shepherds of the South American pampas. 

Nowadays, there are no gauchos as such but many people in the countryside identify with the national heroes of the high plains and keep the South American cowboys's customs alive and still wear their traditional attire. 

Afternoon

During your visit of the 'estancia' you will be treated to a great horse show and be invited on a short horseback ride on the open Argentinean pampa. 

Drive back to Buenos Aires (1 hour 10 min). 

 

Evening

Free evening

Overninght at your hotel in Buenos Aires. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Lunch at the Estancia

Day 3 FLIGHT TO USHUAIA, TIERRA DEL FUEGO NATIONAL PARK, BEAGLE CHANNEL CRUISE

Morning

Early morning transfer from your hotel to Buenos Aires domestic airport, check-in assistance. 

Direct flight to Ushuaia (3 hours 40 min). 

Meet and greet at the airport with your guide and driver who will take you to the hotel to get in your warmer clothes. 7-mile drive to Tierra del Fuego National Park. 

Enjoy this 600-square-mile (1500 km²) National Park where you can spot red wolves, beavers, rabbits and foxes that have become long-term residents in the area. 

At the 'End of the world' on Lapataia bay you will celebrate with a local toast with a glass of 'Legui', a typical Argentinian liquor. 

Afternoon

After lunch, board your cruise and set your course across Ushuaia's wide bay through the Beagle Channel, a strait in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the southern tip of South America. Sailing time: 2 hours and 30 min.

Sail past Mount Olivia and Cinco Hermanos onto Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, Seal Lion Island and Despard Island, home to a colony of imperial cormorants.

Transfer back to your hotel (5 min).

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight in your hotel in Ushuaia. 

Day 4 FLIGHT TO EL CALAFATE, PERITO MORENO GLACIER, LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK

Morning

Morning transfer to Ushuaia airport (15 min), assistance for check-in. Direct flight to El Calafate (1 hour 20 min). 

Arrival at El Calafate on the shores of Lake Argentino, transfer to your hotel (20 min), check in. 

Meet with your private driver and guide and drive along Lake Argentino (the largest freshwater lake in the country) towards Los Glaciares National Park (90 min). 

Arrival at Perito Moreno glacier, named after the Argentinian explorer Francisco Moreno Pascacio. 

Afternoon

Easy hike on the boardwalk to get different views of the 18-mile long (30 km), 3-mile wide (5 km) Perito Moreno glacier. Get your camera ready and listen for the roaring glacier dropping blocks of ice causing mini-tsunamis in their fall. 

1-hour boat ride to get a really close view of the walls of the glacier. 

End of the afternoon, drive back to El Calafate (90 min). 

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in El Calafate. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Day 5 FULL DAY CRUISE TO USPALA AND SPEGAZZINI GLACIERS

Morning

Transfer to Punta Bandera (45 min). Board your 5-hour cruise to the Uspala and Spegazzini glaciers located inside Los Glaciares National Park. 

37 miles (60 km) long, 3 miles (5 km) wide and 230 feet (70 metres) tall, the Upsala glacier is the largest in this park and the longest in South America as its ice spreads over 300 square miles (780 km²). 

The access to Upsala glacier is often limited because of the amount of ice on the passage, as result of glacier melting. 

Afternoon

On your way to the Spegazzini glacier, enjoy the views of the Onelli and Agassi glaciers and the occasional iceberg. 

Arrival at the Spegazzini glacier with its impressive wall towering up 135 metres (440 feet). 

Disembark and transfer to your hotel in El Calafate. 

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in El Calafate. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Lunch onboard

Day 6 ROAD TO PUERTO NATALES

Morning

Transfer to the bus terminal (10 min). 

Enjoy the scenic bus ride to Puerto Natales (3 hours 30 min). 

After about 2 hours at the border with Chile, you will have to get off the bus for customs and immigration control. 

Remember that it is forbidden to bring fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and any type of home-made food to Chile. 

Afternoon

Arrival in the afternoon at Puerto Natales in Chile. 

Free afternoon for souvenir shopping. 

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in Puerto Natales. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Day 7 FULL DAY SIGHTSEEING CRUISE TO BALMACEDA & SERRANO GLACIERS, BERNARDO O'HIGGHINS NATIONAL PARK

Morning

Morning pick up at your hotel and 5-minute drive to the pier to board the '21 de Mayo' cruise ship. 

Sail across the Ultima Esperanza Fjord where sea lions and cormorants can often been spotted (2 hours 30 min). 

You will first stop at the foot of the Balmaceda glacier, before another short sail to the Bernando O’Higgins National Park. 

Hop off for a 15-minute easy hike through native forest on your way to the foot of the Serrano glacier. 

Afternoon

After lunch, sail back to Puerto Natales (2 hours). Late afternoon arrival. 

Evening

Free evening

Overnight at your hotel in Puerto Natales. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Typical lunch at Estancia Perales

Day 8 FULL DAY TOUR TO TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK, GREY GLACIER AND BEACH

Morning

Your guide and driver (pool service) will pick you up at your hotel. 

After a 40-minute drive, visit the milodon cave and learn about the paleontological and archeological morphology of the area, once home to the extinct milodon. 

Stop at Sarmiento Lake before entering Torres del Paine National Park. As you enter the National Park you will get spectacular views over the Laguna Amarga ('Bitter Lagoon') where you can take photographs of the Las Torres del Paine mountains. 

After a 30-minute drive, stop for a 15-minute hike to get to the impressive Salto Grande, a majestic emerald waterfall that feeds onto lake Pehoe.

Afternoon

Walk through Grey beach (30 min) to get views of the distant the Grey glacier. 

Drive back to Puerto Natales (2 hours).  

Evening

Free evening

Overnight at your hotel in Puerto Natales. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Day 9 RETURN TO SANTIAGO

Morning

Transfer to the bus station (10 min). 

At about 3pm, departure by bus on your own from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas airport (3 hours 30 min). 

Afternoon

Flight to Santiago (4 hours), arrival early in the evening. 

Transfer to your hotel in Santiago (30 min). 

 

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight at the hotel in Santiago. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Day 10 FULL DAY TOUR OF SANTIAGO

Morning

Discover Chile's largest city and capital, its cultural and political centre, Santiago de Chile. 

Learn about Chile's history at historical places such as the Constitution Square located next to the Moneda Palace. 

Set foot on other key squares in the city, the Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins Square and the Plaza de Armas (Main Square). 

Stop at the Central Market, a busy, colorful and traditional fish and food market. 

Afternoon

Drive along Balmaceda Park and the Mapocho river to the old train station, an Eiffel-inspired building, Estación Mapochol is now a cultural center. 

Drive up San Cristobal Hill (2280 ft - 690 m) for breathtaking views over the whole city. 

At the end of the day, drive back to your hotel (30 min). 

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in Santiago. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Day 11 VALPARAISO, VIÑA DEL MAR

Morning

Drive north west (75 miles - 120 km) to the coastal cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. 

Relax in Vina del Mar, a picture-perfect beach resort city also referred to as Garden City. 

Transfer to Valparaiso (20 min), Chile's busiest port, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003. 

Afternoon

Ride one of the funicular tramways up the city's steep hill for extensive views of the port and beyond. 

Take a leisurely stroll on one of the 45 hills to experience Valpo's street art and its bohemian and poetic atmosphere. 

Drive back to Santiago (1 hour 40 min). 

Evening

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in Santiago. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Day 12 DEPARTURE FROM SANTIAGO

Morning

At the indicated time, private transfer to Santiago airport (30 min). 

Check-in assistance. 

International flight. 

MEALS
  • Breakfast at the hotel

Customer reviews

Services

What's included

Flights

  • Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
  • Ushuaia to El Calafate
  • Punta Arenas to Santiago de Chile

Accommodation

Nights
11 nights in 3* premium hotels

Meals

Bed & Breakfast plan
10 breakfasts + 1 lunch + 1 dinner
Full board plan
10 breakfasts + 11 lunches (might include several lunch boxes) + 11 dinners

Transportation

Bus
Regular bus trips for El Calafate/Puerto Natales and Puerto Natales/Punta Arenas
Car
Private driver and premium car for all transfers and visits except on day 8
Cruise
3 cruises: Beagle Channel (Ushuaia), Lake Argentino (El Calafate), Ultima Esperanza Fjord (Puerto Natales)

Orientation

Guide
Private English-speaking guide for all visits except on day 8 (shared guide with a group)

Entrance Fees

All entrance fees to mentioned sites

What's not included

  • International flights to/from South America
  • Buenos Aires Tourist Tax Fee (charged by the hotel)
  • Travel Insurance
  • Extra Meals
  • Drinks
  • Tips

Prices


Important notes

When traveling to Patagonia, we recommend you bring:

  • a warm and waterproof jacket (Gore-Tex)
  • a pair of gloves
  • a wool hat, a scarf
  • quality sunglasses
  • sunblock
  • a daily backpack
  • hiking/walking waterproof shoes
  • binoculars
  • a medical kit
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