Best of Patagonia, Argentina, Chile Tour

Arrival at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires' international airport. 

Meet and greet with your private English-speaking guide. 

Transfer to the city centre (45 min). 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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). 

Free evening

Overninght at your hotel in Buenos Aires. 

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. 

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).

Free evening. 

Overnight in your hotel in Ushuaia. 

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

Arrival to the town of El Calafate.

Arrival to the town of El Calafate. Transfer by bus to El Chalten (3 hours 30 min).

End of the afternoon free.

Free evening and overnight at your hotel in El Chalten. 

There are many itineraries setting off from El Chaltén, those which run through well signed trails inside the National Park as well as in private areas. According to your physical condition and available time -and of course depending on the unpredictable Patagonian weather- it is possible to undertake from short hikes up to ascents or embark on expeditions for several days.

Most of these treks do not demand any previous experience in mountaineering activities. It is possible to visit lookout points with stunning panoramic views using little time and effort.

It is not necessary to hire a guide service to do the trails described in this section, but if you wish it is possible to rely on their services to keep your mind at ease or to help you discover the place best known secrets.

Some popular treks:

• Los Cóndores and Las Águilas viewpoints (40 min.)
• Laguna Capri (2 hours)
• Piedra del Fraile (2 hours)
• Laguna Torre (4 hours)
• Laguna De los Tres (5 hours)

Free evening and overnight in El Chalten.

There are many itineraries setting off from El Chaltén, those which run through well signed trails inside the National Park as well as in private areas. According to your physical condition and available time -and of course depending on the unpredictable Patagonian weather- it is possible to undertake from short hikes up to ascents or embark on expeditions for several days.

Most of these treks do not demand any previous experience in mountaineering activities. It is possible to visit lookout points with stunning panoramic views using little time and effort.

It is not necessary to hire a guide service to do the trails described in this section, but if you wish it is possible to rely on their services to keep your mind at ease or to help you discover the place best known secrets.

Some popular treks:

• Los Cóndores and Las Águilas viewpoints (40 min.)
• Laguna Capri (2 hours)
• Piedra del Fraile (2 hours)
• Laguna Torre (4 hours)
• Laguna De los Tres (5 hours)

Transfer to the bus station.

Road to El Calafate (3 hours 30 min).

Transfer to your hotel, check-in. 

Free evening and overnight in El Calafate.

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. 

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). 

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in El Calafate. 

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. 

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. 

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in El Calafate. 

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. 

Arrival in the afternoon at Puerto Natales in Chile. 

Free afternoon for souvenir shopping. 

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in Puerto Natales. 

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. 

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

Free evening

Overnight at your hotel in Puerto Natales. 

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.

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

Drive back to Puerto Natales (2 hours).  

Free evening

Overnight at your hotel in Puerto Natales. 

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). 

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

Transfer to your hotel in Santiago (30 min). 

Free evening. 

Overnight at the hotel in Santiago. 

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. 

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). 

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in Santiago. 

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. 

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). 

Free evening. 

Overnight at your hotel in Santiago. 

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

Check-in assistance. 

International flight.