14 days - 13nights

Day 1. Arrival Buenos Aires
On your arrival to Buenos Aires you will be met by an English speaking driver & transferred to your city hotel in a private vehicle.

The remainder of the day is yours to relax, unpack & take time out to get acquainted to your surroundings. Buenos Aires is laid out in a grid style with many one way streets. For those who are inclined, Calle Florida is one of the main pedestrian only shopping thoroughfares & is adorned with shops specializing in leather wear, shoes, clothing etc., & always good for bargain hunting.

Day 2. City sightseeing
( B) After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel & taken on a half daycity sightseeing tour to include the many Parks, past the Botanical Gardens, the historical buildings that house branches of Government; many monuments & fountains that adorn the city & the mansions of Palermo & Belgrano.

You will pause at San Telmo, with its collection famous antique shops specializing in everything from the finest of baroque, to exquisite European furniture, crockery & glass, before heading to the Boca district where the brightly coloured corrugated-iron homes make for wonderful photos.

Onto the Recoleta, where both the historic chapel 'Basilica del Pilar ' & the many family crypts for Presidents, Military heroes & gentry from bygone Argentine eras, lie at rest. Perhaps the most sought after crypt to be found in the Recoleta, is that of the family Duarte. It is in a quiet unassuming corner you will come across the final resting place for the one & only 'Evita, worshipped by the populace in both her life & in death.

'Evita' remains legendary to the Argentine people & her storybook romance with the late President Juan Peron is the subject of worldwide screen & theatre.

After you are returned to your hotel, the afternoon is yours to enjoy at your leisure.

Day 3. Fiesta de los Gauchos day exursion
(B, L) Today after breakfast, you'll be taken on a full day excursion into the country for an introduction to Argentina's lifestyle on a working Estancia or ranch. The Estancia is located some 70kms outside of the city & here, you will be treated to a festive occasion of dance, folklore & depictions of the skills of Argentine gauchos. The gaucho is to Argentina what the cowboy was to the old US west or what the Drover is to Australia's outback farmlands.

Here, you will witness the ladies of the Estancia in traditional styled clothing, perform dance & music of the Pampa.

Lunch will be served, cooked on an especially prepared pit of hot flameless coals this is called 'asado' & includes meats complimented with vegetables, salad, baked potatoes, desert & local wines & beers, soft drinks & sodas.

After lunch, the gauchos in traditional garb will display their prowess & horsemanship.

Day 4. Buenos Aires at leisure & Señor Tango evening & dinner show
(B, D) This is your chance to strike out on your own & explore Buenos Aires as today is free of activities, until the evening. After breakfast if you want to shop or just browse, then we suggest Avenida Santa Fe or Galeria Pacifico in the central city.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to be back at your hotel in time to be picked up shortly before 8.00pm for an evening of charm, romance & the exotic. Tango is the trademark dance & rhythm of Argentina & there is no better place to be exposed to this sensational pulse than at Señor Tango.

The performance takes place in an old converted warehouse now remodelled & resplendent balconied theatre, where you will be transformed & in tune to the atmosphere as are the array of fine musicians & the dancers. Dinner is served i& includes appetizers, main course, deserts, tea & coffee all topped off with fine local wines, beers & soft drinks.

This is an evening that will captivate & live on with you as the essence of not only Tango, but Buenos Aires itself. After the performance & dinner, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Day 5. Buenos Aires – El Calafate
(B) After breakfast, transfer to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport for a flight to
El Calafate. On arrival you will be met by the staff of Estancia Alice - a working sheep ranch that provides wonderful homely accommodation & breakfasts & dinners during your stay.

Day 6. Full day excursion to Perito Moreno Glacier
(B) After breakfast departing by road you will travel around Lake Argentino & Bahia Redonda. This region is home to a large variety of birds & in particular, black-necked swans, flamingos, wild ducks, & coots. Yellow broom sedge (coiron) grasses dominate the open fields as you cross the Patagonian plains.

Entering the National Park, the different types of trees: ñires, guindos & lengas are striking. Upon arrival at Glacier Perito Moreno the immensity of this awesome river of ice is evident. You will have ample time to leisurely wander the marked walkways that offer the most stunning views of one of the most magnificent glaciers on the planet.

You may also choose the optional boat excursion which will take visitors within 300 metres of the terminal face of the glacier, a perspective from where the true azures & blue hues of the ice formations are evident. Late afternoon, return to Estancia Alice.

Day 7. Nautical Safari to Upsala Glacier
(B) An after breakfast you will be picked up & transferred to Punta Bandera for today´s excursion by boat on Lake Argentino. You are likely to encounter enormous icebergs & certainly will see the Upsala & Spegazzini glaciers, the largest & the tallest respectively of the glaciers in the National Park.

Normally the boat docks at Bahia Onelly, a small mirror arm of the lake where countless numbers of icebergs have formed after breaking off from the glaciers. Here, there is a restaurant where lunch can be taken.

Late afternoon, return to Punta Bandera & transfer back to Estancia Alice.

Day 8. El Calafate – Ushuaia
(B) After breakfast, transfer to Calafate airport for your flight to Ushuaia – capital city of Provincia Tierra del Fuego & the southern most city on the planet. You will be met on arrival at Ushuaia Airport & transferred to your hotel.

The remainder of today is yours at leisure to explore the city of Ushuaia & its Museums. Either "The End of the World Museum", the "Yámana World" or "The Maritime Museum" will vividly display & illustrate the history, the remoteness & harsh nature of this desolate end of the South American continent.

Day 9. Ushuaia - Lakes off roading day excursion
(B) At 9.00 your guide will pick you up from your hotel to start one of the most adventurous 4WD day excursions imaginable.

This day adventure operates all year round & it is highly recommended for people looking for a comfortable but different outdoor adventure experience. Leaving Ushuaia heading north enjoy the landscapes of the Carabajal & Tierra Mayor Valleys& on up to Garibaldi Pass where weather permitting, you´ll stop for a photo opportunity. Then onto Aserradero Bronzovich, where from here, we will be ¨Off Road ¨.

The vehicle approaches Fagnano Lake & weather permitting at a spectacular forest setting, morning coffee is served. After morning coffee stop, continue to drive off road along the shores of the lake, through the forest, on the beach for about 1 hour. Then it is to Bombilla Lake, where those who opt can go walking to the rustic yet very comfortable lodge ( it is a 40 minute walk). At the lodge you´ll be met with an aperitif, a delicious "asado" & of course wonderful Argentine wines.

Mid-afternoon, start the journey off road to Escondido Lake up to Petrel Hostel. Here, afternoon coffee is served in the pristine beauty of this wilderness. The day’s adventures conclude when you will be delivered back to your hotel in Ushuaia approx 1800hrs.

Day 10. Ushuaia - Trekking & Sailing (National Park)
(B) An after breakfast pick up from your hotel, heading westwards to arrive at the National Park, & after paying the nominal entrance fee (not included), head to the coastal path. This path, (2 ½ hours) is undoubtedly the most beautiful in the Park with an abundance of vegetation (High Deciduous Beech, Low Deciduous Beech, Evergreen Beech, Winterbark, Firebush, etc.). Unbelievable!!!.

Then board an 18 person inflatable Zodiac boat & sail along the Beagle Channel to the Redonda Island to view the colony of Imperial Cormorants that nestle in a rocky wall of the isle.

Disembarking on the island, have lunch in a refuge with stunning views. Lunch is homemade pasta with drinks included - red wine, sodas & mineral water.

After lunch there is free time allocated to walk around the island which is a natural reserve only opened to tourists a couple of years ago. There are two clearly marked paths, 20 minutes each. From here you will head to Lapataia Bay to see some of the most beautiful seabirds (Albatrosses, Petrels, Snowy Sheath Bills & dependant upon season, Penguins).

Arrive to Lapataia Bay - this is considered the end of the Panamerican Road & The End of the world. Here there are two short walking paths to the Lapataia & Las Lengas lookouts where your van is waiting to take you back to Ushuaia.

Day 11. Ushuaia – Buenos Aires
(B) Transfer to Ushuaia airport for your flight to Buenos Aires. On arrival you will be met & transferred to your central city hotel for one night. The remainder of today is yours to spend at your own pace.

Day 12. Buenos Aires – Cataratas de Iguazu (Iguazu Falls)
(B) After breakfast, transfer to AeroParque Jorge Newbury Airport for your flight to Iguazu Falls. On arrival, you will be met & transferred to the Sheraton Iguazu Hotel, situated inside the National Park & offering guests spectacular views of the Falls.

This afternoon you will be escorted by an English speaking guide on an interpretive walking tour of the upper level trails & walkways on the Argentine side of the falls. You will likely be amazed at the quiet meandering & gurgling of the waters of the Rio Iguazu as the river flows towards its destined plunge over the near 90 metre cataracts. Excellent photo opportunities abound around each corner. The upper level walkways are approx 1.8 kms & will take a good hour & a half with stops for viewing & photos, to accomplish. These upper level walkways are flat & there is little if any climbing of steps involved.

Day 13. Full day of Iguazu Falls activities.
(B) The day commences when you are picked up from the hotel & shown to the Jungle Explorer Company headquarters. Here you will you then will depart for one of two water based activities, river levels permitting.

Access is by way of an open top 4 wheel drive truck to a point approx. 8km above the Falls where you board a rubber raft piloted by a professional oarsman for a journey floating sedately down river, observing the varieties of plants, insects, butterflies, birds & reptiles that live on the banks. Be prepared to see turtles, crocodile, all manner of parrots & kingfishers & perhaps even Puma & Jaguar that inhabit the jungles of this region.

Once your raft gets to the point of disembarkation (which is well above the falls themselves) you will be taken to the Devils Throat walkway. Here, after some 300m of walking you come to the mightiest exodus of water Rio Iguazu offers, as the main channel of the river hurls itself downward in a roar & hiss of never ending white foam & spray.

After a break for lunch, return to the Jungle Explorer departure point & again in an open top 4 wheel drive truck, head off into the jungle for 5 kms to Puerto Macuco. Here you board a 24 passenger double outboard powered vessel for an adventure up the Rio Iguazu, through the rapids & on into the San Martin valley under the section of falls that bears the same name.

The Jungle Explorer Company offers for sale, plastic ponchos which we strongly recommend you take the opportunity to buy one & wear it as you are going to get wet. The poncho is not for show. Your boatman will expertly manipulate the vessel in the current to get you the best & most advantageous up close look at Tres Mosqueteros & San Martin cataracts.

You disembark at a landing on the edge of the lower walking trail & from here, you may use the free boat shuttle & cross to San Martin Island to explore the criss-cross of trails it offers, or wander back along the lower walking trails which are approx 1. 5km long. They rise quite sharply up in a series of metal catwalk steps, to join the upper level walkways & back to the hotel grounds.

In the gathering evening twilight, look skywards for Toucans who frequent the tops of the trees on their way to roost for the night. On the conclusion of your days activities, return to your hotel.

Day 14. Full day of Iguazu Falls activities.
(B) After breakfast you will be picked up from your hotel & transferred to the Argentine Iguazu Airport (IGR) for your onward flight, either back to Buenos Aires or for those wishing to head north into Brasil, a transfer to the (IGU) Brasil airport can be pre-booked.

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