Day 1: Wednesday / Buenos Aires City Tour
Arrival at Ezeiza International Airport. Reception by your guide and transfer to the hotel. Baggage delivery.
Departure for a city tour in Buenos Aires.
First of all, its main avenues: 9 de Julio Avenue, one of the widest in the world; Corrientes Avenue with its numerous theatres, cinemas, bookshops and restaurants; and the Mayo Avenue, an important thoroughfare whose Spanish, and particularly Galician, influence is noted as much for the architectural design of its buildings as for the presence of Galician shops and centers.
On the 9 de Julio Avenue there is the Obelisk with its 65 meters of height, the epicenter of a star of important avenues, and also the Colon Theater: one of the jewels of Argentine architecture.
You can also see the Mayo Square, where the Casa Rosada, the current Government Palace, is located.
Then discover La Boca. It owes its name to its location, at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata where the Riachuelo flows. It was the historic port of Buenos Aires before it was moved further north of the city for technical reasons (shallow water, sandbanks...). The area was a refuge for immigrants, especially Italians, between 1880 and 1930. The popularity of the neighborhood is due to the "Caminito" street, where there are piles of small humble houses, made of colored sheet metal. It was the Argentine painter Quinquela Martin, a native of the neighborhood, who created the first mismatched paintings of the small street.
Lunch in a local restaurant.
Walk in The Cemetery of La Recoleta, next to the beautiful church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar. Declared a national historic monument for its grandiose mausoleums, celebrities such as Evita Peron rest here. Plaza Francia, opposite the cemetery, is also known for its bars and restaurants frequented by the Porteos (inhabitants of Buenos Aires) after a day of work.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner not included
Overnight at WALDORF *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 2: Thursday / Buenos Aires Flight To Ushuaia – City Tour
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to J.Newbery National Airport, flight to Ushuaia (not included).
Arrival in Ushuaia and welcome by the guide.
Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego, is surrounded by numerous snow-capped mountains and peaks reaching 1500 m above sea level, on the banks of the Beagle Channel. Ushuaia is the southernmost city on the planet and the gateway to the National Park of Tierra del Fuego.
From the end of the 19th century until the 1940s, Ushuaia was the city where political prisoners and those of common rights were sent. In the 1950s, the city became an important Argentine naval base.
Lunch in a local restaurant
Visit to the city of Ushuaia which, in the Yámana language, means "Bahía que penetra hacia el poniente" (bay that penetrates the sunset), capital of the Province of Tierra del Fuego and the South Atlantic Islands. Ushuaia is located at the end of one of the tips of the island, facing the Beagle Channel and on the slopes of the Martial mountain range.
The city and its surroundings offer landscapes whose color variations depending on the season leave indelible visual memories. Small city of around 70,000 inhabitants, it has only one main avenue, San Martín, which is also the commercial center where the city's day and night life is concentrated. Here you will find shops and restaurants offering the most representative dishes of the region: grilled mutton, spider crab and hake among others.
You will start at Maipú Avenue, and you will go to the Luis Pedro Fique footbridge. This narrow passage leads to the La Misión district, a site chosen by the first white men who settled in the region. You will also know the Brown and Sikuer neighborhoods. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to see old houses belonging to former important families. You will continue to the hotel zone on the winding path of the Le Martial glacier, which will allow you to gain height and enjoy a magnificent view.
Visit to the Maritime Museum and the prison.
Free time to enjoy the city on your own.
Dinner not included
Overnight at ALTOS USHUAIA *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 3: Friday / Ushuaia / Beagle Channel / National Park / Ushuaia
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for a navigation across the Beagle Channel, a natural passage that connects the Pacific to the Atlantic, 150 km from the famous Cape Horn. The show is superb to appreciate first the "Ile aux Oiseaux" for its cormorants and imperial ducks, then the Sea Lions Island for the hundreds of red-maned sea lions. Pass the Eclaireurs lighthouse, built by the French, where the "Monte Cervantes" was wrecked in 1930.
Lunch in a local restaurant
Depart for an excursion to the National Park of Tierra del Fuego. Placed at 15 km of Ushuaia, it is the only national park in the country that has maritime coasts (Beagle Channel). Its forest includes high and low deciduous beech and evergreen beech trees, its river, lakes and peat-bogs frame beautiful views to the Beagle channel. Footpath of different lengths allow you to enjoy nature at full.
National Park of Tierra del Fuego, created in 1960. It is the southernmost protected natural area in the world. Located 18 km from Ushuaia and with an area of 63,000 hectares, it is bordered to the west by Mount Olivia, to the north by the Beauvoir range and to the south by the cliffs of the Beagle Channel.
From the port, across Maipú Avenue towards the south-west, you travel through the city until you reach the foot of Susana Mountain, witness to the work of the inmates of the old penitentiary, where the railway station from the back of the World is located. We then continue along the Pipo river valley until the detour to approach the bay of Ensenada, where we can appreciate the Redonda and Estorbo islands and, on the other side of the Beagle Channel, the chain of Montes Nevados of the Sampaio (Chile).
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: navigation in regular service with a bilingual Spanish/English guide.
Transfer and accommodation at the hotel.
Dinner not included
Overnight at ALTOS DE USHUAIA *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 4: Saturday / Ushuaia Flight To El Calafate
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport and flight to El Calafate (not included).
Arrival in El Calafate, welcome by the guide and transfer to the hotel.
Lunch not included
Rest of the day at leisure.
Dinner not included
Overnight at RINCON DEL CALAFATE *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 5: Sunday / El Calafate / Perito Moreno / El Calafate
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure to Perito Moreno, clasified by UNESCO - The Perito Moreno glacier moves towards the front of the Magallanes Peninsula producing its break. When the glacier reaches the Peninsula, it forms a natural dam of ice which stops the flow of the water from the Rico arm to the Iceberg barrier. The water level goes up thus pressing and corroding the ice mass until it produces small leaks and the falling of pieces of ice. These increase creating a tunnel trough which water flows toward Argentino Lake.
Finally, the tunnel falls in a wonderful spectacle separating the Perito Moreno Glacier from the Magallanes Peninsula. Then the slow processs starts all over again. Arrival to the site and observation of the most impressive glacier, from the footbridges.
Lunch in a local restaurant overlooking the splendid glacier.
Return to El Calafate in the late afternoon.
Dinner not included
Overnight at RINCON DEL CALAFATE *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 6: Monday / El Calafate / Argentino Lake / El Calafate
Breakfast at the hotel.
FULL DAY OF GOURMET ON THE GLACIERS
THE GLACIERS OF SOUTHERN PATAGONIA IN A SURPRISING GOURMET EXPERIENCE
The Patagonian Ice Field is, after Antarctica, the largest ice sheet on the planet. Its glaciers originate at just 1500 meters above sea level and descend up to 200 meters above sea level, allowing access and vision unique in the world.
Los Glaciares National Park is a magnificent setting of forests, lakes, mountains, ice and steppe, with more than 200 glaciers. Standing out are the Spegazzini Glacier with the great height of its front which reaches 135 m above sea level, the Upsala Glacier which covers an entire valley with an approximate extension of 765 km2 and a length of 53 km, and the Perito Moreno Glacier, in constant advance, and whose ruptures are an incomparable natural spectacle.
Box lunch during navigation.
Gourmet Glaciers is a full-day experience on board the María Turquesa Cruise that travels through some places of this Patagonian landscape, sailing with maximum comfort and with gourmet gastronomy specially designed for a memorable experience.
Itinerary:
Boarding: 08:30 am
Landing: 17:00
08:30 Boarding at the private port La Soledad
09:00 Departure for the North Arm. Visit to Escuadra Bay and the Condoreras Wall. Dry Glacier. Heim Glacier. Spegazzini Glacier. Landing at Las Vacas Post - Walk.
Visit to the Upsala Channel, panoramic view of the Upsala Glacier and Bertacchi, lunch on board. Navigation through the Los Tempanos Channel towards the north face of the Perito Moreno Glacier. Optional: End of the excursion in Puerto Moreno (by reservation only).
17:00 Arrival in La Soledad Port.
IMPORTANT: Navigation in regular service with guide in English/Spanish.
Return to El Calafate
Dinner not included
Overnight at RINCON DEL CALAFATE *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 7: Tuesday / El Calafate Flight To Iguazú
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to El Calafate airport, flight to Puerto Iguazú (not included).
Arrival in Puerto Iguazú, welcome by the guide and transfer to the hotel.
Lunch not included
Rest of the day at leisure.
Dinner not included
Overnight at GUAMINÍ MISIÓN **** or similar (standard room)
Day 8: Wednesday / Iguazú / Argentinean Waterfalls / Iguazú
Breakfast at the hotel.
Exploring the Argentinian side of the waterfalls.
This excursion will take you into the heart of the forest using specially set up walkways to access the waterfalls more closely. You will get close to waterfalls such as the famous "Devil's Throat", 90 meters high. To reach them, you will board a small ecological train.
Lunch in a local restaurant
Continue exploring the Argentine side with the upper and lower trail.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner not included
Overnight at GUAMINÍ MISIÓN **** or similar (standard room)
Day 9: Thursday / Iguazú / Brazilean Waterfalls / Iguazú Flight To Buenos Aires
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure towards the Brazilian side of the waterfalls.
After crossing the border, you walk along the path that runs along the Iguazu Canyon. The view is amazing! Around 200 different drops create a large natural amphitheater of water.
The tropical atmosphere is reinforced by the presence of exotic birds and butterflies and also by the "coati", a small member of the raccoon family.
Lunch in a local restaurant
Return to Puerto Iguazú.
Transfer to the local airport. Flight to Buenos Aires (not included).
Arrival at Jorge Newbery National Airport, welcome by the guide and transfer to the hotel.
Dinner with tango show in a famous cabaret in the city.
Continue to discover the country with a dinner show. Relive the birth of tango and its evolution over the years.
Overnight at WALDORF *** or similar hotel (standard room)
Day 10: Friday / Buenos Aires Out
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to Ezeiza International Airport. Assistance for boarding and return flights.
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