Come and enjoy cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. Be surrounded by wildlife in Península Valdes (such as penguins, elephant seals, sea lions and rheas). Explore Los Glaciares National Park and trek on the glacier. Sail and hike in Torres del Paine National Park. Cross the Strait of Magellan to discover "The End of the World": Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.
Escorted tour for a group of 5 or more. Overland transportation is included. International & Domestic flights are NOT included. Departure group date: January 30, 2010.
OR travel independently on your own dates (minimum 2 passengers).
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1:
Buenos Aires: Arrival. Reception at Ezeiza International Airport, and transfer to our hotel. In the afternoon you will enjoy a private tour of this cosmopolitan city of 12 million inhabitants, and capital of the Argentine Republic.
Day 2:
Punta Tombo, Puerto Madryn: Breakfast. Flight to Trelew, a city 1,200 kms south of Buenos Aires, and welcome to Patagonia! Our bus and local naturalist guide will be meeting us at the airport. We will drive Punta Tombo, the biggest continental breeding ground of Magellan penguins. There, we will have the opportunity to meander along the park trails, which bisect the breeding ground themselves, and see over 200 thousand live nests, and more than 500 thousand penguins.
Picnic lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit Gaiman. This is a picturesque small town that was settled by Welsh immigrants in the 1870s, and still maintains much of its original architecture. We may savor a delicious Welsh tea with pastries at one of the traditional teahouses of Gaiman. In the evening we will drive to Puerto Madryn. Lodging. (B, L)
Day 3:
Peninsula Valdes: After breakfast, we will drive to Peninsula Valdes Nature Reserve, a paradise for wildlife lovers. Peninsula Valdes is like an island united to the continent by a 35 km long strip of land called Ameghino Isthmus. From some sections of the road that takes us into the reserve, we will be able to view both gulfs: San Jose and Nuevo. We'll observe birds in their natural habitat of "Bird Island", and we will spend some time at Puerto Piramide, a village on the south side of the Peninsula, on the Nuevo Gulf.
NOTE: From June to the first weeks of December you will be able to enjoy an unforgettable whale watching expedition (additional cost). From the vantage point of your boat, you will gain an appreciation for the magnitude and beauty of the Southern Right Whales, which arrive at Golfo Nuevo in June of each year, and remain here until December when the mating season has come to an end.
Lunch included. In the afternoon, we will likely observe more of the region¡¦s native fauna which includes foxes, maras, peludos and piches (similar to armadillos), lesser rheas (or choiques) and guanacos. The places we'll be visiting will be: Punta Norte, with the largest sea elephant colony on the Peninsula; Caleta Valdes, a natural canal with great variety of marine and terrestrial wildlife; a sea lion colony, and the Salinas Chica and Grande that are the biggest depressions in South America. Late in the evening we will return to our hotel in Puerto Madryn. (B, L)
Day 4:
Los Glaciares National Park - El Calafate: Breakfast. Flight to El Calafate, a small town located along the shores of Argentino Lake. The landscape of the region is a combination of arid steppes to the east, where eagles, falcons, lesser rheas, guanacos, hares, foxes and pumas live, and woods of lengas and ñires near the West Andes, that are the natural habitat of Condors, eagles, Magellan woodpeckers, and the Huemul (Andean deer). Hotel accommodation and dinner. (B, D)
Day 5:
Los Glaciares National Park - El Calafate: After breakfast we will depart to visit Los Glaciares National Park. This park of 600.000 hectares (2,300 square miles) has thirteen glaciers that flow into the Argentino and Viedma lakes. Perito Moreno Glacier, is one of the few glaciers in the world that is still progressing. It is only 500 ft above sea level, which makes it very accessible, allowing one to stand in front of a mountain of ice that measures 60 m (180 ft) by 5 km (2.5 miles).
The constant fall of huge towers of ice from its walls and into the lake is an unforgettable spectacle. Trekking Expedition: We will board a boat to cross Argentino. We will land on an isolated beach and hike on the glacier. (not additional equipment, or previous experience required). Lunch at the park and dinner at the hotel. (B, L, D)
Day 6:
El Calafate: Day at leisure to enjoy optional excursions or relax. Dinner. (B, D)
Day 7:
Torres del Paine, Chile: Today we will cross the Andes Mountains towards the Republic of Chile. Our destination is the renowned Torres del Paine National Park. Torres del Paine is a large park (450,000 acres) declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. We will visit Sarmiento, Nordenskjold and Pehoe Lakes. The park is particularly rich in fauna, and you'll be likely to see guanacos, lesser rheas, black-necked swans, geese, flamingos, Magellanic woodpeckers, and peregrine falcons and condors on the mountain slopes. Lodging in the park. Lunch during the excursion. (B, L)
Day 9:
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile: Breakfast. Full day to enjoy this magnificent park. (B, L)
Day 10:
Torres del Paine National Park/Fjord Ultima Esperanza: After breakfast, we will drive to Serrano River, and depart in Zodiac boats down the river to Balmaceda and Serrano Glacier. We will enjoy a short hike to Glaciar Serrano. Then you will board a bigger vessel and sail through Ultima Esperanza Fjord to Estancia Perales, a comfortable guest ranch overlooking the Seno Ultima Esperanza. lunch and lodging at the estancia. Note: We will take your luggage to the ranch by land. (B, L)
NOTE: We may replace the ranch for a Hotel Indigo or similar in Puerto Natales overlooking the Ultima Esperanza Sound.
Day 11:
Fjord Ultima Esperanza/Punta Arenas: Breakfast. Today we will drive to Punta Arenas, a picturesque town overlooking the Strait of Magellan. Lodging. (B)
Day 12:
Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego/Argentina: After breakfast we will leave Punta Arenas and cross the Strait of Magellan arriving in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Our destination is Ushuaia, on the shores of the Beagle Channel. Reception and transfer to your hotel. (B, L)
Day 13:
Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego: Today you will go west for sightseeing excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, visiting Rio Pippo, Bahia Ensenada, Lago Roca,(a large lake surrounded by mountains and shared by Argentina and Chile).Laguna Verde, Laguna Negra and Bahía Lapataia which is the very end of the Pan American Highway. Lunch in the park. (B, L)
Day 14:
Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego: Day at leisure to take optional boat excursions or relax enjoying the beautiful landscapes surrounding our hotel. Dinner. (B, D)
Day 15:
Buenos Aires/USA: Breakfast. Flight to Buenos Aires. Arrival and transfer to Ezeiza airport to take your international flights. (B)
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
TOUR COST: $4,124 per person double occupancy.
*Single Supplement: $788.-
Note: flights in Argentina are not included in the price: Buenos Aires/Trelew; Trelew/El Calafate; Ushuaia/Buenos Aires (about $600 in economy). International airfare is not included.
Other services INCLUDED in tour price:
- Full time bilingual tour leader in Patagonia to assist you during the trip for groups of 5 or more.
- Local bilingual guides
- Transfers to and from airports and bus stations
- Overland transportation
- Private excursions (car/van with bilingual guides) as detailed in itinerary. Regular excursions (shared with other travelers): Perito Moreno Glacier trekking and boat excursions in Peninsula Valdes and Torres del Paine
- Hotel accommodation for 13 nights
- Meals mentioned in itinerary: all breakfasts, 6 lunches and 4 dinners
- Park entrance fees
Departure date: January 30, 2010 OR Travel independently on your own dates (minimum 2 passengers)
Also see tour packages in:
South America
Argentina
Chile
Nature & Wildlife
Ecotourism
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