The journey
Overview
From mountain peaks to magnificent glaciers, from pampas plains to the Land of Fire, and from Argentina’s cosmopolitan capital to the ‘end of the world’ at Chile’s Cape Horn, this terrific tour of cities, seascapes, and scenery includes a four-night cruise. In the vast expanse of South America’s southernmost reaches, Patagonia spreads from the Argentinian Atlantic shore to the Chilean Strait of Magellan, encircling the Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), straddling the two countries, and named for volcanic eruptions, frequent until recent times. Where Chile forms the end of the earth, it seems to have shattered into a thousand pieces, each a part of the Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn puzzle, a magical maze where cormorants cling to cliff walls, single-storey houses hunker down on the shores, and 200 glaciers slip seaward. Our journey begins in Buenos Aires, looking elegantly European, but feeling unmistakably Latin American. El Calafate, once quaint and quiet, burgeoned as the gateway to Perito Moreno Glacier; Ushuaia, tucked between soaring peaks and the Beagle Channel, acts the last place of comfort before Antarctic exploration; and on the forbidding rocks of Isla Hornus is a haunting artwork of the albatross in flight, a maritime symbol of the souls of shipwrecked sailors. Puerto Natales’ colourful houses contrast with the scenic grandeur of its setting in Torres del Paine National Park; while Santiago has markets, malls, parks and plazas, and the air of a city that knows its own worth.
Unforgettable moments
Highlights
01
Wander the streets of Buenos Aires
02
Marvel at Perito Moreno Glacier
03
Enjoy a walk to Aguila Glacier
04
Be surrounded by 120,000 penguins
05
Explore Torres del Paine NP
06
Stay at unique Hotel Remota
Your itinerary
Day by day
- Day1
Join tour at Buenos Aires Airport (EZE); Afternoon city tour+
Your tour starts in Buenos Aires, one of the most flamboyant and exciting capital cities in the world.
This afternoon we take a city tour of Argentina’s charismatic capital. This centres on Spanish churches and the stately buildings of the Plaza de Mayo, and spreads to outlying districts. These range from antique shops in San Telmo’s lantern-lit lanes, boutiques and bars in up tempo Palermo, arts and crafts in colourful La Boca and former palaces and Parisian-style townhouses in Recoleta. Our tour takes in the principal sights and these characterful neighbourhoods and includes a visit to El Ateneo Bookshop for a coffee break.
If you arrive later and miss this excursion, you should make your own way to the hotel, and our Tour Guide will catch you up at a later point.
Check into the 5-star Inter-Continental Hotel for a two-night stay.
- Day2
Visit the Argentinian Pampas with a barbecue lunch+
A sharp contrast to the capital, a tour today takes you to the city’s surrounding grasslands, the vast fertile plains known as the Argentinian Pampas, growing great quantities of wheat and sunflowers, and famed as the home of ‘gaucho’ cowboys and cattle ranches. Visit one of these ‘estancias’ and enjoy an asado (barbecue).
(B, L)
- Day3
Fly to El Calafate+
(B)
- Day4
Explore with a full day in Los Glaciares National Park+
On a full-day tour within the park, experience the spectacular shifts, shapes, cracking sounds, and continuous ice calving of the awe-inspiring Perito Moreno Glacier.
(B)
- Day5
Fly to Ushuaia+
Fly to Ushuaia, where the Martial mountains meet the Beagle Channel, long recognised as the world’s southernmost city, until its title was usurped in 2019 (by Puerto Williams, a small Chilean town, being upgraded to city status). Overnight at the 4-star Los Acebos Hotel.
(B)
- Day6
Embark on your vessel and cruise the Beagle Channel+
This morning, enjoy your first foray into the Tierra del Fuego, its varied topography including lakes, mountains, and sub-Antarctic forests, forming the habitats of foxes, otters and beavers; and a spectacular shoreline, where condors command the skies, and sealions, penguins, petrels and albatrosses are seen. Embark on the expedition vessel, MV Ventus Australis, for a four-night cruise, and traverse the Beagle Channel.
(B, D)
- Day7
Enjoy an excursion to Wulaia Bay on Isla Navarino+
Arrive at Cape Horn, Isla Hornos, wild, wind-whipped and desolate, with the lighthouse its only inhabited building; for an excursion to Wulaia Bay, on the western shore of Isla Navarino, where Darwin went ashore in 1833, and we follow in his footsteps with a walk through the Magellanic forest of ferns and indigenous trees.
(B, L, D)
- Day8
Cruise the Brecknock Peninsula, with a Pia Glacier excursion+
Cruise around the islets and inlets of the remote Brecknock Peninsula, enter the huge and haunting Pia Fjord, and take a zodiac boat excursion to the Pia Glacier, and through the ice-strewn narrows to the Garibaldi Glacier, its towering wall of blue ice a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
(B, L, D)
- Day9
Sail to the De Agostini Sound for Zodiac exploration+
Sail through the Cockburn Channel to the spectacular De Agostini Sound and go ashore to walk along the lagoon to the base of Aguila Glacier; then take the zodiac a little further up the sound to Condor Glacier, the condors heavily outnumbered now by colonies of cormorants.
(B, L, D)
- Day10
Disembark and visit Punta Arenas+
(B, D)
- Day11
Explore the Torres del Paine National Park+
Explore the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve of Torres del Paine National Park, a stunningly scenic enclave, with icebergs in every hue of blue, golden spreads of pampas grasslands, and the huge granite towers, from which the park takes its name, burnished red with sunset, blasted white with snow.
(B, L, D)
- Day12
Explore local caves and view Lake Sofia+
This morning we will explore Cueva Chica (Small Cave), Cueva del Medio (Medium Cave) and the large Milodon Cave. Milodon is an extinct genus of giant ground sloth that lived in Patagonia until roughly 10,000 years ago. In addition, this is an important archaeological and cultural monument because the earliest human remains of the region were discovered here. In the afternoon we will try to recreate the early settlements of Patagonia and get to know the rocky eaves, used in the old days by the Tehuelche people. We will also enjoy magnificent views of Lake Sofia and the valley of Sierra Señoret National Park.
(B, L, D)
- Day13
Fly to Santiago+
- Day14
Enjoy a full day excursion to Valparaiso+
A full-day excursion takes you to Valparaiso, Chile’s ‘Jewel of the Pacific’, with high-rise blocks behind the harbour, a colourful rainbow collage of historic houses, faded grandeur, fantastic street art, and a very bohemian vibe. Continue to Viña del Mar, the Garden City, a popular Pacific resort, sprinkled with parks, hemmed with beaches, and hosting many a festival; and enjoy a wine tasting.
(B)
- Day15
Explore the landmarks of Santiago+
A tour of Santiago’s landmark sights includes the grand, 19
th
-century Cousino Palace, now a museum; the San Francisco Church, with its adjacent Franciscan monastery, the first Catholic church to be built in Chile, founded in the 16
th
century; Cerro San Cristóbal hill, rising some 300m above the city, for splendid views; and a visit to the central market.
(B)
- Day16
Tour ends in Santiago+
Your tour ends this morning after breakfast.
(B)
Peace of mind
What's included
- ✦15 nights’ accommodation
- ✦Meals Included: breakfast daily, 6 lunches and 7 dinners, full board and most drinks on cruise, most drinks at Hotel Remota
- ✦All port charges
- ✦Itinerary as described
- ✦Services of guides and local representative
- ✦Interested in adding flights to this tour?
- ✦Find out more
- ✦.
- ✦- Travel Guides -
- ✦Flights from the UK can be added — ask your adviser