Arrival at the Argentine Airport in Ezeiza. Reception and private car transfer with the assistance of a guide to the booked hotel, check-in and accommodation.
Accommodation: Grand Brizo Buenos Aires
Breakfast at hotel. In the morning, CITY TOUR along 9 de Julio Avenue to see the Obelisk and the Colón Theatre and then we will drive to Plaza de Mayo, a popular meeting point for Argentinians.
We will visit the Cathedral of Buenos Aires and we will take a look at Casa Rosada, the official workplace of Argentine President. Then, our tour will go on to visit San Telmo neighbourhood, a place where art is in every corner and home to tango. Then, we will head to La Boca neighbourhood, passing by the Lezama Park and the football stadium of the Argentine soccer team Boca Juniors, the Bombonera. After that, we will visit Caminito Street, where we will stop. This is where immigrants built the first houses and buildings of the city and Caminito Street hosts colourful houses and street artists, painters, writers and tango dancers who are always smiling and ready for pictures. After that, the tour will head north and drive along Puerto Madero and Retiro neighbourhoods, the city financial centre, until we get to Palermo, a neighbourhood that combines a residential area with beautiful parks and gardens. We will see the Planetarium, the Japanese Garden and the Zoo. Lastly, we will visit Recoleta neighbourhood, renowned for the exclusive Alvear Avenue along which the most famous brands of the world choose to open their stores. This area is also filled with parks and hosts the Recoleta cemetery, one of the world’s most extraordinary graveyards, holding among others, the remains of actress-turned-First Lady Eva Perón (also known as Evita). The tour ends at passengers’ hotel.
In the evening, transfer to Café de los Angelitos for dinner and Tango Show. Café de los Angelitos is a historical and traditional café in Buenos Aires offering an intimate dinner with exquisite dishes while enjoying an elegant tango show. At the end, hotel drop-off.
Accommodation: Grand Brizo Buenos Aires (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. At the scheduled time, transfer to the Airport to take the flight to Ushuaia. Arrival and transfer to the booked hotel, check-in and accommodation.
Accommodation: Los Acebos Ushuaia (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. Breakfast at hotel. The National Park, Trekking and Canoeing Tour with Lunch (private service) starts at 9.00 a.m. With the assistance of outstanding guides, this tour will immerse you in some of the most visited places of Tierra del Fuego with guaranteed natural sightseeing, adventure and fun. From your hotel we will drive west in search for adventure on-board comfortable canoes through rivers and lakes of the National Park with full safety equipment. Starting off at the hotel, we will make our way towards Ensenada Bay to take in beautiful views of the Beagle Channel, with Redonda, Hoste and Navarino Islands as top sights. Then, we will take a hike up the easy coastal path to discover the paradise of the End of the World, its history and natural environment. Senda Costera (Coastal Path) is a popular 7-km (4.35-mi) trail that takes you along the coast to note the diverse flora and fauna of the Beagle Channel and the Fuegian Woods. You will also learn about the remains of old Yamanas settlements, native people of this area. After a 3-hour walk, we will get to Acigami Lake (former Roca Lake), where a fortifying warm lunch will be waiting for the hikers. After lunch, the group will get on-board inflatable duckies to paddle down Lapataia River for a little more than an hour until we reach Lapataia Bay in the Beagle Channel, the ending point of the Pan-American Route and Argentine Route No. 3. The tour ends with a walk along beautiful paths to get to the vehicles and return to the city.
Accommodation: Los Acebos Ushuaia (Breakfast)
Check in at 409 San Martín Ave. in downtown Ushuaia between 10:00 and 17:00 (10 AM-5 PM) on the day of your cruise departure. Board the Australis Cruise at 18:00 (6 PM). After a welcoming toast and introduction of captain and crew, the ship departs for one of the most remote corners of planet Earth. During the night we traverse the Beagle Channel and cross from Argentina into Chilean territorial waters. The lights of Ushuaia disappear as we turn into the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands.
Around the break of dawn, the Australis cruise crosses Nassau Bay and enters the remote archipelago that comprises Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, we shall go ashore on the windswept island that harbors legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition — and named after the town of Hoorn in West Friesland — Cape Horn is a sheer 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage. For many years it was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic, and was often referred to as the “End of the Earth.” The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. The Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lightkeeper and his family, as well as the tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument (currently awaiting repair after being damaged by fierce winds).
Sailing back across Nassau Bay, we anchor at fabled Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the human history is just as compelling as the natural environment. Originally the site of one of the region’s largest Yámana aboriginal settlements, the bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain Fitz Roy in the 1830s during their voyages on HMS Beagle. This area is also renowned for its mesmerizing beauty and dramatic geography. After a visit to the Australis-sponsored museum in the old radio station — which is especially strong on the Yamana people and European missionaries in the area — passengers have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooded mountain behind the bay. On all of these you stroll through an enchanted Magellanic forest of lengas, coigües, canelos and ferns to reach panoramic viewpoints overlooking the bay.
Overnight we continue our Patagonia glacier tour around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the very narrow Gabrial Channel, Magdalena Channel and Cockburn Channel. After rounding the remote Brecknock Peninsula, the Australis cruise tacks eastward and enters the Beagle Channel again. By morning we are entering Pia Fjord and boarding the Zodiacs for a shore excursion to Pia Glacier. After disembarking we take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier.
No one knows for certain how the hulking mass of snow and ice got its feminine moniker, but one theory says it was named for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the Italian king.
Making our way further west along the Beagle Channel, we enter another long fjord and drop anchor near Garibaldi Glacier for another shore excursion. Garibaldi is one of only three glaciers in Patagonia gaining mass rather than staying the same or slowly shrinking. This time we hike through virgin Magellanic forest to a glacial waterfall, a towering wall of ferns and moss, and spectacular viewpoints looking down on the glacier and fjord. The walk is demanding — very steep, negligible trail, rough footing — and not for everyone. For those who choose to stay onboard, our captain will point the bow towards the beautiful sky blue Garibaldi Glacier so everyone can enjoy the panoramic view from the upper decks.
Early in the morning, we will sail through the Cockburn Channel and enter Agostini Sound. From there it is possible to see the glaciers that descend from the middle of the Darwin Mountain Range — some of them reaching the water. This morning, we will disembark and go for an easy walk around a lagoon, which was formed by the melting of the Águila Glacier. We will reach a spot right in front of that glacier with stunning views. In the afternoon, we will approach the Condor Glacier via Zodiac — and hopefully see some of the abundant Andean Condors in the area.
After an overnight cruise through Magdalena Channel and back into the Strait of Magellan, we anchor off Magdalena Island, which lies about halfway between Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean mainland. Crowned by a distinctive lighthouse, the island used to be an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers and is inhabited by an immense colony of Magellanic penguins. At the break of dawn, weather permitting, we go ashore and hike a path that leads through thousands of penguins to a small museum lodged inside the vintage 1902 lighthouse. Many other bird species are also found on the island. In September and April — when the penguins dwell elsewhere — this excursion is replaced by a ride aboard Zodiacs to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions. After a short cruise south along the strait, disembarkation at Punta Arenas is scheduled for around 11:30 AM.
Breakfast at hotel. At the scheduled time, an activity is done (at the passenger’s choice) from the tour menu offered by the hotel.
Accommodation: Las Torres (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. At the scheduled time, transfer to El Calafate. Arrival to the booked hotel, check-in and accommodation.
Accommodation: Alto Calafate (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. The Gourmet Glacier Experience – Maria Turquesa Cruise, by Mar Patag, with Gourmet Lunch starts at 7.30/8.00 a.m. This tour sails to the main glaciers of Argentino Lake aboard the new María Turquesa Cruise with the highest standard of comfort and gourmet cuisine for a truly memorable experience. The cruise has a capacity for 180 people on Standard deck (with Gourmet BOX LUNCH and one non-alcohol beverage) plus 20 people on Premium deck (with 3-course Gourmet Lunch, alcohol and non-alcohol beverages over lunch, and non-alcohol beverages and tea and coffee all along the ride). Land transfer from the hotel to Punta Bandera where we will embark at La Soledad, a private port. The cruise sails northwest passing by Punta Avellaneda and Boca del Diablo (the narrower passage of the lake, around 800 metres wide (0.5 mi). After a two-hour navigation, successive ice floes will announce the Upsala Glacier is close. The cruise stops in front of an ice-floe barrier that temporarily blocks the way to the Upsala Channel. If the weather so allows, we will get to see the Upsala Glacier in the distance. The cruise continues sailing down Argentino Lake to the south and then takes the Spegazzini Channel to observe the glacier, also called Spegazzini. The cruise gets really close to this glacier with front walls from 80 to 135 metres (263 to 443 ft.) above the lake level. There we will have lunch while admiring the breathtaking landscape. In the afternoon, the María Teresa Cruise arrives in Puesto de las Vacas, a quiet bay within the Spegazzini Channel, where the cruise stops the engine and passengers can share a hike organized by the guiding team. The walk takes visitors to appreciate magnificent panoramic views of the Spegazzini Glacier. Then, the cruise sails to Los Témpanos Channel and the north wall of the famous Perito Moreno Glacier. Finally, we will set sail back to the Port to disembark and return to the hotel.
Accommodation: Alto Calafate (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. The departure time for the PERITO MORENO GLACIER MINITREKKING TOUR with WALKWAYS is as scheduled. The tour departs from the city to the west and heading the National Park. Before the balconies area of the Perito Moreno Glacier, we will find the Bajo las Sombras port, 75 km (47 mi) from El Calafate. We will depart by boat from Bajo de las Sombras port across Rico Arm, taking in the breathtaking views of the southern face of Perito Moreno Glacier. The boat navigates as close as 500 m (0.4 mi) from the walls and then we will disembark on the opposite shore. This area offers restrooms, lockers and tables where visitors can have lunch (box lunch). Here specialized guides will organize groups of not more than 20 people and then they will guide the groups to the edge of the glacier while telling visitors about the glacier’s formation and characteristics. When you are on the ice your guide will assist in putting your crampons on, and explain how to use them to walk and climb. The 2-hour circuit that follows will introduce visitors to the fascinating landscape of the glaciers as they walk on the ice. Then, we will return to the hut and get on board the boat to sail back to Bajo las Sombras port. There, we will get on the bus and visit the walkways area with time to walk around the balconies and paths. Lunch is not included; it is on the passenger. Finally, we will return to El Calafate.
Accommodation: Alto Calafate (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. At the scheduled time, transfer to the Airport to take the flight to Buenos Aires. Arrival and transfer to the booked hotel, check-in and accommodation.
Accommodation: Grand Brizo Buenos Aires (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. At the scheduled time, transfer to the Ezeiza International Airport to take the flight to next destination.
