Option 1

13 Days/12 Nights
Starts and Ends in Buenos Aires

*Day 1*
After an overnight flight you will be picked up at Ezeiza, the international airport of Buenos Aires, and driven to your hotel.  Since most international flights arrive in the morning, you will probably want to rest up for a while and get settled in your room.  Today is a free day, but if you want to go out to explore on your own, we can make suggestions about what you can do.  Checking out some of Buenos Aires’ premier shopping locations such as Patio Bullrich or Galerias Pacifico might be a possibility.  These beautiful shopping plazas, built on the sites of historic structures, offer high-quality European, and local products at prices far lower than those found in the U.S. or Europe.  Taxis in BA are inexpensive and are probably the easiest way to get
around to do some shopping on your own.

You might also consider visiting the large number of antique stores on Calle Defensa in San Telmo.  San Telmo will be a stop on your city tour of Buenos Aires, but you might choose to spend even more time in this fascinating district.

If you you are free in Buenos Aires on a Sunday, then you should definitely visit the large street fair and antiques market that takes place every Sunday at the Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo.  The merchandise sold at the market is generally not of the same quality as that found at the nearby shops, but the Sunday market is a lot of fun and well worth a visit.

*Day 2*
In the morning, after breakfast, we will start a city tour including lunch, visiting the most important sites in Buenos Aires.

Among them are the Plaza de Mayo, La Boca, San Telmo, 9 de Julio Avenue (said to be the widest street in the world), the Obelisk, Puerto Madero, and Recoleta Cemetary, where you can see the mausoleum of Eva Peron.  This tour runs around 3 hours and will still leave you some time in the afternoon for more shopping or plain relaxing.

In the evening, you will again be picked up at your hotel and taken to one of the most famous tango houses of Buenos Aires, Esquina Carlos Gardel, named after the famous tango singer, Carlos Gardel, who was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1939 and whose photograph still graces almost every coffee bar in Buenos Aires.  You will be treated to an excellent dinner and a great tango show.  Return to hotel and overnight.

*Day 3*
A full-day trip to a typical “estancia” (ranch) in the pampas outside of Buenos Aires.  At the estancia, you will be treated to an asado—an Argentinian barbecue.  In addition, there will be a gaucho show, with cattle-handling and horseback riding skills demonstrated.  Return to hotel and overnight.

*Day 4*
After breakfast, pickup at hotel for transfer to the Buenos Aires airport Aeroparque (also called Jorge Newbury Airport) for the flight to Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world and your base for exploring Tierra del Fuego, at the End of the World.  This is the airport for domestic flights and it is only around a 15-minute ride from most hotels.  The flying time to Ushuaia is around 3 hours.  Take the rest of the day to relax and spend overnight at hotel.  Transfer to hotel in Ushuaia for 3 nights.

Day 5* *
After breakfast, it’s off to Tierra del Fuego National Park, around 7 miles from Ushuaia.  Created by the Argentine government in 1960, this is a huge park made up of over 150,000 acres. The park is brimming with stunning vistas everywhere you look and is a popular destination for travelers wanting to observe exotic wildlife and exotic scenery.  With borders defined by Chile to the East and the Beagle Channel to the south, the Tierra del Fuego National Park offers a unique blend of Patagonian landscapes.  Within the park, you’ll find mountainous ranges, deep valleys interspersed with chilled lakes and rivers, picturesque coastlines, and captivating forests.  Stark cliffs frame tranquil bays, and glacial moraines meet mossy foliage amidst this true Argentine treasure.  As one might expect, the wildlife housed within the park is as varied and remarkable as its natural landscape.  Such animals as beaver, red foxes, guanaco, and muskrats are commonly sighted, as well as the rare magellanic sea otter.  There are also several non-indigenous mammals such as rabbits, musk rat, and beaver which are all thriving.  Unfortunately, fascinating as the beaver is, it is doing a lot of damage to the trees, not only felling them but creating large dams.  Many trees are drowning due to the fact that their roots are water-logged all year round.  Sad as this is, it is amazing to see what these remarkable creatures can achieve.

Tierra del Fuego is also a bird-watcher’s paradise.  On the various lakes and the seashore is an enormous range of birds, many of which are easy to identify and which do not seem to fear people.  Thus it is possible to get close enough to identify markings without the use of binoculars.  The region is home to such species as Austral parakeets, black-chested buzzard eagles, Andean condors, and South America’s largest woodpecker, the Magellanic.  Plus, you’ll spot many other unusual bird species.

After stopping for lunch, you will return to Ushuaia for a navigation of the Beagle Channel (named after Darwin’s ship on his famous trip to this area in the 19th Century).  The trip is on a specially designed catamaran with large domed windows offering excellent views.  You can sit in enclosed comfort or wander on the outside deck.  You will travel along the channel as far as the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse as a naturalist guide narrates throughout.  The catamaran will cruise close to small islands known for their bird life and seals.  The narrated tour will take you into the waterways of the Beagle Channel past the Isla de los Pajaros (Bird Island), where many species of birds congregate, including a large colony of cormorants.

Further along, the ship will cruise around Isla de los Lobos (Sea Wolves Island), a rocky outcrop that is home to a large population of seals and sea lions.

The catamaran manages to get quite close, offering great photo opportunities.  We’ll also view the Faro del fin del Mundo “Les Eclaireures” the Light House at the End of the World and more spectacular coastal scenery on returning to the pier.

Then you return to your hotel for a well-deserved rest and dinner. 

Day 6
After breakfast, a scenic drive takes you northeast of Ushaia into the mountains to Lake Fagnano and Lake Escondido, in the heart of Tierra del Fuego range.  Leaving Ushuaia along the valley of the Olivia River, you will pass the mountain of the same name and the range known as the Five Brothers.

From Garibaldi Pass, you will climb higher into the mountain range—a spectacular drive culminating in an awesome view of Lake Escondido.  Views along the way include sawmills, beaver dams, forests. and rivers.  Then it’s on to Lake Fagnano an imposing international body of water, straddling the border between Argentina and Chile.  Lake Fagnano is about 100 km north of Ushuaia along National Road #3.  It is also a good spot for fishing, if you are so inclined.  Both Lakes, Escondido and Fagnano, offer opportunities for walks or hikes around their shores or inland.  You will then return to your hotel for your last night in Ushaia.

*Day 7 *
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the fairly short
flight to El Calafate, further north in Patagonia.  From the airplane, you
should get a good view of the magnificent glaciers and mountains, which
you will be seeing up close during the next few days.  Rest of the day is
free to explore the town of El Calafate.  El Calafate is a small town
with one main street which is full of shops and restaurants.  It looks
more like a European ski town than a resort in South America.  Overnight
at hotel.

*Day 8*
After breakfast, drive to Lake Argentino for one of the highlights of
this tour—a visit to the Perito Moreno Glacier.  The glacier is part of
Los Glacieres National Park and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage
Site.  The Los Glaciares National Park is an area of exceptional natural
beauty with rugged, towering mountains and numerous glacial lakes,
including Lake Argentino, which is 160 km long.  At its farthest end,
three glaciers meet to dump their effluvia into the milky grey glacial
water, launching massive igloo icebergs into the lake with thunderous
splashes.

At first sight, you may be taken aback at the magnitude of the glacier.
 It towers 240 feet high, the height of a 15-story building, and is over
three miles long.  So you will be looking at a massive wall of snow and
ice stretching almost as far as the eye can see.  An unusual feature of
Perito Moreno glacier is that it is dynamic, that is, it is changing all
the time.  Unlike other glaciers, which are slowly receding, the Perito
Moreno is actually growing day by day.  In other words, it is an
advancing glacier.  At the same time, large chunks of ice and snow are
constantly falling off the walls of the glacier into the lake.  This is
known as “calving”.  The pieces fall into the water with a loud crash,
making the viewing experience quite exciting as well as unpredictable.
 If you observe the glacier for a few minutes, you are likely to see this
take place and, if you are patient, get a good photo or video of the
calving in process.  The glacier will be seen in two ways.  First, upon
arrival, you will take a short walk (around 1/3 of a mile) to a series
of seven panoramic viewing balconies.  These balconies are strategically
placed to offer you unique views of the glacier.  All of these balconies
but the lowest are easily accessible.  The lowest balcony, which brings
you closest to the glacier, involves going down and then back up a
flight of stairs.  But most people are able to do it without much
difficulty.

The second way you will observe the glacier is from the lake itself.
 Upon finishing the balcony walk, you will board a boat for a viewing
cruise, which sails right up to and along the glacier.  You will be seated
in the exclusive VIP section, on the upper deck of the boat.  This
section will provide you with better views, more comfortable seats, and
an exclusive guide, who will interpret the fantastic sights you will be
viewing.  This sail will again offer terrific photo opportunities, with
views different from what you had from the viewing balconies.  While the
boat will likely maintain a safe distance.

Then it’s back to the hotel in El Calafate for a relaxing evening and,
perhaps, some shopping.  El Calafate has a number of good restaurants,
with especially good seafood.

* *
*Day 9 *
After breakfast you will be taken Puerto Bandera for a full-day boat
tour, taking you into the North Arm of Lake Argentino to navigate among
icebergs and to the front of the imposing Upsala Glacier.  You will enjoy
being at the exclusive VIP section of the boat.  This section is located
above the boat standard section, has a privileged view, much more ample
and comfortable seats, an exclusive guide for the VIP guests, and the
section in most boats connects with the captain’s cabin.  The Upsala
Glacier is the largest glacier within the continental patagonic ice,
even though it has suffered severe losses during the last years.  It owes
its name to the Swedish city of Upsala, whose university promoted the
first glaciology studies in the area.  The height of its walls range from
197 to 262 feet (60-80 meters) and its surface is of 232 square miles
(595 km2), it is 37 miles long (60 km), and 3-4 miles wide (5-7 km).  The
total basin surface of this glacier is of 390 square miles (1000 km2).
The depth of the lake at the front of the glacier is of about 3280 feet
(1000 meters).

From there you will continue on the Onelli Channel and you will
disembark in Onelli Bay.  Landing in Onelli Bay, you find ourselves
surrounded by forests.  Crossing the forest after a short and easy walk,
we reach Onelli Lagoon, where glaciers Onelli (18 square miles), Bolado
(6 square miles) and Agassiz (12 square miles) meet.  This lagoon is
usually filled with icebergs, detachments of ice from the glaciers.  At
noon you will have free time for lunch in a restaurant nearby. T hen you
will embark and navigate to see even more glaciers and icebergs.

The Spegazzini glacier was named after the botanist Carlos Spegazzini,
who made the first studies of the local flora.  This glacier has a
surface of 26 square miles and is 15.5 miles long and 1 mile wide.  The
height of its front, 262-443 feet is an outstanding characteristic.  It
is the highest glacier within the National Park.

After a long day on the waters of the Lake, return to your hotel to
relax and enjoy a good local restaurant and, we hope, a good night’s rest.

*Day 10 Bariloche
* * *
*
*
*Located on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, in an unbelievably
beautiful area, the mountain resort of San Carlos de Bariloche is
surrounded by dense forests, alpine lakes, and high mountains.  It is some
of the most remarkable scenery in Argentina.  With its chalet-style
houses, ski slopes and chocolate shops, you might think that you are
actually in the Swiss Alps and not in the heart of South America. *

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the short flight to
Bariloche.  Upon arrival and transfer at your hotel and settling in, the
rest of your day is free.  You can stroll around this beautiful tourist
city, with its many attractive shops, restaurants, cafes, and
architecture.  You can also walk along the shore of the lake, with the
high Andes surrounding it.

Dinner is on your own at one of Bariloche’s fine restaurant.  Your tour
guide can help you select the right place.  After dinner, a good night’s
rest in preparation for the next day’s scenic excursions.

*Day 11*
After a good breakfast at your hotel, we start on what is known in
Bariloche as the “small circuit” or “circuito chico.”  This is a
half-day, 65-kilometer circuit providing visitors with some of the most
beautiful scenery in Argentina.  Very close to Bariloche, the small
circuit begins at the lake-shore Avenue Esequiel Bustillo, traveling
mainly along the coast of Nahuel Huapi Lake.

Stops are made at Bonita beach, Companario Hill (Bell Tower Hill), Llao
Llao Peninsula, and the beautiful Lopez Bay, with its views of Catedral,
Lopez, and Otto Mountains.  A trip up the Cerro Campanario chairlift
allows for one of the most breathtaking views in the area.

The final destination is scenic Panuelo Port, from which all sailing
tours and lake crossings to Chile depart.

Then back to your hotel to relax before going out to dinner.  Again, your
guide can make some recommendations in this regard.

After dinner, if you are so inclined, you can sample some of Bariloche’s
active night life.  There is a casino, as well as quite a few discos and
periodic cultural events to choose from.

Day 12
Today’s full-day sightseeing includes a boat trip through the waters of
the Nahuel Huapi National Park.  You will enjoy being at the exclusive VIP
section of the boat.  This section is located above the boat standard
section, has a privileged view, more ample and comfortable seats, and
some complimentary drinks and snacks are served.

Set sail from Puerto Pañuelo on the shores of the picturesque Llao Llao Peninsula.  Our boat leaves from this pier towards Victoria Island enroute to the Blest arm of Lake Nahuel Huapi, one of the many branches
of the lake and one of the deepest.  The whole area is reminiscent of the Norwegian fjords.  On the way, the boat passes Centinela Island, where Fransisco P. Moreno, creator of Argentine National Parks, is buried.  An hour later, the boat reaches Puerto Cántaros.  A footpath leads through the Valdivian rain forest and climbs up to Lake Los Cántaros, whose waters feed the Cantaros Falls.

Several lookouts along the path offer vantage points from which to
admire the beauty of the Falls.  You can also have lunch here if you like
as well as make a visit to the National Park Interpretation Center.

Leaving Puerto Cantaros you will head for the milky-green glacial waters of Lake Frias, right at the very western edge of Argentina, on the border with Chile.  This lake has been called by some “the greenest lake
in the world.”  The scenery throughout the navigations is spectacular.   You are actually sailing through the Andes.  Leaving Lake Frias you sail back to your departure point, Puerto Pañuelo and are then transferred
back to your hotel. You will probably be ready for a good dinner at one of Bariloche’s many fine restaurants.

* Day 13
If you have chosen Option 1 of this tour, then after breakfast, you will fly back to Buenos Aires. I f you are flying home the same day, you will be transferred to Ezeiza, the international airport for your flight back to the U.S.

*Hotels for 13-day/12-night Visiting Patagonia Tour
*
Please note that the hotels listed below for each city are the most
likely to be used.  However, in some cases, other hotels, similar in
quality, may be utilized because the hotels indicated below may be fully
booked.  In any event, we will notify you of the hotel you will be booked
into in each city along your tour route.  We will do our best to get you
the best hotels and the best rooms in those hotels available at any
given time.

*We have provided website addresses for all the hotels on the tour.

*Buenos Aires: *
Hotel Pestana
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*
*Ushiaia: *
Hotel Albatros

*El Calafate: *
Calafate Parque

Bariloche
Cacique Inacayal

* Trip Price per Person *
Please note that the cost of the trip is made up of the tour price, approximately $1100 for 4 domestic flights within Argentina and a $250 tax-deductible donation to CIR.

US$ for double occupancy
$3115
Single Basis - $4115

Tour price includes all breakfasts as well as the lunch and Tango dinner mentioned on Day 2 and the asado (Argentinian barbecue) mentioned on Day 3.

* Domestic flights for this trip are included.
International flights are NOT included.