Chile
and Argentina Highlights
Santiago, Torres del Paine, Los
Glaciares National Park, Buenos Aires
11 days / 10 nights
From $4,474 per person, double occupancy for 2008
Includes domestic flights, accommodations,
transfers, meals and guided excursions as specified
Day 1:
Santiago de Chile
Airport reception and transfer to your hotel. Accommodations
at the charming Hotel Orly, buffet breakfast included. This
is a small, boutique style hotel which has 28 rooms. A converted
mansion, the Hotel Orly is superbly situated in one of the
city's more exclusive areas, Providencia. Everything you
may want to see is close by - shops, restaurants, downtown,
museums, banks, the cable car up the hill.
Day 2: Santiago
- Punta Arenas - Torres del Paine National Park
Hotel pickup and transfer to the airport for your flight
to Punta Arenas. Airport reception and transfer to Torres
del Paine National Park. Along the way, youll pass
by Figueroa Lagoon and several beautiful lakes, keeping
your eyes peeled for guanacos, ostriches, black-necked swans,
flamingos and condors. Accommodations at Hosteria
Lago Grey for 4 nights.
Upon arrival at Hosteria Grey, you will be
assigned to your comfortable accommodations. After settling
in you will be orientated to the lodge and the surrounding
region. The impressive Andean massifs of Torres del Paine
are surrounded by glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, and lagoons,
which together make this national park famous throughout
the world for the richness of its natural beauty. Accommodations
are in standard room with daily breakfast included.
You will have the option to sign up
for half
and full day excursions
while at the hosteria.
Days 3-5: Torres
del Paine
The impressive Andean massifs of Torres del Paine are surrounded
by glaciers, waterfalls, lakes and lagoons, which together
make this national park famous throughout the world. Cruise
out on Grey Lake, where you may witness huge chunks of blue
ice breaking off from impressive Grey Glacier. (B)
Day 6: Torres
del Paine - El Calafate
This morning, transfer to Cerro Castillo, Chile where you
will be met and transferred by private vehicle to Estancia
Alice, located 20 kms from El Calafate, Argentina. After
a welcome of hot tea, coffee and homemade snacks, a walking
tour of the estancia will introduce you to the estancia
and surrounding area: trekking paths to Lago Argentino,
sheep herding by trained dogs, birdwatching flamingo, swan
and over 40 migrating species. Balance of the day at leisure
to enjoy the estancia. The estancia offers lots of activities
that are included in your stay (horse rides, guided hiking
trails, mountain bikes, etc.). The day ends with a delicious
Patagonian lamb barbecue. (B,D)
Example of horseback ride (not included in
package price): Begin a full day ride to Mt. Frias. Following
a valley to Mt. Frías, at 1100 m. up a canyon, through
a Nothofagus forest, we reach the ridge with spectacular
views to Lakes Roca and Argentino. If the weather is fine
we will be able to see as far as the Torres del Paine in
Chile. Return to the ranch, for a cup of tea and cakes and
having experienced the typical patagonian steppe, with the
possibility of wildlife watching (guanacos, pumas, and condors).
Box-lunch included.
Day 7: Los Glaciares
National Park
The Park is located in the sub-Antarctic Continental ice-cap,
known as the "third pole", which extends over
23,000 sq. miles and gives birth to several major glaciers
along the Patagonian
Andes. The main wall is over 200 feet tall and almost
3 miles wide. Every now and then enormous pieces of ice
breaks off and falls with thunderous noise into the lake.
Don crampons and hike on the glacier for 2 hours among breathtaking
scenery. (No additional equipment nor previous experience
needed!). Overnight at Estancia Alice. (B, box-lunch,D)
Day 8: Estancia
Cristina and Upsala Glacier
Board a modern catamaran on Lago Argentino. The boat gets
close to Spegazzini arm of the lake to enter the channel
leading to Estancia Cristina, surrounded by towering ice-capped
mountains and glowing ice-blue bergs floating in the lake.
Choose between a sightseeing drive to Mirador del Glaciar
Upsala in a comfortable 4x4 vehicle (3 hours) or a 5-6 hour
horseback
ride. Lunch is included (lamb barbecue for the 4x4 group
and box-lunch for the riders.) Return to Calafate at the
end of the day, spending the night at Estancia Alice. (B,L,D)
Day 9: El Calafate
- Buenos Aires
Transfer to the El Calafate Airport for your flight to Buenos
Aires. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to
your Buenos Aires hotel. Overnight accommodation at the
Hotel LoiSuites in a Studio Junior, breakfast included.
The LoiSuites Hotel is located in the Recoleta area of Buenos
Aires. All rooms are suites with air-conditioning and two
phone lines. The hotel has an indoor swimming pool, sauna,
gym, restaurant, and business center and an atrium dining
area where breakfast is served. The location in the heart
of La Recoleta allows close access to shopping, restaurants
and cafes and outdoor craft markets. Afternoon at leisure.
You may want to see a play at the theater or take in a tango
show and dinner. (B)
Day 10: "Four
Balconies OF Buenos Aires"
Set off on a half-day, privately-guided tour of Buenos Aires
in which a professor of the University uses four parks and
plazas of Buenos Aires (Plaza de Mayo, Parque Lezama and
La Boca, Plaza San Martin and Recoleta) to introduce visitors
to Argentina, its history, contrasts, contradictions and
the peculiar psychology of its inhabitants. This tour is
a great way to introduce you to the different, colorful
districts of Buenos Aires and determine where you may wish
to return. (B)
Day 11: Int'l
Departure
Day at leisure. At the appropriate time transfer to the
airport for your departing flight. (B)
Contact
us to book Chile and Argentina or a customized itinerary.
|