Package #2 – Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Andean Crossing, Puerto Montt and Santiago de Chile
Day 1. Home / Buenos Aires – Argentina
At your arrival at Buenos Aires- Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini International Airport, you will be greeted by our local host who will provide transfer to your selected hotel in Buenos Aires. This city is known as the “Paris of South America” for its spacious boulevards, European architecture and avenues with impressive monuments. The Plaza de Mayo (May Square) is perhaps the most historically representative place in Argentina, where you can see the Presidential Palace, the Cabildo (which was the old Spanish city hall) and the cathedral with José de San Martin Mausoleum (San Martin was the “Liberator of Argentina”). The National Congress Building is another historical site with its imposing facade of Greek-Roman features is considered one of the most sumptuous parliamentary buildings of the Americas. Don’t miss Puerto Madero and Recoleta, with their fine restaurants and cafés. Enjoy the rest of day at your leisure to relax from the trip and to acquaint yourself with Buenos Aires. Overnight stay at your hotel in Buenos Aires. N
Day 2. Buenos Aires
Breakfast. In the morning, you will participate of a half day city tour(3 1/2hrs.)that includes the most interesting and historical locations of the city. This tour will take you through the world’s famous 9 de Julio Avenue. You will have the opportunity of seeing the presidential house, (The Pink House), the historical Plaza de Mayo, El Cabildo, the national congress, the district of San Telmo, and ending at the Italian/Portuguese district, La Boca, where the famous Caminito Street inspired the homonym tango song. At the end of this tour (if Sunday) you can visit to the famous Feria de San Telmo, (San Telmo Antique Fair). The San Telmo Fair is a traditional gathering place of the local folks who are looking for antiques, restaurants, and cafés; the surrounding architecture, Tango street dancing, and a Bohemian atmosphere. Return to your hotel.
Dinner is an essential part of the Argentinean evening and your tour includes the sensual magnetism tango dinner show at “Esquina Carlos Gardel”. This theme restaurant is located at the exact same location where the original restaurant “El ChantaCuatro”place where Carlos Gardel (1920’s worldwide phenomenon considered the most distinguished singer, songwriter, actor, and the prominent figure in the history of tango) used to meet his friends was. Transfers from and to your hotel included. Avant-garde nightlife in Buenos Aires extends to early hours in the morning and we encourage you join the enchanting city’s nightlife by taking advantage and booking other optional tours that can include dinning and/or shows that feature full stage productions such as “Señor Tango Show”. Shows are performed by the top professionals and past Tango World Champions in an excellent location with a bewitching ambiance. Please email or call us to upgrade this tour in advance. Overnight stay at your hotel in Buenos Aires.
Day 3. Buenos Aires
Breakfast. Enjoy a full day tour Fiesta Gaucha with lunch. The Fiesta Gaucha is the most typical Argentinean party. This event is celebrated in La Hacienda, located outside Buenos Aires. You will see the Argentinean cowboys performing their unique skills in horse riding, traditional games, BBQ cooking and more. Typical Argentinean BBQ lunch will be served (Lunch included). Native Folkloric music and dance will be also performed; your participation may be requested. Transfers from/to hotel are included. This tour doesn’t run daily. Overnight stay at your hotel in Buenos Aires.
Day 4. Buenos Aires / Uruguay(Optional) / Buenos Aires
Breakfast – Day at your leisure. You can take an optional tour to Uruguay. This country offers 2 optional tours: 1 full day to Colonia or 1 full day to Montevideo. Either tour includes crossing on the widest river of world “Rio de la Plata”.
Colonia tour includes: Round trip ticket from Buenos Aires’s Port to Colonia on fast ferry Atlantic III, lunch at “VIEJO TUNEL” restaurant (fixed menu, drinks not included), city tour (Historical District and the Coast up to Real de San Carlos-Bullring), free time and In/out transfers.
Description for Montevideo tour: Round trip ticket from Buenos Aires’s Port to Montevideo on daytime direct fast ferry, lunch at port restaurant (drinks not included), City tour and visit to Punta Carretas shopping mall. None of these options are included in the price. These tours require valid passport for check-in/out. Ask for current prices and how to book in advance. Overnight stay at your hotel in Buenos Aires.
Day 5. Buenos Aires / Bariloche
Breakfast. Departure from Jorge Newbery Airport (domestic airport of Buenos Aires), in route to Bariloche. At your arrival transfer to selected hotel.Bariloche, a pre-Andean range city, is located in one of the most stunning National Parks in Patagonia. The Nahuel Huapi National Park with its main attractions: The Nahuel Huapi Lake and the city of San Carlos de Bariloche.
A first class tourist center with the most important ski resort in the area and special touch provided by its typical stone and wood buildings, combined with gorgeous surrounding landscape. The Alerces National Park, with its particular topography produced by a complex system of lakes and rivers, is another mayor attraction of unparalleled beauty.
Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure to be acquainted with Bariloche. Overnight stay at your hotel in Bariloche.
Day 6. Bariloche
Breakfast. Board the bus to visit Bariloche and its surroundings for a half-day sightseeing known as Circuito Chico. Drive along Bustillo Avenue bordering Nahuel Huapi Lake heading to Playa Bonita. Continue to Campanario Hills, where a lift chair (fee not included) will take you to the lookout at its summit. From there you can have a breathtaking view of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and of the Andean Mountain Range and of the city. You will be also visiting the San Pedro and Llao Llao peninsulas.Our tour will continue its way through several points of interest to reach Lopez Bay. From there you will enjoy another magnificent view from a different perspective of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and the Moreno Lake. Return to your hotel.
The rest of the day is at your leisure. In Bariloche, the “Argentine Swiss Alps,” we suggest you take a stroll through “CalleMitre” and enter as many chocolate shops and factories as you like; it’s a true chocolate-lovers paradise! They offer affordable memory gifts such the delicious and unique “Ramita” – small branch chocolate, also you can sample their famous mini jellies made of a large variety of regional fruits. Overnight stay at your hotel in Bariloche.
Day 7. Bariloche
Breakfast. A day to enjoy this attractive city at your leisure. We recommend visiting downtown and strolling through its unique streets and sample the local cuisine. We also recommend the tour to Tronador Hills. This tour takes you through Pampa Linda by the leading route to Tronador Hill, sailing Gutiérrez and Mascardi Lakes, and Manso River. Continuing to Ventisquero Negro (black glacier), we will cross Vuriloches Valley. You will arrive to Tronador Peak (3.554 meters); have lunch at the local tavern. The tour continues to Los Moscos Lake and the Manso River in order to reach Hess Lake. We will head towards The Alerces Cascades passing through the Roca River.
Another option is the Victoria Island´s Tour and Bosque de Arrayanes full day tour. In Victoria Island you will visit Bosque de Arrayanes National Park and its unique trees and natural beauty. This Island was the inspirational theme of Walt Disney’s movie Bambi.We will leave Bariloche in a special bus heading to Bonita Beach and Port Pañuelo. We will board a launch and sail on Lake Nahuel Huapi, then arriving at the world famous Arrayanes woods and visit them for a while. After lunch, we´ll be leaving the port of the same name toward Victoria Island in order to return to Bariloche. Lunch not included. Overnight stay at your hotel in Bariloche.
Day 8. Bariloche / Trans-Andean Lake Crossing by Boat / Peulla / Chile
Breakfast and transfer to Puerto Pañuelo to board El Condor Catamaran and sail the Blest Branch of Nahuel Huapi Lake. Have lunch (not included) in the cozy restaurant of the Blest Hostal or similar, with a magnificent view of the lake. After lunch we start a bus trip to Puerto Alegrewhich borders the Frías River during 3 km. On board the Caleuche or the Dalca motor-ship,from where we sail Frías Lake for 15 minutes and take in the first view of impressive Tronador Hill.
Upon arrival at Puerto Frías we clear Argentine customs and proceed on a bus through lush Andean vegetation to the Vicente Pérez Rosales pass and then 29 kms. to the Chilean customs at Peulla. After customs, it is a short ride to Hotel in Peulla where we will have dinner and spend the night. Overnight stay at your hotel in Peulla. American citizens entering Chile will NOT have to pay tourist card (as of Feb 28, 2014).
Day 9. Chile / Peulla / Puerto Varas
Breakfast. Departure from Peulla in the morning to Puerto Varas. You will board a boat and a private bus to continue our trip through other lakes, with their outstanding beauty and scenery. Arrival in the evening to Puerto Varas for a night stay. We suggest enjoying a delicious seafood meal, (dinner not included) at the trademark of Puerto Varas. Puerto Varas is a fishing town located in front of the chain of lakes in Southern Chile that extend for hundreds of miles south of the continent. Overnight stay at your hotel in Puerto Varas.
Day 10. Puerto Varas / Santiago de Chile
Breakfast and transfer to Puerto Montt´s airport for your early and short flight to Santiago de Chile. At your arrival in Santiago, you will be transferred to your selected hotel.
Santiago, Chile’s capital is a modern cosmopolitan city. Chile has different geographical and climatic conditions that can be appreciated all year round. Santiago is a city of approximately 6 million inhabitants. It´s the financial and business center with a stable government and good economic growth. There are excellent shopping centers, historical buildings, handicrafts centers, and fine museums. Chile features a number of wine-producing valleys, and is a leading world wine manufacturer and export. We recommend talking a tour that will allow you to soak up the history of the vineyards, the art of wine making process and the opportunity to sample the local grapes that complement the regional gastronomy.
Overnight stay at your hotel in Santiago de Chile.
Day 11. Santiago de Chile
Breakfast. In the morning or afternoon you will enjoy the half day city tour which starts by visiting the antique residential area, Chile’s famous race track, The Cousino Palace, a ride through the Alameda Avenue, the city’s most and more important avenue. We will visit the San Francisco Church, Santa Lucia’s Hill and the site of Santiago’s foundations in 1541. Drive up to the San Cristobal Hill and enjoy the complete panoramic city view with its imposing a Virgin Mary´s statue on the top.
You will then continue through various districts of the city, such as Vitacura, Los Condes and Providencia; along a forestall park, Mapocho River, the cathedral, the supreme court, the presidential palace and the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. Overnight stay at your hotel in Santiago de Chile.
Day 12. Santiago de Chile / Viña del Mar / Valparaiso / Santiago de Chile
Early breakfast. Viña del Mar is a famous summer resort city, while Valparaiso renowned for its fishing industry. You will have the opportunity to observe Chiles’s unique geography.
A full day excursion to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar is a must to every tourist visiting Chile. The tour starts in Viña del Mar, Chile’s main sea resort passing in front of the Quinta Vergara (Vergara Park) – lodging the Vergara Villa, now Museum of Fine Arts, as well the open air theater site of the annual February International Song Festival. After crossing the Marga Marga Canal, a quick stop at the Fonk Museum, where an original Moai brought from the Easter Island can be seen. Return to Viña del Mar skirting along the coast, we spot the Gambling Casino, Wulff Castle, and a Flower Clock, proceeding towards Chile’s main port, Valparaiso.
A visit to Valparaiso, recently declared by UNESCO Patrimony of Humanity, is a sheer surprise with its typical architecture, winding narrow streets and the ranges of houses clinging on the surrounding hills in an urban landscape intermingled with all kind of vessels in the ever present bay. Funiculars, (some over 100 years old) are still used as a popular means of transportation. Late return to Santiago de Chile.Overnight stay at your hotel in Santiago de Chile.
Day 13. Santiago de Chile / Home Breakfast
Relish your last day in Santiago at your leisure ideal for last minute shopping and be acquainted with Santiago de Chile. Check out time at noon. we suggest you to leave your luggage with the concierge and do some shopping; Chile offers copper crafts, ideal for buying memory gift of the place. Later transfer to Arturo Benitez Moreno Airport (Santiago de Chile International Airport) for your flight back home. Usually your flight departs late in the evening.
*This itinerary may be reversed for your convenience. All prices are subject to change without notice.
Argentina & Santiago Andean Lake Crossing
Services in Buenos Aires:
- Round trip transfers
- 4 nights
- Daily breakfast and hotel taxes
- Half day city tour
- Tango show with dinner
- Full day Fiesta Gaucha with lunch
Services in Bariloche – Argentina
- Round trip transfers
- 3 nights
- Daily breakfast and hotel taxes
- Half day city tour
Andean Lake Crossing Tour – Peulla-Chile
- 1 night Peulla
- Daily breakfast and hotel taxes
Services in Puerto Varas – Puerto Mont – Chile
- 1 night
- Daily breakfast and hotel taxes
Services in Santiago de Chile
- Round trip transfers
- 3 nights
- Daily breakfast and hotel taxes
- Half day city tour
- Full day Viña del Mar & Valparaiso
Local Hosted and Bilingual Tour Guides are included. Total Price may decrease with Spanish speaking guides.
All hotels are basic 4 star centrally located. Downgrade or Upgrade hotels category is available.
NOTE: Travel documents for USA Citizens: Argentina and Chile require valid passport for more than 6 months of your return date. There is no need of consular visas and/or vaccination.
Subject to space availability. Surcharges may apply during holiday and peak season. Price may change without notice. Other restrictions apply.