Patagonia Explorer (12 days)

Morning arrival in Buenos Aires. Meet and transfer to the Sofitel Buenos Aires for 2 night stay with buffet breakfast daily. Your room is paid for immediate check-in. Day at leisure to explore at your own pace. This evening enjoy the Gala Tango, where you will enjoy not only the iconic passionate tango music and dancing, but also the music and dancing of the Gaucho, including the "boleadora" rhythmic presentation.

Morning visit to the main points of interest in this sophisticated, European style city often called "The Paris of South America' including historic San Telmo, colorful La Boca, Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada, Cathedral and Cabildo and fashionable Recoleta among other places of interest. Afternoon at leisure to explore at your own pace.

Morning transfer to the airport at Trelew for flight to El Calafate, gateway to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, the second largest in Argentina, extending some 170 km along the Chilean frontier and covering some 759,000 hectares. It was declared a World Heritage region by UNESCO in 1987. Some 40% of the park is covered by giant ice fields, with 47 major glaciers of which 13 flow east descending into the park to feed the two big lakes, Lake Viedma in the north and Lago Argentino in the south. There are also about 190 smaller glaciers that are not connected to the ice fields. Upon arrival in El Calafate you will transfer to the EOLO, Patagonia's Spirit, a Relais & Chateux property set between El Calafate and the Glacier National Park, on a hilltop with commanding vistas of the countryside. EOLO will be your home for 3 nights as you explore this area.

Today your private guide will take you into Los Glaciares National Park to experience Perito Moreno Glacier one of the few growing glaciers on earth with a 3 mile frontage towering some 180 feet above the water. You can take the boardwalks along the front of the glacier and enjoy a motor launch ride in front of it, offering spectacular views of the glacier's front.

A historic estancia beckons today. Cruise by catamaran along Lago Argentina to the ice studded bay of the Upsala Glacier, considered one of the longest in South America. Then up the Cristina fjord to the historic Estancia Cristina, founded in 1914 and accessible only by boat. Visit the estancia museum in the old sheep shearing shed and take all terrain vehicles for incredible vistas of the Upsala Glacier and the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. Enjoy a box lunch and then afternoon return via catamaran cruise to Punta Bandera for transfer back to EOLO.

Morning departure for your private transfer three hours to the border crossing with Chile where staff from Tierra Patagonia will be waiting to take you to the hotel, just outside Paine Towers National park and less than an hour's drive from the border. You'll enjoy a four-night stay at Tierra Patagonia using Superior accommodations, with all meals, activities and excursions included.

During your stay you will have a selection of activities inside and outside of Paine Towers National Park.

Today select from the excursions as offered by the hotel.

One last day to explore the exquisite beauty of the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and the surrounding area.

At the appropriate time Tierra Patagonia will transfer you four hours to the Punta Arenas airport for your flight north along the Andes to Santiago, the capital of Chile. Meeting upon arrival and transfer to the Ritz Carlton Santiago for a two night stay.

This morning visit the highlights of Santiago, fourth largest city in South America. Santiago is beautifully set among a backdrop of the snow-capped Andes. See the diversity of monuments and public buildings such as the Government Palace, "La Moneda", among others surrounding the area. Stop at the Plaza de Armas with the Cathedral of Santiago, the Central Post Office and Historial Museum and drive along the Alameda past San Francisco Church and Santa Lucia Hill, where Santiago was founded in 1541. Also visit the "La Chascona" Museum, the house that Pable Neruda built for his lover and then third wife, Matilde Urrutia. The house shows the unique world where the remarkable Nobel Prize of Literature recipient once lived.

Enjoy a lazy morning before checking out and driving a little over an hour to the San Antonio Valley and Matetic Winery where you will have a late lunch, visit to the winery and tasting session. Late afternoon return drive back to the Santiago airport for your international departure flight.