Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, El Chalten, El Calafate, Bariloche & Buenos Aires
18 days - 17 nights
Patagonia Full Travel has been designed to give you a comprehensive view of the Argentinean side of Patagonia.
We visit Peninsula Valdes wildlife sanctuary; Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego National Park and the Beagle Channel; Calafate and the Lakes and Glaciers of Southern Patagonia; Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre area, paradise for hikers and the Northern Patagonia Lake District. We end our tour visiting the city of Buenos Aires.
Experience Patagonia: this vast and remote land, with its wilderness and unique landscapes and its unforgiving weather will stay in your mind forever.
BA Ezeiza International Airport – City of Buenos Aires
We welcome you at Ezeiza Intl airport and transfer to your downtown hotel. During the afternoon, we visit the city main attractions: Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada (Goverment place), Cabildo (historic independence building), la Catedral, Avenida de Mayo, Parliament, Theater Colón, La Boca and Recoleta neighbourhood.
Hotel double or single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: none
BA Local Airport – Puerto Madryn
Alter breakfast, according to your flight Schedule, we transfer to the local airport to take your flight to Trelew. Upon arrival to Trelew, we transfer to Puerto Madryn, a picturesque town on the shores of Golfo Nuevo, south of Peninsula Valdes. The town was populated since 1886 over the construction of the railway, which attracted Welsh, Italians and Spanish immigrants; the Welsh culture, language and traditions are still present in the area.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Puerto Madryn - Península Valdés
After breakfast we drive to Peninsula Valdes, World Heritage and paradise for wildlife enthusiasts. We start our visit in the Visitor Centre, which is located in the Isthmus Florentino Ameghino, from where we get panoramic views of both New and San José Gulfs. We continue to Puerto Pirámide, small village in the south shores of the Peninsula Valdes. That is our key point to see Southern Right Whales, which visit the area from May thru December. An optional boat trip to have close up views of the whales is available. We continue our visit to Caleta Valdés, which offers a wide range of both marine and land life, including sea lions. We then visit the Light House of Punta Delgada. We also visit today the Great Salt Depression, possibly the deepest depression of land in South America, and then the Isle of Birds with its incredible variety of birds. We get back to Puerto Madryn by 6 pm.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Penguin rockery of Punta Tombo. Gaiman.
This day we visit Punta Tombo, the biggest Magellan penguin rockery in the continent, if the tour is taken between the months of September and March (since this is the season when they arrive to the area). If it is taken in any other time out of the range of months we’ll go to Punta Loma, where we’ll watch the colony of sea wolves. In the afternoon we will visit Gaiman, a beautiful town founded by the Welsh community in 1870. It still maintains its traditions and original architecture. Gaiman offers to us (as an optional) a delicious tee with typical welsh cakes. In the evening we get back to Puerto Madryn.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Trelew – Ushuaia
Alter breakfast we transfer to Trelew airport to take our flight to our next destination, Ushuaia. The flight follows the Atlantic coastline. The city of Ushuaia, in the Island of Tierra del Fuego, is located at the foot of the Andes Range and on the shores of the Beagle Channel. The combination of mountains and fiords is one of the big attractions of the area, together with its variety of wildlife and birds and the traces of the original cultures that inhabited the area. We welcome you at the airport and transfer to your hotel. On route we show you the most interesting locations in town. As an optional for today, you can visit the Navy Museum and the former Presidium of town.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Beagle Channel boat trip – Tierra del Fuego National Park
Alter breakfast, we transfer to the tourist pier from where we start our boat trip in the legendary Beagle Channel. We visit Island Alicia to see sea lions and then we visit the Island of Birds to see Cormorants. Eventually we visit Light House Les Eclaireurs built up by 1919. With spectacular views (weather permitting) over the ice capped Darwin range and the Andes behind Ushuaia, we get back to the dock.In the afternoon we transfer to Tierra del Fuego National Park, visiting Lake Roca and enjoying a wide range of birds and flowers; we will also see traces of old “yamana” settlements.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Ushuaia – El Calafate
A short flight takes us from Ushuaia to Calafate. If there are no clouds, we will be able to see the spectacular Darwin Range and its snow caped mountains as we leave them behind. After flying through the Magellan Strait and the Patagonian high plains, we arrive to El Calafate, gateway for Los Glaciares National Park.
This picturesque village has grown rapidly upon the tourist activity. It is located at the shores of Lake Argentino and you can see the mountains from any high point of the town.
Welcome at local airport, transfer to town and check in to your hotel. Time at leisure to visit downtown and shop some souvenirs.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
El Calafate – El Chalten
After breakfast, we travel to El Chalten, a small and picturesque town at the foot of Mount Fitz Roy. We travel 220 km across the steppe and around Lakes Viedma and Argentino. At La Leona, a short break give us the chance to meet a true Patagonian stop over place with a wide offer of home made cakes. Once we approach town, we habe impressive views of Lake and Glacier Viedma and Fitz Roy and cerro Torre massifs. We chek in our hotel, free time to know the area and go on short walks along Fitz Roy or Cerro Torre trails to the main viewpoints.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
El Chalten – Lake Viedma boat trip
Alter breakfast we transfer to Bahia Tunel port by bus. Once there, we take a boat trip to visit Glacier Viedma, one of the giants of the Ice Field. Its front, calving in Lake Viedma water, is higer than Moreno Glacier, and its intense blue is unique among the glaciers of the area. A short interpretative walk on the front of the glacier is included.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
El Chalten - El Calafate
Morning at leisure to visit the town or for short walks on the surrounding trails. In the afternoon we take our bus back to Calafate, where we arrive after a 4 hs trip. We are transferred to our hotel.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Perito Moreno Glacier
We dedicate this day to one of the World’s Natural Wonder: the Moreno glacier. This ice field- type glacier flows down from the Patagonian Ice field, and big sheet of ice that with its 22.000 square kilometres is the third largest glacier area in the world, after Antarctica (14 M sq km) and Greenland (1 M sq km). Because unusual favourable local conditions, this glacier is the only one in the world that shows a closure and rupture process. The road leads to the very front of the glacier, which will be only meters away from your eyes. A beautiful, short trail, will lead us from the shores of the lake to the upper viewpoints. The roar of the chunks of ice falling inside the glacier or from the glacier into the lake, the frequent collapse of the front seracs into the turquoise water, makes out of this day a very special and unique experience. We will drive 80 km (1 and a half hour) to get and come back from the glacier across the steppe, watching a wide variety of birds. As an OPTIONAL activity we can take a Minitrekking on ice over the Moreno Glacier.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Day at leisure. OPTIONAL Boat trip into Lake Argentino
This free day gives you the chance to take one of the many activities available at Calafate. The most popular one is to sail Lake Argentino to visit the big glaciers calving into the west fjords of the Lake. This boat trip starts at Puerto Bandera, and sailing west visits glaciers Upsala and Glacier Spegazzini. A stop on Bahia Onelli gives the chance for a short walk under forest to visit Onelli Lagoon and the glaciers that surround it. The itinerary of the excursion might change depending on how many icebergs are on the lake. Other alternatives in Calafate are horseriding, 4 wheel drive vehicle excursions and visits to estancias (ranches).
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
El Calafate – San Carlos de Bariloche
We transfer to the local airport to take our fligvht along the Andes to San Carlos de Bariloche, head city for the Patagonian Lake District. Afternoon at leisure to visit and get familiar with the town.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Lake Nahuel Huapí boat trip
This classic excursión starts with a transfer to Port Pañuelo, 25 km out of town towards wwest, in the area of Llao Llao. After 40 minutes sailing we reach island Victoria and we disembark at Port Anchorena, in the central area of the Island. We take a short chair lift to a viewpoint in Cerro Bellavista and enjoy a spectacular view of Anchorena Bay and Nahuel Huapi and LLao Llao area and mountains behind. Other options for the sotp at the Island are a visit to Port Gross or Playa del Toro. We then get back in our boat and continue sailing to Peninsula Quetrihue where we visit the famous Arrayanes forest (the Arrayan is a local endemic myrtle with orange cinnamon type bark). A 600 mts trail leads us inside the forest where ancient trees of this species form a dense one species forest of this magnificent tree. We get back to Port pañuelo and to Bariloche in the late afternoon.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Seven Lakes circuit Excursion (OPTIONAL)
This day is free of scheduled activities. We propose the Seven Lakes circuit, which is a bus ride from san carlos de Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes and back along the Andean forest and lakes area. We get around Lake Nahuel Huapi, visit the picturesque mountain village of Villa La Angostura and continue along Lakes Espejo, Correntoso, Escondido, Villarino, Falkner y Machónico to eventually reach Lake Lacar where San Martin de los Andes is located. In San Martin de los Andes you can visit Chapelco Ski resort, Quila Quina and Catritre shores and different panoramic viewpoints. We get back to Bariloche along a different road, paso Cordoba, which runs along Lakes Meliquina and Traful. The last section before arrival to Bariloche is the upper Limay River and the Enchanted Valley, thus named for the spectacular rock formations along the river.
Total driving distance: 360 km most of them on gravel mountain road.
Hosteria Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Bariloche – City of Buenos Aires
We transfer to the local airport to take our flight to Buenos Aires. Upon arrival, we are transfer to our hotel where we check in.
Hotel Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Day at leisure in Buenos Aires (Optional activities available)
Today you can make a half day visit to the Delta del Tigre (north area of Buenos Aires, where the rivers Parana and Uruguay form the Rio de la Plata and the area is a broken mirror of rivers, streams, islands and jungle); or you can visit some of the Estancias (Ranches) that feature our Pampas. During the evening you can go for a tango show and have dinner in any of the many classic argentine restaurants.
Hotel Double or Single room with private bathroom /
Meals we provide: Breakfast
City of Buenos Aires – International Airport
After breakfast, at the scheduled time, we transfer you to the International Airport where the tour ends.
Meals we provide: Breakfast
Service Details
Included:
Accommodation in Hotel or Hosterias/ Inns double or single room with private bathroom with breakfast
Incoming services at each location
English spoken guide during all excursions
Transfers from airport to hotel and from hotel to airport
Excursions as in the program
Not included:
National Parks fees
Life and medical insurance
Tips
Drinks
Air tickets and airport taxes
Services not listed in the program
Notes
Argentina Discovery holds the right to change the itinerary or to cancel any of the activities when any natural cause (or any other cause of any type) justifies it in order to look after the group or the individuals’ safety.