South America - Patagonia with Cruise – 14 Days
Prices: From R24 263 pp
Excludes all flights
Included:
Accommodation
Transfers
Meals as per itinerary,
deluxe motorcoach with English speaking guide
All sightseeing as per itinerary.
Cruise on Full Board basis
Departures: 24 Sep, 22 Oct, 26 Nov, 24 Dec 2010
DAY 1 Buenos Aires :
Arrival and reception at the airport; transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, city tour visiting some of the most interesting places of this cosmopolitan city: Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada (Government House), the Cabildo (Colonial Town Hall), the Metropolitan Cathedral, Avenida de Mayo (May Avenue), the Congress Palace, the Colón Theatre, and La Boca, San Telmo, Palermo and Recoleta neighbourhoods. Dinner & Tango Show at El Querandi. Return to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 2 Buenos Aires :
Breakfast. Day at leisure for optional tours. We recommend the Fiesta Gaucha: full day excursion dedicated to visit an estancia, a typical Argentine ranch, an ideal place to appreciate the local gaucho's skills at cattle breeding and horseback riding. It's also a great opportunity to taste the typical Argentine 'asado' (barbecue) which consists in cow ribs placed on an iron grid and grilled on wood embers. Return to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 3 Buenos Aires / Puerto Madryn :
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to board the scheduled flight to Trelew. Arrival and reception at the airport; and visit to Punta Tombo penguin rookery to admire the magnificent Magellan penguin colony. Transfer to hotel in Puerto Madryn for overnight.
DAY 4 Puerto Madryn :
Breakfast. Full day tour to the Valdés Peninsula, passing by Ameghino Isthmus, located between the Nuevo and the San José gulfs. Visit to Puerto Pirámide, and its sea lion rookery. Do not miss the chance of (optional) taking part of the whale watching boat excursion (available from June to November). The tour continues to Punta Delgada to take a look at its important colony of sea elephants and Caleta Valdés where sea lions seem to have found their ideal natural habitat. Return to the hotel for overnight
DAY 5 Puerto Madryn / Ushuaia :
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to board the scheduled flight to Ushuaia. Arrival and reception at the airport; transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon enjoy a brief city tour including the End of the World Museum. Return to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 6 Ushuaia / Australis Cruise :
Breakfast. Half day excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, located 12 km from Ushuaia. You will have the pleasure of taking part of this visit which includes multiple panoramic sights of the Beagle channel, Lapataia river, Laguna Verde and lake Roca. In the afternoon, we will board the Australis cruise ship. Check in at San Martín 245, Ushuaia, from 9AM to 4PM; cruise ship boarding from 6PM to 7PM. The captain and crew will give a welcome cocktail reception on board. Afterwards, the ship departs for “the uttermost part of the earth.” Our excursion will take us through the Beagle Channel and the Strait of Magellan to explore one of the most captivating wilderness regions in the world: Southern Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. We have just embarked on a Great Adventure! Dinner on board.
DAY 7 Australis Cruise :
Breakfast. We sail through the Murray channel and Nassau bay to reach Cape Horn national park, where we will disembark (weather permitting). For many years it was an important navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and it is known as the “End of the Earth”. The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in June 2005. In the afternoon, we go ashore at historic Wulaia Bay, once the site of one of the region's largest Yamana aboriginal settlements. Charles Darwin landed here on January 23rd, 1833, during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. We will walk through a Magellanic forest of Lengas, Coihues, Canelos, ferns, and other native vegetation to reach a look-out point. Lunch and dinner on board.
DAY 8 Australis Cruise :
Breakfast. In the morning we sail through the desolate Brecknock and Ocasion channels, to each Cockburn channel in the afternoon. After lunch, we arrive at Chico sound and disembark n zodiac boats to explore Alakaluf fjord, and to see its beautiful waterfalls and observe the Piloto and Nena glaciers from the sea. We will learn about the formation of glaciers and their nfluence in the abrupt geography of the region's channels. Lunch and dinner on board.
DAY 9 Australis Cruise / Torres del Paine :
Breakfast. Early in the morning, we go ashore on Magdalena Island (weather permitting). Located n the Strait of Magellan, it was an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers n the past. The island is inhabited by an immense colony of Magellanic penguins which can be sighted during our walk to a lighthouse, which guides ships on their way through the strait. In September and April this excursion is replaced by a zodiac boat ride at Marta Island to observe sea lions. After our visit disembark at Punta Arenas to depart on regular bus line to Torres del Paine for overnight.
DAY 10 Torres del Paine :
Breakfast. Full day excursion to Torres del Paine national park to admire its marvellous flora and fauna with the majestic frame of the Andes mountain range. There we will be able to admire its lakes, rivers and glacial era landscape. Return to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 11 Torres del Paine / El Calafate :
Breakfast. Transfer by regular bus line to El Calafate. Arrival and reception at the bus station; transfer to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 12 El Calafate :
Breakfast. Full day excursion to Perito Moreno glacier located in Los Glaciares national park. This imposing ice river descends from the Patagonian Continental Ice field, provoking ice cracks and explosions during its slow forward movements. Due to its breathtaking beauty and unusual behaviour it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You will enjoy a boat ride that will allow you to admire the magnificence of the Perito Moreno from a closer point of view. Return to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 13 El Calafate / Buenos Aires :
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to board the scheduled flight to Buenos Aires. Arrival and reception at the airport; transfer to the hotel for overnight.
DAY 14 Buenos Aires :
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to board the scheduled flight.
