Fantastic Patagonia & Australis Cruise

ITINERARY

DAY 1:  BUENOS AIRES
Welcome at the airport and transfer to your hotel.  In the afternoon you will enjoy a private tour visiting four distinct neighborhoods and plazas of Buenos Aires (Plaza de Mayo, Parque Lezama and La Boca, Plaza San Martin and Recoleta) to learn about the city and its people, commonly called “porteños”. Lodging at Hotel Pulitzer or Hotel Intersur Recoleta or similar for one night.

DAY 2:  LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK: EL CHALTEN/FITZ ROY
Private transfer to the airport to take your flight to El Calafate. Reception at the airport and private transfer to your hotel in El Chalten (about 3 hours drive – Car/driver).  Lodging at Hosteria Infinito Sur,  Hotel Poincenot  or similar for three nights. (B)

DAY 3: LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK: EL CHALTEN/FITZ ROY
Today you will enjoy a full day trekking excursion to Laguna de Los Tres including Piedras Blancas Glacier and base camp Fitz Roy. Picnic lunch during the excursion. Lodging in El Chalten. (B,L).

DAY 4: LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK: EL CHALTEN/FITZ ROY     Breakfast. In the morning, you will enjoy a private trekking excursion along the Fitz Roy River valley to Mirador del Torre (about 3 hours both ways).  You’ll be able to see Cerro Torre, its glaciers and the Adelas Cord. Return to El Chalten, and afternoon and evening at leisure to explore on your own. Lodging in El Chalten. (B)

DAY 5: LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK: EL CHALTEN – EL CALAFATE
Breakfast. In the morning, group transfer to El Calafate and your hotel. Lodging at Hotel El Galpón del Glaciar or similar.  If you stay at Hotel El Galpón del Glaciar, you will enjoy a visit of the ranch, sheep shearing demonstration, and dinner and folk show.   If you prefer to be in town you would stay at Hotel Mirador del Lago or similar. Dinner included. (B, D)

DAY 6: LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast you will depart to visit Los Glaciares National Park.  This park of 600.000 hectares (2,300 square miles) has thirteen glaciers that flow into the Argentino and Viedma lakes.  Perito Moreno Glacier, is one of the few glaciers in the world that is still progressing.  It is only 500 ft above sea level, which makes it very accessible, allowing one to stand in front of a mountain of ice that measures 60 m (180 ft) by 5 km (2.5 miles).  The constant fall of huge towers of ice from its walls and into the lake is an unforgettable spectacle. Picnic lunch at the park.  In the evening, return to your hotel in El Calafate.  Dinner at the hotel. (B,L,D)

DAY 7: EL CALAFATE – TORRES DEL PAINE: 
Today, you will take a group transfer (small bus for up to 12 passengers)* from your hotel to the border with Chile (Cancha Carrera/Cerro Castillo) where your Chilean guide will be waiting for you and drive to Torres del Paine National Park. Torres del Paine is a large park (450,000 acres) declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. You will visit Sarmiento, Nordenskjold and Pehoe Lakes. You may enjoy a short hiking to Grey lake to view part of the glacier. The park is particularly rich in fauna, and you’ll be likely to see guanacos, lesser rheas, black-necked swans, geese, flamingos, Magellanic woodpeckers, and peregrine falcons and condors on the mountain slopes. Lunch during the excursion. You will arrive at the hotel late in the evening. Lodging at Hosteria Las Torres, Hotel Lago Grey or similar in the park (B, L)

DAY 8: TORRES DEL PAINE:
Breakfast. Day at leisure to enjoy the park on your own.  We recommend hiking to Las Torres. (B)

DAY 9: TORRES DEL PAINE / PUNTA ARENAS:
Breakfast. Private transfer to Punta Arenas, a picturesque town overlooking the Strait of Magellan. You will enjoy a private city tour and visit its plaza, cathedral and see the mansions built at the beginning of the century by the big cattle ranchers.  Lodging at Hotel Finis Terrae or similar. (B)

DAY 10: Punta Arenas/ CRUCEROS AUSTRALIS :
Transfer to the port.  Check-in at Muelle Arturo Prat between 1:00pm and 5:00pm. Cruise ship boarding starts at 6:00 p.m. The Captain and crew give a welcome cocktail reception on board. Immediately afterward, the ship departs for “the uttermost part of the earth”.  The excursion will take you through the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel to explore one of the most breathtaking wilderness regions in the world:  Southern Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego.  You have just embarked on a Great Adventure! (B,D)

DAY 11: CRUCEROS AUSTRALIS: Ainsworth Bay – Tucket Islet :
At dawn, you’ll continue navigating through Almirantazgo Sound until finally arriving near Marinelli Glacier in Ainsworth Bay, where you’ll enjoy a walk to discover a beaver dam in the midst of a marvelous Magellanic forest. On the beach you’ll observe a colony of elephant seals. Later you’ll visit Tucker Islet, where you’ll view colonies of Magellanic Penguins and Cormorants from the Zodiac boats. The islet’s penguins migrate in April; as a replacement you may visit Brookes Bay, for a short walk to see a glacier. (B,L,D)

DAY 12: CRUCEROS AUSTRALIS: Pia Glacier – Glacier Alley :
You’ll navigate through the main part of Beagle Channel to reach Pia Bay, where you’ll disembark near Pia Glacier. You’ll take a short hike to a lookout point with a spectacular view of the entire glacier tongue, stretching from high in the mountains all the way to the sea. After this unforgettable experience, you’ll sail again along the northwest arm of Beagle Channel through majestic “Glacier Alley”: Spain, Romanche, Germany, Italy, France and Holland glaciers. (B,L,D)

DAY 13: CRUCEROS AUSTRALIS: Cape Horn – Wulaia Bay :
You’ll sail through Beagle and Murray channels to reach and disembark in Cape Horn National Park (weather permitting). Cape Horn, on Hornos Island, is a sheer, 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory at the point where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans merge. This mythical place is known as the “End of the Earth”; a visit is a singular privilege. The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in June 2005. In the afternoon, you’ll go ashore in historic Wulaia Bay, once the site of one of the region’s largest aboriginal settlements. This area is also renowned for the mesmerizing beauty of its vegetation and geography. You’ll walk through a Magellanic forest of Lengas, Coigües, Canelos, ferns and other native vegetation to reach a lookout point. (B,L,D)

DAY 14: USHUAIA/ TIERRA DEL FUEGO – ARGENTINA :
Arrival in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.  You’ll disembark at 8:30am or 9:00am. Private transfer to your hotel and rest of the day at leisure.  Lodging at Hotel Tolkeyen, Mil810 Hotel, or similar for two nights.  (B)

DAY 15: USHUAIA- TIERRA DEL FUEGO:
Today you will go west for a hiking excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park. You will visit different areas of the park such as Ensenada Bay and Lapataia Bay, and you’ll be able to see two remarkably different ecosystems: the sea-shore and the sub-Antarctic forest which occur together only in a few places on earth and are unique in Argentina.  Lunch in the park. (B,L)

DAY 16: USHUAIA/ BUENOS AIRES / … Transfer to the airport and flight to Buenos Aires. (B)