Patagonia & Australis cruise

Day 1: Arrive in Buenos Aires - Plaza de Mayo - La Boca
Meeting at Ezeiza International airport and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, city tour visiting some of the most interesting places of this cosmopolitan city: Plaza de Mayo (May Square), 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 neighborhoods. Dinner & Tango Show at El Querandi. Return to the hotel. Accommodation.

Day 2: Buenos Aires - Fiesta Gaucha
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. Accommodation.

Day 3: Buenos Aires - Trelew - Punta Tombo - Puerto Madryn
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to board the flight to Trelew. Reception at the airport and visit to Punta Tombo penguin rookery to admire the magnificent Magellan penguin colony. Transfer to Puerto Madryn. Accommodation.

Day 4: Puerto Madryn - Valdés Peninsula - Punta Delgada
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. Don 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. Accommodation.

Day 5: Puerto Madryn - Ushuaia
Breakfast. Transfer to Trelew airport to board the flight to Ushuaia. Reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon enjoy a brief city tour including the End of the World Museum. Accommodation.

Day 6: Ushuaia - Australis Cruise - Beagle channel - Strait of Magellan
Breakfast. Half day excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park, located 12 km (7 miles) 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. Accommodation on board.

Day 7: Australis Cruise - Nassau bay - Cape Horn
Breakfast. We sail through the Murray channel and Nassau bay to reach Cape Horn national park, where we will disembark (weather permitting). The mythical Cape Horn was discovered in 1616, and it is a sheer, 425 meter (1,394 foot) high rocky promontory. 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. This area is also renowned for the mesmerizing beauty of its vegetation and geography. 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. Accommodation on board.

Day 8: Australis Cruise - Alakaluf fjord
Breakfast. In the morning we sail through the desolate Brecknock and Ocasion channels, to reach Cockburn channel in the afternoon. After lunch, we arrive at Chico sound and disembark in 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 influence in the abrupt geography of the region’s channels. Lunch and dinner on board. Accommodation on board.

Day 9: Australis Cruise - Magdalena island - Punta Arenas - Torres del Paine
Breakfast. Early in the morning, we go ashore on Magdalena island (weather permitting). Located in the Strait of Magellan, it was an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers in 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. Accommodation.

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. Accommodation.

Day 11: Torres del Paine - El Calafate
Breakfast. Transfer by regular bus line to El Calafate. Reception at the bus station and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

Day 12: El Calafate - Perito Moreno glacier
Breakfast. Full day excursion to Perito Moreno glacier located in Los Glaciares national park. This imposing ice river, 3 km (2 miles) wide and 50 m (164 feet) high, 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. Accommodation.

Day 13: El Calafate - Buenos Aires
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to board the flight to Buenos Aires. Reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

Day 14: Fly out from Buenos Aires
Breakfast. Transfer to Ezeiza International Airport to board the international flight.