PATAGONIA ARGENTINA & MORE

Departure from Milan-Italy:

Departure from Milan Linate airport at 2.00 pm WITH FLIGHT AZ 2049 to Rome.

Arrival at 3.10 pm and meeting with the companion Mrs. Antonella Sechi at the Aerolineas Argentinas boarding gate. Coincidence with flight AR 1141 departing at 6.15pm for Buenos Aires.

Meals and night on board.

Arrival at Buenos Aires-Argentina!

Arrival in Buenos Aires at 04.40. Meeting with the guide and transfer to the 4* Superior Hotel Pestana with early check-in included: the rooms will be assigned IMMEDIATELY. Time available for rest, free lunch. In the afternoon at 2.30 pm departure for the visit of the Argentine capital with an Italian speaking guide. Dinner in a typical restaurant near the hotel. Overnight stay.

Buenos Aires, a large, cosmopolitan city, rich in culture and entertainment at the same time, defined as the Paris of South America, with beautiful neighborhoods where people still live on a human scale. and we stop to talk to those who pass by. About 12 million people live there, including the large suburbs. You will be surprised by the number of shops, shop windows, restaurants and above all "confiterias", beautiful tea rooms where you can meet up with friends. Calle Florida, pedestrian and reserved almost exclusively for tourists, Avenida Santa Fé, the city's commercial centre. The night then explodes in Calle Corrientes, the street that never sleeps, a continuous succession of bars, trattorias, theatres, cinemas, bookshops and clubs of all kinds. Recoleta, the residential area, will surprise you with its restaurants and exclusive clubs, a meeting point for the city's important people; it is contrasted by Boca, the port district or Xeneixe district with its thousand-colored houses celebrated by Tango. Don't miss a tour of the vast Palermo Park, the green lung of the city. Finally, for lovers of antiques and curious things, a visit to San Telmo, the old and most characteristic neighborhood with its Sunday flea market. The heart of the city is the historic Plaza de Mayo, which represents the nucleus of the original settlement dating back to 1580 by the Spanish conqueror Juan De Garay to whom a monument is dedicated. On the Plaza de Mayo also stands the seat of the Presidency of the Republic, the Casa Rosada and the Cabildo, today a national historical monument, is preserved as a relic: from it the first cry of freedom was raised which was to light the flame of independence not only Argentina but all of Latin America. The Avenida de Mayo starts from Plaza de Mayo, the first of the major city arteries, it was inaugurated in 1894 and all the buildings surrounding it date back to the same era. Finally, we remember the Colon Theatre, inaugurated in 1908, with a capacity of 3,000 seats.

Exploring Buenos Aires.

Breakfast at the hotel,

10am meeting with our Italian speaking guide and departure for the visit of the MODERN part of the Argentine capital, which lasted approximately 4 hours. We will visit the northern area of Buenos Aires, Avenida 9 de Julio, Puerto Madero, Palermo, with a stop to visit the Rosedal, the beautiful rose garden located inside the Tres Febrero Park and declared a historical monument, the Recoleta. Those who wish can stop in the Recoleta area and return to the hotel on foot or by taxi (about 2 km) to continue the visits independently, we recommend for example the Monumental Cemetery (admission approximately 8 USD) with Evita's tomb, the market in Plaza France, in front of the Pilar Church or stop for a coffee or a beer in one of the beautiful bars in the area (the most famous and flashy is the historic Cafè La Biela). Free lunch.

Afternoon at leisure to continue visiting the city independently.

Unforgettable welcome evening in this very special land in one of the most prestigious venues in the Argentine capital to watch a Tango show with dinner and drinks included. Then return to the hotel for the overnight stay.

From the Capital to the End of the World!

After breakfast at the hotel and we had free time at disposal.

The we enjoyed free time to decide among the many option to have lunch.

At 1pm the transfer piched-up us to go to Ezeiza airport to take the flight AR 1886 at 4.05pm direct to Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego.

The Land of Fire!

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning dedicated to an excursion in the Tierra del Fuego National Park with a local Italian-speaking guide. Very useful trekking boots for a nice walk in the woods of the area.

Tierra del Fuego National Park: The National Park occupies an area of 63,000 hectares in which beeches, black cherries, ñires, calafati, notri, flowers such as orchids, violets and senesi coexist. A walk in this National Park not only offers us multiple panoramic views towards the Beagle Channel carved between the mountains and the forest, but also brings us closer to Nature. The opportunity to breathe the sea air together with the scent of the forest is a privilege of few!

In the afternoon we will do the Beagle Canal Navigation, up to Martillo Island: transfer to the Port and navigation by catamaran along the Beagle Channel, skirting the entrance to Ushuaia Bay.

Isla Martillo, in the Beagle Channel, is part of Estancia Harberton and, from September to April, is the home of the Magallànicos penguins. The colony has more than 3,000 nests and is one of three in Tierra del Fuego. We will also be able to see a smaller colony of 23 pairs of Papùas penguins, unique in South America (NB: there is no descent from the boat). Collective excursion with local guide on board.

From the End of the World to the Land of Glaciers!

Breakfast, time at leisure. Free lunch. Transfer to the airport and departure with direct flight to El Calafate, gateway to the Patagonian Glacier Park, Ae 1865 at 3.05 pm. Arrival in el Calafate at 4.25pm, meeting with our assistant and transfer to the 4* Hotel Kau Yatún. Dinner and overnight stay in the hotel.

El Calafate: The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Argentino, in the southwestern part of the province of Santa Cruz, and is approximately 335 km northwest of Río Gallegos, its capital. It is not a particularly large city, as its population is also modest, around 7,000 people. A peculiarity is that its name derives from a plant with yellow flowers that is very widespread in Patagonia, with berries that have a dark blue color: the calafate with the scientific name of Berberis buxifolia.

The King of Patagonia!

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the excursion dedicated to visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier.

Perito Moreno Glacier: The Perito Moreno glacier, located in the Los Glaciares National Park, was declared a Natural Heritage Site of Humanity by UNESCO in 1981. The Perito Moreno is an immense mass of ice that falls vertically onto Lake Argentino with a front that it extends for five kilometers and walls that rise up to sixty meters above the water and hide for another two hundred below the level of the lake. The ice, even if imperceptible, advances more than a meter a day, causing the fractures of frozen towers that resonate like cannon shots in the silence of the Park. The show is incredible: a tongue of ice making its way through the mountains, the blue of the Argentine lake, ice floes wandering alone and the silent flight of some condors (excursion with Italian speaking guide).

Nautical Safari will follow, an exciting navigation to get closer to the ice walls!!! (collective excursion with local guide on board)

Calafate.

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the Punta Bandera embarkation point, located 40 km from El Calafate. Collective excursion with a multilingual local guide on board the boat: at 9 am start of navigation along the northern arm of Lake Argentino, through the Boca del Diablo, the narrowest point of the lake, until reaching the Upsala Canal, where you encounter a spectacular ice barrier. Continuation among the icebergs to the front of the Upsala glacier, which, with a surface area of 800 square kilometres, is four times the size of the city of Buenos Aires! The next destination is the Spegazzini Glacier, the highest in the National Park: unique opportunities for taking wonderful photos. (collective excursion with local guide on board)

From Glaciers to the Falls!

Transfer to the airport and departure with flight to Buenos Aires with flight AR 1867 at 10.00. Arrival in Buenos Aires at 12.50 pm and connection at 3.30 pm with flight AR 1734 to Iguazu.

Arrival at 5.20pm, meeting with our assistant and transfer to the 5* Hotel Amerian Portal del Iguazú. Dinner and overnight stay in the hotel.

Iguazu Falls!

Breakfast at the hotel. Full day excursion to the Iguazu Falls (private service with Italian speaking guide), with ecological train to the Garganta del Diablo and both upper and lower walkways. Lunch at the local El Fortin restaurant during the excursion. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon, free dinner and overnight stay in the hotel.

From Iguazu back to Buenos Aires

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning dedicated to visiting the waterfalls on the Brazilian side (private service with local Italian speaking guide). Free lunch. At the end, transfer to the airport and departure with the flight to Buenos Aires AR 1733 at 3.20 pm, Arrival in Buenos AIRES at 5.15 pm and transfer to the Pestana 4* Superior Hotel. Free dinner and an overnight stay in hotel.

Bye bye Buenos Aires!

Free time and transfer to the airport and departure with the direct flight to Rome, times subject to reconfirmation:

BUENOS AIRES 10.45 PM ROME 4.00 PM (on 13/02)

Arrival at home!

Arrival in Rome at 4.00 pm and connection with the flight to Milan Linate AZ 2050 at 6.00 pm Arrival at 7.10 pm