Buenos Aires, Iguazu & Classic Patagonia Adventure Tour

• Get closer to the whales!

Your first adventure tour in Patagonia starts with a visit to Península Valdés. We’ll pick you up from your hotel and take you to explore this amazing wildlife reserve for 10 hours. Get your camera ready for some breathtaking pictures of whales, elephant seals, sea lions, guanacos, and rheas!

To get to Peninsula Valdes, you will cross an incredibly narrow strip of land that is sandwiched by the sea on either side. Further along the journey, you will arrive at Caleta Valdes, a large natural creek that is home to a colony of elephant seals who will happily pose for photos.  

After admiring Caleta Valdes and its animal inhabitants, you will continue along the road as it winds through a crescent of golden cliffs overlooking the bright blue bay of Golfo Nuevo and the picturesque village of Puerto Piramides. This is a classic spot for whale watching; every year whales arrive at the bay to mate and raise their calves, which is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle to see.

In Puerto Piramides, whale watching starts. You will take a 2-hour boat trip around Golfo Nuevo Bay and watch these immense creatures gliding past. This peninsula navigation allows you to get incredibly close to the whales! Enjoy the experience of sailing side-by-side with these beautiful and peaceful animals. At the end of the tour, we will drive you back to your hotel in Puerto Madryn.

Say Hueque Tips

Our recommended optional wildlife tour:

• Now that you have gotten a taste of Patagonia’s wildlife… we recommend that you experience snorkeling with sea lions! Get into the water and play around with these curious creatures; they are never reluctant to get friendly with new visitors. 

• Walk among the Magellanic penguins of Punta Tombo

We will pick you up from your hotel in the morning and drive 75 miles south of Puerto Madryn to Punta Tombo, home to the largest colony of Magellan penguins in South America to continue exploring the beautiful Patagonian wildlife.

The colony’s population reaches over half a million birds during peak season, and you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy some waddling with these adorable creatures. You’ll have 2 hours to walk around the reserve, learning about how they feed their babies, build their nests, and swim beneath the waves!

After the penguin encounter, you’ll have time to eat a quick lunch at a bar near the reserve, and then head to the Punta Tombo Interpretation Center, where you’ll learn some interesting facts about the lives of Magellanic Penguins. How many types of penguins are there in the world? Why can’t they fly? All of your questions will be answered today!

To end the day, you can choose to visit the Paleontologist Museum in the city of Trelew or return directly to Puerto Madryn.

• Transfer from your hotel to Trelew airport

Continue your adventure tours through Patagonia visiting the popular “End of the World” destination! We’ll pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the airport to take your flight to Ushuaia.

• Transfer from Ushuaia airport to your hotel in the city – Day at leisure

Upon arrival in Ushuaia, we will drive you to your hotel in the city. Enjoy your free day to wander the streets of the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia is a small town, really easy to get around on foot. The Yamanas, its first inhabitants, called it Ushuaia which means “protected bay” in their language. It was officially incorporated into the Republic of Argentina in 1884, and it soon became a penal colony, to establish a permanent Argentine settlement.

Say Hueque Tips

Our recommended activities in Ushuaia:

• Visit one of its curious museums—The Thematic Gallery of the “Historia Fueguina” to see the more than 120 character life-size figures that will tell you all about the history of Ushuaia, or unearth the story of the most scary and dangerous criminals at the Prison Museum.
• Visit the different restaurants in town, Ushuaia is the best place to eat seafood in Argentina. —The word you shouldn’t forget is centolla (king crab!). You can try the finger-licking Blake Hake too. 

• Discover Tierra del Fuego National Park wildlands

 Today we’ll pick you up from your hotel to start a 10-hour, moderate-difficulty, adventure in Tierra del Fuego National Park, just 7.4 miles away from the city and bordering the shore of the famous Beagle Channel.

Upon arrival at Ensenada Bay, you will have time to enjoy the view over the Beagle Channel before you start hiking along the coast. Four miles of trail await you, where you’ll discover native flora, wild fauna, and the remains left by the Yamanas, the native inhabitants of the area. After this 3-hour hike, you will reach Lake Roca, where lunch will be served.

After a full homemade picnic, you will start the second part of this adventure. Take your oar and plunge into a 1hr 30 min paddling trip along the Lapataia River (only available for children over 5 years old). Make it all the way to Lapataia Bay, where the Panamerican Highway and National Route 3 ends at an awe-inspiring landscape.

After discovering the unique vastness of this stunning setting, we’ll take you back to your hotel to rest and enjoy another Patagonian evening. 

• Beagle Channel boat trip and Patagonian wildlife 

In 1833 Charles Darwin sailed the Beagle Channel and found something great. Today it’s your turn: become another explorer of this channel, primitively named Onashaga Channel since the Onas were its first discoverers.

Make your way to the tourist pier (located downtown) to embark on a 4-hour Beagle Channel navigation in a fully equipped boat with a capacity for up to 26 people. With Argentina on your left and Chile on your right, you’ll sail this natural border until you reach the iconic Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, which is still in operation.

On the way, enjoy uplifting panoramic views of Ushuaia Bay, crowned by the Martial Glacier’s diverse Patagonian marine wildlife, such as cormorants (flying birds, closely related to penguins) and fur seals. Hop off on Bridges Island to explore its vegetation, and visit the archeological remains of the Yamanas (the native inhabitants) accompanied by a specialized bilingual guide. 

 During the trip, enjoy bottomless hot cocoa and cookies, or try the maté (loose herbal tea), which is every Argentinian’s favorite drink. Once we get back to the port, you can make your way back to your hotel. 

• Transfer from your hotel to Ushuaia airport

At the appropriate time in the afternoon, say goodbye to the city at the ‘end of the world and catch your ride to the domestic airport to take your flight to El Calafate 

• Transfer from El Calafate airport to your hotel in the city – Day at leisure

Upon arrival, we will bring you to your hotel and have the remainder of your day to relax or explore the surroundings. El Calafate is the starting point for adventure travelers who desire to unearth the most spellbinding glaciers of Patagonia, like Perito Moreno Glacier, the only one in the world that’s still advancing. Though it’s not the only glacier in the area, it’s the one that made the city of El Calafate famous worldwide. 

Say Hueque Tips

• Have you ever walked amongst penguins? 

If not, Ushuaia is your chance to fulfill that bucket-list dream… You can switch out the Beagle Channel Navigation to take the Magellanic Penguin Rookery tour on Martillo Island (available from October to April at an additional cost) or add one day to your travel itinerary so that you can do both. On Martillo Island, you will also see a very rare type of penguin that is typically only found in Antarctica: the yellow-crested penguin.

• Perito Moreno Glacier tour – Meet the icy giant of Patagonia

During the morning, we will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to Glaciers National Park to enjoy the 6-hour Perito Moreno Glacier tour.  You will travel about 25 miles from El Calafate to the park, enjoying the views of the Patagonian steppe. Once inside the park, you will take walkways to explore the different viewpoints, and you’ll feel unbelievably close to Perito Moreno Glacier. If you’re lucky, you may even get to see a piece of ice break off and fall from the glacier wall, sinking forever into the lake below.

Over the course of about one hour, a bilingual guide will provide you with all the information you might want to know…and things you may have never thought about. After this visit, you will take a boat ride that will bring you close enough to fully appreciate the 262-foot ice walls of Perito Moreno! You’ll never feel closer to this gigantic and impressive natural masterpiece. At the end of the day, we will drive you back to your hotel.  

Say Hueque Tips

Walk over the Big Ice

• Have you ever imagined walking across the surface of a glacier? Well, this is your chance! The Mini Trekking tour will allow you to trek on Perito Moreno Glacier… This is one of our favorite adventure Patagonia tours; we’re sure you won’t regret it.  This is an optional excursion you can add to this day. 

• Optional tour – Visit to a traditional Patagonian ranch

El Calafate has much more to offer than just its magnificent glaciers… we recommend that you complete your adventure trip to Patagonia by taking a day tour to immerse yourself in the rural culture of Patagonia.

Inside Glaciers National Park, at the end of National Route 15 and after a 1 hr 30 min drive over a rubble road, sits one of the oldest and most traditional Patagonian ranches in the area. It’s the only ranch that continues to maintain sheep and Hereford cattle breeding as its main occupation.

You can take a day trip to visit its 30,000 acres of land, learn about its history, and witness a sheep-shearing demonstration and horse training. At the end of the day, a grilled lamb will await, sizzling on its traditional Patagonian rotisserie.

• Transfer from your hotel to El Calafate airport

Today you’ll fly to Buenos Aires for a one-night stop, and then fly from Buenos Aires to Iguazú Falls the next day. We’ll pick you up from your hotel and take you to the airport.

• Transfer from Buenos Aires airport to your hotel

Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, we’ll be waiting to bring you to your hotel in the city. Enjoy the evening in one of the many trendy restaurants or bars in Palermo Soho, or maybe visit a ‘milonga’ (local tango house) in the city. Don’t be shy! If you can cross the Patagonian glaciers and cruise next to giant whales, then you can definitely mingle with Argentine locals in their favorite dance spots.     

Say Hueque Tips

• What to do in Buenos Aires?

Buenos Aires offers many spectacles (movies, theater, music!) every night. What about visiting the most famous theater in South America? We recommend that you visit Theater Colon, an Argentine opera house with some of the best acoustics in the world. This is one of the pride of Buenos Aires!

• Transfer from your hotel to Buenos Aires airport

Prepare to fly from Buenos Aires to the Iguazú Falls and discover the Argentine jungle! We’ll pick you up and drive you to the local airport to take your flight to Puerto Iguazú.

• Transfer from Puerto Iguazú airport to your hotel – Day at leisure

Upon arrival, we will meet you at the airport and drive you to your hotel in Puerto Iguazú. The small border town of Puerto Iguazú is the gateway to visit the impressive Iguazú Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage site, making it a must-see destination for any traveler visiting Argentina. 

Say Hueque Tips

Our recommended activities to spend your day in Puerto Iguazú:

•  You can visit “Hito tres fronteras”, a viewpoint west of the town center that stands high above the turbulent reddish-brown junction of the Iguazú and Paraná rivers, which also form the Triple Frontera, or Triple Border between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. There is also a craft market!

• Or you may visit Güirá Oga (the house of birds in the native Guaraní language), the sanctuary for animals hurt by illegal hunting and trapping.
• If you feel really adventurous, take a bike tour through the rainforest with a specialized guide, and discover the flora and fauna, the sounds of the jungle, the trail of little native mammals, and the traditions of the Guaranies.

• Wander Iguazú Falls National Park and meet The Devil’s Throat

You flew from Buenos Aires to Iguazú Falls to live this experience! Our driver and bilingual guide will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to the National Park, on the Argentinian side.

Enjoy a 7-hour tour wandering through the rainforest! The falls are surrounded by a humid subtropical forest where the exuberant vegetation is home to many different animals and birds. Our guide will help you spot some of them: antbirds, toucans, manakins, parrots, and coatis, just to name a few of the most common birds. Lower and upper walkways weave in and around falls permitting up close and personal experiences with this magnificent spectacle of nature. 

The Argentine side of the falls is filled with a myriad of paths walkways and stairways which allow you to have an experience from many different perspectives. You will have the chance to meet “The Devil’s Throat”: the largest of the falls and for many the most spellbinding.

To get to the “Devil’s throat” you take the ecological train and then walk out along boardwalks. After walking and taking pictures of animals and plants, you will have some free time to eat lunch in this amazing environment. At the end of the experience, we will drive you back to your hotel.

Say Hueque Tips

• Would you love to have a “Great Adventure”? 

The “Great Adventure” (gran aventura) is an optional tour you can add on this day. You will take an open-air jeep through the rainforest and then a zodiac open-air boat ride up the river to the base of the falls (there is a 100% chance that you will get soaking wet on this boat trip, so be sure to take some extra clothes!).

•  Visit the Brazilian side of Iguazú National Park

After breakfast, enjoy a 4-hour excursion to the Brazilian side of Iguazú Falls. While Argentina has 80% of the falls on its side, Brazil has the best panoramic view. On the Argentine side you will have the sensation of being right inside the falls, but only by visiting the Brazilian side will you fully appreciate the immensity of Iguazú Falls.

Take your time to enjoy it and feel it, to stroll the different walkways and feel the spray of water on your face. Take the boardwalk over the Salto Santa María; it feels like walking on the water. Get closer to the “Devil’s Throat” and experience the power of the water! Although you’ll be looking into Argentina, your feet will be on the ground in Brazil! Where does Argentina start and Brazil end? Well, it’s time to walk the line.

Back from the footbridge, you’ll have some free time to use the restrooms, visit the gift shop, and take a special elevator to an especially high viewpoint. At the end of the tour, we’ll drive you back to your hotel.

•  Transfer from your hotel to Puerto Iguazú airport

In the evening we’ll drive you to the airport to board your flight back to Buenos Aires. Upon arrival, you will have a transfer to your hotel.

Say Hueque Tips

• What should I bring to the Iguazú Falls Brazilian tour?

For the tour to the Brazilian side of the Iguazú Falls, don’t forget your passport! You will be crossing the border. If you are required to have a visa to enter Brazil, take it with you during the excursion. A good repellent and sunblocking is always a must when you visit the rainforest. 

• Transfer from your hotel to Buenos Aires airport 

At the appropriate time, we’ll drive you to the international airport where you’ll take your flight back home, ¡buen viaje! (Good trip!).

For more trips in Argentina, you can read about our favorite experiences or contact us to create a tailored trip to South America.