Argentine & Chilean Patagonia

• Full-day visit, history and nature of Bariloche

This morning, we’ll pick you up from your hotel to start one of the most famous and traditional visits to the Lake District. For around 6 hours you will tour the area in an active way, and your guide will be constantly focused on sharing the vast history of the area and the most relevant facts about the natural heritage of Bariloche.

You will visit Campanario Hill, considered by National Geographic to be the 8th-best view in the world, and one of the most visited places here—1500 people go to enjoy the view every day. Our guides are local experts and know the perfect time to visit. They will bring you there before the crowds swarm so that you can have a close-up and intimate experience.

Other fabled places you will visit include Nahuel Huapi and the mild waters of Moreno Lake, Lopez and Capilla mountains, and the world-renowned Llao-Llao Hotel. Get ready to walk between millenary arrayanes trees on a nature-oriented outing through the impressive forest in the Llao-Llao Nature Park.

After filling your lungs with the refreshing air of the forest, you’ll enjoy your boxed lunch, and at the end of the day, we’ll take you back to your hotel.

• Optional tours – Rafting in Manso River

For your day at leisure in Bariloche, we recommend that you take an optional outing to go Rafting down Manso River inside Nahuel Huapi National Park.

We will drive you along National Route 40 (the legendary road that extends from the North to South of Argentina) to enjoy some scenic views, passing by lakes Gutierrez, Mascardi, and Guillelmo. At one stop, we’ll enter the land of a Native American Mapuche Community to share breakfast (maté or tea, and homemade fried bread and marmalade) and learn about their unique culture and traditions; a truly immersive and personal experience. 

From there we will start our rafting adventure, cruising down Manso River on its emerald waters. For about 1 hour, you’ll navigate your way through some medium-intensity rapids with the backdrop of this fairy-tale valley. Depending on the weather, you may be able to take a relaxing swim!

On our way back, we’ll stop to have lunch in the historic restaurant, El Viejo Almacén. After this 10-hour experience, we’ll drive you back to Bariloche.

Say Hueque Tips

• Age restriction for this tour

This tour is only available for children over 10 years old. If you are traveling with younger children, we recommend that you visit Playa Bonita, on km 8 of Av. Bustillo (there are public buses leaving from downtown every twenty minutes). During the summer months, on hot days, it gets filled up with families and brave people who jump into the cold waters of Nahuel Huapi!

• From Argentine to Chilean Patagonia – Full-day lake crossing

Time to cross borders and step into Chile, the land of the fjords! This is an 11-hour trip in which you’ll travel from Argentina to Chile in a different way, and have a day full of immersion into the beautiful landscapes of the Patagonian Lakes and relaxing navigations.

You’ll depart from your hotel in Bariloche by bus early in the morning to travel to Puerto Pañuelo, where you’ll embark on the first boat of the day. You’ll sail Nahuel Huapi Lake and reach Puerto Blest on a 1-hour navigation through beautiful woods and snow-capped mountains that surround the shore.

Who were the first men to embark on this adventurous journey? On the way, your local guide will reveal their history and other interesting facts about the vegetation and wildlife of the area.

From Puerto Blest, take a bus to Puerto Alegre where you’ll embark on your second boat of the day, crossing Lake Frías, with Mount Tronador as an amazing backdrop, to reach Puerto Frías, where you’ll finally cross borders into Chile.

Then, take a 2-hour bus passing by the legendary Andes Mountain Range to Pehulla, a beautiful eco-village where we’ll stop to have lunch before taking our last navigation of the day.

For the last part of the journey, explore the Todos Los Santos Lake (which stretches between Pehulla and Petrohúe), during a 2-hour navigation where you may see, weather permitting, the forbidding Puntiagudo and Osorno volcanoes.

Once in Petrohué, we’ll take you on a 3-hour bus trip, passing by Llanquihue Lake, the second-largest lake in Chile (and this is a land full of lakes), to Puerto Varas where we’ll drop you at your hotel.

• Day at leisure in Puerto Varas

This is your day at leisure in Puerto Varas, the gateway city to the Chilean Lake District, which faces the great Osorno Volcano and is better known as the “City of Roses”.

This beautiful lakeside, first inhabited by Germans, has kept most of its traditional architecture; wooden houses, alerce trees, and German Jesuit churches can be seen all over the place, as well as rose bushes covering every street.

The gastronomy of Puerto Varas is something to savor while staying in this city. Taste the “Kuchen” pie, a traditional dish of the first German immigrants, the homemade marmalades (Puerto Varas is famous for their blueberry production!), and the best-smoked salmon fish.

Say Hueque Tips

• What to do on your day at leisure in Puerto Varas?

Puerto Varas offers a wide variety of adventure outings, from hikes in the Llanquihue Reserve to kayaking in Petroué River, and our favorite, a visit to the Osorno Volcano sky center. Enjoy a warm coffee while admiring the magnificent Osorno Volcano Summit, and visit a famous brewery on your way back. Contact us to add this optional day tour to your travel itinerary!

• Transfer from your hotel to Puerto Montt airport and transfer to Puerto Natales.

Today we’ll drive you from your hotel to Puerto Montt airport to take your flight to Punta Arenas. Upon arrival, we’ll be waiting to take you on a 1-hour trip to Puerto Natales, where you’ll spend the night.

Puerto Natales is the gateway city to the famous Torres del Paine National Park, which you’ll visit the next day! In the meantime, wander around the Last Hope Sound coastline, or just relax in one of the little cafés in town while admiring its patchworked facade of colorful houses.

• Full-day trip to Torres del Paine National Park

Today we’ll pick you up really early at your hotel to take you to the first stop of this 10-hour adventurous trip: Milodon Cave. This natural monument, located 15 miles north of town, is composed of three caverns and a rocky conglomerate called Silla del Diablo (Devil’s Chair), due to its chair-like shape.

Before getting to the cave, we will pass by La Silla del Diablo and learn about its mysterious legend…a story told by the oldest man in Patagonia who believed that the Devil appeared to those who came to look for him on dark nights.

We’ll keep on traveling to Torres del Paine National Park, and on the way, you’ll get to see Sofia Lagoon, Prat Range, Porteño Lake, and the stunning Grey Lake viewpoint. You’ll go over Serrano Bridge and continue to the Grey Lake sector, where you’ll have time to walk along the shore. Once you go back to the parking lot, we’ll take you to a restaurant to rest and have lunch (lunch is not included in our service).

After lunch, we’ll head to the Salto Grande sector. You’ll visit the Nordenskjold Lake viewpoint before continuing on a sinuous route to the Amarga Lagoon area. We’ll also make a stop at Paine’s turquoise waterfall, whose waters come directly from the Paine River.

Heading back to Puerto Natales, we’ll stop at Sarmiento Lake viewpoint to take one last picture of the stunning Torres del Paine.

• Bike city tour in Puerto Natales

Discover the history of Chilean Patagonians in an original and active way. Join your group at the meeting point in downtown Puerto Natales and meet your guide. This is a 3-hour tour to see the highlights of the city. Start riding along beautiful streets, and spot important monuments. Continue to the renewed waterfront,  and reach the Braun Blanchard Pier. Finally, visit the famous Arturo Prat main square and dig into the culture of Puerto Natales.

• Bus to El Calafate – Day at leisure

Today, get prepared to take a 5-hour bus ride to El Calafate. To get to the bus station, a taxi will cost you roughly $6/8 USD. We highly recommend being ready half an hour before the departure time at the bus terminal. Once you arrive at the El Calafate bus station, you will go to your hotel.

El Calafate is the starting point for adventure travelers who desire to unearth the most spellbinding natural wonders of Patagonia, like the Perito Moreno Glacier, the only glacier 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

• Visit Laguna Nimez

If you want to know more about El Calafate, look to our Calafate Travel Guide for more practical information about the city. Our advice: If you feel like exploring a bit alone, go on the half-a-mile hike to Laguna Nimez for a beautiful Patagonian sunset.

• 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 Patagonia outings; we’re sure you won’t regret it.  This is an optional excursion you can add to this day.

• Optional tour to a Patagonian ranch

El Calafate has much more to offer than just its magnificent glaciers… we recommend that you complete this 2-week hiking 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.

If you would like to add on this tour for your free day, just let your travel advisor know.

• Transfer from your hotel to El Calafate airport

Today we’ll drive you to the airport to take your flight to Ushuaia, the popular “End of the World” destination.

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

Upon arrival at the airport in Ushuaia, we will drive you to your selected hotel and then you will be free to explore the city and the surroundings.

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, in order 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 scariest 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 end 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.

• Tour Ushuaia’s famous islands while sailing the Beagle Channel

In 1833 Charles Darwin sailed the Beagle Channel and found something extraordinary. 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 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 or stop in a local cafe or brewery to enjoy an amber craft beer paired with a traditional Patagonian appetizer.

• Transfer from your hotel to Ushuaia airport / Transfer to your hotel in Buenos Aires

At the appropriate time, we’ll pick you up from your hotel and take you to the airport for your flight to Buenos Aires. Here is where your Patagonia adventure trip ends We’ll welcome you to the Buenos Aires airport, and drive you to your hotel to spend your last evening in the city.

Say Hueque Tips  

• Optional tour- Walk among penguins in Ushuaia

If you want to walk amongst the penguins on this day, you can change this tour to the Martillo Island Penguin Rookery, which is a little bit longer and also includes the Beagle Channel visit! Want to get inspired? Contact us!

• Optional tours – Full-day visit to a ranch

There are still some estancias (ranches) that preserve the gaucho traditions, located in picturesque towns within Buenos Aires’ province. One of the most alluring estancias is El Ombú de Areco, a colonial-style working ranch built in 1880 that is located in the town of San Antonio de Areco, where gaucho traditions are ever-present.

Today, we’ll pick you up at your hotel to begin a 9-hour visit to this time-honored ranch. Learn about the gaucho culture and traditions, strolling around the beautiful old streets, museums, and ancient pulperías (grocery stores) in San Antonio de Areco before heading to El Ombú.

Once you’re in the estancia, enjoy a typical asado (barbecue) before either a horseback ride in nature or a relaxing bike ride. For those who like to take things slow while on vacation, there is a peaceful swimming pool (only available in summer) and many sunny relaxation areas where you can take a siesta (an afternoon nap). At the end of the day, we’ll take you back to your hotel in Buenos Aires.

If you want to add this optional tour just contact your travel agent.

• 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!).

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