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Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza

Ultimate Argentina Featuring all the superlatives of Argentina: Sophisticated Buenos Aires Awesome Iguazu Falls Salta and the scenic Northwest Mendoza & wine country Spectacular Bariloche Peninsula Valdes Ushuaia, southernmost city in the world Argentina's Patagonia at Los Notros 23 days

Hosteria Los Notros, Los Glaciares National Park

Locally Hosted Independent Tour Suggested Departure Day: Friday

ITINERARY (Subject to change without notice):

Friday - Depart USA: Depart the USA on overnight flight to Buenos Aires.

Saturday - Arrive Buenos Aires: Morning arrival in Buenos Aires. Upon arrival, meeting and transfer to the Park Hyatt Palacio Duhau, in fashionable Recoleta, for a two night stay in Park Deluxe accommodations. Balance of the day at leisure. This evening, transfer to enjoy the Rojo Tango Experience - a passionate tango show cabaret style, with dinner and wine. (B)

Sunday - Buenos Aires: Spend this morning exploring this sophisticated, very European style city.  Stop by the Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada and the Cabildo, where the declaration of independence was signed, drive the widest avenue on earth, 9 de Julio and visit Caminito, the "little street" in the Italian barrio of La Boca. Explore San Telmo, the historic district of Buenos Aires where the mansions have become antique shops and drive through the well-to-do-suburbs of the city. Afternoon at leisure.  It's a great day to explore the historic San Telmo with outdoor antique flea market, and the street fairs of Recoleta. (B)

Monday - Buenos Aires - Iguazu Falls: Transfer to the airport for flight to Iguazu Falls & transfer to Hotel Sheraton Iguazu Internacional on the Argentine side of the falls for 2 nights with Buffet breakfast daily. This afternoon you will visit the Argentine side of these awesome falls, offering an "up-close and personal" encounter with the falls, via boardwalk along base of several smaller falls and boat to the viewing point at the edge of the falls. (B)

Iguazu Falls is truly spectacular. On the Argentine-Brazilian border, they are 60 feet taller than Niagara and about half as wide again. Spanning more than a mile wide precipice, 275 falls plunge an average of 300 feet to the river below. Above the impact of the waters on the rocks at the tip hovers a perpetual cloud of mist. Eleanor Roosevelt is said to have exclaimed when she first saw Iguazu Falls: "Poor Niagara! This makes Niagara look like a kitchen faucet!"

Tuesday - Iguazu Falls: Today you will spend the entire day visit the Brazilian side of the falls - from this vantage point you will have panoramic vistas of the falls. You'll take the walking tour to view the falls from many angles and levels, with plenty of time to photograph and explore at your own pace. Then take the Macuco Safari Excursion - a jeep-train ride through the National Park and thrilling motorlaunch excursion to the Salto de Macuco for a totally different vantage point. Then make a stop at the Parque de Aves for a visit to the huge walk-through aviaries highlighting the birds of Brasil and from around the world. Lunch included enroute, with afternoon transfer back to your hotel on the Argentine side. (B)
         NOTE: Because you are entering Brasil a visa is required. You will need to obtain one prior to your departure from the USA.

Wednesday - Iguazu - Buenos Aires - Salta: Morning at leisure to explore at your own pace. Mid-day transfer to the airport for flight to Buenos Aires and connecting flight to Salta, in the scenic northwest of the country. Upon arrival meeting and transfer to the House of Jasmines, Robert Duvall's lovely estancia boutique hotel. (B)

Thursday - Salta: Today you will enjoy a full day excursion heading north towards Bolivia, through scenic Quebrada de Humahuaca, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. Today is a day of stunning landscapes, multi-colored painted mountains, wind-sculpted canyon walls, and small villages. Visit peaceful Purmamarca and historic Tilcara, with artist-colony atmosphere, several museums, bustling handicraft market and the Pucara de Tilcara, a hilltop fortress built five centuries before the Incas. Enjoy lunch enroute. (B/L)

Friday - Salta: Today head south through the Quebrada de Escoipe, a mostly gravel road that's one of Argentina's most spectacular mountain highways, to the scenic Cachi, dating from the 18th century, with narrow cobblestone streets and a spectacular setting at the base of the 19,140 ft Nevado de Cachi. Visit this charming village and its small museum of the area's hunter-gatherer origins to the Inca conquest and Spanish invasion.  Have lunch before making the return drive back to Salta. (B/L)

Saturday - Salta - Buenos Aires - Mendoza: Morning transfer for flight to Buenos Aires and connecting flight to Mendoza, gateway to the hemisphere's highest mountain, Aconcagua, and to the main wine producing regions of Argentina. Mid-day arrival and transfer to the Cavas Wine Lodge where your accommodations, complete with fireplace, outdoor mini-pool and shower and rooftop patio with fireplace, are located in the middle of a vineyard, (B)

Sunday - Mendoza: Today you will spend the day exploring the "Oasis Centro Oeste", the Wine Roads of Vistalba Valley. Visit first Norton Winery for wine tasting and then continue on to Nieto Senetiner Winery for lunch and winetasting. In the afternoon you'll proceed to the Fabre Montmayou Winery for more wine tasting before returning back to Mendoza in the late afternoon. The specific vineyards may change depending on the season and availability. (B/L)

Monday - Mendoza: This morning visit the main points of interest in the city of Mendoza, dating from 1561, and home to many plazas, tree-lined streets and museums.  Continue with a visit to another vineyard with lunch at the vineyard before returning back to your vineyard-enclosed accommodations. (B/L)

Tuesday - Mendoza - Buenos Aires - Bariloche: Morning transfer to the airport for flight to Buenos Aires to connect with your flight across the pampas to the edge of the Andes and the summer-winter resort town of San Carlos de Bariloche. Meeting upon arrival and transfer to the lovely Hotel Llao Llao for 3 night stay with Buffet Breakfast daily. (B)

Wednesday - Bariloche: This morning your private car and guide will be waiting to take you on a "Circuito Chico" a scenic 50km drive skirting Lake Nahuel Huapi, offering vistas of the Andean peaks, including Tronador (Thunderer) the highest (3554m). The road winds along Lake Moreno to a panoramic point which offers a breathtaking view of Lakes Moreno and Nahuel Huapi, Victoria Island and the Andes in all their splendor. You'll have an opportunity for an optional stop at Cerro Companario to take the chair-lift to the summit for a spectacular panorama of the area.  Balance of the day at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities. (B)

Thursday - Bariloche: Today you will enjoy a motorlaunch excursion along the Blest arm of the Nahuel Huapi Lake until its end where Puerto Blest is located. The landscape along the Blest arm is similar to the Norwegian fiords of the far Tierra del Fuego channels. The Puerto Blest zone has an exuberant forest due to its climate which is extremely humid. From Puerto Blest the catamaran makes the crossing to Cascada Los Cantaros where a wooden staircase bordering the torrente Los Cantaros takes you up to an altitude of approximately 600 mts. From this point they can admire several falls and cascades of a remarkable beauty. Afternoon return cruise back to Bariloche. (B)

Friday - Bariloche - Buenos Aires - Trelew - Puerto Madryn: Morning transfer to the airport for flight to Buenos Aires and connecting flight south to Trelew, gateway to Peninsula Valdes. Upon arrival, meeting and transfer north about one hour's drive to Puerto Madryn and the Hotel Territorio, arriving in the late afternoon. (B)

Saturday - Puerto Madryn: Today you will drive south, ultimately via a bumpy and dusty gravel road, to Punta Tombo, the continent's largest single penguin rookery, home to some 250,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins, and impressive numbers of other seabirds such as giant petrels, kelp and dolphin gulls, king and rock cormorants and shorebirds such as oystercatchers and flightless steamer ducks. Time permitting, stop at Gaiman on the return, still resplendent with Welsh heritage. (B)

Sunday - Puerto Madryn - Peninsula Valdes: Morning departure for drive to Peninsula Valdes, a UNESCO designated World Biosphere Reserve, rich in typical patagonian flora and fauna, where sea elephants can be admired. This huge animals weigh one to three tons and measure up to 6 metres. Sea lions and whales can also be seen here. The drive will take us to Puerto Piramides, a nice beach dominated by cliffs rich in fossils and the place to embark to whale watch (optional). Visit the nearby sea lion nesting ground on a flat rocky outcrop, jutting out into the sea. Visit Punta Norte and the Bird’s Island where a big quantity of gulls, cormorants, herons, etc., can be  admired. Afternoon arrival at your overnight accommodations at Punta Faro Delgada, next to the historic lighthouse and just above a sea lion colony. (B)

Monday - Peninsula Valdes - Trelew - Ushuaia: Morning return drive back to Trelew for your flight south to Ushuaia, southernmost city on earth, located on the north shore of the Beagle Channel It's the end of the continent and the beginning point for most trips to Antarctica.  Meeting upon arrival and transfer to your hotel, the lodge-style Los Cauquenes, overlooking the channel. (B)

Tuesday - Ushuaia: Today you will spend the day exploring this remote part of the world, passing through quaint villages en route to the Estancia Las Hijas where you will enjoy a visit to a true working estancia. You'll be shown around by the owners, have a sheep sheering lesson from the son and have lunch with the family.  Afternoon return to Ushuaia. (B/L)

Wednesday - Ushuaia - El Calafate - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares: Morning  ride on the historic Train at the End of the World, and then continue on to Lapataia Bay in the Tierra del Fuego National Park before transferring to the airport for your short flight to El Calafate, where staff from the Hosteria Los Notros will be waiting to pick you up for the two hour transfer to the Hosteria Los Notros, spectacularly set in the Los Glaciares National Park in front of Perito Moreno Glacier. You'll enjoy a three night stay in Superior accommodations at Los Notros with all meals and all excursions included. (B/D)

Thursday - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares: Today you will choose the excursion you desire from their menu of excursions. (B/L/D)

Friday - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares: Once again today, select the excursion of your choice from the menu of options. (B/L/D)

Saturday - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares - El Calafate - Buenos Aires and depart to USA: Morning transfer by Hosteria Los Notros staff will take you to the El Calafate airport for your flight north to Buenos Aires International airport, Ezeiza. You'll arrive in plenty of time for a leisure international check-in before your return overnight flight to the USA. (B)

Sunday - Arrive USA: Morning arrival in the USA and make connections to your home city.

RATES and DETAILS: