Itinerary Expand all Buenos Aires to Buenos aires Day 1 Start Buenos Aires; afternoon at leisure Those on the group flight will be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel in Buenos Aires. Those on land only arrangements should make their own way to the start hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to choose one of the many excellent restaurants, most serving legendary Argentine steaks! Comfortable Hotel Day 2 Half day walking city tour Our local leader will meet us today for a briefing and take us on a short walking tour of the city, discovering its wealth of history and culture. In this walking tour the tour leader will show you the main sites and landmarks Buenos Aires can offer. The highlights of this tour are the famous Recoleta cemetery where Eva Peron (Evita) is buried, the Colon Theatre and San Martin Square. Afterwards you will have the rest of the day at leisure to explore more of this fascinating city. Tonight we recommend visiting one of the excellent tango shows in the old quarter of San Telmo. Please ask your tour leader and they will help you to arrange it. Comfortable Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 3 Fly to Salta; afternoon city walking tour. After breakfast we take a short transfer to the domestic airport and board our flight to Salta. On arrival we make our way to the hotel and have some free time to eat lunch in one of many delicious restaurants in the city. In the afternoon we have a walking city tour that will visit the city highlights, including the old town hall, cathedral, the magnificent Franciscan convent and learn about the heroes and stories about the most beautiful town in Argentina. Comfortable Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 4 Transfer to Cachi; afternoon at leisure After breakfast we head south from Salta through the Obispo slope – an amazing feat of road engineering - to the route’s highest point (3348 metres above sea level), known as the Piedra Del Molino. From here we drive through the Los Cardones National Park, which is famous for its giant cacti (cardones) which dot the hillside, ranging in colour from dark green to deep red. Today's driving time is approx. 4-5 hours with plenty of stops to take photos. Or arrival in Cachi we will check in to our hotel and have the rest of the day at leisure. Standard Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 5 Cachi to Cafayate Today we drive to the sleepy town of Cafayate. We follow the National Route 40 through the spectacular Calchaquies Valley. We will stop off at the Valley of the Arrows and see where the rock strata has been forced upwards to look like arrowheads. As the sun sets, the mountains change colour, making this long driving day really worth while before we arrive at our hotel in Cafayate. Today's driving time is approx. 6 hrs. Comfortable Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 6 Transfer to Belen via the Ruins of Quilmes After breakfast we will begin our drive towards Belen. En route we will make a stop at the ruins of Quilmes, where we will have a guided tour. These are Calchaquí native ruins, a tribe who once lived amongst the Calchaquí mountain range. After the visit we will continue to our final destination, Belen. Today's driving time is approx. 5 hrs. Standard Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 7 Half day guided tour of Shincal; drive to Villa Union After breakfast we take a short transfer (approx. 30 minutes) to the impressive Shincal de Quimvil site. It is said to be the most important archaeological site in northern Argentina. Declared a national historical monument, various researchers discovered this site was an important administrative centre occupied by the Inca Empire between 1471 and 1536. After our visit we will continue on to Villa Union. We break up the journey with a few stops to take pictures of the dramatic desert landscape and the contrasting Andean mountains. Today's driving time is approx. 6 hours. Standard Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 8 Full day exploring Ischigualasto National Park. In the morning we will head past Talampaya National Park and visit its neighbour Ischigualasto Provincial Park, also known as Moon Valley. The highlight of this tour is climbing up the Cerro Morado, for really incredible panoramic views of the park. Hopefully we'll see condors soaring overhead too! In the afternoon we head back to our hotel in Villa Union. Standard Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Day 9 Eclipse day! After breakfast we have a short transfer before arriving at the spectacular Talampaya National Park. We spend most of the day exploring the highlight of the park, which is the Talampaya Canyon. This is a 150 metre high wall, where you can find many petroglyphs (rock carvings) as well as fossils which prove that dinosaurs lived here millions of years ago. We also cross a part of the park which can only be done in a vehicle accompanied by a national park guide. In the afternoon we drive (approx. 2 hours) towards Jachal, where we will witness the eclipse. As tonight we will arrive late back at our hotel, we will have some free time to eat in town. A total solar eclipse is one of the most spectacular celestial events visible from Earth and can, for many people, be quite an emotional experience. We head out to our viewing spot as the eclipse takes place between 16:26 and 18:47 with totality commencing at 17:40 and ending at 17:42. Don’t forget your eclipse glasses (which we will send to you before the trip). After the eclipse we will drive (approx. 2 hours) back to our hotel for the night. Standard Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Day 10 Fly back to Buenos Aires; afternoon at leisure. Depending upon the flight time, we may have some free time at the hotel this morning before we transfer (approx. 5-6 hours) to Mendoza airport. We fly back to Buenos Aires and usually arrive in time to explore more of this fascinating city. Comfortable Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 11 Free day at leisure to take part in optional excursions in and around Buenos Aires. This is a free day to either spend exploring Buenos Aires or you can also book an optional tour to spend a day in the countryside. We recommend the full day trip to visit an estancia 'working ranch' in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. At the estancia you will have the opportunity to go horseriding, watch a game of Polo or even have a Polo lesson. Please ask your tour leader, and they will help you to arrange it. Comfortable Hotel Meals included: Breakfast Day 12 End Buenos Aires. Depending on the time of your flight you may have another chance to see more of cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. Those on group flights will leave today for the flight back to London. Meals included: Breakfast
Iguazu Falls Extension Code: XAF To the far North East of Argentina, boarding Brazil lies the magnificent falls of Iguazu (or Iguassu). Add four additional days to your trip to experience this awe-inspiring sight. Staying on the Argentinian side you will have the opportunity to wander around this UNESCO World Heritage National Park packed full of flora and fauna. In the heart of the park you will find the cascading waters. This spectacular waterfall is not to be missed. You can also get up close to the falls by taking a boat trip as an optional extra. The detailed itinerary can be found here. Please ask your sales consultant for more details. It is possible to upgrade to premium accommodation- please call for details.
Argentina All nationalities require a full passport that must be valid for 6 months beyond the intended length of stay. No visa required for holders of British passport. If you are crossing the border into Argentina from Chile on your trip, we will need to know your profession in order to provide when entering Argentina. The Argentine government charges a reciprocity fee which applies to Canadian and Australian citizens. The amounts are as follows: Australians - US$100 (multiple entry) Canadians - US$75 (single entry) This fee must be paid before you enter Argentina. For full details, and to make the payment, please visit: https://virtual.provinciapagos.com.ar/ArgentineTaxes
Argentina There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated the travel advice for Argentina with an update to the Health section – an outbreak of Hantavirus has been reported in Epuyén, Province of Chubut in southern Argentina; for more information and advice, visit the website of the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC). Bilharzia is known to occur in some of the lakes or rivers in Argentina, we therefore advise all to take advice from your guide or leader locally before venturing for a swim. Dengue fever is also a known risk in Argentina. It is a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for Dengue, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Due to a recent outbreak of Yellow Fever in the Misiones province of Argentina, vaccinations are strongly recommended if you intend to visit the Iguazu Falls. Zika fever is a mosquito‐borne viral disease and a known risk in places visited on this trip. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, we therefore strongly recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
Hotels In Buenos Aires, Salta and Cafayate we stay in comfortable hotels which are ideally located for sightseeing. Accommodation in the more rural destinations of Cachi, Belen and Villa Union is more basic but provides all the amenities that we require. Most of the properties feature swimming pools.
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