In the Wake of Magellan: Patagonia by Land & Sea

Day 1: Santiago

Early morning airport reception and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon take a historic tour of Santiago including the Presidential Palace, once the National Mint and thus called "La Moneda", the historic main square or "Plaza de Armas", the Cathedral, the National History Museum, and "Casa Colorado" the historic residence of the Governor. Continue on to Santa Lucia, the hill upon which the Spanish founded Santiago in 1541.

Accommodations: The Singular, Santiago

Day 2: Puerto Natales - Torres del Paine National Park

Transfer to the airport for a morning flight to Punta Arenas. Upon arrival, you’ll be met by a local transfer agent to begin your journey to Puerto Natales, watching for guanaco, ostrich, black-necked swan, flamingo and condor along the way. Located on the shores of La Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) Sound, Puerto Natales is ideally located for travelers who want to sample Torres del Paine National Park and soak up the beauty of southern Patagonia on easy day hikes, but value a high degree of comfort and prefer not to endure the long overland journey into the heart of the park. Your home for the next three nights is the elegant Singular Patagonia Lodge, where you can choose among an assortment of guided excursions into Torres del Paine National Park and exploring the surrounding mountains, rivers and pampas.

Accommodations: The Singular Patagonia

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Days 3 - 4: Torres Del Paine National Park & Environs

A team of expert guides host expeditions that show you the real Patagonia, far beyond just Torres del Paine. Venture through hidden fjords to access remote mountains and hanging glaciers, visit authentic ranches, horseback ride across the pampas and kayak quiet rivers through dense beech forests. Challenge yourself with a long day-hike up to the glacial lake at the base of the Towers in Torres del Paine National Park or explore the park by vehicle with short stops for photographs and easy hikes to scenic outlooks.

Guests can choose different guided activities each day but may also take mountain bikes and pedal into the nearby town on their own. The hotel has a complete spa offering a variety of treatments and the heated pool, indoor and outdoor, is the perfect end after a day of incredible expeditions. At the restaurant you'll find a blend of native and international cuisine for a unique dining experience and the bar offers a great place to mingle with other guests, discuss the day's adventures and plan for the next one over a happy hour cocktail to glass of South America's finest wines.

Accommodations: The Singular Patagonia

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Punta Arenas

After breakfast in the morning, your vehicle takes you south to Punta Arenas. Upon arrival into this port city in the mid-afternoon, you'll be taken to the local office to register for your cruise to Ushuaia aboard the M/V Stella Australis or the M/V Via Australis. Beginning at 6:00 PM, the Captain and crew will welcome you aboard with a cocktail party when you get to meet your fellow shipmates. Shortly after, the ship will begin its journey to the ends of the world, through the fabled Strait of Magellan towards Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) and Patagonia.

Accommodations: M/V Stella Australis

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Ainsworth Bay & Tuckers Islets

With the first light of dawn, navigation will continue through Almirantazgo Fjord. Disembark in scenic Ainsworth Bay near Marinelli Glacier in Alberto De Agostini National Park. Here you will take a walk to get an up-close look at an elephant seal colony and enjoy the solitude of the Magellan Forests. Enjoy the splendid views of the surrounding Darwin Mountain Range. After lunch, board Zodiac boats to observe a colony of Magellanic penguins (found only in the Southern Hemisphere) and look for cormorants in search of fish. In September & April, outside of the penguins breeding season, you travel instead to Brookes Bay to visit a different glacier.

Accommodations: M/V Stella Australis

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Pia Glacier/Glacier Alley

Early morning finds us navigating the Beagle Channel, entering Pia Bay. After disembarking near Pia Glacier, an exhilarating hike takes you to a lookout point that is ideal for viewing the mountain range where the glacier originates and its flow all the way to the sea. This afternoon, set sail again along the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel through majestic “Glacier Alley”: home of the the Spain, Romanche, Germany, Italy, France and Holland glaciers. Overnight onboard.

Accommodations: M/V Stella Australis

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Cape Horn/Wulaia Bay

Sail through the Beagle and Murray Channels to disembark in Cape Horn National Park. Cape Horn, a sheer, almost 425-meter-high promontory where the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean merge, was discovered in 1616 by the Dutch commercial expedition organized by Isaac Le Maire. The Cape owes its name to the Port of Hoorn, the expedition’s departure point. In the afternoon, will disembark at historic Wulaia Bay, once the site of the largest Yamana aboriginal settlements. Charles Darwin landed here in 1833 and you'll walk through the beautiful native vegetation to a lookout point. This evening, the Captain invites us to our Farewell Dinner as we prepare to sail for Ushuaia, Argentina.

*Note that the landing at Cape Horn National Park is weather permitting only.

Accommodations: M/V Stella Australis

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: Ushuaia - El Calafate

Cruise slowly across the Beagle Channel toward the island of Tierra del Fuego and reach Ushuaia, the most important settlement on the island, at dawn. Upon arrival, be met and transferred to the airport for your flight to El Calafate. You'll be staying at the Eolo Lodge, a unique accommodation that embodies the spirit of Patagonia: its indigenous roots and the personal experiences of the first Europeans to settle the land.

Accommodations: Eolo Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10: Perito Moreno Glacier Walk

Drive to a spectacular lookout of Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park. Permanently advancing along its 3-mile front, columns of ice over 20 stories high peel off the face and crash into Lago Argentino creating massive icebergs. Cross Lago Argentino by catamaran along the front wall of the glacier to the edge of the Patagonian Ice Cap and hike through the beech forest and up onto the ice pack! Don crampons to spend two hours walking among the crevasses, caves, and tunnels of this active glacier. Watch for Andean condor and Buff-necked Ibis. Enjoy a picnic lunch by the lateral moraine of the glacier and return to the Perito Moreno lookout for hiking and photographing. (For a 6-hour trek on the glacier see our Big Ice Tour).

NOTE: Participants in the glacier walk must be between the ages of 10-65 due to the park’s rigidly enforced age restrictions. Should you not meet these requirements, don’t fret! Inquire about available alternative glacier walks and experiences.

Accommodations: Eolo Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11: El Calafate

Enjoy your day at leisure at Eolo Lodge to soak up all that this dramatic property has to offer. You might choose trekking nearby on Mount Frias or in La Anita Valley, mountain biking over unique terrain and rugged trails, or bird watching around the lodge property.

Prefer to spend your day discovering what it's like to be a Gaucho, a Patagonian cowboy? Nibepo Aike is a working estancia (farm) and it retains the essence of the old Patagonian estancias. Originally named La Jeronima, this 30,000 acre farm is an ideal place to get on a horse and experience the land in the traditional way. The trails will lead you and your horse through native woodland with an abundance of local flora and fauna. Enjoy a traditional lunch of lamb asado in the quincho, the farm's rustic dining room.

Extra cost for Nibepo Aike experience is $360 per person for 2-3 people; $270 for 4-5 people; $220 for 6 or more. Cost includes lunch, horseback riding and a tour of the farm.

Accommodations: Eolo Lodge

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12: Buenos Aires

Morning at your leisure to enjoy the estancia life. Time permitting, you can hike the trails through the property or go for a horseback ride accompanied by the estancia’s gauchos. Transfer to El Calafate airport for late afternoon or evening fight to Buenos Aires. You’ll be met at the airport and escorted to your hotel.

Accommodations: Recoleta Grand

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 13: Departure

Explore Buenos Aires on our Four Balconies of Buenos Aires half-day city tour. A local guide uses four parks and plazas to introduce you to the city, its history, its style, and the peculiar psychology of Porteo residents. You visit historical sites such as the Barrio Norte with its splendid old homes; San Telmo where the artist and musicians live and work; La Boca, a neighborhood of brightly painted Italian family homes and restaurants; and the Avenida 9 de Julio with its towering obelisk as much a symbol to Buenos Aires as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Your hotel room is available as a day-room until the early evening, when you transfer to the international airport in time for your evening departure.

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Meals Included: Breakfast