The Guanaco Tour

Itinerary Description

Day 1 - Overnight flight to Buenos Aires 

Day 2 - Buenos Aires at leisure/optional tours or excursions

The tour starts with direct flights with British Airways between London Heathrow and Buenos Aires, arriving in the morning. You will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel in the city centre for a three night stay. 

Buenos Aires is often noted as the most stylish and romantic of South America's capital cities, full of European influences but with a distinct Latin American flair. It is for this reason that Buenos Aires is known as "the Paris of South America". Situated on the historic River Plate, it is divided into distinct barrios, each with their own unique appeal.

We have a range of excursions available providing an authentic experience to enhance your stay in Buenos Aires:

• Learn about the history of Argentina through its fascinating museums
• Magnificent Architecture of Buenos Aires's historical palaces
• Art Galleries (MALBA: Modern Art, Fine Arts, Decorative Arts)
• Museum of the life of Evita Peron
• Parks of Palermo and Rose Garden
• Casa Rosada Presidential Palace, or inside the National Congress building
• Classical Music, Opera or Ballet at the Colon Theatre, or a guided tour
• Museum of Foreign Debt (worthwhile for anyone interested in finance)
• Football Match and/or tour of the Boca Juniors stadium
• Life of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires
• Jewish Community and Synagogues
• Aerial visit of Buenos Aires by Helicopter
• Shopping for leather goods including bags, belts and tailor-made jacket

Full day trips outside the city:

• Gaucho, Country Life & Estancias in San Antonio de Areco
• Day out to see a Polo Match, or take a Polo Lesson 2
• Visit the historic town of Colonia in Uruguay, crossing the river Plate by ferry
• Visit to Tigre, a small town up the River Plate, with boat trip into the Delta

Day 3 - Buenos Aires city & history tour

Today you will enjoy a special half-day tour, providing a panoramic journey around the main sights of the city and giving a detailed insight into the history of Buenos Aires and local modern life. The tour starts in the centre of the city at Plaza de Mayo, where we also find the Metropolitan Cathedral, Presidential Palace and the Casa Rosada amongst others. Following a visit to the renowned Colon Theatre, we will head south to the traditional San Telmo barrio, noted for its old-fashioned cafes, antique markets and leafy squares and parks. From here we can walk into the famous La Boca neighbourhood, where poor European immigrants used paint from the nearby shipyards to transform their humble corrugated iron homes into a brightly-coloured mish-mash of houses. The streets are further brought to life by tango dancers and artists displaying their considerable talents. 

We then drive back north, from the business district of Puerto Madero up to the upmarket neighbourhood of Palermo, where we find attractive colonial mansions and pretty squares. The tour ends at the impressive Recoleta cemetery, where huge mausoleums provide a resting place for many significant citizens, including 19 former Presidents and, most famously of all, Eva Peron. 

Day 4 - Dinner & Tango Show

You will have another day at leisure to explore the city, with time to take another optional tour if you prefer. In the evening you will go on a shared trip to the heart of San Telmo to see one of the most well-regarded tango shows in the city. The show takes place in a small auditorium in the basement of an historic building, offering an intimate atmosphere and excellent views from each seat. A six-piece orchestra provides the music for the skilled dancers to take to the stage to work their magic. The show mainly focuses on traditional tango, but blends in elements of modern influences and regional music from the north of Argentina. A 3 course dinner and wine is served before the show and you will be returned to your hotel afterwards.

Itinerary Description

Day 5 - Fly to Bariloche

It is now time to fly to Bariloche in the Argentine Lake District. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel in the town for a three night stay.

Day 6 - Scenic lakes, forest walks & endemic birds

This special full day private tour allows you to experience pristine Patagonian nature at its very best. Today you will discover the lakes, lagoons, valleys, forests and mountains that make this one of the continent's most scenic regions, as well as being guided through some of the fascinating history and local life around Bariloche.

The first stop is the Llao Llao Municipal Park, where easy trails lead to magnificent vistas across immaculate bays and take us into verdant Andean Patagonian forest. Here we can appreciate some of the endemic birds of the region; thorn-tailed rayadito, white-throated treerunner, Patagonian tyrant, Patagonian sierra-finch, black-throated huet-huet and chucao tapaculo.

We continue on to visit the famed Swiss colony, dubbed 'Mini-Switzeland' where you will learn more about the European influences in Bariloche and how their customs continue to be observed today. From here we will then board a chair-lift to the top of Cerro Campanario to get a birds-eye view on the area visited. Back in Bariloche we will conclude the day at some of the historical spots in the city.

Day 7 - Lake District at leisure

You will now enjoy a day at leisure in Bariloche in which you can relax in the alpine scenery or perhaps chose to pursue individual interests on one of our optional tours or excursions:

• Enchanted Valley, Mountain Village and Traful Lake Drive / Full Day
• Victoria Island Forest Walks / Full Day
• Horseriding or Walking to Arelauken Refuge Mountain Top / Full Day
• Stream Train Journey in the Steppe Plateau / Full Day
• Landscapes of "Seven Lakes Road" / Full Day
• Skiing in the Mountains / July to September
• River Rafting / Full Day Grade III or IV /December to March
• Trout Fishing / Catch and Release
• Horsering Riding / Full Day
• Hiking in the Mountains / Half Day or Full Day
• Birdwatching to Jurncos Lagoon Reserve / Full Day
• Hiking to Condor Nest / Full Day

Itinerary Description

Day 8 - Fly to El Calafate

Today you will fly further south, deeper into Argentine Patagonia, where your base for the next three nights will be the charming town of El Calafate, on the shores of the glacier-laden Lake Argentina, surrounded by mountains.

Day 9 - Perito Moreno Glacier

One of the highlights of Argentine Patagonia is the chance to get up close to the immense Perito Moreno Glacier, standing proud in Lake Argentina in Los Glaciares National Park. This shared excursion will give you the chance to enjoy a short cruise to bring you face-to-face with the towering wall of ice and to follow the wooden walkways for breathtaking panoramic views. It is from here that you can best enjoy one of nature's great spectacles, as huge chunks of ice detach from the glacier, collapsing dramatically and crashing thunderously into the icy waters below.

Day 10 - El Calafate's Balcony

This shared half day excursion will take you to a natural viewpoint, affording panoramic views of El Calafate, Lake Argentina and the Andes Mountains. It is also possible to look out towards the Bocas del Diablo section of the lake and distant glaciers and on clear days you can see the granite spires of Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torres near El Chalten. Perhaps the highlight of the day though will be a sighting of magnificent Andean Condors, often spotted here.

Day 11 - Fly to Buenos Aires 

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Buenos Aires. Here you will be met and taken to your hotel for an overnight stay ahead of your return flight.

Day 12 - Return flight to the UK