"El Viajero" Rio, Buenos Aires & Santiago with Chilean Lakes & Iguassu Falls 16 Days/14 Nights from $3665 Departures Daily Except Wednesdays & Thursdays Plus - Extend Your Trip With EcoAdventures' Special Patagonia Extensions to El Calafate and/or Paine National Park, Chile! Itinerary Day One: Depart Home City.

Click here for larger image

Local "butterfly" from one of Rio's colorful folklore shows

Day Two: Arrive Rio Arrive in Rio this morning and transfer to your selected hotel. Remainder of the day at leisure.

View of Rio from cable car

Day Three: Corcovado & Sugar Loaf Tour This full-day motorcoach tour begins at Corcovado, Rio's highest mountain, crowned by the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. Enjoy the exceptional views and then continue via the scenic route through Tijuca rainforest. Stop for a barbecue lunch before continuing to Praia Vermelia, where you begin the two-stage ascent by cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain for breathtaking views of Guanabara Bay and Rio (right). (B, L)

Spectacular Iguassu Falls

Day Four: Rio to Iguassu Falls Fly away from vibrant Rio to explore one of the world's greatest natural wonders, Iguassu Falls. You will hear the falls' mighty thunder from the elegant Tropical Hotel Das Cataratas, located just footsteps away from the cascading water. (B)

Take a thrilling Zodiac ride up the Devil's Throat!

Day Five: Iguassu Falls A full day at leisure, where you will have an opportunity to visit the falls from the Brazilian vantage point. Here, you will have a magnificent overview of the entire horseshoe-shaped falls with over 250 separate cataracts. You may take a zodiac ride for a close up view of the Devil's Throat! (right) (B)

Day Six: Iguassu Falls to Buenos Aires Morning departure for Argentina, where you will have a whole new view of the falls. You will cross into Argentina via the Friendship Bridge and clear Argentine customs. Then, walk along the river's edge where a myriad of flora and fauna inhabits this semi-tropical area. Cross small bridges over tiny waterfalls, climb up the embankment to lookout points, and finally arrive at the main part of the falls, the Devil's Throat. After the tour, transfer to the airport on the Argentine side of the falls for your flight to cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. Transfer to your selected hotel. (B)

The old port La Boca District with its pastel houses and shops

Days Seven & Eight: Buenos Aires See why Buenos Aires is called the "Paris of South America" on a half-day motorcoach tour of this elegant city. Drive by the public squares and parks, including Plaza de Mayo, Plaza del Congreso and Palermo Park. See the Pink House (presidential palace), Colon Theater, 9th of July Avenue and visit Recoleta Cemetery, where Evita is buried. (B daily)

Day Nine: Buenos Aires to Bariloche Begin an exciting journey to the lakes and mountains of Argentina and Chile, starting with a flight to Bariloche in the heart of the Andes. Transfer to your selected hotel. (B)

Hotel Llao Llao, Llao Llao Peninsula, Bariloche and Lake Nahuel Huapi as seen en route to Mount Lopez

Day Ten: Bariloche Scenic Tour Today you will be transported into a world of craggy mountains, snowcapped peaks, brilliant blue lakes and unspoiled forests. Take a half-day motorcoach drive to Mount Lopez and the circuito chico, or small circle tour, for sweeping panoramic views of Lake Nahuel Huapi. En route, pass El Tronador (The Thunderer), peaking at 11,500 feet, Lake Moreno and Clover Lake. In Bariloche, you will think you have entered an alpine village complete with chocolate shops and European architecture in the main square. (B)

Day Eleven: Bariloche to Peulla (available all year) Begin with a half-hour drive along the southern shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi to Puerto Panuelo, where you will start a two-day lakes excursion to Chile. (Click here for more information about EcoAdventures' Lakes Crossing Excursions.) A two-hour boat trip will bring you to Puerto Blest. After two more busses and a brief lake crossing, you will enter Chile through Paso Perez Rosales. Clear customs and then continue by motorcoach to La Natura Hotel (left), in the middle of this natural wonderland. (B,D)

Day Twelve: Peulla to Puerto Montt (Puerto Varas) Continue your Lake District excursion across Lake Todos Los Santos, where you have a dramatic view of Osorno Volcano (weather permitting!). You will make a brief stop in Petrohue to admire the falls and the view of two volcano peaks, Osorno and Puntiagudo. Continue by bus two more hours along Lake Llanquihue to Puerto Varas, scenically located on the shores of Lake Llanquihue. (B)

Quaint Fishing Village of Puerto Montt, Chile

Day Thirteen: Puerto Montt to Santiago This morning tour Puerto Montt on the Relancavi Estuary, and the quaint fish market of Angelmo, with an open-air crafts market. Continue on to the airport for a one-hour flight to Santiago. Transfer to your selected hotel. Evening at leisure. (B)

Day Fourteen: Santiago City Tour Take a half-day tour of Santiago, including the Metropolitan Park and San Cristobal Hill for a panoramic view. Visit the city center, including the main square, the racetrack and O'Higgins Park along the Maipu River, where you can buy quality handcrafted jewelry, woolens and decorative items in the open-air shops. (B)

Day Fifteen: Depart Santiago After a memorable journey to some of the most remarkable sights in South America, the day comes to return home. (B)

Day Sixteen: Arrive Home City

Note: Low Season = MAY 01-SEP 27, DEC 01-20, 2008. Rates apply to accommodation dates in Rio and Buenos Aires, not to the departure dates from the USA. Rates do not apply for New Years or Carnival or Easter Week. *Quoted on the basis of Americas Towers for Bisonte Palace in Buenos Aires and Superior room at Iguassu Falls. **Quoted on the basis of Kenton Palace Lake View room in Bariloche. ***Quoted on the basis of Caesar Park Ocean View room in Rio, Park Hyatt Deluxe room in Buenos Aires, Puelche Hotel in Puerto Varas & Plaza el Bosque Suites in Santiago. All airfares within South America are included in the rates and are subject to change without notice. Airfares from/to North America are not included. Call 800-326-5025 for airfares from major US cities.

Sugar Loaf Glowing Over Rio

Patagonia Extensions
El Calafate, Argentina
3 or 4 Days
Insert this program after day 8 of the itinerary

Day One: Buenos Aires to El Calafate Fly to El Calafate deep in the Argentine Patagonia and transfer to your hotel of choice. (B)

Perito Moreno Glacier, Lake Argentina

Day Two: Full-Day Perito Moreno Glacier Tour You will have several hours to explore this great natural wonder from many different perspectives. This is the only glacier in the world that is still growing and encompasses an area larger than cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. The deep blue color of the ice indicates its age of over 30,000 years. If you are lucky, you will witness a calving, in which 30-foot pieces of ice break off the glacier and crash into the lake. What a show! (B, L)

30,000 Year-Old Blue Iceberg from the Perito Moreno Glacier

Day Three: Full-Day Upsala & Onelli Glaciers Cruise Full-Day boat trip to the confluence of the north and south branches of Lake Argentina. Its basin was formed by glacial erosion over a period of 15,000 years, and it is filled with the thawing of seven glaciers. Enjoy splendid views of blue icebergs, virgin forests, Onelli Bay, Spegazzini Glacier and Peineta Peak. (B, L)
Day Four: El Calafate to Bariloche Fly to Bariloche to resume 'El Viajero' program. (B)

Paine National Park, Chile
5 days/4 nights from $1300
Insert this program after day 12 of the itinerary

Day One: Puerto Varas to Punta Arenas This morning tour Puerto Montt on the Relancavi Estuary, and the quaint fish market of Angelmo, with an open-air crafts market. Continue on to the airport for a two-hour flight to Punta Arenas and transfer to your selected hotel. (B)

The Magnificent Towers of Paine Paine National Park, Chile

Day Two: Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine National Park Early this morning, commence the long drive to Torres del Paine. The drive north across the barren Patagonian plains takes over seven hours. A stop will be made en route at Milodon Cave, where Charles Darwin found the fossilized remains of a prehistoric giant sloth. Hotel selection in Paine Park will be subject to space availability. (B)

Pudu, the world's smallest deer, standing only 14-18 inches high at the shoulder and weighing just 14-30 pounds. The Southern Andean species is endangered.

Days Three & Four: Torres del Paine National Park Days at leisure for sightseeing on your own. You may obtain information and purchase tours at the hotel front desk. Tours vary in degree of strenuousness, from full-day or half-day hiking tours, to sightseeing tours via van with guide.
Day Five: Paine Park/Punta Arenas/Santiago Depart early this morning for the return trip to Punta Arenas and flight connections to Santiago. Meeting service and transfer to your selected hotel. (B)

Itinerary

EcoAdventures, Inc.
16375 Monterey Street, Suite E
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
CST #1011294-10
800-326-5025
408-465-8181
Fax: 408-465-8177

Copyright 1999-2008 EcoAdventures

Designed & Produced by MindOverData.com