Argentina holidays

The Gaucho Grande

Our Greatest Argentina Holidays

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The Real Way to Enjoy Argentina...

16-day Argentina holidays for £3350pp

Our Gaucho Grande holidays give you the chance to enjoy everything that's great about Argentina. You'll have time to enjoy Buenos Aires before heading to the spectacular Iguazu Falls, and then travelling up into the little-visited north-west of Argentina to visit the colonial gem of Salta.

From here you'll travel south along the spine of the Andes, with stops in the Wine Country of Mendoza and the beautiful lakeside town of Bariloche, before ending up in the epic landscapes of Patagonia...

Outline Itinerary

  • Day One: Arrival in Buenos Aires
  • Day Two: Buenos Aires City Tour
  • Day Three: Free Day in Buenos Aires
  • Day Four: Fly to Iguazu
  • Day Five: Iguazu Falls (Brazil Side)
  • Day Six: Iguazu Falls (Argentina Side)
  • Day Seven: Fly to Salta
  • Day Eight: Tour of the Cachi Valley
  • Day Nine: Free day in Salta
  • Day Ten: Fly to Bariloche
  • Day Eleven: Cruise on Lake Nahuel Huapi
  • Day Twelve: Free Day in Bariloche
  • Day Thirteen: Fly to Calafate
  • Day Fourteen: Perito Moreno Glacier
  • Day Fifteen: Free Day in Calafate
  • Day Sixteen: Overnight flight back to the UK

"We had a brilliant holiday - way beyond our expectations."

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Detailed Itinerary

Day One – Start of Your Argentina Holidays

Your Argentina holidays begin today with arrival in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina and one of the world’s great cities. On arrival we’ll meet you and take you to your hotel in the centre of town. You’ll be having a full city tour tomorrow, but you’re just a few blocks from all the main sites, as well as from restaurants and cafes, so you’re perfectly placed to head out and start soaking up the unique atmosphere of Buenos Aires.

Day Two - City Tour of Buenos Aires

After a free morning to relax after your journey, we will take you for a tour of the major sights in the city. We will visit the historic centre, including the famous Plaza de Mayo where the demonstrations by mothers of the ‘disappeared’ against the military government took place, as well as the Casa Rosada from whose balcony Evita addressed the crowds below. We will also visit the beautiful Cathedral before heading to the tango districts of San Telmo and La Boca, also home to the famous Boca Juniors football team. We will also visit the exclusive Palermo and Recoleta areas, with their leafy avenues and grand houses, superb restaurants and boutique shopping before ending up in the riverside district of Puerto Madero to enjoy some superb Argentinean cuisine with views over the river if you wish. (Breakfast included)

options...
  • Today you will see the highlights of Buenos Aires, but there are plenty of alternative city tours which can be tailored to your specific interests, including: art; graffiti; gastronomy; architecture; football; tango; Evita; Pope John Francis; bike tours; or even a helicopter ride! Just ask us for more information.

Day Three - Free Day in Buenos Aires

Now that you’ve been all over Buenos Aires and know your way around, we’ve given you the day free to revisit your favourite spots or find some new ones! (B)

options...
  • How about spending this evening at a traditional Argentine tango show, complete with superb Argentinian food and wine?

Day Four – Fly to Iguazu

This morning we'll pick you up and take you back to the airport to catch a flight to Puerto Iguazu, on the border with Brazil. We'll be there to meet you and take you to your hotel in this small town, which is the jumping-off point for visits to the amazing Iguazu Falls. You'll arrive in the late afternoon so you have plenty of time to wander around and enjoy the laidback atmosphere of this sub-tropical town. (B)

Day Five - Iguazu Falls (Brazil side)

We will enjoy your first visit to Iguazu Falls today, from the Brazilian side of the falls. Here a long walkway along the canyon top allows you to appreciate the scale of Iguazu as you work your way along to a point giving you a panoramic view of the famous Devil's Throat, where 14 separate falls combine in a drop of 350 feet, sending spray over 100 feet into the air for a permanent rainbow. The Brazilian side of the falls guarantees you some amazing photos and really allows you to appreciate the breathtaking beauty of Iguazu Falls. (B)

options...
  • For an added taste of adventure, how about taking a white-water rafting trip on the Rio Iguazu?
  • Or if wildlife is your thing, why not arrange a short trek in the Iguazu National Park?

Day Six - Iguazu Falls (Argentina side)

After breakfast this morning we will take you to re-visit Iguazu Falls, but this time from the Argentinian side, where a system of walkways projects right out into the middle of the waterfall system, giving you the chance to get close to these natural monsters and really feel the pounding of the waterfalls all around you. Although you don’t quite get the views of the Brazilian side today, most people agree that this is actually the most impressive way to experience the sheer power of Iguazu Falls. (B)

Day Seven - Fly to Salta

This morning we will pick you up and take you to the airport in Iguazu for a flight up to the north-west of Argentina and the pretty colonial town of Salta. With a much more 'South American' feel than any other Argentine city, and with some of its best-preserved colonial architecture, Salta is a little-known gem and is always a favourite memory of any Argentina holidays. (B)

Day Eight - Cachi Valley Tour

Leaving Salta this morning, we will drive out through the Lerma Valley to the settlement of Chicoana. From here we climb up into the Quebrada de los Laureles (Laurel Gorge) and drive along the Carretera Maray, enjoying spectacular views down into the enchanting Cachi Valley, with its terraced hillsides and small villages spreading out below us. Crossing an ancient Inca road into the Los Cardones National Park, we will climb up to a breathtaking altitude of 3384m at the Piedra del Molino viewpoint, before we drop down to the village of Cachi, where we will visit the local archaeological museum and the beautiful village church. After a full day exploring the area, we will return to Salta in the evening. (B)

Day Nine - Free day in Salta

We've left the whole of today free for you to explore Salta itself, or to see some more of the surrounding countryside. In Salta you can visit some of the fine colonial buildings, or just enjoy a glass of the excellent local wines in one of the many lovely pavement cafes. In fact, you could also visit the vineyards themselves - the Cafayate valley has some of Argentina's highest-altitude vineyards which produce some of Argentina's best wines... (B)

Day Ten - Fly to Bariloche

This morning we'll take you back to the airport for a short flight further south to the lovely lakeside town of San Carlos de Bariloche. In the first half of the last century, Bariloche had a large number of German immigrants and you could be forgiven that you’d landed in a small town in the Black Forest for all the wooden chalets and chocolate shops you find here – there’s even a resident St. Bernard in the main square! The town offers some excellent walking possibilities and is many people’s favourite destination in Argentina so it will be your base for the next few days: a perfect chance to relax, enjoy the lovely countryside, and perhaps the occasional chocolate or two... (B)

Day Eleven - Cruising on Lake Nahuel Huapi

Today we'll take you down to the port of Puerto Pañuelo to board a catamaran for the short trip across the lake to Isla Victoria. This beautiful, densely-forested island lies right in the middle of the lake and once we arrive we’ll take a chair-lift up to the summit of the island for some fantastic views back across the lake. We’ll then walk back down to the harbour and sail around to the Los Arrayanes National Park, on the Quetrihue peninsula. Arrayan is Spanish for ‘myrtle’ and this myrtle forest is a beautiful, tranquil place, home to deer, guanaco, condors and eagles. After an afternoon exploring the Park, we’ll return by boat to Bariloche in the evening. (B)

Day Twelve - Free Day in Bariloche

We have left today free for you to relax and enjoy exploring Bariloche. There are a range of gentle walks available from the town itself, whether along the lakeshore or into the hills around the town, or you can just enjoy the cute shopping streets and quiet plazas of Bariloche, while you sit back with views of the lake and get those postcards written. (B)

options...
  • We'd hugely recommend a visit to the beautiful 'Seven Lakes' of San Martin de Los Andes
  • Or if you'd like to stetch your legs properly, a trek up to the summit of Cerro Challhuaco?
  • If you'd like all the scenery but without too much walking, then why not hire a car for a day?

Day Thirteen - Fly to El Calafate

After breakfast this morning, we will pick you up and take you back to Trelew for your flight on to El Calafate. This lovely little town on the shores of Lake Argentino is the perfect base for exploring Argentinian Patagonia. We’ve left the rest of the day free for you to enjoy the beautiful views of mountains, flower-rich meadows and the flamingos grazing in the lake shallows as you get used to the higher altitude. (B)

Day Fourteen - Perito Moreno Glacier

After breakfast today we will travel out into the Los Glaciares National Park to visit the colossal Perito Moreno glacier. This enormous river of ice is 3km wide and up to 70m in height, with colours ranging from brilliant white, through to exquisitely pure blues and turquoises. We will walk along several different paths to give us views from above and alongside the glacier, and finally from below the enormous wall of ice itself. In the tranquility of the surrounding countryside, you can actually hear the slow grinding of the ice as the glacier moves. It’s an unforgettable experience and one of the highlights of any holiday in Patagonia. (B)

options...
  • Why not take a boat trip out across Lake Argentino to the base of Perito Moreno?
  • Or a trek out across the glacier itself to experience the true scale?

Day Fifteen - Free Day in El Calafate

We have left the whole of today free for you to relax or to enjoy some of the many activities possible from El Calafate: you could do some walking in the surrounding area, take a boat trip on the lake, do some horse-riding with your very own gauchos, or perhaps rent a bike and head out on the many trails into the Patagonian countryside... (B)

options...
  • If you'd like something more organised, how about a trip over the border to Chile and the amazing Torres del Paine National Park?
  • Or for something adventurous, a chance to go ice-climbing in the Glaciers National Park?

Day Sixteen - Last Day of Your Argentina Holidays

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and today will be the last day of your Argentina holidays. You'll have some free time this morning to say goodbye to Patagonia, before we pick you up and take you to the airport for a short flight to Buenos Aires, where you'll arrive in plenty of time to catch your international flight home. (B)

Options for our Argentina Holidays

Rio and Brazil Beach Holidays

Rio and Brazil Beach Break – 7 days from £1250pp

About the only thing that Argentina doesn’t do brilliantly is beaches – they’re fine, but they’re not fabulous. However, just a short flight north you have access to all the great beaches of Brazil, and this 7-day extension flies you to Rio to spend a couple of days there before heading on to the gorgeous Buzios peninsula, with its dozens of beaches. Ranging from wide sandy bays to tiny secluded coves, there's sure to be the perfect beach for your tastes, so you can relax and soak up some tropical sunshine.

Cafayate Wine Tour

Cafayate Wine Tour – from £350pp

While you're in Salta, why not take a trip into wine country to experience some of most interesting developments in Argentinian wine? This 2-day extension through the glorious landscapes of the Cafayate and Cachi valleys takes you to visit some of the super-high altitude vineyards (many are above 1500m) which specialise in whites from the uniquely Argentinian Torrontes grape and are producing some of Argentina's finest wines.

Mendoza Wine Tour

Mendoza Wine Tour – from £450pp

Or if you'd like to visit the heart of Argentina's red wine country, why not add on a few days visiting the vineyards around Mendoza. This is the heartland of Argentinian Malbec but there's lots more to discover and Mendoza is also probably the best place in Argentina for adventure sports...

Esteros del Ibera Wetlands

Esteros del Ibera Ranching - 4 days from £1200pp

In the humid sub-tropical north of Argentina, the vast Esteros del Ibera wetlands are a haven for birds and wildlife, with almost no roads or people to interfere with the pristine nature on offer. A visit to the area allows you to really get away from it all, staying on a converted ranch, reached by either jeep or horseback, and heading out each day to see some of South America’s most beautiful scenery and rarest wildlife.

Visit to Colonia

Day Trip to Colonia – from £185pp

Just across the wide River Plate from Buenos Aires, the beautiful Uruguayan town of Colonia del Sacramento is one of South America’s real gems: the cobbled streets and colonial houses are like stepping back in time and a day spent here is the perfect contrast with the hustle, bustle and sophistication of Buenos Aires. This full-day trip takes you by fast boat across the Rio Plata to Colonia, where you’ll have a guided tour and then plenty of free time to wander and explore at your own pace before we pick you up and take you back across the river to Argentina.

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What's Included?

Our standard price for our "Gaucho Grande" Argentina holidays is £3350 per person, which is based on two sharing a double or twin room in our standard hotels.

That price includes all your accommodation, internal transport, transfers, tours, guides and entrance fees, plus lunch on your Tigre Delta, Perito Moreno, Nahuel Huapi and Wine Tasting tours, and breakfast every day.

We don't have any "local payments" or sneaky charges: everything you have read about on this itinerary is included in that price. And because everything we do is tailor-made, we don't have fixed departure dates or minimum numbers for our trips. Outside of national holidays or other special events, this price is valid for the whole of 2020.

International flights

So with the exception of a few meals, everything on your holiday is included. What we don't include as standard is your international flights, because with these you have a huge range of options depending on the date you want to travel, the route you want to fly, and your preferred departure airport in the UK.

We aren't tied to any particular airline, and we will be delighted to discuss all options with you, or you can even book the flights yourself if you prefer: it's totally up to you.

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