Argentina: Patagonia & the Wine District

Itinerary at a glance

Our Patagonia and Mendoza wine tours meet in Buenos Aires (1 night) for a guided walk of the lively city, followed by a festive welcome dinner and passionate tango performance by some of the country’s finest dancers.

A short flight takes us to El Calafate (3 nights), the gateway to the glacier district. Our boutique hotel overlooks Lake Argentina and is an easy stroll to a bird reserve that teems with flamingo and black-necked swans. The next morning we approach Perito Moreno Glacier by water and explore its surface in the company of our experienced local guide. We’ll picnic on a nearby slope, close enough that we might even hear the cracking of the ancient ice. Another lake cruise among freshly calved icebergs takes us to a working estancia (ranch) in a remote Andean valley.

In the morning, we head north by air to Mendoza (3 nights) and the “Route of the Wines.” Here in the heart of Argentina’s fine wine region, we’ll have a chance to tour the vineyards with a local agronomist for tastings of fine Cabernets and Malbecs. We’ll also take a spectacularly scenic walk in the foothills of Mt. Aconcagua, one of the seven summits, and linger over a countryside picnic with views of the Andes. On our final day, we part company in El Calafate where you can head straight back to Buenos Aires for connecting flights home.

If you have some additional time to explore, we have a number of fine options to entice you to linger longer in South America. These include: Ushuaia in southern Patagonia with its Tierra del Feugo National Park and penguin rookery, spectacular Iguazu Falls in northern Argentina, and bordering Paraguay and Brazil. You can even extend your time in the Galapagos on our island-based exploration.