Day 1
Overnight flight to Santiago.
Day 2
Reception at Santiago airport and transfer to your selected hotel in the heart of the city.
Afternoon city tour of Santiago. We will pick you up from your hotel to explore the historic and modern sights of Santiago de Chile. We will start our tour at the Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago’s main avenue, visiting La Moneda, the Government Palace, where we will explain to you the historical and actual meaning of this place. We will enjoy a walk through the pedestrian streets of Huerfanos and Ahumada, where the main commercial activity of the city is concentrated. We will then visit the famous Plaza de Armas, the main square of the city, which is surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral and other historical buildings such as the City Hall and the Post Office, both dating from colonial times. Next we head to Santa Lucia Hill, the hill upon which the Spanish founded Santiago in 1541. It is a lone steep rock, with many plants and an antique building rising steeply from the city below. From here you can see the Parque Forestal (park) on one side and the Mapocho River on the other. We will cross the river to visit Bellavista, the cultural and artistic neighborhood of Santiago. Return to your hotel.
Note: check-in is normally after 2 pm. Early check-in may be granted subject to availability (not confirmed).
Day 3
Full day of touring around Santiago. On this day, you may choose from one of the following excursions:
Vina del Mar and Valparaiso
Valle Nevado
Isla Negra - Pablo Neruda Museum
Cousińo Macul and Concha y Toro wineries
Day 4
Santiago - Punta Arenas - Puerto Natales
Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Punta Arenas. Reception at the airport and transfer to the bus station to take the bus to Puerto Natales. Upon arrival transfer to your hotel. Evening at leisure to rest before your excursion to the Torres del Paine Park.
Day 5
Torres del Paine National Park
Full day excursion to Torres del Paine National Park. Enroute we will visit the Milodón Cave, where the remains of a prehistoric animal were found in the last century. The Torres del Paine National Park was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1978. The park covers an area of 160,000 hectares. The most important attraction is the central mountain range where the Horns of Paine are found, and also the needles which were formed by the action of the many glaciers surrounding the rock. There are also many impressive lakes, glaciers, waterfalls and a quite varied flora and fauna—which makes this one of the most famous places in Chile to visit. Lunch (included) is in a restaurant in the park itself. Transfer to a hosteria in the park in the late afternoon.
Day 6
Torres del Paine
Day of leisure in Torres del Paine. Optional excursions available at the hosteria. Overnight in Torres del Paine.
Day 7
Torres del Paine - Punta Arenas
Morning at leisure. Afternoon transfer to Punta Arenas. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.
Day 8
Transfer to the port to embark on the expedition cruise ship the Stella. Begin boarding the Stella at 6pm when the captain and crew will give a welcome cocktail reception on board. Immediately afterward, the ship will set sail for the uttermost part of the earth. Through the mythical Strait of Magellan, we will travel to Southern Patagonia, including Tierra de Fuego. This is the beginning of a great adventure!
Day 9
Ainsworth Bay - Brookes Glacier
During the dawn’s early light, our ship will continue navigating through Almirantazgo Inlet, until arriving near Marinelli Glacier in Ainsworth Bay. Here, we will enjoy a walk to discover a beaver dam in the midst of a marvelous Magellanic forest. On the beach, we will observe a colony of elephant seals. Continuing the voyage, we will reach Brookes Glacier Bay, where we will be surrounded by several glaciers, providing an awe-inspiring spectacle.
Day 10
Pia Glacier - Glacier Alley
We will navigate the main part of the Beagle Channel to enter Pia Bay and disembark near the glacier of the same name. We will take an excursion 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. After this unforgettable experience, we will sail again along the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel through majestic Glacier Alley: Spain, Romanche, Germany, Italy, France and Holland glaciers
Day 11
Cape Horn and Puerto Williams
We will 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 oceans 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, we will disembark in Port Williams, where you can take optional excursions, such as to the Martin Gusinde Museum or a flight over Cape Horn.
Day 12
Ushuaia
Arrival in Ushuaia, the most important Argentine city in Tierra de Fuego, and the southernmost city in the world. We will disembark at 8 am. Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Buenos Aires and connect with the flight back home, or book extensions in Argentina (Buenos Aires, Patagonia, Iguazu).