Buenos Aires is an elegant, cultured and cosmopolitan city famed for its interesting museums and the fascinating port district of La Boca, with its cobbled streets and brightly painted houses. It was here that the tango was born, and Diego Maradona honed his footballing skills.

The centre of town is home to the colonial heartland, government buildings and churches, as well as chic shopping districts, which have a nostalgic Parisian feel. The bohemian quarter of San Telmo is full of quaint old houses interspersed with antiques shops, tango bars and classy restaurants. Slightly further out of the centre is the Recoleta district, even more evocative of the French influence, where Evita Perón was laid to rest.

The tour continues to bohemian, arty La Boca, which was settled and built by Italian immigrants and has streets lined with brightly painted corrugated iron-clad houses. Visit the district of Recoleta.

Fly to Posadas in the northwest. From there it’s a 2-3hr drive to your lodge in the Esteros de Iberá. This is a vast wilderness wetland in the province of Corrientes, about half the size of Wales. The open grasslands and marshes are in sharp contrast to the lush tropical rainforest further north towards Iguazú Falls. It affords wildlife viewing opportunities, especially near the lagoon, and is home to caiman, capybaras, otters, howler monkeys and over 350 species of birds.

Your lodge is on the shores of the Iberá Lagoon and is an ideal base in which to view a wide array of South American wildlife visible in the open country of the marshy wetlands. There are daily opportunities to go bird-watching on the lagoon. Excursions are made by motorised boat, canoe or on foot. Horse-riding with a wildlife guide can be organised at extra cost.

Your hotel is a short stroll from the Iguazú Falls: it’s the only property inside the national park on the Argentine side. This means you have the advantage of being able to get down to the water’s edge before all the day trippers (access is from 7.30am).

The Iguazú Falls are unquestionably one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena in the world.  A total of 275 falls thunder over a rust-coloured cliff surrounded by dense tropical forest. The U-shaped Devil’s Throat is the most dramatic sight, here the frothing water of the Iguazú river crashes over a 1.5km wide precipice and columns of vapour are thrown skyward. Elsewhere the river flows decorously through the rainforest breaking up into dozens of smaller cascades. You can usually spot colourful toucans and many other exotic birds perched in the foliage above the tumultuous waters.

 You may decide to visit the Brazilian side of the falls independently or on an optional guided excursion. There's a walkway of about a kilometre, with viewpoints at strategic intervals - you get a panoramic view of the whole sweep of the cataracts - an entirely different experience to the Argentine side. Towards the end of the walk, there's an observation tower adjacent to the falls, and a walkway at the bottom takes you out for a closer and much wetter experience.

Travel 2-3hrs by unpaved road through the Iguazú National Park to your rainforest eco-lodge, Yacutinga. During this somewhat bumpy ride the guide will explain some details and curiosities of the rain-forest. The journey is picturesque, passing jungle scenery, extensive maté plantations and small villages.

After a short hike to the San Francisco river you float downstream along quiet waters, ideal for photography. You can observe wild fauna through this “gallery forest” at close range, especially as birds and mammals are most active in the early morning.

The afternoon organized walks, led by guides with knowledge of biology, are based on observation and interpretation of wild fauna and flora, therefore inside the property 9 well-signed paths have been created. Additional to hikes along these paths are boat trips on the upper Iguazú river, floating trips on the Riacho San Francisco, visits to several observation towers and the spectacular cat-walk (80m long and 6m high).

There’s also an early evening visit to one of the observation towers for nocturnal observation with telescopes, binoculars and powerful spotlights.

Puerto Madryn sits at the head of a horseshoe bay, a natural harbour for the first landing of Welsh settlers in Argentina in 1865. Today it is a prosperous port and tourist centre. Peninsula Valdés is close by. Your hotel is in the town centre.

On this expedition, depending on the time of year, you're sure to see a variety of these creatures, from gigantic elephant seals sprawled on the beaches to gangs of playful fur seals and sea-lions jostling for position, while migratory seabirds wheel and cry mournfully above the waves.  From September to April you can observe nesting penguins enjoying the protection of private reserves: up to 50,000 of them choose to bear their young here.

The biggest attraction from August to December is surely the presence of southern right whales, which breed and calve in the calm waters of the gulf sheltered by the cliffs of the peninsula. From Puerto Pirámides, you can take an optional whale-watching boat trip to view them up close, their huge, primeval bodies and graceful forked tails heaving above sea-level almost within touching distance: an incredible sight. Continue to Caleta Valdes to see the elephant seals, driving through salty dunes populated by Patagonian hares, guanacos, ostriches, foxes and owls.  After a break at an isolated inn, continue to an interpretation centre with its small museum and then climb up to a viewpoint over Bird Island.