Luxury Argentina: Vineyards, glaciers and gauchos

Day 1

Arrive in Buenos Aires. Transfer to your luxury hotel in the Recoleta district.

You will be met at the airport and escorted to your hotel in the Recoleta District. This elegant neighbourhood is, for many people, one of the most attractive in Buenos Aires, an atmospheric mix of belle époque and Italianate townhouses with innovative new-build and conversions. Evita Perón was laid to rest in the ornate cemetery here.

Buenos Aires is a cultured and cosmopolitan city famed for its interesting museums, the fascinating arty district La Boca, with its cobbled streets and brightly painted houses, and the former docks at Puerto Madero, where warehouses and port installations have been converted into an attractive leisure area. The centre of the city is home to the colonial heartland, government buildings and churches, as well as chic shopping districts, which have a nostalgic Parisian feel. San Telmo, also a short hop from the colonial heart, is a bohemian quarter with crumbling houses and signs of gentrification, it’s the cradle of the tango and hosts a famous flea market, late night bars and boutique hotels and restaurants.

Day 2

City tour with a visit to Recoleta Cemetery.

Your guided city tour takes you along Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest boulevards in the world and studded by the Obelisk, an emblematic symbol of the city. On to the Plaza de Mayo, enclosed on three sides by the Metropolitan cathedral, the Town Hall and the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. 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 where the elegant architecture of its tree-lined streets feels distinctly Parisian. Recoleta’s vast cemetery is the resting place of generations of the Argentinean elite including Evita as well as an array of presidents, artists, scientists, writers and athletes.

Day 3

At leisure. Dine at a live tango show.

At leisure in Buenos Aires.  Stroll round Puerto Madero, the refurbished port district where former dock installations and features have been preserved alongside a string of excellent restaurants and loft conversions. Beyond the city limits, consider a trip across the River Plate to Colonia in Uruguay. Travel along a forest-fringed estuary, dotted with upmarket residences, to this peaceful little port, where you can wander among cobbled streets lined by colonial houses, or have a meal or drink in the yacht club. Alternatively, venture into the watery delta to the small town of Tigre, set on the banks of the Luján River. Have lunch at one of the restaurants on the shores of the Río Paraná, while watching fisherman at work and river-craft gliding by.

Evening guided visit to a tango show with dinner. The passage of time has given respectability to a dance once confined to the seedy underworld bars of the red-light La Boca district. Nowadays, a number of ‘tango houses’ offer a dinner and show as an evening out. Rojo Tango is located within the Faena, a chic and arty hotel in the regenerated docklands area of Puerto Madero. This intimate venue is very much in the style of an old cabaret nightclub with moody red decór.

Day 4

Fly to Mendoza in the wine-producing region.

Fly to Mendoza in Argentina’s wine country in the shadow of the eastern flank of the Andes, and continue to your Lodge. The celebrated vineyards in this region provide the perfect place to enjoy fine vintages and a superb gastronomic experience.

Days 5-6

Visit wineries from your countryside lodge.

At leisure at Cavas Wine Lodge. The property is ideally situated as a base to visit some of the region’s finest private wineries including Catena Zapata, Chandon, Achaval Ferrer, and Fabre Montmayou. Your stay includes a visit to a different winery on each day and you can also take advantage of one of the outdoor sports on offer which include biking, trekking, horse riding and golf followed by a massage courtesy of the lodge, the ideal pre dinner aperitif.

Day 7

Transfer to colonial estancia on the pampas.

Fly back to Buenos Aires and transfer by road to the Estancia. A place where you will be drawn back to more opulent times when they were the backbone of a thriving economy.

Day 8

At leisure on the estancia.

There’s a lovely outdoor swimming pool (open in summer) with views over parkland and sun loungers, games room and small library. Activities include horse-riding,  walking and carriage rides in the surrounding bird-filled pampas.

Day 9

Transfer to airport, fly to El Calafate and drive to luxury estancia.

Fly to El Calafate in Southern Patagonia (5hrs), a small tourist resort with a frontier feel situated on the banks of milky turquoise Lago Argentino.  Argentina’s Patagonia is a remote land of endless grassy plains, granite mountain peaks tipped with eternal snows, turquoise lakes dotted with icebergs and immense blue-tinged glaciers. Continue by road to your Hotel.

Days 10-11

Activities at your Patagonian retreat.

Guided excursion to Perito Moreno Glacier. It’s an early morning departure from El Calafate to Los Glaciares National Park, a 90min drive to the walkways and viewing platform overlooking the glacier. The thundering shards of falling ice are a breath-taking spectacle as you pass at a safe distance along the walkway in front of the Canal de los Tempanos, which separates Brazo Rico from the main part of the lake. The glacier is a staggering 5km wide and stands 60m above the surface of the lake. Its ice mass is fed by the southern continental ice field from the west, and from other smaller glaciers in the vicinity.

In the afternoon, board the Safari Nautico or Moreno Fiesta for an hour-long cruise on the lake beneath the glacier, with a commentary. Alternatively, you can just walk and contemplate, away from the other visitors.

There’s also a guided excursion to Estancia Cristina. This full-day trip explores the iceberg-strewn fingers of Lago Argentino. There are about 15 bumpy minutes as the comfortable motor cruiser crosses the southern arm of the lake. Soon, the first icebergs come into view as the boat continues towards the Upsala Channel and the vast Upsala Glacier. It isn’t possible to get close to the glacier because of the floating ice in its vanguard but the surrounding scenery is wonderful.

Continue into the Cristina Channel, and dock at Estancia Cristina. Explore one of Patagonia’s most remote historic estancias, established in 1914 by English pioneer Joseph Masters and named after his daughter. Have lunch before going on a 10km drive by all-terrain vehicle into the mountains to a refuge. Here, walk for half an hour to a viewpoint, offering – weather permitting – a fabulous panorama of the eastern side of the Upsala glacier, the Southern Patagonian ice cap, Lago Guillermo and – of course – the Andes. Drive back to the estancia and in the late afternoon, sail back towards Punta Bandera and your hotel.

Day 12

Transfer to airport, fly to Buenos Aires

You have one further night in the capital to enjoy one of the fine restaurants and maybe dip into the capital’s  famous nightlife entertainment.

Day 13

Transfer to airport for your flight home.