The Tango & Patagonia + Rio & Iguazu Falls holiday allows you to take the following optional excursions:
Rio, Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer | Historic Buenos Aires | Tango Dinner Show | Argentinean Iguazu Falls | Patagonia Four Wheel Drive | Glacier Trekking excursion | Icebergs & Glaciers | Argentina, Patagonia and Rio Excursion Package
A full day excursion starting with a visit to the centre of the city, where you see the striking modern cathedral. Then catch the cable car up the Sugarloaf, with beautiful views of Copacabana. Look out for the monkeys in the lush tropical vegetation. After lunch at a churrascaria - a typical Brazilian steakhouse - you catch the funicular train up the 710-metre granite peak of the Corcovado to the Christ the Redeemer statue where you have incredible views of the beaches and mountains of Rio. You then drive along the beaches before returning to your hotel.
This half day excursion visits the principal areas of Buenos Aires, starting with the Plaza de Mayo in the centre, where you can see the Pink House, from where ‘Evita’ Peron addressed the masses. Then visit the historic area of San Telmo, and La Boca, the old port, with colourful painted houses, where the frst immigrants arrived in the city, and where locals sometimes dance tango on the streets. You also visit La Recoleta, one of the most elegant neighbourhoods of the city. The beautiful cemetery here houses the tombs of many famous Argentineans.
Tango has had a resurgence in recent years in Buenos Aires, and a visit to a tango show allows you to appreciate the elegance and sensuality of this dance. Our excursion visits the Esquina Carlos Gardel theatre, with musicians and singers playing classic tango while professional dancers perform complicated routines on stage. A good dinner, with wine or soft drinks, is included at your table. You are collected from your hotel in the evening and taken back after the show. Alternatively, for a supplement, visit the Rojo Tango show. This slightly more risque tango is in a more intimate venue.
A morning excursion visiting the Argentinean side of the falls. You take the visitors train to the one- kilometre walkway over the River Iguazu, where you see the mighty Devil’s Throat Falls from above. You then walk the upper circuit, from where you see many of the other falls from above, before descending to the lower circuit, where you see the falls from below. The tour lasts about 4 hours. You have free time in the area to explore some of the trails by yourself or you can also take an optional, adrenalin-flled (and drenching) boat ride to the base of the falls.
This three-hour excursion takes you across the Patagonian steppe by Land Rover. You drive past estancias before ascending the east face of the Cordon Huyliche to 1,100 metres, from where there are wonderful views of the granite Mount FitzRoy and Lake Argentino. Then continue driving, stopping to admire the strange rock formation and the vegetation of Patagonia, before returning to El Calafate.
This excursion includes an English speaking driver. The Land Rover carries up to 6 people, and the excursion can be with people of different nationalities. As some of the excursion is off road, this can be very bumpy.
If you prefer a bit of adventure when visiting the Perito Moreno glacier, take our Glacier Trekking excursion as an alternative to the included visit shown in the itinerary. You leave El Calafate in the morning. When you arrive at the Perito Moreno glacier, you take a boat ride across the lake, where your guide will help you put on your crampons and explain the procedure for walking on the glacier. You will then walk on the ice sheet for about an hour and a half, where you climb ice hills and peer into crevasses. After a packed lunch, you take a boat ride back across the lake and visit the walkways, where you can see the face of the glacier. You return to El Calafate in the late afternoon.
The glacier trekking will be carried out in groups of up to 20 people, and will be with people of different nationalities. The order of the visits may vary. A reasonable level of ftness is required and there is a minimum age of 10 years and a maximum age of 60. The minimum shoe size for crampons is UK size 4. Please ensure your insurance policy covers you for ice trekking.
You are collected from your hotel and drive for an hour to the port of Punta Bandera, where you board your ship. You sail to the incredible Upsala glacier, three times the area of the Perito Moreno glacier, with a 4km wide, 60-metre high wall of ice. You then visit O’Neill Bay, where you walk through the beech forest, with icebergs foating in the lake below and views of glaciers fowing down from the surrounding peaks. This is an ideal spot to enjoy a packed lunch, which is provided. You sail back to port via the Spegazzini glacier, 130-metres tall, returning to El Calafate in the late afternoon.
This excursion is carried out with tourists of other nationalities. The ship carries approximately 200 passengers and guides onboard are provided by the ship operator. The transfer coach from El Calafate to the port does not have a guide on board.
Take our Historic Buenos Aires, Tango Dinner Show, Patagonia Four Wheel Drive, Icebergs & Glaciers and Rio, Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer excursions for a special price.