Your Full Detailed Tour Itinerary:
SAT 2 - LONDON
Fly indirect from London to Buenos Aires over night.
SUN 3 - BUENOS AIRES
Arrival at Buenos Aires and transfer to your hotel.
MON 4 - BUENOS AIRES (B,D)
We will discover the outstanding building of the National Congress, the ancient Council, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Capitol (better known as ‘Pink House’). The buildings that surround the ‘Mayo Square’ consist of the above mentioned spots. The tour also includes the magnificent areas of Recoleta and Palermo, with their beautiful parks and buildings, the Colon theatre, one of the five most important Opera theatres of the world and many other buildings and palaces of architectural, historical and cultural value. We will visit San Telmo area, one of the most antique districts of the city, as well as the Boca district, with its ‘caminito’- a picturesque pedestrian street, where you will find its colorful metal sheet tenements. Free time to take lunch (on your own) in La Boca
Afternoon at leisure.
This evening we attend a fabulous Tango show in one of the best venues in Buenos Aires, rounded up with a delightful dinner featuring traditional dishes and excellent Argentinean wines.
TUE 5 - BUENOS AIRES (B,L)
In the morning transfer to the harbour to board Holland America Veendam
TUE 5 MARCH - MON 18 MARCH
Enjoy your South American cruise to Montevideo (Uruguay), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas (Chile), Cockburn & Beagle Channel - Glacier Alley (cruising), Ushuaia (Argentina), Cape Horn (Cruising), Canal Sarmiento & Amalia Glacier (Cruising), Chilean Fjords (Cruising), Puerto Montt (Chile)
MON 18 - VALPARAISO - SANTIAGO
Arrival in Valparaiso and Transfer to the hotel in Santiago.
Explore the historic and modern sights of Santiago de Chile. We will start our trip at the Alameda Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago’s main avenue, visiting La Moneda, the Government Palace, where your guide will explain to you the historical and actual meaning of this place. Following this we will enjoy a walk through the pedestrian streets of Huérfanos and Ahumada, where the main commercial activity of the city is concentrated. Afterwards we will visit the famous Plaza de Armas, the main square of the city, which is surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral and other historical buildings. We will continue by visiting the 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. Finally we will visit Providencia with its top restaurants, elegant shops and modern high-rise buildings.
Afternoon at leisure.
TUE 19 - SANTIAGO (B)
During the morning visit of the Concha y Toro vineyard. In 1883, Don Melchor Concha y Toro, a renowned lawyer, entrepreneur and Chilean politician, took the decision to exploit the potential winemaker Maipo Valley, on moments when the wine industry was growing in Chile. He incorporated French vines, brought from the region of Bordeaux y and hired the famous French enologist Monseiur Labouchere to elaborate the first wines of his vineyard. From this was born the Concha y Toro vineyard at a moment when wine production was in the up rise. Concha y Toro opens its doors to all are interested in learning more about wine and its history in Chile. The tour begins in the “Parque Centenario”, where each visitor is handed a wine glass, which will allow him to taste the wines during the tour that includes a stroll through the “Casona de Don Melchor Concha y Toro” park, the cellars and tasting.
Afternoon at leisure.
WED 20 - SANTIAGO - LIMA (B)
Transfer to the airport for your flight from Santiago to Lima. Upon arrival you will be met at the airport and privately escorted to your hotel.
THU 21 - LIMA (B)
Morning city tour of Lima. The city has always been one of the most important cities in South America since it was founded by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535. Your sightseeing tour explores the historic quarter and modern districts of the city: the main square with beautiful buildings. The Government Palace, the City Hall, the Palace of the Archbishop and the Cathedral are still the most important places in town. You continue on to the San Francisco Monastery and then the most popular place, Plaza San Martin.
Afterwards you visit the Larco Herrera museum. Peru inevitably evokes the Inca Empire that flourished almost 100 years. Still, other cultures preceded the Incas and achieved a high degree of development in different fields as metallurgy, textiles, and ceramic. Today’s visit to Larco Museum allows gaining an insight of these pre-Inca cultures and the context in which they developed. The museum’s didactic galleries have been renovated in 2010 and make easier the understanding of 3,000 years of the Peruvian pre-Columbian history. Its masterpieces are considered worldwide icons of pre-Columbian art and have been displayed in the world's most renowned museums. Artifacts finely wrought in gold and decorated with semi-precious stones are tastefully exhibited in new rooms that are the collection’s highlight. The museum itself is an attraction. The colonial mansion that houses the exhibition was built over a pre-Inca pyramid from the 7th century. Afternoon at leisure.
FRI 22 - LIMA – CUSCO (B)
An early morning flight brings you to the Inca capital of Cusco. Rest of the morning at leisure to adjust to the altitude.
Your comprehensive afternoon tour includes the beautiful Koricancha or Sun Temple, the Cathedral as well as the Fortress of Sacsayhuaman, a most remarkable Inca building, the amphitheater of Kenko. This is followed by a visit to Puca Pucara, a strategically located 'red fortress' that dominates the entire area before visiting Tambomachay, with its two distinctive aqueducts that to this day continue to provide clean water to the area.
SAT 23 - CUSCO – SACRED VALLEY – CUSCO (B, L)
This morning we drive to the valley of the Urubamba River the so called Sacred Valley of the Inca. We proceed then to Pisaq where hundreds of visitors and people from remote communities dressed in their traditional and colorful attires meet to market and barter their products. Today, the market also has a tourist element, so there is an opportunity to buy souvenirs. Lunch will be served at a typical restaurant. Afterwards, we drive along the valley to Ollantaytambo, where the Temple of the Sun (formed of six gigantic monoliths, whose total weight exceeds 50 tons) and the Terrace of the Ten Niches stand out. Ollantaytambo was the site of the only successful Inca battle against the Spanish conquerors and the only town in the area to still retain its original Inca layout.
SUN 24 - CUSCO – MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO (B)
Morning transfer to Ollanta train station. The 1 ½ -hour train ride train takes you through the Sacred Valley of the Incas up to Machu Picchu. On arrival a small coach takes you up the steep roads to the entrance of the citadel. Machu Picchu remained for centuries undiscovered by the Spaniards, only to be found in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. The uniqueness of its location and the genius that went into its construction make this Inca archaeological site truly one of the great wonders of the world.
In the afternoon you will board the train back to Ollanta and return by bus to Cusco.
MON 25 - CUSCO – LIMA - LONDON (B)
At the proper time transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima and international indirect return flight to the UK.
Meals as noted (B: breakfast, BoxL: Box lunch, L:lunch, D: dinner) |