A 10-day journey through Argentina – the tango of Buenos Aires, Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel at the end of the world, the Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia and the Iguazú Falls.
From the Last City in the World to the Place Where the River Throws Itself into the Abyss
FROM TANGO TO ICE AND WATERFALLS
Argentina is three countries in one: a city that dances, ice that sings and water that roars.
Argentina is vast – the eighth-largest country in the world, stretching from tropical jungle to the end of the continent. It has room for an elegant capital with a European spirit, for the glaciers of Patagonia and for the widest waterfalls on the planet. This journey brings together the brightest of all this in 10 days.
But Argentina is far more than sights. It is tango danced in the square on a Sunday afternoon. It is the long dinner of asado and Malbec that begins after ten in the evening. It is the crack of ice echoing over the lake, and the mist over the Devil's Throat that wets your face. A land of passion, of open space and of the feeling that everything here is a little bigger than life.
Get ready for a journey from the tango to the end of the world.
We will start in Buenos Aires – the city of tango, of Evita and Maradona. Then we will fly south – first to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, and then to El Calafate and the Perito Moreno glacier, which moves, cracks and drops huge chunks of ice into the lake before our eyes. And for the finale – Iguazú, where hundreds of waterfalls plunge into the jungle between Argentina and Brazil.
Buenos Aires is a city of neighbourhoods – each with its own character. La Boca with its colourful tin houses, San Telmo with its cobblestones, antiques and tango, elegant Recoleta and modern Puerto Madero. Here European architecture meets Latin American temperament.
Ushuaia lies on the island of Tierra del Fuego, on the shore of the Beagle Channel – the last city before Antarctica. Here the Andes descend into the sea, the forests are the southernmost on the planet, and the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse is known around the world as the "lighthouse at the end of the world".
The Iguazú Falls stretch for 2.7 km along the border between Argentina and Brazil. Between 160 and 270 waterfalls, depending on the season, cascade through the rainforest, and the most powerful – the Devil's Throat – drops into an abyss of 80 metres. On both sides of the border the park is a UNESCO site.
Which sights will we visit?
Buenos Aires – colourful La Boca, tango in San Telmo, modern Puerto Madero and elegant Recoleta
Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego – the southernmost city in the world, the national park and the Beagle Channel with the lighthouse at the end of the world
El Calafate and Perito Moreno – a glacier 30 km long and up to 60 metres above the water, a UNESCO site, seen from the walkways and from a boat
The Iguazú Falls – the Argentine side with the Devil's Throat, a boat right beneath the falls and the panorama from the Brazilian side
Welcome to Argentina – where the city dances, the ice sings and the water roars.
Itinerary
DAY 1
Welcome to Buenos Aires
We land in Buenos Aires and are taken to the hotel. The city greets us with wide boulevards, elegant European-style façades and that special energy that earns it the name "Paris of South America".
In the afternoon we get to know the capital in the most pleasant way – by bicycle with a local guide. On the southern route we pass through colourful La Boca with its hundred-coloured tin houses and Italian spirit, through San Telmo – the district of tango and antique shops – and through modern Puerto Madero on the waterfront.
The evening is ideal for a first meeting with Argentine beef and a glass of Malbec.
Overnight: Buenos Aires – Loi Flats, apartment (Standard) / Dazzler Palermo (Comfort)
Meals: no meals included
DAY 2
A free day in Buenos Aires
The day is ours. Buenos Aires is a city best discovered without hurry – with walks, coffee and long evenings.
We can stroll through Recoleta with its famous cemetery – a real city of marble mausoleums where Evita Perón rests. We can have coffee in one of the historic cafés on Avenida de Mayo or stand in front of the pink Casa Rosada on Plaza de Mayo.
If it is Sunday, there is a large market on Defensa Street in San Telmo, and tango is danced outdoors in Plaza Dorrego – simply among the people, as it was a hundred years ago.
Overnight: Buenos Aires – Loi Flats, apartment (Standard) / Dazzler Palermo (Comfort)
Meals: breakfast
DAY 3
Buenos Aires – Ushuaia, the end of the world
We fly south to Ushuaia – the southernmost city in the world, on the island of Tierra del Fuego. The island got its name from Spanish sailors who saw the smoke of the local Indigenous people's fires along the shore.
Ushuaia was founded as a penal colony, and today it is a gateway to Antarctica – nestled between the last peaks of the Andes and the Beagle Channel. The colourful houses, the harbour with expedition ships and the snow on the peaks even in summer create a feeling that we have reached the very edge of the map.
Tierra del Fuego National Park and the Beagle Channel
In the morning we hike in a small group along less-visited trails of Tierra del Fuego park – through the southernmost forests of Argentina, past peat bogs and beaver dams, to Lapataia Bay, where National Route 3 ends.
In the afternoon we sail by catamaran along the Beagle Channel – past Bird Island with its albatrosses and cormorants, Sea Lion Island and the famous Les Éclaireurs lighthouse, called the "lighthouse at the end of the world".
The wind is cold, the light silvery, and around us there is nothing but water, mountains and birds.
We fly north to El Calafate – the "glacier capital", on the shore of turquoise Lake Argentino. Even from the air, Patagonia shows its scale – endless steppe, mountains and water in a colour that looks unreal.
The town is named after the local calafate shrub, whose dark-blue berries, according to legend, make anyone who tastes them return to Patagonia. They are worth trying – in jam, in ice cream or in a cocktail.
Domestic flight Ushuaia – El Calafate (included)
Overnight: El Calafate – Hostería Cauquenes de Nimez (Standard) / Kau Yatún Hotel & Estancia (Comfort)
Meals: breakfast
DAY 6
The Perito Moreno Glacier
Today is the day of ice. Perito Moreno is about 30 km long, 5 km wide at its face and rises 30–60 metres above the water. It is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field – the third-largest reserve of fresh water in the world – and is a UNESCO site.
We walk the balcony paths directly opposite the ice wall and wait. Sooner or later a crack like thunder is heard and a huge chunk of ice crashes into the water. These moments cannot be predicted – they can only be experienced.
Then we approach the wall itself by boat to feel its scale from below – blue, jagged and alive.
Overnight: El Calafate – Hostería Cauquenes de Nimez (Standard) / Kau Yatún Hotel & Estancia (Comfort)
Meals: breakfast
DAY 7
El Calafate – Iguazú
We swap ice for jungle. We fly north to Puerto Iguazú – a town in the rainforest, on the border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
The difference is staggering: yesterday – a windbreaker and glacier wind, today – humid heat, green everywhere and the distant rumble of water. In the evening we can go to Hito Tres Fronteras – the place where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers bring the three countries together.
Domestic flight El Calafate – Iguazú (included)
Overnight: Iguazú – Jardín de Iguazú (Standard) / La Reserva Virgin Lodge (Comfort)
Meals: breakfast
DAY 8
The Argentine side of the falls
Iguazú is the widest waterfall system in the world – between 160 and 270 waterfalls over 2.7 km, depending on the water level. The national park is a UNESCO site, and the jungle around it is full of toucans, butterflies and curious coatis.
With a guide we walk the Upper and Lower trails and reach the Devil's Throat – where the river plunges with a roar into an 80-metre abyss and the water mist rises like a cloud over the forest.
Then comes the wettest experience: by jeep through the jungle and by motorboat right under the falls.
The boat is suitable from age 13; not recommended during pregnancy. Be prepared to get wet.
Overnight: Iguazú – Jardín de Iguazú (Standard) / La Reserva Virgin Lodge (Comfort)
Meals: breakfast
DAY 9
The Brazilian side – Buenos Aires
We cross the border to Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. From here opens the best panorama of the entire waterfall front – with San Martín Island and the "Two Sisters" and "Three Musketeers" falls.
The trail ends with a platform reaching toward the Devil's Throat itself – here we no longer just watch the falls, we are inside their mist and noise.
In the afternoon we fly back to Buenos Aires for a last evening in Argentina.
Domestic flight Iguazú – Buenos Aires (included)
Overnight: Buenos Aires – Loi Flats, apartment (Standard) / Dazzler Palermo (Comfort)
Meals: breakfast
DAY 10
Buenos Aires – departure
Transfer to the international airport and a flight home.
Ten days. Tango in San Telmo, the lighthouse at the end of the world, ice that collapses with a roar and water that falls into the abyss. Argentina showed us how different a country can look – and how strongly you can fall in love with it.
Until the next adventure!
Meals: breakfast
PRICES (EUR per person, based on double room occupancy, flights included)
Standard: 5 400 EUR per person
Comfort: 5 650 EUR per person (supplement +250 EUR compared to Standard)
Single room supplement: Standard 800 EUR, Comfort 1 100 EUR
The price is the same regardless of the number of registered travellers.
GUARANTEED PRICE CONDITION
The price is guaranteed for bookings made no later than 90 days before the departure date. For bookings made later, the airfare price is confirmed separately.
THE PRICE INCLUDES
Economy-class flight Sofia – Buenos Aires – Sofia, with airport taxes and checked baggage
Domestic flights Buenos Aires – Ushuaia – El Calafate – Iguazú – Buenos Aires
Nights with breakfast in a double room in the chosen category
All transfers as per the programme, meet-and-greet and assistance
Bicycle tour of Buenos Aires with a local guide
Hike in Tierra del Fuego National Park and a catamaran cruise on the Beagle Channel
Full-day excursion to the Perito Moreno glacier and a boat trip to the ice wall
The Argentine side of Iguazú Falls with the "Gran Aventura" (jeep and boat) and the Brazilian side, with an English-speaking guide
Entrance fees for the Iguazú (Argentina and Brazil), Tierra del Fuego and Los Glaciares national parks
THE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE
Tourist taxes in Iguazú (eco-fee and "Visit Misiones" fee) – paid on site
Difference in airfare for bookings made later than 90 days before departure
Excursions and meals not mentioned in the programme
Alcoholic and additional beverages
Tips and personal expenses
Medical travel insurance and trip cancellation insurance
ACCOMMODATION BY CATEGORY
Buenos Aires (3 nights)
Standard: Loi Flats, apartment
Comfort: Dazzler Palermo, Classic Room
Ushuaia (2 nights)
Standard: Hostería Foike, Standard Room
Comfort: Fueguino Hotel Patagónico
El Calafate (2 nights)
Standard: Hostería Cauquenes de Nimez, Standard Room
Comfort: Kau Yatún Hotel & Estancia, Patagonia Room
Iguazú (2 nights)
Standard: Jardín de Iguazú, Standard Room
Comfort: La Reserva Virgin Lodge, Forest Room
All hotels are subject to availability and may be replaced with equivalent ones.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The flight from Iguazú to Buenos Aires must be after 15:00 in order to see the Brazilian side of the falls.
The Brazilian side of the falls requires crossing the border – a passport is mandatory.
The weather in Patagonia changes quickly – even in summer a windbreaker and a warm layer are needed.
Luxury accommodation (Mio Buenos Aires, Xelena, Gran Meliá Iguazú, etc.) – on request.
VISA REGIME AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Visa: Bulgarian citizens do not need a visa for a tourist stay of up to 90 days in Argentina and Brazil. Check the current regime on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Passport: valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry.
Currency: Argentine peso. Cards are widely accepted, but it is good to have some cash as well.
Best season: October to April (spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere).
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