After breakfast, join your shared guided tour through Buenos Aires, a city where broad avenues and grand civic buildings sit alongside lively, close-knit neighborhoods. Begin at Plaza de Mayo, the historic square framed by the Casa Rosada and other landmarks at the heart of Argentina’s political life. Continue to San Telmo, with its cobbled streets and old-world feel, then La Boca, known for its brightly painted buildings and strong connection to the city’s immigrant history.
See the contrast at Puerto Madero, where converted docklands and contemporary towers line the waterfront. Along the way, pass Teatro Colón, the Recoleta neighborhood, El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Floralis Genérica and the University of Buenos Aires Law School. Your guide will share an overview of Buenos Aires as you travel between sights; the tour does not include entry to museums or attractions.
Pause for a street-food snack, such as a choripán or empanada, with a soda.
Please note: The included tour is not private, and is a shared city tour.
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before embracing a full day at leisure in Buenos Aires. Explore the city at your own pace, or venture beyond the capital for a country day at Estancia El Ombú de Areco, where gaucho traditions, horseback or sulky rides and a barbecue lunch bring the Pampas to life.
For a taste of the city, opt instead for a small-group food tour through San Telmo. Visit four local venues to sample Argentine favorites, from vermouth and market specialties to bife de chorizo, provoleta and ice cream.
This morning, transfer privately to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP), with an English-speaking guide and mineral water for the journey. From here, fly south to Ushuaia, arriving in the afternoon among the ice-capped peaks and shores of the Beagle Channel. Known as El Fin del Mundo, or “the End of the World”, this remote city is your gateway to the Antarctic expedition.
Meet your driver for a transfer to the hotel, then gather for dinner and a briefing on the adventure ahead.
Please note: Guests to pay for extra baggage at the airport, as luggage allowance is 15kg only.
Set out from Ushuaia to explore Tierra del Fuego National Park, where dense beech forests, glacially shaped mountains and the edge of the Beagle Channel create a dramatic introduction to the far south.
Continue onto the water for a catamaran cruise through the Beagle Channel, with lunch served on board. Watch the rocky shores for South American sea lions and scan the water and sky for imperial cormorants and other seabirds.
Later, board the expedition ship and settle in as it prepares to sail toward the White Continent. Your Antarctic expedition with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions begins.
Spend the day crossing the Drake Passage, the broad stretch of ocean between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Conditions can shift from rolling seas to still water, and seabirds such as wandering albatross may glide alongside the ship. Keep watch from the Bridge or observation lounge, with wide windows offering a comfortable vantage over the open sea. With luck, you may also spot dolphins or orcas.
Between wildlife watching, settle into life on board. You might attend a talk on penguin biology, unwind with a massage or simply watch the horizon draw closer as the expedition team prepares you for Antarctica.
Continue across the Drake Passage aboard the expedition ship. The day’s rhythm is yours to shape: watch for wandering albatross and other seabirds from the Bridge or observation lounge, attend a talk on penguin biology, unwind with a massage or settle in with views across the open water.
Conditions can shift between rolling seas and calmer stretches, and wildlife sightings are never guaranteed. Your expedition team will keep you informed as the ship makes its way toward Antarctica.
With long summer daylight, make the most of each day exploring Antarctica alongside the expedition team. The schedule remains flexible, shaped by weather, ice and wildlife. You might head out by Zodiac to look for seals and blue-eyed shags, kayak at water level among icebergs or walk near colonies of Adélie and gentoo penguins.
From vast icebergs and steep glacier faces to delicate new ice forming on the water, the landscape is always changing. Keep watch for whales from the ship, or experience the crunch of the vessel moving through pack ice. Your expert expedition team will guide each outing and help bring this remarkable environment into focus.
Continue exploring Antarctica, with the day’s program guided by conditions and opportunities on the water and shore. Join the expedition team for another Zodiac outing, kayak among the ice or walk near penguin colonies, while keeping watch for whales and seals.
Spend another day in Antarctica, where each landing and cruise reveals a different perspective on the region’s wildlife and ice. Your expedition team will adapt the schedule to the conditions, creating opportunities to explore by Zodiac, kayak or on foot.
Make the most of your final full day exploring the White Continent. Take in the shifting forms of glaciers and icebergs, look for wildlife from the ship and join the expedition team for shore or water-based outings as conditions allow.
Arrive at King George Island, where research stations operated by countries including Chile, Argentina, Brazil and the United States stand alongside a rich range of Antarctic wildlife. Disembark by Zodiac and come ashore on the island’s rocky coastline, then transfer to the hangar before continuing to the gravel runway for your flight back to Puerto Natales.
On arrival, transfer to your hotel and settle in for the evening.
Leave Puerto Natales behind as you fly north to Santiago, trading Patagonia’s open landscapes for the Chilean capital’s lively urban rhythm. On arrival, meet your English-speaking guide for a private transfer to Le Méridien Santiago.
Get to know Santiago with your own English-speaking guide and private vehicle for the day. Start high above the city, riding the cable car up Cerro San Cristóbal as the rooftops stretch toward the Andes. Then take the historic funicular down to Barrio Bellavista, where colorful façades and lively street scenes offer a first taste of the city’s creative spirit.
From here, wander past Castillo Rojo and pause at Patio Bellavista before continuing through leafy Parque Forestal and past the Museum of Fine Arts. In Plaza de Armas, Santiago’s historic heart, you can step inside the Metropolitan Cathedral, then browse the passageways of Portal Fernández Concha and see the former Bahamondes Building, a local reference point for street food.
The day continues through the Ahumada Galleries and past El Rápido, known for its empanadas, before the civic architecture of Plaza de los Tribunales, Barrio La Bolsa and La Moneda Presidential Palace. Finish in Lastarria, where cobbled lanes, galleries and cafés make a lovely place to pause if time allows.
The six-hour private tour includes cable car and funicular tickets, plus mineral water. On the first Monday of each month, Cerro San Cristóbal is closed and the visit is replaced with Santa Lucía Hill. On other Mondays, the cable car is closed, so the funicular operates in both directions.
Enjoy breakfast before a day at leisure in Santiago. Explore the capital at your own pace, or choose a private full-day outing beyond the city.
Head west to Valparaíso, where brightly painted houses climb steep hills above the Pacific. Explore the port’s winding lanes, visit Plaza Sotomayor and take in the bay from Paseo 21 de Mayo, with the city’s historic funiculars connecting its hillside neighborhoods. Continue to Viña del Mar, known as the Garden City, for its beaches, gardens and elegant architecture.
Or travel south to the Maipo Valley, where vineyards stretch between the Andes and coastal ranges. Visit two wineries for a tour and tasting, with possible stops at Haras de Pirque, Pérez Cruz or Santa Rita. A three-course lunch with one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic beverage is included. Prefer to stay in Santiago? Spend the day at leisure and make the most of the city’s cafes, galleries and neighborhoods.
Enjoy breakfast before checking out of Le Méridien Santiago. Meet your guide at the hotel for a private one-way transfer to Santiago International Airport (SCL), with English-speaking assistance and mineral water on board. Safe travels.