Hi,

I'm flying into Buenos Aires and departing out of Santiago in early September and will have two weeks. What does everyone think about the following itinerary:

buenos aires - 3 days
iguazu - 1.5 days
salta - 3 days
el calafate - 2 days
puerto natales - 1 day
torres del paine - 2 days
santiago - 1.5 days

Thanks!

itinerary looks like:

Somehow I am avoiding Bariloche ( I may forego Mendosa for Bariloche if convinced, Iguasu because I am not impressed by the falling water in general and Patagonia (ushuaia) - my companions would not enjoy it.

DAY 01 : Buenos Aires - Arrival
According to the arrival time of your flight, rest of the day free. Overnight.

DAY 02 : Buenos Aires City Tour & Tango Show Dinner
In the morning, after breakfast, we will start a city tour in traditional regular service visiting the most important sites in Buenos Aires City: Plaza de Mayo, La Boca, San Telmo, 9 de Julio Avenue, the Obelisk, Puerto Madero, la Recoleta and Palermo Forest. Afternoon free. At night we will get ready to enjoy an excellent Tango Show - Dinner in a typical night club in Buenos Aires with transfers included. Overnight.

DAY 03 : Buenos Aires � Free day
After breakfast we will have some free time to take one of the optional tours around the city and surroundings. Suggestions: Tigre, Gauchos Party, Colonia. Overnight.

DAY 04 Buenos Aires Mendoza
After breakfast, at proper time transfer to the local airport to aboard a flight to Mendoza. Arrival at Mendoza airport, reception and transfer to the hotel selected. Overnight.

DAY 05 Buenos Aires Mendoza

4 wineries of following options:
Option 1: La Rural, Finca Flichman, CarinaE, Tempus Alba, Reyter, Vi�a el Cerno, L�pez, Tapaus, Tierras Altas, lunch at Familia Zuccardi.
Option 2: Dolium, Nieto Senetiner, Fabre Montmayou, Chandon, Norton, Carmelo Patti, Septima, Renacer, Catena Zapata, lunch at Ruca Malen.
Option 3: Cavas de Weinert, Alta Vista, Lagarde, Tapiz, Vi�a Amalia, Familia Barberis, Luigi Bosca, Viniterra. Lunch at Hacienda del Plata or Cava de Cano.
In the evening, return to the Hotel. Optional dinner with wine tasting, in the well known �1884 Restaurant� owned by the famous chef Francis Mallman.

DAY 06 � � HIGH MOUNTAIN & VILLAVICENCIO � Puente del Inca:

This route borders the course of the Rio Mendoza River, from the ample agricultural oasis that surrounds the Capital City of the province, to the spectacular mountain range that marks the limit between the Republic of Argentina and the Republic of Chile.

The adventure begins in Cacheuta, Potrerillos and Uspallata, the three best-equipped towns in the Mendoza mountains. And it ends with one of the most fascinating tours in the world: the ascension of the stone sentinel: the Aconcagua
Return and overnight in Mendoza.

DAY 07 : Mendoza � Santiago de Chile, transfer to the city of Santiago de Chile, to the hotel selected. Rest of the day free. Overnight.

DAY 08 : Santiago de Chile � City Tour � Vi�a del Mar

The visit to the city is a tour regarding historical, commercial and residencial issues. We will visit the courts of the Palace of Government " La Moneda ", also the historical center with the square �de las Armas�, the Cathedral, the Central Mail, The Municipality, etc. Then we go along the principal avenue of the city " La Alameda ", see the Forest Park, the hill San Crist�bal and the Bohemian neighborhood Bellavista. � Later, we continue to the residential and commercial modern zones, sectors that come up to the feet of the Mountain chain of the Andes. - New neighborhoods as Manquehue's Santa Maria, Los Condes and Vitacura mix with sectors of advanced architecture as the Neighborhood The Golf.-. Return to the hotel. At proper time, transfer to the city of Vi�a del Mar, to the hotel selected. Overnight.

DAYS 09-10 : Vi�a del Mar
DAY 11 : Vi�a del Mar � Santiago de Chile �Departure


THANKS a lot in advance

Smunky-- It seems a little tight, but you are covering a lot of ground and this should be OK, at least as an introductory first trip. If you are into Wines... then I suggest you list Mendoza as a destination for a next trip.

GoldPremier-- If you are into wines, then I would not consider dropping Mendoza.... considering you have winery visits arranged, I assume you guys are pretty into wines, or?

When changing out one destination for another(s), make sure you consider transit time since most all flights domestically in Argentina go through the AEP hub.

smunky,

Honestly seems a bit more than "tight" - it's kind of a whirlwind tour of spots in the country. Given that you have to fly back to buenos aires in between each spot and then fly back out to the next, and some of these spots are thousands of kilometers apart, you're going to be spending most of your time traveling rather than seeing the places. And that assumes your flights go off without a hitch and you don't find yourself stuck in an airport for half a day here and there. I'd also second the suggestion about Mendoza - worth seeing, and, you could do it towards the end of the trip and then cross over into Santiago since your final flight leaves from there.

Welcome to FlyerTalk Dan!

John

Amen!! ^

Good to see you here, Dan.

Cheers,
Alex

Thanks... I've actually been "lurking" for a few weeks, but decided it was time to start putting in my 6.3 centavos worth...