A first trip to Argentina usually means a choice between the city, the wine, the Andes and the ice. This one refuses to choose. Four regions, each given enough nights to be lived and not just seen, and in each one something beyond the postcard: a history lecture in Buenos Aires, dinner at a winemaker's table in Mendoza, a day on horseback in the valleys, a night on a working estancia facing the Andes in Patagonia.
Day 1 · Buenos Aires, the north
Highlight · The MALBA and its Latin American art, at the end of an afternoon through Retiro, Palermo and Recoleta.
A private afternoon tour of the elegant north of the city: Retiro and its government palaces, the parks and embassies of Palermo, Recoleta with its mansions and museums, and a visit to the MALBA, the museum of Latin American art.
Night · Buenos Aires
Day 2 · Buenos Aires, the south and the milonga
Highlight · A milonga where locals and professionals dance side by side, with an expert reading the floor.
The morning opens with two hours with a historian on Peronism and the years of the dictatorship, the key to much of what the city is today. Then the south: past the Teatro Colón and the Obelisk to the Plaza de Mayo, the antiques and old bars of San Telmo, the coloured houses of La Boca and Caminito, and an asado in a vintage parrilla. In the evening, a milonga where locals and professionals dance side by side, with a tango expert explaining what is happening on the floor.
Night · Buenos Aires
Day 3 · Food, wine and a tango show
Highlight · The cuts of beef explained at a neighbourhood market in Caballito.
An introduction to Argentine food and wine with a well-known gastronome: a neighbourhood market in Caballito to learn the cuts of beef and everyday produce, then lunch in San Isidro at a small restaurant few visitors know. The evening is a tango dinner show, more than twenty-five artists on stage telling the story of the dance.
Night · Buenos Aires
Day 4 · To Mendoza
Highlight · A free afternoon among the wineries of Chacras de Coria.
A flight west and a free afternoon in Chacras de Coria, among the wineries on the edge of the city.
Night · Mendoza
Day 5 · Wineries and a winemaker's table
Highlight · An asado at the home of one of the country's most celebrated winemakers, shared with the family.
A day in the vineyards learning how Argentine wine is grown and made, ending at the home of one of the country's most celebrated winemakers, where dinner is an asado shared with the family and their stories.
Night · Mendoza
Day 6 · A free day, or the high Andes
Highlight · Aconcagua from the Horcones lagoon, at the end of the road into the Andes.
Walk · Horcones lagoon
Rest, or the classic road into the Andes: Cacheuta, Potrerillos and Uspallata, the old Picheuta bridge, Punta de Vacas and the ski slopes of Los Penitentes, the natural bridge and hot springs of Puente del Inca, and a short walk to the Horcones lagoon for the best view of Aconcagua.
Night · Mendoza
Day 7 · Salta
Highlight · The Lerma valley from the top of Cerro San Bernardo, then folk music at a peña.
A flight north and a walk through colonial Salta: the cathedral on the Plaza 9 de Julio, the Cabildo, the church of San Francisco and the convent of San Bernardo, the oldest building in the city, then the cable car up Cerro San Bernardo for the view over the Lerma valley. The night is at a peña, with folk music, empanadas, tamales and locro.
Night · Salta
Day 8 · On horseback in Cafayate
Highlight · A ride across the vineyards and the hills from an estancia in the valley.
South to Cafayate and a day at an estancia in the valley, with a ride across the vineyards and the hills.
Night · Cafayate
Day 9 · A family winery
Highlight · Lunch among the vines of a small family winery, and the grapes of the high valleys.
Lunch and a tasting at a small family winery, walking the vines to understand the grapes of the high valleys.
Night · Cafayate
Day 10 · Colomé and Cachi
Highlight · James Turrell's light and space, in one of the highest vineyards in the world.
North along the Ruta 40 to Colomé, one of the highest vineyards in the world, and its museum devoted to James Turrell, the American artist who works with nothing but light and space, followed by a tasting of the estate's wines. The night is in Cachi.
Night · Cachi
Day 11 · The House of Jasmines, outside Salta
Highlight · A century-old estancia at the end of a long eucalyptus drive, and empanadas made by hand.
Back to Salta and a night at the House of Jasmines, a century-old estancia a few minutes from the city, at the end of a long eucalyptus drive, with an empanada cooking class.
Night · Salta
Day 12 · To Patagonia
Highlight · From the Andes of the north to the shore of Lago Argentino in a single day.
Two flights, via Buenos Aires, from the Andes of the north to El Calafate on the shore of Lago Argentino.
Night · El Calafate
Day 13 · The northern arms of Lago Argentino
Highlight · Walls of ice up to 135 metres high, reached among icebergs on the northern arms of the lake.
A full day on the water, sailing the northern arms of Lago Argentino among icebergs to walls of ice between 50 and 135 metres high, with lunch on board and a short guided walk in a quiet bay.
Night · El Calafate
Day 14 · Estancia Nibepo Aike
Highlight · Riding and farm work at a Patagonian estancia facing the Andes, then a traditional dinner.
A day and a night at Nibepo Aike, an estancia that keeps the essence of the original Patagonian ranches, facing the Andes: riding, the work of the farm and a traditional dinner.
Night · El Calafate
Day 15 · The Perito Moreno from the south
Highlight · The Perito Moreno from its little-seen southern side, after an asado grilled on a plough disc.
Walk · Playa de las Monedas · 20 min
The pioneers' route to Lago Roca, an asado grilled on a plough disc, then a boat to the Playa de las Monedas and a walk to a view of the Perito Moreno from its little-seen southern side. The boat follows the southern face of the glacier, and the day ends on the walkways in front of it until early evening.
Night · El Calafate
Day 16 · El Calafate
Highlight · A last flight north from El Calafate, toward Buenos Aires and the connection home.
The flight back to Buenos Aires for the international connection.
