Compare The Scenic Route - Lima to Buenos Aires by G Adventures vs Discover South America: Chile & Argentina by Grand Circle Travel

Day 1 Lima

Arrive at any time.

There are no planned activities until an evening welcome meeting.

If you booked the Lima Cooking Class it does not include extra time in Lima and we highly recommend booking pre-trip accommodation. You will be picked up from your hotel at approx 10:00 (10:30 from Aug-Dec) and taken to a local market and restaurant to prepare and enjoy a traditional Peruvian meal. You will return back to your hotel around 13:00. Please note that hot water shortages and power outages can be fairly common in Latin America (even in upgraded hotels and private homes). We appreciate your patience and understanding that these occurrences are outside of our control.

Day 2 Lima/Cusco

Hop a flight to Cusco. Enjoy a free day for shopping and exploring the city. Choose to pre-book an optional Cusco Cooking Class. Opt for a city tour.

Transfer to the airport for the flight to Cusco. Spend the rest of the day relaxing and exploring this fascinating city, and getting used to the altitude.

Please note: if you pre-book the Cusco Cooking Class you will be picked up from your hotel at approx 12:30 and taken to a local market and restaurant to prepare and enjoy a traditional Peruvian meal. Return back to your hotel around 16:00.

Day 3 Cusco

Spend a full day enjoying optional activities in the area.

Opt to visit and hike the famed Rainbow Mountain, pre-book on the checkout page to include this optional activity on your tour or ask your GCO or travel agent for assistance.

Day 4 Cusco/Ollantaytambo

Stop at the G Adventures-supported women's weaving co-op before visiting a local pottery making community. Break for lunch at the G Adventures-supported Parwa Community Restaurant in Huchuy Qosco. After lunch, opt to head out on a hike to the Ollantaytambo storehouses and look out over the ruins. Or, wander around the cobblestone streets and visit a local Chicheria (corn beer bar).

Travel through the stunning Sacred Valley of the Incas, visiting a G Adventures-supported women's weaving co-op. Meet the women and learn about traditional weaving and dyeing used in the Ccaccaccollo community. Opt to pick up some handmade souvenirs and textiles directly from the women who made them. Have lunch at the G Adventures-supported Parwa Community Restaurant. Learn about the G Adventures for Good project and eat a delicious buffet-style lunch. Proceeds of this meal go directly back to the remote community.

Day 5 Ollantaytambo/Aguas Calientes

Catch the scenic train to Aguas Calientes. Opt to visit the local hot springs or shop in the local market.

Board a morning train that winds through the spectacular Sacred Valley to the end of the line: the village of Aguas Calientes, a frontier town nestled in the hills beneath Machu Picchu. Take advantage of the opportunity to visit the butterfly house, botanical gardens or hot springs. Opt for a day hike to Mandor Gardens to see orchids and a waterfall, enjoying the lush, green scenery en route.

Day 6 Aguas Calientes/Cusco

Enjoy a guided tour of Machu Picchu before returning to Cusco in the evening.

Rise early to catch the first bus up to Machu Picchu with your guide. Enjoy a guided visit of the ruins then take a train back to Cusco.

Day 7 Cusco

Use a free day to explore more of Cusco or relax.

Day 8 Cusco/Puno

Travel day by bus from Cusco to Puno. Spend some time on arrival wandering the small city.

Travel through the high Altiplano region from Cusco to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Titicaca is also the largest lake in the world above 3800m, and the views from both Amantaní and Taquile Islands are stunning. The trip takes the better part of the day, with stark, beautiful scenery en route.

Day 9 Puno

Enjoy a guided tour of Lake Titicaca including a visit to Uros and Taquile islands.

Head out by boat across Lake Titicaca. Visit the community on the Taquile Islands and enjoy a local lunch with spectacular views. Visit the floating islands of Uros before returning to Puno. Opt to visit to Sillustani burial site.

Day 10 Puno/La Paz

Travel by bus and cross the border into Bolivia, arriving in La Paz.

Enjoy the full-day drive around the lake and through the altiplano to La Paz. Bolivia is filled with spectacular views of the countryside. La Paz is at nearly 4000m (13,120ft) above sea level, so be prepared for cool evenings and mornings.

Day 11 La Paz

Enjoy a free day in La Paz. Opt to visit the Witches' Market, the city's museums or the Valley of the Moon.

Explore the city’s many fine museums or its historic structures, like the Iglesia de San Francisco. The city is also renowned for its many markets, including the Mercado de Hechicería (Witches’ Market). With streets lined with market stalls and vendors, the pace on the street and the vibrant atmosphere is an incredible experience. To the south of the city is the Valley of the Moon, with crater-like formations made of sand. Thrill seekers can pre book a Death Road mountain biking adventure.

Day 12 La Paz/Sucre

Fly to Sucre and explore this beautiful colonial city.

Optional activities include mountain biking, hiking, and searching for dinosaur footprints.

Day 13 Sucre

Free time to explore the city, the former capital of Bolivia. For more active options opt to go hiking in the surrounding area or mountain biking.

Day 14 Sucre/Potosí

Travel by bus to Potosí and get a view of the mountain Cerro Rico looming over the city.

Day 15 Potosí/Uyuni

Travel through the Bolivian landscape to the town of Uyuni, the jumping off point for the three day 4x4 excursion to the Salar de Uyuni.

During the rainy season the locations visited may change due to some routes being covered by water.

Day 16 Uyuni/Salt Flats and Desert Crossing

Enjoy a three-day 4x4 excursion to the Salar de Uyuni and surrounding desert altiplano with spectacular scenery. Today you will be heading into the Salar de Uyuni. Our groups like to get creative with photography, as the endless white of the salt flats creates some great depth illusions that are fun to play with in photos. Last stop for the evening is a G Adventures-supported community lodge in a traditional agricultural village in the heart of a desert oasis.

Day 17 Salt Flats and Desert Crossing

Explore the desert altiplano on a 4x4 excursion. Admire the spectacular scenery while passing red and blue lagoons and interesting rock formations along the route. Spot wild llamas, alpacas and even flamingos deep within the desert.

Day 18 Salt Flats and Desert Crossing/San Pedro de Atacama

Rise early to cover more ground of the unique landscape of the Salar de Uyuni. Continue to see incredible scenery, including volcanoes, salt lakes and geysers. Travel to the border and descend by bus to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. It's a long but scenic drive.

From the high Bolivian altiplano descend almost 2000m to the edge of the Atacama Desert, arriving at the small desert oasis of San Pedro de Atacama, just across the Chilean border. Said to be one of the driest places on the planet, this little town is an oasis in an otherwise barren, dry landscape.

Day 19 San Pedro de Atacama

Enjoy an Included excursion to the Valley of the Moon. In San Pedro, opt to go sandboarding or mountain biking.

Enjoy an included excursion to the Valley of the Moon to learn about and appreciate the beautiful uniqueness of the landscape. There are plenty of optional excursions in San Pedro de Atacama, including biking, exploring nearby ruins, and horseback riding. Despite its size, San Pedro offers some great restaurants as well as numerous handicrafts and artisan stores for those looking for souvenirs.

Day 20 San Pedro de Atacama/Santiago

Drive to Calama and fly to Santiago, a vibrant capital city.

From the nearby city of Calama, fly to Santiago, the capital of Chile. The city is surrounded by mountains, and there are both internationally recognized vineyards and Andean ski resorts within a couple of hours from the city centre. Explore the city’s many museums and parks and visit the vibrant neighbourhood of Bellavista with its handicrafts, trendy cafés, and San Cristobal Hill with its views of the city and the surrounding area.

Day 21 Santiago

With a free day in Santiago, opt to visit nearby wineries.

Day 22 Santiago/Valparaíso

Explore some of Santiago's neighbourhoods on a city tour, visit the Museum of Memory and try some local specialties. After, take a public bus to the seaside town of Valparaíso where brightly coloured houses perch on the hills.

Day 23 Valparaiso/Santiago

Enjoy a free morning in Valparaiso to soak it all in. Later, head to the Casablanca Valley, stop at a winery to indulge in a wine tasting. After, head back to Santiago with free time before boarding an overnight bus to Pucon.

Day 24 Pucón

Enjoy free time in Pucon, try whitewater rafting or explore the area by foot.

Day 25 Pucón

Enjoy another free day to take part in the many activities on offer in Pucón. Opt to hike Villarica volcano (it's active!) or soak in the nearby natural thermal pools.

Day 26 Pucón/San Carlos de Bariloche

Cross the Andes to Argentina. Travel by local bus to San Martin and take a private van the rest of the way to Bariloche in the Lake District with a local guide.

Day 27 San Carlos de Bariloche

Transfer to a Gaucho Ranch just outside of Bariloche. Enjoy a barbecue for lunch and take to the saddle with a Gaucho by your side.

Day 28 San Carlos de Bariloche

Enjoy a free day to explore the beautiful area in and around Bariloche. Take a hike in the countryside or wander the town, known for its shops and in particular, artisan chocolate.

Day 29 San Carlos de Bariloche/Buenos Aires

Fly to Buenos Aires. Opt to enjoy a Tango show and dinner.

Fly north to the buzzing metropolis that is Buenos Aires, it is a vibrant city full of life.

Opt to pre-book the "Buenos Aires Tango Experience" activity on the checkout page ahead of time to include this optional on your tour.

Day 30 Buenos Aires

Depart at any time.

Book extra accommodation in Buenos Aires to have more time to explore the city.

Day 1: Depart U.S.

Travel to South America as you fly overnight from the U.S. today.

Day 2: Arrive Santiago, Chile • Chilean family winery

Meals: Dinner

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Santiago or similar

You will touch down in the Chilean capital this morning to begin your South America tour, where a Grand Circle representative will meet you and assist with the transfer to your hotel. While you wait to check into your room, take part in a guided orientation walk, giving you the lay of the land in your Santiago neighborhood.

Early this afternoon, meet your travel companions, including those who took our optional pre-trip extension to Peru: Machu Picchu, Cuzco & Lima, and your Program Director. You'll then enjoy a Welcome Briefing, during which you'll learn some more details of what to expect from your upcoming discoveries in South America. Then, depart for a nearby family-owned winery, where you'll enjoy a tour on one of Chile's most famous exports. Here, you'll also sit down with fellow travelers for a delicious Welcome Dinner.

Day 3: Santiago • City tour • Chilean history discussion

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Santiago or similar

This morning, embark upon a city tour of Santiago. Home to a third of Chile's 16 million people, Santiago rests at the confluence of the Mapocho and Maipu rivers, surrounded on all sides by Andean peaks. To be sure, it's a breathtaking setting for a capital that has witnessed a remarkable history—from settlement by conquistadores in 1541 to the Marxist, military, and finally, democratic governments of the 20th century.

This morning, pass through Providencia, a district of great tradition and strong commercial and social activity. Then begin your included city tour with a ride through the residential districts of Bellavista and Las Condes, where you will see beautiful homes and parks. As you continue, you'll see several historic monuments and buildings, including the Palacio de la Moneda, the current seat of the government. Stop for a stroll at the city's most important plaza, the Plaza de Armas, which has been the heart of Santiago since its origin in 1541. Ringing the plaza are many important buildings that are considered national monuments. Here you see the Correo Central (main post office), Iglesia Catedral (Cathedral Church), the Municipalidad de Santiago (City Hall), and the National Historic Museum. Nearby, you find the Mercado Central (Central Market), an elegant wrought-iron structure inaugurated in 1872 as the site of a National Exhibition. Now it is the city's central market, filled with colorful stalls and seafood eateries (called marisquerias). Here, you'll enjoy an included lunch.

Tonight, enjoy a discussion on Chilean history and the country's most controversial leaders: Allende and Pinochet.

Day 4: Santiago • Valparaiso tour • Graffiti Art of Valparaiso activity • Lunch in a local home

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Santiago or similar

Today, set off to the Chilean northwest on a full-day tour to Valparaiso. Valparaiso is an important Chilean port city (and a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site), where 17 hills tower over the "basin" district.

The city's distinctive features include meandering cobblestone streets and ancient ascensores—electric cable cars that climb into hillside neighborhoods and afford splendid sea views. You'll ride one of these ascensores up the hill for one of the many views of Valparaiso, then walk through the colorful streets, known for the colorful public art on the walls. Learn more about this cultural heritage, and make your own contribution to a work in progress, during an exclusive Graffiti Art of Valparaiso Discovery Series event.

Afterward, enjoy another exclusive Discovery Series event as you sit down for lunch with a local family before returning to your hotel.

Enjoy the evening and dinner at your leisure.

Day 5: Santiago • Puerto Varas • Angelmo Market visit • Mapuche discussion

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodations: Hotel Bellavista

After an early breakfast, transfer to the Santiago airport for your group's flight to Puerto Montt. You'll arrive in the early afternoon, then enjoy an exclusive Discovery Series visit to Angelmo Fish Market with your Program Director. Walk amidst the bustling stalls and browse some of the local seafood found in the nearby Chilean lakes. Perhaps sample the local curanto stew, a mixture of meat, seafood, and vegetable, and admire an array of dried shellfish.

Following your market visit, you’ll transfer to Puerto Varas to check into your hotel, and then gather for an exclusive Discovery Series discussion on the Mapuche people native to this area. While the Mapuche only make up about four percent of Chile's total population, their traditions surrounding the extended family and their agricultural customs have had widespread influences.

Dinner this evening is included at local restaurant.

Day 6: Puerto Varas • Chilean rodeo demonstration & lunch

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodations: Hotel Bellavista

This morning, learn more about the German immigrant heritage of Chile during a visit to a German family collection. Then enjoy a taste of everyday, family-centered Chilean life as a guest at a local horse-breeding ranch. During this exclusive Discovery Series event, you'll see how a farm family lives and works—and witness a Chilean rodeo demonstration as well. For lunch, enjoy a tasty homemade meal at the ranch in the company of these welcoming people before returning to your hotel.

This evening, you'll have a presentation to prepare you for tomorrow's travel through the Andes. The rest of the evening is yours to seek out dinner and spend as you please.

Day 7: Puerto Varas • Petrohue Falls • Andean lake crossing • Bariloche, Argentina

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Cacique Inacayal Hotel

Be prepared for an early start and a long—but very rewarding—day of travel today. First, depart for a morning tour of Petrohue Falls, where you can explore the lush setting surrounding the rapids. Petrohue Falls is located just a short distance downstream from Lake Todos los Santos, and the chute-like waterfall is supported by basaltic lava. Enjoy the views of Osorno Volcano in the distance.

Then, after a stop for an included lunch, you'll start your unforgettable journey across the border through the Andes from Chile into Argentina. Traveling in turn by bus, by boat, and back again, you’ll travel overland through picturesque mountain roads and also sail across the shimmering waters of the vast lakes of the Andes, taking your time to admire the scenery as you go.

Four buses, three boats, and a camera’s worth of memorable photos later, you’ll arrive in Bariloche in the early evening and check into your hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Day 8: Bariloche • Panoramic tour & visit to Campanario Hill • Local brewery

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodations: Cacique Inacayal Hotel

Today Patagonia bids you bienvenidos as you awaken in Bariloche. Officially called San Carlos de Bariloche, this city is a curious amalgam of cultural influences. Its buildings recall the Austrian Tyrol in their design. Many of the ranches dotting the outlying Patagonian plains remain English-owned and run, worked by Chilean peons from over the border. (Film buffs: This is the territory where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made their real-life last stand.)

Bookended by stark granite peaks and mirrored in 40-mile-long Lake Nahuel Huapi, Bariloche is, quite literally, a breath of fresh air. Discover this on a panoramic tour this morning, which includes a visit to Campanario Hill. You'll go on to take in breathtaking views of the lake. Ride a chairlift to the top of Campanario Hill for spectacular views of the mountains (if the weather is clear). The lake is studded with fir-tree-covered islands. After that, you will enjoy a visit to a traditional brewery, where you'll have lunch and learn how this family prepares local beer.

This afternoon, enjoy time at your leisure. Dinner is included at your hotel tonight.

Day 9: Bariloche • Nazis in Patagonia discussion • Patagonian ranch visit • Optional Floating in the Limay River cruise  (optional tour)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodations: Cacique Inacayal Hotel

This morning, enjoy an exclusive Discovery Series discussion on the Nazi presence in Patagonia during World War II. Later, you'll depart for the Patagonian steppe for an exclusive Discovery Series event, where you'll be the guests on a Patagonian working ranch. You'll have the opportunity to tour the ranch and its grounds, learn about life in the windy Patagonian steppes, and enjoy a traditional lamb barbecue lunch.

The afternoon is free for your own discovery. Perhaps you will visit the Museo de la Patagonia, with its archaeological, historical and cultural displays, or enjoy a walk through the beautiful city center. Or you can join us for an optional Floating in the Limay River cruise, to enjoy the steppe landscape and fresh air while you float along by raft.

Dinner is on your own this evening.

Day 10: Bariloche • Buenos Aires • Home-Hosted Dinner

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodations: Panamericano Buenos Aires or similar

After breakfast, you'll have some time to bid Bariloche adios before transferring to the airport for your flight to Buenos Aires. You'll arrive in the late afternoon and continue to your hotel.

The most memorable part of your visit to this charming city may well be tonight’s dinner. Take a seat at the table of an Argentine family, share their evening meal, chat, learn about each other, and make new friends.

Prepare yourself for an evening seasoned with good conversation and fellowship.

Day 11: Buenos Aires Highlights tour • Tango lesson • Optional Tango Show & Dinner (Optional tour)

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodations: Panamericano Buenos Aires or similar

After breakfast, set off on an included half-day tour of Buenos Aires. You'll see the city's elegant mixture of Spanish Colonial architecture and several traditional European styles. Visit Avenida de Mayo, which runs into Plaza de Mayo, where many buildings important to Argentine history are centered. See the Casa Rosada (Government House); the Metropolitan Cathedral; and the Cabildo, the first City Hall built during Spanish rule.

Next, you'll visit La Boca, Buenos Aires' first merchant and fishing port. You'll have time to visit the famous Caminito, an outdoor museum and art show where painters offer their tango pictures, or stroll along the renovated waterfront promenade.

Your tour passes by the beautiful Colon Theater. Built in 1908, this is one of the world's most famous opera houses, and international stars vie to perform here as they do at Milan's La Scala and Vienna's State Opera House. Continue on to the final resting place of Eva "Evita" Peron, the Duarte tomb at the Recoleta Cemetery. The cemetery is in the Recoleta district, an area of elegant homes, fashionable restaurants and shops.

Lunch is on your own. The rest of your afternoon is at leisure for you to discover Buenos Aires.

This evening, join a tango lesson and learn the basic steps of Argentina’s fiery, passionate, signature dance. Before it was a dance, tango was a sound—a composite of rhythms and voices born out of the slums of Buenos Aires, where a diaspora of Europeans, Africans, and idle, discharged local soldiers congregated and sang their tales of solitude and struggle. From the music emerged the dance, and that unique and passionate mix came to encapsulate, in the opinions of many, the Argentine national character.

Interestingly though, the tango was not always the celebrated tradition it is now. Many Argentines viewed its humble origins and sensual stylings as unsavory at best—and vulgar at worst. The tango had to cross the Atlantic and become the red-hot rage of Europe before it found favor in its native land. And in recent years, it has undergone a revival, receiving an injection of modern energy from artists like Astor Piazzola and receiving broader national (and international) exposure through TV, radio, and touring tango troupes.

While your steps may not be as sure as the most seasoned tanguero, you’ll learn the basics during this special lesson—certainly enough to impress the folks back home.

Now that you’ve learned the basics of the tango, you have the opportunity to see how it’s really done. Tonight, watch some of the best tango dancers and musicians in Argentina perform at a sophisticated supper club during an optional tango show and dinner.

Day 12: Buenos Aires • Parana Delta ride • School visit • Argentina Today discussion Foundation Visit

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodations: Panamericano Buenos Aires or similar

Today, experience a change of pace from city life as you take a tour of the area where the Parana River empties into the Rio de la Plata on its way into the Atlantic, forming a huge delta. This exotic landscape is just half an hour from the city but seems a million miles away. Traditional houses on pilotes (stilts) are surrounded by lush subtropical vegetation, and are built on islands that are separated by a twisting maze of waterways.

Enjoy a relaxing boat ride in this scenic area, which is one of Latin America's most amazing wetland environments. You'll sail through the many islands that populate the rivers of the delta, and take in the lush, subtropical scenery and plant life. Then, enjoy an included lunch, followed by a visit to a local school (when in session) supported in part by Grand Circle Foundation, where you'll have the opportunity to get to know students and teachers there.

Later, after returning to your hotel, you will attend an exclusive Discovery Series discussion on Argentina Today, highlighting the current state of Argentina's economy and political scene.

Then toast your adventures and companions from your South American tour at tonight's Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant.

Please note: From December through early March, the school visit will be unavailable due to summer holidays.

Day 13: Buenos Aires

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast at the hotel together, enjoy a morning at leisure to explore Buenos Aires before lunch on your own. Tonight, fly back to the U.S. or continue on our Brazil's Iguassu Falls & Rio de Janeiro post-trip extension.