Argentina North to South Private Journey - Salta, Iguazú Falls & Patagonia

Private transfer from Ezeiza (EZE) or Aeroparque (AEP) to the hotel. Buenos Aires is the international hub for every domestic connection in this itinerary, which makes it the natural place to start. Afternoon and evening free to recover from the inbound flight.

Private half-day city tour through San Telmo, La Boca, Recoleta, Puerto Madero, and the Plaza de Mayo, with the guide adjusting the route to pace and interest rather than running a fixed script. In the evening, a traditional tango dinner at a milonga with a live orchestra — the city's signature night out before the circuit heads north.

Domestic flight from Buenos Aires (AEP) to Salta (SLA), roughly 2 hours, with a private transfer to Legado Mítico Salta, a boutique hotel set in a converted 1930s house in the historic center. The afternoon is for Salta's compact, walkable colonial core and the MAAM — Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña — home to the Llullaillaco mummies, three Inca children found at 6,739 meters on Volcán Llullaillaco in 1999 and one of South America's most significant pre-Columbian collections. In the evening, dinner at a traditional Salta peña with live folk music.

This private Quebrada de Humahuaca tour from Salta covers a full day driving north into a 155-kilometer UNESCO World Heritage gorge in Jujuy Province, where the canyon walls shift between red, ochre, purple, and grey depending on mineral content and light. The route covers four stops: Purmamarca, with the Cerro de los Siete Colores rising directly behind the village; Salinas Grandes, a salt flat at 3,450 meters reached via the Cuesta de Lipán pass; Tilcara, where the Pucará — a reconstructed pre-Columbian fortified settlement — overlooks the gorge in both directions; and Uquía, whose small colonial church holds Cusqueña paintings of archangels in 17th-century military dress.

Full-day round trip south to Cafayate, the northwest's wine region at 1,660 meters, along Ruta 68 through the Quebrada de las Conchas. The outbound drive passes the red-rock formations of the Quebrada — the Amphitheater, the Garganta del Diablo, and the Obelisk — with stops along the way. Midday is a private tasting at one of Cafayate's signature bodegas (El Esteco, Piattelli, or El Porvenir, confirmed at booking) — home to Torrontés, the aromatic white that grows almost nowhere else, and a Malbec with a character distinct from Mendoza's. The return follows the same scenic route back to Salta.

A connection via Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú, where Loi Suites Iguazú sits directly inside the subtropical rainforest. Elevation drops from roughly 1,150 meters in Salta to near sea level, and humidity rises accordingly — high-altitude desert to dense jungle in under five hours of flying time.

Full day inside Parque Nacional Iguazú on the Argentine side, where roughly 80% of the system's 275 waterfalls are visible and the experience is close-up rather than panoramic. The Lower Circuit's walkways run within arm's reach of the smaller falls; the Upper Circuit gives an elevated, wider view toward the Brazilian bank; and the train to Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) reaches the platform above the 150-meter horseshoe cataract, where the river vanishes into a permanent cloud of spray. The optional Gran Aventura zodiac ride into the base of the San Martín falls is the most visceral single moment of the day, and travelers should expect to get completely soaked.

This itinerary covers both the Argentine and Brazilian sides of Iguazú Falls, so the comparison isn't theoretical: today is a full day excursion across the border to Parque Nacional do Iguaçu in Brazil, where a single elevated walkway shows the full width of the falls at once, with the Argentine bank visible in the distance — the panoramic counterpart to the previous day's close-up trails. The afternoon is free in Puerto Iguazú ahead of the following day's long flight south.

This is the longest connection on the circuit — Iguazú and El Calafate sit near opposite ends of the country — so it's scheduled as a deliberate rest day, with no activity planned around the flights. Arrival in El Calafate is by early evening, onto the open Patagonian steppe, a sharp contrast to Iguazú's rainforest. Check in at Esplendor El Calafate, overlooking Lago Argentino

Full day at Perito Moreno Glacier, 80 km from El Calafate along the southern arm of Lago Argentino inside Los Glaciares National Park. The elevated 4.7 km walkway system delivers the glacier's 70-meter ice wall from multiple angles, with calving events frequent enough to be a regular, audible part of the day. A 30-minute catamaran run along the southern wall on the Rico arm of the lake adds a water-level view the walkways can't match.

A full-day catamaran through floating icebergs on the northern arm of Lago Argentino to the Spegazzini Glacier (120m ice wall) and the retreating Upsala Glacier — broader in scale and more remote than Day 10, and reachable only by water. No previous boat-trekking experience required; the day is entirely navigation-based, with no walking on the ice.

A roughly three-hour private drive to El Chalten, north across open steppe, with the Fitz Roy massif visible for most of the route. Arrival in El Chaltén by midday, followed by the Mirador de los Cóndores circuit (2 hours, starting from the village) for the first view of both Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre from a single point, and a reliable spot for Andean condors riding the thermals above town. Check in at Los Cerros del Chaltén, steps from the Laguna de los Tres and Laguna Torre trailheads. In the evening, your guide reviews the weather forecast to set tomorrow's departure time.

22 km round trip  |  960m elevation gain  |  8-9 hours  |  Challenging

This private Laguna de los Tres trek with a guide is El Chaltén's essential day. Departure around 7:00-7:30 AM along the Río Blanco through lenga beech forest to the climbers' base camp, then a final boulder ascent to the glacial lagoon at 3,054 meters, directly below Fitz Roy's north face. A dedicated guide manages departure timing against the wind forecast — the afternoon wind off the ice field to the west can make the upper section genuinely demanding. Return by 4:30-5:30 PM.

21 km round trip  |  600m elevation gain  |  6.5-8 hours  |  Moderate

A shorter, easier trail heading west through the Fitz Roy River canyon to the moraine above Laguna Torre, where Cerro Torre's granite spire and the floating icebergs of Glaciar Grande are the payoff. Return to El Chaltén by early afternoon, then 3 hours by private vehicle back to El Calafate for the night ahead of the Ushuaia connection.

A flight south to the world's southernmost city, direct or via Buenos Aires depending on the schedule, roughly 4–5 hours total. Check in at Los Acebos Ushuaia, with Beagle Channel views from every room, a short drive from the harbor.

Two distinct halves of the day in the world's southernmost national park before the journey ends. In the morning, the coastal trail along Ensenada Bay through lenga beech forest to Lapataia Bay, where the Pan-American Highway ends at the Beagle Channel — passing Yámana archaeological sites and the End of the World Train route along the way. In the afternoon, a private boat from the Ushuaia dock through the sea lion and cormorant colonies of Lobos and Pájaros Islands, past the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse, with the Chilean Darwin Range visible on clear days across the channel.

Transfer to Ushuaia Airport (USH) for the flight to Buenos Aires (EZE/AEP) and onward international connections.