Welcome to Buenos Aires! Upon arrival, you will meet our local agent and be transferred to the hotel. Please note, rooms are not available until mid-day typically, so if you want a room immediately for an early morning arrival, you will need to request a night ahead (additional charge at the going room rate) to get in ahead of mid-day check-in.

This afternoon, we will visit the Costanera Sur Wildlife Reserve. It is an excellent area near downtown, where we enjoy some of the Pampa’s birds. Rufous Hornero, Yellow-billed Cardinal, and the rare South American Painted-Snipe are some of the birds possible. It is easy walking, and very birdy!

Enjoy a welcome dinner with a chance to get to know your guides and travel companions.

Accommodations at the Buenos Aires Hotel Awa (L, D)

Argentina is a long, thin country, as is Chile. In-country flights are included in your tour price and this morning we reposition to Trelew. Welcome officially to Patagonia!

Our flight is a mid-morning flight to Trelew, the gateway to northeast Patagonia. From the airport we drive out to Puerto Pirámides, a tiny town on Peninsula Valdes, with stops for birding in route, searching for Carbonated Sierra-finch, big flocks of Burrowing Parrot, the curious Elegant Crested Tinamou, secretive White-throated Cacholote among others. The habitat is arid scrub adjacent to the sea–classic windswept Patagonia.

Once in town, we walk a short distance to a viewpoint to see our first Southern Right Whales before dinner. Colorful murals line the walls of the Avenue of Whales we walk, a whale tail sculpture marks the city center. This population is actually on the rise, a significant conservation achievement. They are often quite active and we may see them breaching.

Accommodations at the Del Nomande Eco Hotel, Puerto Piramides (B, L, D)

We will spend some time near town, exploring a short road leading towards a viewpoint with a South American Sea Lion colony. These massive marine mammals display a range of behaviors around the antics of the dominant males. Vocal, and at times aggressive, we train our scopes on them for a better view. We also have chances for finding some specialty birds, Gray-bellied and Lesser Shrike-Tyrant, Gray-hooded and Mourning Sierra-Finch.

Then we will drive towards our next stop, Punta Norte. Along the road we will have chances for finding Gray Fox, Guanacos, Lesser Rhea, Patagonian Skunk, and two species of armadillos: Long Hairy Armadillo and Pichi.

Accommodations at the Del Nomande Eco Hotel, Puerto Piramides (B, L, D)

A great day that will combine a variety of wildlife. Guanacos and Maras (or Patagonian Cavy) are possible along the road, providing great opportunities to photograph them. By midmorning, at Punta Delgada lighthouse, we will have the chance to visit a big Elephant seal colony. Bird life includes American and Blackish Oystercatchers, Black-browed Albatross, Brown Skuas, Southern Giant Petrels, and a number of terns like South American, Sandwich, and Royal.

In the afternoon, a boat tour for Southern Right Whales is expected. Getting close to these massive giants, enough to see their blows, study their flukes and observe their behaviors is memorable!

Accommodations at the Del Nomande Eco Hotel, Puerto Piramides (B,L,D)

Our main destination today will be Punta Tombo, a narrow peninsula about two hours south of the city of Trelew. Punta Tombo is the breeding site of a colony of nearly one and a half million Magellanic Penguins. You will be able to walk through the colony area, watch them waddle between bushes where they seek shade and shelter, and be able to watch them swim and enter and exit the sea–truly wonderful views. Other species frequently seen include: Dolphin Gulls, Elegant Crested Tinamous, Southern Giant Petrels, Lesser Canastero, Scale-throated Earthcreeper, and good chances of White-headed Steamer-Duck.

During the afternoon, we will devote our time to explore the Chubut River Valley for finding Burrowing Parrot, Picui Ground-Dove, and a great number of ducks.

Accommodations at the Hotel Libertador, Trelew (B, L, D)

After breakfast we will visit Laguna del Ornitologo on our way to the local airport at Trelew. We will leave mid-morning from Trelew on a flight to the southern tip of South America at Ushuaia, the gateway to Tierra del Fuego National Park, and launching place for many tours to Antarctica. This is a stunning modern city now, with a scenic waterfront lined by shops framed by massive mountain peaks behind.

This afternoon, after settling in, we will spend time exploring the Martial Glacier Area, as well as searching for Dark-faced and Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant, the delightful Yellow-bridled Finch, and the cryptic White bellied Seedsnipe.

There are many good restaurants to choose from here, and we’ll select one to enjoy our dinner tonight

Accommodations at Hotel Tolkeyen, Ushuaia (B, L, D)

The next leg of our journey is a flight south to El Calafate. After arrival, we will spend some time near town visiting the Laguna Nimez area. This lush wetland seems an anomaly in arid Patagonia, and we hope to find Cinereous Harriers, Lake Duck, and a chance for one of highlights of the trip for our birders and photographers, the Magellanic Plover.

We then drive into the mountains, crossing into Chile. We have chances to observe wild guanacos, and also on the way in some ridges we will be able to see Andean Condors, and Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle. Once we reach the border, get the stamp for Chile then immediately arrive to Cerro Castillo and our hotel located in this little town.

Accommodations in Hotel Estancia el Ovejero, Patagonico (B, L, D)

We will have an early start this morning. At 4:15 a.m. we will drive from the hotel to the Sarmiento area where we will visit Laguna Amarga farm, which is the best place to see Pumas. Upon arrival, our trackers will be waiting there for us, and from here we will look for these amazing cats. Pumas normally start early in the morning for hunting time, Guanacos are the main pray, so hopefully we will witness this moment. We will spend at least 3 hours out on the farm, and then afterwards return to the hotel, rest, and have lunch.

In the afternoon we will search again for Pumas, at this time, they like to relax and laydown for long periods of time, great chances for photographs! The experience with Pumas right now is a wild cat fan’s dream! Following this, we will return to hotel for dinner.

Accommodations in Hotel Estancia el Ovejero, Patagonico (B, L, D)

Today we will visit Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. Guanacos, Lesser Rhea, and Chilean Flamingos are popular visitors.

The splendid Paine Massif will be visible, and we traverse the park, on spectacular internal roads with stunning views and great places to stop for wildlife.

We will have two full days to explore the park. Our focus is to search for wildlife and keeping an eye on the impressive landscape as well. Austral Blackbird, Austral Parakeet, Patagonian Sierra Finch, Thorn-tailed Rayaditos, Magellanic Woodpecker, Magellanic Tapaculo, and some chances for Green-backed Firecrown, as well as the scarce Patagonian Tyrant and a good chance for Torrent Duck. Among the mammals, we can also expect Gray Fox, Guanaco herds, Hairy Armadillo, and a chance for Andean Deer.

Accommodations for two nights at Hotel del Paine, Rio Serrano (B, L, D)

We have the full morning for wildlife viewing and then start our way to over to the coast. Just a short drive away is a scenic town we just have to enjoy a night in.

We will enjoy some afternoon time in this small town, Puerto Natales, where we have time to walk the picturesque waterfront area, with elegant Black-necked Swans making plenty of appreances. In the evening, we will enjoy a delicious local meal. Mountains frame the waterfront view, and a dock jutting out into the sea lets us get close to many species.

Accommodations at Casa de Patagonia, Puerto Natales (B, L, D)

Today we will leave from Puerto Natales, making our way to Punta Arenas, but definitely will stop to visit one of the most impressive places to see Andean Condors, here there is a huge ridge where Condors roots, when wind currents are good enough, they come and fly around, we will bring a box lunch and enjoy this nice time here. After lunch we will continue our driving time to Punta Arenas and will check in at Hotel Diego de Almagro, enjoy dinner paired with some local beer.

Accommodations at Hotel Diego de Almagro (B, L, D)

An early departure this morning at 6:30 a.m. to take the boat and visit Isla Magdalena, one of the biggest and most impressive Magellanic Penguin colonies in the world, with numbers in the 100’s of thousands. We should also see Kelp Gull, Flightless Steamer-Duck, Chilean Skua, among other species, we may see Austral Dolphins, and sea lions, among other local birds. We have about four on the island, and then return to Punta Arenas.

After a return from our boat ride, we can take a break, or if we like, visit the local nautical museum or the Borgisello Museum. Tonight, is our farewell dinner and time to recount our many fine adventures and tally our final species list.

Accommodations at Hotel Diego de Almagro (B, L, D)

Our incredible Ultimate Patagonia trip comes to an end, it’s time to start the trip home. We’ll match the in-country flight segment today to international departures from Santiago. (B)