Pre Departure: We can arrange airport transfers, city tour, tango show, Horse Opera etc for you in Buenos Aires.
Day 1: Meeting in the late afternoon in downtown Buenos Aires. A bilingual guide specialized in the History, Arts and Architecture of the city will take you on a 3 hour city tour to see all the important sites (minimum of 2 participants for the city tour). We then drop you off at the bus depot for the 8:55 PM luxury sleeper bus transfer to Esquina ... arriving the next day at 4:30 AM. (meals available, but not included).
Day 2: Morning arrival in Esquina and transfer to Estancia La Rosita. After lunch choose your steed and saddle, and go on a short introductory trail ride. Later, enjoy a luxurious candlelight dinner in the dining room of the 19th century wing of the ranch house.
Day 3: Today you start your horseback adventure with a ride from ‘La Rosita’ to ‘La Amistad’ covering approximately 22 miles. Riding time is five hours. At lunch time you are treated to a fabulous lamb barbecue picnic. In evening the hosts will spoil your at the ranch with a relaxing massage session (included).
Day 4: The second part of your journey on horseback takes you to ‘Buena Vista’ Farm. It’s again a long day in the saddle with lunch on the way consisting of delicacies like pate and sausages. You can rest under the trees at the entrance to the property, and later, at the swimming pool; have tea under the Magnolia tree and visit the owner’s pheasant and wild duck raising operation. Approximately five hours of riding.
Day 5: Leaving ‘Buena Vista’ Farm very early in the morning you ride towards ‘La Teresita’ Farm. On the way you have lunch in a typical roadside general store called ‘Boliche de Campo’ or ‘Pulperia’. This night you spend at ‘La Teresita’ Farm where you can choose between a special moonlight ride on horseback or a ride in a sulky – if you still have the energy - otherwise just spend a quiet evening at this remote farm house. Approximately five and a half hours of riding.
Day 6: Today’s ride takes you through pastures, pampas grasslands and native forests to the Corrientes River. On its shores you enjoy another spectacular barbecue lunch before you head back to Esquina by boat, which is again close to ‘La Rosita’ from where you started your ride. In Esquina you have dinner in a restaurant to the sounds of a local Folklore music group. The night is once more spent at ‘La Rosita’.
Day 7: Early in the morning we will begin our tour in 4x4 vehicles to Ibera marshes −Mesopotamia’s heart.. We have 400 km of pure nature to roam as we head toward our next stop, an historic ranch of the Jesuit Missions dating from 1638, with about 240 horses. Lunch and a rest stop at the ranch. Accompanied by wildlife experts we spend the next two hours cruising the marshes. The Ibera marshes are an old ditch of the Parana River, today a shallow depression full of water, formed by a few floating islands that move with storms or strong winds, taking with them all the flora and fauna living in them. This is a region of diverse flora and fauna in their natural habitat. Over 245 different spices of birds and 80 varieties fish. Notable is the biggest Heron in South America, two species of caimans, carpinchos; as well as the river wolf , the aguará guazú as well as the pampas and the marsh deer.
Day 8: Today it is the day to experience the life of the peon (gauchos), the Estancia cowboys. Ride with the gauchos as they sort calves and move the herd; watch as they vaccinate animals, washing them, among other activities. After lunch, we will ride into the marshes, but this time from the coastline and through the wild forests where, if we are lucky enough, we might see a monkey or a marsh deer.
Optional night ride into the marshes, where the night is full of life between the sounds and colors of the animals.
Day 9: As we leave Ibera behind the landscape changes dramatically. Misiones Province is characterized by its hills and particular red land. Just before arriving at Estancia Santa Ines, we can observe plantations of Yerba Mate - famous in all of South America. Stop at the ranch for lunch. In the afternoon we will ride along the plantations and forested areas of the ranch until we arrive at a natural swimming pool. We spend the night in this English-style ranch.
Day 10: After breakfast we will go to San Ignacio’s ruins, old remains designed by the Jesuits and built by the Guarans (natives from the region) over 400 years ago. We will have lunch in front of the ruins (not included) and finally will be heading out for the last trench of the trip to the Falls. Ambiguous feelings arrive, the trip is ending and the falls are almost in sight. We spend this night at the Loi Suites Hotel near the falls. (Dinner not included).
Day 11: Finally, Iguacu Falls are before our eyes. As an exception to the rest of the journey, today we travel by foot instead of horseback. Excursions: Iguaçu Waterfalls: Interpretation Center, Green Path, Environmental train to the Waterfalls station, upper circuit, lower circuit. We suggest you also take the Green Passport ticket that includes sailing along the Parana River, jungle drive in, and nautical adventure. (USD$40).
Note: Expect rain at any time in Iguacu, but overall rainfall is moderate at 1200mm annually. Thunderstorms are common. Today only breakfast is included.
Day 12: Breakfast and transfer to the airport for your flight out to Buenos Aires around noon.
--Subject to Change.
City Tour details:
CLASSIC CITY TOUR
Some of the tours´ highlights
San Telmo - Monserrat - La Boca - Retiro - Recoleta - Palermo - Puerto Madero
We’ll embark on a journey through time as we learn about the historical evolution of the city and the constituent elements of its traditional idiosyncrasy (immigration, tango, folklore, football and popular culture, among others), and discover the exciting wonders hidden in the heart of its most colorful and traditional districts.
Our tour begins at Plaza de Mayo, where the city was first founded. There we’ll admire the emblematic Pink House, the Cathedral and the Cabildo (Colonial Town Hall). Our visit of the city’s most traditional districts continues as we head for San Telmo, where we make the mandatory tour of its antique shops and visit Plaza Dorrego, in the heart of this colonial district, where every Sunday a traditional street antiques fair is hosted. Later, we’ll pay a visit to La Boca to see the splendidly colorful houses on mythical Caminito Street. Then, we’ll head for Puerto Madero, a renovated docklands area, surely the newest and maybe the trendiest of Buenos Aires’ barrios. Then we’ll head for Retiro and Recoleta, where we’ll have the chance to see the splendid San Martín Square, surrounded by landmarks built during our country’s very own Belle Époque, like the former Paz Palace (now the Military Society), the San Martín Palace and the Plaza Hotel. Then, we’ll head for the aristocratic district of La Recoleta, where we’ll admire the distinguished Alvear Avenue, stopping at the Paseo del Pilar to pay a visit to the ancient Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the legendary La Recoleta Cemetery. As we continue on towards Palermo, we’ll have the chance to admire the parks designed by world-famous French landscape artist Charles Thais for the May Revolution Centenary, as well as the sumptuous palaces that have graced Buenos Aires with that distinctive Parisian atmosphere.
Drop off at the bus terminal for your transfer to Esquina.
-- Approximate duration 3 hours