13 days
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We are the UK’s No.1 specialist in travel to Latin As our name suggests, we are single-minded America and have been creating award-winning about Latin America. This is what sets us apart holidays to every corner of the region for over four from other travel companies – and what allows us decades; we pride ourselves on being the most to offer you not just a holiday but the opportunity to knowledgeable people there are when it comes to experience something extraordinary on inspiring travel to Central and South America and journeys throughout Mexico, Central and South passionate about it too. America.
A passion for the region runs Fully bonded and licensed Our insider knowledge helps through all we do you go beyond the guidebooks ATOL-protected All our Consultants have lived or We hand-pick hotels with travelled extensively in Latin On your side when it matters character and the most America rewarding excursions Book with confidence, knowing Up-to-the-minute knowledge every penny is secure Let us show you the Latin underpinned by 40 years' America we know and love experience
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This is a luxurious holiday where you will discover some of the most attractive places on South America’s Atlantic seaboard while based at three of our favourite, top-of-the-range properties. The Alvear Palace is a traditional hotel with an illustrious history: presidents and rock stars have wallowed in its ornate, classic ambiance and excellent facilities. The service is very attentive; depending on your chosen room grade you may enjoy the services of a personal butler.
Move on from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires to the simple rural appeal of Argentina’s pampas. Here you will stay at a sumptuously restored colonial estancia, where you can ride with the gauchos and take afternoon tea around the pool. For a top notch beach stay head into Brazil and the Hotel Ponta dos Ganchos, the epitome of excellence with discreet, understated attention, remotely situated on a lovely stretch of unspoilt coastline.
Transfer to your hotel. The Argentine capital is an elegant, cultured and cosmopolitan city famed for its interesting museums and the fascinating port district of La Boca, with its cobbled streets and brightly painted houses. It was here that the tango was born, and Diego Maradona honed his footballing skills. The centre of town is home to the colonial heartland, government buildings and churches, as well as chic shopping districts, which have a nostalgic Parisian feel. The bohemian quarter of San Telmo is full of quaint old houses interspersed with antiques shops, tango bars and classy restaurants. Slightly further out of the centre is the Recoleta district, even more evocative of the French influence, where Evita Perón was laid to rest.
You’ll be staying at the Alvear Palace, in Recoleta, a smart residential quarter in Buenos Aires with much belle époque and Italianate architecture including the classic hotel itself. Service is impeccable (there are personal butlers) and the restaurant is superb. It is both formal and friendly. One of the best buffet breakfasts on the continent is served in L’Orangerie.
Your guided city tour takes you along Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest boulevards in the world and studded by the Obelisk, an emblematic symbol of the city. Along this majestic highway is the 19th century Teatro Colón (guided tour included) which, in terms of its architecture and design, as well as its excellent acoustics, is considered one of world’s best. On to the Plaza de Mayo, enclosed on 3 sides by the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Town Hall and the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. The tour continues to bohemian, arty La Boca, which was settled and built by Italian immigrants and has streets lined with brightly painted corrugated iron-clad houses. Visit the district of Recoleta.
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At leisure in Buenos Aires. Stroll round Puerto Madero, the refurbished port district where former dock installations and features have been preserved alongside a string of excellent restaurants and loft conversions. Beyond the city limits, consider a trip across the River Plate to Colonia in Uruguay. Travel along a forest-fringed estuary, dotted with upmarket residences, to this peaceful little port, where you can wander among cobbled streets lined by colonial houses, or have a meal or drink in the yacht club.
Alternatively, venture into the watery delta to the small town of Tigre, set on the banks of the Luján River. Have lunch at one of the restaurants on the shores of the Río Paraná, while watching fishermen at work and river-craft gliding by.
Evening guided visit to a tango show with dinner. The passage of time has given respectability to a dance once confined to the seedy underworld bars of the red-light La Boca district. Nowadays, a number of 'tango houses' offer a dinner and show as an evening out - prior to the performance you can even try out a few steps yourself as an informal group tango lesson is included. La Gala is an intimate venue with a French colonial style complete with crystal chandeliers and a refined ambience.
Transfer by road to Estancia La Bamba. This dusky rose- pink, colonial-style former post house, set in its own attractive parkland, is located 10 mins' drive from the small gaucho town of San Antonio de Areco. It projects a real feel for estancia history, harking back to more opulent times when they were the backbone of a thriving economy.
Following its acquisition by French proprietors, it has been renovated to an extremely high standard, and now resembles a grand countryside chateau. Public areas are cosy and crammed full of plush sofas and old artefacts, accentuating the country house ambience. There are open fires, four poster beds and large shuttered windows. Meals are taken around a common table, though you can request privacy if you wish.
There's a lovely outdoor swimming pool (open in summer) with views over parkland and sun loungers, games room and small library.
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At leisure at La Bamba. If you want to be active, excursions on horseback, by carriage, or mountain bike are available. Other experiences include Argentine bowls and swimming in the large pool.
La Bamba de Areco also serves as the base for the international polo team that bears its name. The property includes two polo fields and guests can watch games during the season, with practice sessions and matches taking place almost daily. Although it is not intended to be a polo school, arrangements can be made on request for guests who are experienced polo players.
If you fancy exploring the pampas, you can visit the town of San Antonio de Areco, one of the oldest towns in Argentina, only 13km away. Wander through the 18th century narrow colonial streets, and visit the church, bars and museums. Here too you can admire the master silversmiths at work in their workshop and watch leather craftsmen at work.
Return to Buenos Aires and fly to Florianopolis in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Transfer by road to the much admired luxury resort Ponta dos Ganchos (1hr). The property is located on a verdant stretch of unspoilt coast in an area of historic interest, with many small fishing hamlets dotting the shoreline.
There’s a small, sheltered cove with a dazzling arc of white sand facing the hotel’s private island, which for a supplement may be booked for exclusive, private dining (we advise you reserve well ahead). Accommodation is perched high above the ocean in just 25 discreet wooden cottages finished to a very high standard, and the service is impeccable. During winter (July-September) and into October you may spot southern right whales offshore.
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The resort is a wonderful place just to laze around. But there is a whole swathe of experiences and explorations both on the property and in the local area which the hotel can organise for you, for which you pay locally. These include cookery classes and inspection of a cachaça (Brazilian sugar cane liquor) distillery.
There are lovely nature trails you can follow at the resort itself, along with a comprehensive spa offering a menu of massages and facials among other well-being services. There are boat trips around the bays and to deserted beaches, or you might participate in water sports: white- water rafting, stand up paddling, scuba diving, sailing and kayaking. Other sporting activities on offer on the property or nearby include golf and horse riding.
Further afield, You might visit lively Florianópolis, or take a guided tour of the cradle of the German colonisation of the state of Santa Catarina, Blumenau, with its steep roofed Bavarian style houses. In contrast, you could stroll around the traditional town of Ribeirão da Ilha, the first community founded by Azorean settlers in the state of Santa Catarina, which has maintained its original economic activities of oyster farming and fishing.
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Services of our team of Guided city tour of Buenos International flights to Latin experts in our London office Aires with visit to Teatro America Colón Services of Journey Latin Tips and gratuities America local Tango show with dinner, representatives and guides Buenos Aires Meals other than specified
All land and air transport Activities at the estancia Airport taxes, when not within Latin America included in the ticket
Accommodation as specified Optional excursions
Meals as specified Excursions as specified, including entrance fees
2 flights (each 2hrs); 2 road transfers.
For this holiday we have chosen the very best hotels available in each of 3 top locations in Argentina and Brazil. The Alvear Palace is a magnificent traditional property heaving with nostalgia. The refurbished colonial-style estancia, La Bamba, combines a romantic setting with superlative attention to detail. Ponta dos Ganchos is one of the most divine coastal hideaways on the continent. The facilities and service at all properties are, of course, top of the range.
Breakfast daily, dinner day 3, full board days 5, 6.
We carefully select our local partners, some of whom we have worked with for over 25 years. Their English- speaking guides understand the expectations of our clients very well, and are consistently singled out for praise by the latter on their return.
13 days, 12 nights: Buenos Aires 3, estancia 3, southern Brazil beach hotel 6.
The unit of currency in Argentina is the Argentine peso. In Brazil is the ‘real’ (plural reais).
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Cash machines are available in all major cities and towns, and so taking a debit or credit card with a PIN number is the most convenient way of withdrawing money while on your trip, and in most shops and restaurants you can also pay by card. However, since cards can get lost, damaged, withheld or blocked, you should not rely exclusively on a card to access funds.
We recommend that additionally you take a reasonable quantity of US dollars cash (no more than is covered by your insurance), which you can exchange into local currency, and possibly some travellers’ cheques (American Express are the most widely accepted), though these are gradually falling out of use. Dollar bills should be in good condition, soiled or torn bills may be refused. You can take sterling, but the exchange rate is not always competitive or even available, restricting the number of places where you can change money.
For our latest currency advice for Argentina please see our FAQs section.
Tips are expected and local guides often rely on their tip as a significant proportion of their income.
Most service industry workers will expect a tip of some kind and so it is useful to have spare change for hotel porters, taxi drivers and the like. It is common to leave 10 - 12% in restaurants.
Travel insurance is essential.
Details of our recommended policy can be found on our Travel Insurance page.
If you have purchased your flights through Journey Latin America, the international departure tax is usually included in the ticket.
There are no long days of travel on this trip. There are two domestic flights by commercial jet.
This holiday is suitable for all but if you have a disability or other special requirements, please call us.
In Buenos Aires, the Argentine pampas and southern Brazil, December to March are the hottest and most humid months, with temperatures sometimes reaching 40°C, and rain which falls in brief, heavy showers.
From June to September, temperatures in Buenos Aires and on the pampas are more moderate (10-18°C) and there is plenty of sunshine, but cold fronts can usher in periods of up to several days of cloud and drizzle. It isn’t really beach weather in southern Brazil at this time, temperatures can be cool and it can be rainy though warm and pleasant periods are not uncommon.
In the southern summer, for day-to-day wear you should take loose-fitting, breathable clothes. Comfortable shoes and sandals are advisable. A sun hat, sun block and sunglasses are necessary, and you should take a light fleece or jacket for cool nights, and a waterproof jacket and/or umbrella. You might like to bring binoculars for wildlife spotting at the estancia. The hotels are informal but you might choose to bring something smart to wear at dinner.
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Preventative vaccinations are recommended against the following; typhoid; polio; tetanus; hepatitis A. For specific requirements you must consult your GP.
As of 2018, visitors to Brazil travelling on our holidays should be protected with a vaccination against yellow fever, and carry the corresponding certificate. In April 2013, the World Health Organisation Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation concluded that a single primary dose of yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and lifelong protection against yellow fever disease, and that a booster dose is not needed.
You can also find helpful information on the Masta Travel Health website.
Holders of a full British passport do not require a visa, although passports must be valid for at least 6 months after the trip begins. Anyone with a different nationality should enquire with us or check with the relevant consulate.
If flying to the US, or via the US you will need to fill in your online ESTA application.
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