We took a overnight flight on LATAM Airlines to Santiago. It is a non-stop flight that took about 10 hours and the airline is very good, new planes, very clean, great service.

Day 2: Singular Santiago Hotel

Early arrival in Santiago, we checked in and walked around the city. It is quite managable to walk around and we packed in a lot of sights in short time. We had a wonderful dinner at Bocaraniz - a restaurant in the trendy and vibrant historic district, Lastarria.

Day 3: Flight to Punta Arenas.

It was an early morning flight (again on LATAM arilines) with arrival at 9am. There was a shuttle from the hotel that picked us up for the 5 hours ride to Patagonia. We were staying at the Hotel Rio Serrano which was very close to the Torres Del Paine Naitonal Park. The hotel has an option of choosing an all-inclusive package if you stay more than 3 nights and we had selected that. We had also booked al excursions prior to leaving New York. The all-inclusive option includes all hikes with lunch provided and you can make your lunch choice the previous night. The outdoors department is very good, all the guides were very good and friendly.

Day 4: Hike to the Base Torres

After breakfast, we gathered at the outdoors area where we picked up our lunch boxes and got into a shuttle bus for the ride to the park. Our guide was Gonzalo for this hike and he was very good and patient with us as some of us in our group were not able to keep up with the strenuous hike. We made it to the base of the Torres Paine after a tough hike of 5 hours and every minute of the hike was worth the view that we encountered. the last 2 hours of the hike were very strenuous through a moraines of huge boulders and narrow paths filled with rocks. at the end of the hike when we reached our shuttle bus they had an icebox filled with beers and platters of cheese.

Day 5: Full day Torres Tour

This was a bus tour of the park with multiple stops along the way to see various sights such as the Lago Grey with the glaciers, the waterfalls, the awesome view of the Torres across the lake and of course we saw some wildlife along the way - especially many guanacos.

Day 6: Hike the French Valley

Another long hike and a strenuous in some parts. there is boat ride to get to the beginning of the trails so timing is critical as you want to catch the boat back in time.

Day 7: Travel to El Calafate, Argentina

Hotel Esplendor El Calafate - very nice hotel centrally located, a short walk to the main town where all the restaurants and shops are

Part of the all-inclusive package includes the shuttle bus ride to El Calafate. we were picked up at 7 am and at the border of Chile there was a checkpoint where all passports are check. At the Argentina border there an entry checkpoint for passports again and then we had to transfer to another shuttle bus that took us all the way to El Calafate. the ride was over 5 hours but quite scenic.

Day 8: Tour of the Perito Moreno Glacier

We took a taxi to the Glacier Park which was one hour ride and the taxi waited for us to take us back. The entrance fee is only payable in cash so make sure that you have enough cash with you, we went to the ATM in town before getting the taxi.

Day 9: El Calafate

We had a nice lunch in the town and walked around the shops there before heading to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires. The airport is a cute small airport and has view of the lake.

Day 10: Buenos Aires

The Brick Hotel - Sofitel

after a nice breakfast at the hotel, we headed out for sightseeing - we took taxis all over the city and walked where possible. Some of the sights we saw were : Recoleta cemetery which has beautiful architecture where many famous people are buried, the San Telmo Market which is s full of good food and lots of souvenirs and it is an outdoor and indoor market, the Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento where the Pope had his first assignment , the Plaza Mayo which has a beautiful Catedral Metropolitana.

Day 11: Buenos Aires

More sightseeing in the Puerto Madero area and the Caminito located in the heart of La Bocca Barrio (neighborhood) which is a very colorful few bocks of restaurants, cafes, shops. It was New Year's Eve so we had made a reservation at a restaurant on the waterfront the in the Puerto Madero district. We had a nice dinner and at midnight there were fireworks over the river- what a beautiful way to ring in the new Year!

Day 12: Buenos Aires

After a late breakfast we spent our last day walking around the Recoleta neighborhood and then head to the airport for our flight home.