Chile & Argentina Wine & Multisport
Trip Itinerary
Day 1
Location: Santa Cruz, Chile
Lodging: Hotel Santa Cruz
Activities:We meet you in Santiago and shuttle to our first Chilean wine area, the Maipo Valley, with a fantastic tasting at Chile's largest winery: Concha y Toro. From there, we head south to Santa Cruz and take a lovely stroll through the vineyards on our way to dinner.
Day 2
Location: Santa Cruz, Chile
Lodging: Hotel Santa Cruz
Activities: We spend the day in the Apalta wine valley at Viña las Niñas where we have a strenuous hike through the vineyards and to the top of the hill overlooking the valley.
Day 3
Location: Viña del Mar, Chile
Lodging: Hotel San Martin
Activities: We depart Santa Cruz for the cooler Casablanca Valley and a bike ride on the mostly-flat valley roads. In the afternoon we head to Viña Catrala for a very pleasant tasting at a picnic shelter in the woods.
Day 4
Location: Viña del Mar, Chile
Lodging: Inca Hotel
Activities: This morning we offer free time to explore Viña del Mar or neighboring Valparaiso, and then say adios to the sea and head inland to the Aconcagua Valley. We have the option to hike or horseback ride to an area of ancient Incan petroglyphs. We'll watch the sun set over the Andes while we taste the wines of Viña San Esteban at their outdoor quincho.
Day 5
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Lodging: Park Hyatt
Activities: We depart Chile today with a spectacular ride over the Andes mountains, stopping mid-way to take a short hike to the base of Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America! Tonight, we have a dinner feast like none you have ever seen!
Day 6
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Lodging: Park Hyatt
Activities:Today we visit the nearby Uco Valley wine region by bicycle. Our ride ends at La Tupiña, where we offer a late lunch and cooking class guided by local master chef Lucas Bustos. Tonight, live like a Mendocino and experience the fantastic social scene or explore the shopping areas on your own.
Day 7
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Lodging: Park Hyatt
Activities:This morning, we hike in the cordillera, the pre-Andes mountains, finishing at the Jerome Brewery, a small family-run brewery that has outstanding beer and serves a hearty lunch. In the afternoon, activities include your choice of river rafting, additional hiking, or a zip-line course that finishes with a thrilling ride across the Mendoza River. Tonight we'll have a wine tasting prior to our farewell dinner.
Day 8
Location: Departure Day
Activities: After our guided walking tour of Mendoza's General San Martin Park in the morning, we say our goodbyes in the afternoon and either extend our travels in South America, or head back home.
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Dates: November 9 - 16, 2013
Trip Length: 8 Days & 7 Nights
Activities: Hiking and Biking with optional River Rafting, Zip Line and Horseback Riding
Trip Difficulty: All Ability Levels
Guides: Kris & Local Guides
Other Info: THIS TRIP IS LIMITED TO 16 PARTICIPANTS
Active Chile and Argentinian Wine Adventure
This trip is sold out. Please contact us if you’d like to be added to the waiting list.
While we love all of South America, the wine country in both Chile and Argentina remain our favorite locations. The hotels are upscale, the restaurants are high quality, the vineyards are beautiful, and the wineries are world-class. You’ll be impressed by how modern both countries are.
“Amazing experience—challenging physical activities with lots of choices for varied levels of interest and fitness, well planned itineraries, excellent meals, opportunities for independent diversions.” (Janet F.)
South Americans seem to have an effortless balance to their lives. When you experience Chilean and Argentinian culture, you will undoubtedly notice how the people ensure that their social lives, friends, and family responsibilities co-exist with their work. It isn’t uncommon for people to engage in shorter work days, to wave at passers-by, or to engage strangers in polite conversation.
Our wine tour takes us to several different wine areas in both Chile and Argentina. In Chile, we visit the Maipo, Apalta, Colchagua, Casablanca, and Aconcagua wine valleys. Each has its own distinct microclimate (resulting in a varied production of wines in each region). In Argentina, we tour the Luján de Cuyo and Uco valleys, both in the environs of Mendoza.
We have arranged excellent activities on this adventure: vineyard walks with breathtaking overlooks of entire wine valleys, bike rides on beautiful side roads through acres and acres of grapevines, hikes in the Andes (including a peek at Mt. Aconcagua). You’ll even have the opportunity to horseback ride, river raft, and (if you dare) take a zip line across the Mendoza River! Interspersed among all these activities are daily tastings at wineries. We include a variety of locations so you get a good sampling of the types of wines that both countries have to offer.
Accommodations
We start our tour by spending two nights in the Hotel Santa Cruz. The owners of the hotel have pretty much singlehandedly established Santa Cruz as the main wine town of Chile, sort of an up-and-coming Sonoma. We then proceed to the Hotel San Martin in Viña del Mar on Chile’s coast. Situated right on the water, most of the hotel’s rooms have an incredible view of the crashing waves below. Our final night in Chile we spend in Los Andes, a fun market town in the Aconcagua Valley on the way to Argentina, at the brand new Inca Hotel. Crossing over into Argentina, we spend all three nights in the central wine town of Mendoza at the Park Hyatt Mendoza, a luxury hotel in the center of town. You’ll enjoy all the hotels on this trip.
Trip Photos
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It exceeded my expectations. I was concerned about traveling in such a large group but everything ran very smoothly. I did not have Chile on my list of places to go and was surprised by how beautiful the country is and how friendly the people were. Having the snow-capped Andes for the backdrop for so many of places we visited was almost surreal.
For me, another favorite on this trip was the dinner and wine tasting at In Situ winery amongst the vineyards with the snow-capped Andes in the background. The view was truly unbelievable, it was like a movie set – the director saying, “Cue river, Cue horses, Cue sunset!” I was amazed and photos can’t quite capture the beauty as seeing it in person, memories of a lifetime!
I loved it! I felt challenged by the activities and the days seemed to whiz by. Beautiful scenery, great wine tastings, and fun people = EXCELLENT ADVENTURE! My favorite moment was on Day 6 when I rounded the bend after a 50 km bike ride, and saw people from the group relaxing and getting ready for cooking class.
Great guides. Great value for money. The hotels were very nice, terrific activities and wonderful meals and restaurants visited. Every activity and meal was uniquely wonderful. My favorite? I’d have to say the hike back to lunch and wine tasting at Las Ninas winery, in such a beautiful setting. I could have stayed the rest of my life. And the trek in the shadow of Aconcagua. Amazing!
You really outdid yourselves on this one, Zephyr. Each day was better than the day before! This trip was so fabulous, we are going again this year! So many things stand out about this trip for me: Overall, the wineries in Chile & Argentina were much better than I expected! I was surprised by that. Really, the quality of the tastings was equal to or better than Napa. And I loved what was at the end of each and every activity – the las Ninas tasting/lunch, the Catrala tasting, the von Siebenthal tasting, the san Esteban tasting, the Altus cooking class, and the brewery tasting/lunch.
This trip exceed our expectations on every level. Amazing. We did not know much about wine and really enjoyed all of the tastings and the education that accompanied them. In my role as the owner of an executive search firm, I make my living by judging talent. I would say that you hit a home run in selecting the guides for this adventure. We enjoyed their company and their attention to detail was exceptional. I thought this trip was under-priced for the value received.
Wonderful trip…a chance to indulge in great food and great wine without the guilt of inactivity. That’s a real vacation in so many ways! :-) I can’t confine it to a moment…my favorite day, however, was the bike ride in Uco Valley followed by the cooking lesson and dinner at Bistro La Tupiña. I never would have thought I could bike over 50km (and savor every minute of it) nor take a cooking lesson (from an amazing chef) that culminated in such a beautiful and delicious meal. And that all happened in the same day!