Best Of South America & Galápagos With Patagonia & Chilean Fjords

Description

MS Island Sky. Aboard your intimate vessel, go where the larger ships can’t reach, where the potential for real adventure arises.

Zodiac Excursions. Land ashore or venture out on a Zodiac to explore the landmarks and hidden gems on your expedition cruise.

Luxury Accommodation. From Rio’s Copacabana Palace to Belmond’s Hotel das Cataratas beside Iguassu Falls, you’ll stay in enviable locations.

Trip Name

Best Of South America & Galápagos With Patagonia & Chilean Fjords

Days

Overview

Vessel Type: Luxury Small Ship Length: 90 metres Passenger Capacity: 116 Built / refurbished: 1992 / 2010 / 2017 Sister ship to Hebridean Sky. Island Sky and Hebridean Sky are truly sisters. Built in the same Italian Shipyard, both boast spacious, well-appointed suites, stylish common areas, and redundant core technology that allows them to operate smoothly, even under the most challenging of conditions. Both ships are all-suite, all-inclusive small expedition vessels with touches of elegance throughout. The Island Sky is scheduled for additional upgrades in 2017, including the addition of tinted sliding glass doors to all cabins on the Promenade Deck. Services: World-Class Cuisine Complimentary Wine or Beer with Dinner Live Entertainment Complimentary Coffee/Tea station Voyage Photographer On-board MD and Facilities Dedicated Passenger Service Manager Pre-voyage hotel night Complimentary Expedition Jacket Facilities: Elevator serving all passenger decks Upgraded WIFI Internet Library with computers Panoramic Top Deck Observation Platform Bar/Lounge with Live Entertainment Lounge with Audiovisual Facilities DVD Movie Library Tinted sliding glass doors in all cabins on the Promenade Deck World-Class Cuisine: Great expeditions require great food! Our team of world-class chefs offer breakfast, lunch and dinner menus that change daily. They have boat-loads of creativity, so you are sure to experience a variety of remarkable cuisine throughout your voyage. Accommodations: All Suites Feature: Exterior views Your choice of queen-sized or two twin-sized beds Sitting area with sofa and side chair Flat Screen TV with DVD/CD player Telephone Independent temperature controls Mini-Bar Marble-appointed bathroom with fine toiletries Hair dryer 220 square feet or more Sofa can be converted to bed for third person PLEASE NOTE - DECK PLANS CAN VARY.

Itinerary

Day 1 - DAY 1 Arrive Guayaquil

Welcome to the port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, coined the gateway to the Galápagos Islands. We'll meet on arrival and transfer you to your hotel.

Day 2 - DAY 2 Guayaquil, Galápagos Islands, Embark Ship

Your quest to South America's wildlife hub begins this morning with a flight to Baltra Island, the heart of the Galápagos Islands. On arrival, we'll transfer you directly to port to board your vessel for exploration, Yacht La Pinta. Spirits are at an all time high as you set sail to your first stop, South Plaza Island. Step ashore to sandy coasts teeming with land iguanas and barking sea lion colonies. You'll have the chance to navigate your way across prickly-pear cactus and rocky cliffs on a guided nature walk.

Day 3 - DAY 3 Galápagos Islands

Your second day among the Galápagos Islands is off to a cracking start with a Zodiac ride directly onto the shores of Santa Fe. Head out on a nature walk, keeping on the look out for Santa Fe land iguanas, sea lions and circling hawks. Afterwards, the chance to swim or snorkel is available, or you might like to ride a glass-bottomed boat. After time for lunch, journey inland to Cerro Colorado and visit the breeding centre for giant tortoises.

Day 4 - DAY 4 Galápagos Islands

Your first stop for today is San Cristóbal, the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago. Once on land, follow the trail up hill and be rewarded with panoramic views of the shoreline. You may be able to spot colonies of sea lions, or the red ballooning chest of a frigatebird. Head back to the beach, where you may like to cool off in the ocean with a dip, or bask on the sand. After lunch on board, take a Zodiac to Cerro Brujo's white coral beach.

Day 5 - DAY 5 Galápagos Islands

FREEDOM OF CHOICE™ - SightseeingAt Gardner you have the choice to go for a swim, snorkel, hop in a kayak, embark on a short walk in search of wildlife, or simply spend time on the beach.Come ashore to the lava landscapes of Punta Suarez. Keen birdwatchers will delight in a nature walk, where there is the chance to spot blue-footed boobies, swallow-tail gulls and Hood mockingbirds. Later this afternoon, a Zodiac transfers you to the white, coral beach of Gardner Bay. Here, choose your sightseeing.

Day 6 - DAY 6 Galápagos Islands, Disembark Ship, Guayaquil

It's time to leave this wildlife utopia. Disembark in Santa Cruz Island and visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. Learn about the conservation efforts and studies conducted to preserve the archipelago's status as a wildlife haven. From Santa Cruz Island, take a ferry back to Baltra Island before a short return flight to Guayaquil. Dinner tonight is at your hotel.

Day 7 - DAY 7 Guayaquil, Lima

With a new day comes a chance to discover a new country. Fly later this evening to Peru's capital city.

Day 8 - DAY 8 Lima

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCEArrive at a private hacienda for Peruvian live music and dance.This morning, explore the World Heritage-listed Historic Centre of Lima. Here, you'll see the Convent of Santo Domingo, as well as a mix of bright colonial facades and Inca temples among a cluster of high rises. Later, enjoy your first Signature Experience of the trip. Feast on a local lunch before a Peruvian Paso horse show, where you will witness the elegant rhythms of the horses' four-beat gait, which is unique to this breed of horse.

Day 9 - DAY 9 Lima, Sacred Valley

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCEIn the small Andean village of Sacred Valley, see a demonstration of South American weaving. This taste of traditional culture is sure to be a highlight on your trip.Fly to Cusco, where a coach whisks you to Chinchero in the Sacred Valley. Enjoy a Signature Experience.

Day 10 - DAY 10 Sacred Valley, Moray, Maras

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCEDiscover the Maras salt mines, a cluster of salt pans along the slope of a mountainside, once used by the Incas.Head to the round terraced fields of Moray archaeological site, believed to have been used by the Incas as an agriculture research station. Take lunch with a view overlooking the Andes Mountains before your Signature Experience.

Day 11 - DAY 11 Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCEThe Inca Rail awaits to take you to Machu Picchu.It's time to tick off that bucket list destination today at Machu Picchu. Take a guided tour of this ancient 15th-century Inca citadel, only discovered by the outside world in 1911.

Day 12 - DAY 12 Machu Picchu, Cusco

The Mapi train returns you to the Sacred Valley, where a coach awaits to take you to Cusco.

Day 13 - DAY 13 Cusco

FREEDOM OF CHOICE™ - DiningFor Peruvian flavours, dine at Barrio Ceviche. Or, have lunch at the MAP Cafe.Take a guided-walking tour of Cusco. See the Plaza de Armas, Koricancha and Cusco Cathedral. Afterwards, choose where you’d like to dine.

Day 14 - DAY 14 Cusco, Santiago

It's a new day, and we've got our sights set on Chile. In Santiago, the afternoon is all yours.

Day 15 - DAY 15 Santiago

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCETake a tour of the Historic Quarter which includes a funicular ride with sweeping views over the city's colourful buildings.In the seaside city of Valparaíso, take in a Signature Experience.

Day 16 - DAY 16 Santiago, Puerto Montt, Embark Ship (Evening Departure/Overnight)

Fly to Puerto Montt today, where your expedition ship awaits to take you through Patagonia and the fjords of Chile.

Day 17 - DAY 17 Puerto Montt, Vicente Perez Rosales National Park

Puerto Montt, gateway to Chile's lakes district, is the last main town in the region. Today, your sights will be set on the surrounding countryside. Head out of the city to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park to see its three snow-capped volcanoes. At the Petrohué River, watch rapids crashing through lava channels creating a series of thundering waterfalls. Return to the ship via Puerto Varas, perched on the shores of Llanquihue Lake with a backdrop of the Osorno volcano.

Day 18 - DAY 18 Chiloé Island

Having cruised through the night, you'll open your curtains to Chiloé Island's colourfully painted palafitos, or stilt houses, cheerfully crammed together at the water's edge. Your foray ashore today takes you through dense forest, which covers much of the island, to Castro, one of the oldest towns in the Americas. Here, you will see the colourful stilt houses up close, as well as the wooden cathedral of St Francis and the historic old quarter.

Day 19 - DAYS 19-25 Chilean Fjords Cruise

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCEThis is what you've been waiting for. For the next seven days, you'll be cruising amid some of the country's most amazing landscapes in the Chilean Fjords, Punta Arenas & Torres Del Paine National Park.The exact route will be managed by your captain and expedition leader, and is largely dictated by weather and ocean conditions. The route will take in many mountains, glaciers, fjords, islands, lakes and waterfalls, with many shore landings made possible thanks to the fleet of Zodiac vessels on board.

Day 20 - DAY 26 Cape Horn

You'll soon be nearing the southernmost tip of South America and indeed the planet. Today, your ship will make its way through the Beagle Channel and around Cape Horn, one of the best-known maritime landmarks in the world. Magellan was the first European visitor here in 1530 and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal it was an important staging post. Weather permitting, you'll use Zodiacs to land on the cape itself and enjoy a walk to the monument. Later in the day, cruise back through the Beagle Channel. Here the mountains, still partly unmapped, drop as sheer, densely wooded cliffs into the channel and six glaciers flow from 2,500-metre Mt Darwin into the sea. Keep watch for penguins, dolphins and South American sea lions in the channel.

Day 21 - DAY 27 Ushuaia, Buenos Aires

Disembark in Ushuaia where we transfer you to the airport for your flight to Buenos Aires.

Day 22 - DAY 28 Buenos Aires

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCEEnjoy dinner and a colourful tango show tonight.Take a tour of the city's oldest barrio. Explore the colourful houses of La Boca, wander the tree-lined streets of Palermo and stroll through La Recoleta Cemetery. Tonight, enjoy a Signature Experience.

Day 23 - DAY 29 Buenos Aires

FREEDOM OF CHOICE™ - SightseeingPerhaps cruise the Paraná Delta at the island town of Tigre. Or, discover Parisian charm on walking tour. Lovers of music and architecture may prefer to visit Teatro Colón.Discover Buenos Aires your way with a choice of sightseeing.

Day 24 - DAY 30 Buenos Aires, Iguassu Falls

Fly to the Argentinian side of Iguassu Falls. Here, ride the Rainforest Ecological Train to a series of walkways to view the falls. Get a close look at the thunderous Devil's Throat.

Day 25 - DAY 31 Iguassu Falls

FREEDOM OF CHOICE™ - SightseeingYou might join a Jet Boat Ride Safari along the cascades, or take a helicopter ride over the falls.Head to the Brazilian side of the falls today. Walk between viewing platforms, discovering over 275 waterfalls. Choose how you’d like to spend the rest of your time here with your choice of sightseeing.

Day 26 - DAY 32 Iguassu Falls, Rio De Janeiro

At Parque das Aves, see native South American birds of every colour, from rainbow parakeets, to orange-beaked toucans and fuchsia flamingoes. Later, fly to samba-shaking Rio de Janeiro.

Day 27 - DAY 33 Rio De Janeiro

Head to Corcovado where the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue stands looking over the city. At sunset, ride a cable car to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain for panoramic views. Dinner is a local Brazilian barbecue.

Day 28 - DAY 34 Rio De Janeiro

FREEDOM OF CHOICE™ - SightseeingYou might like to explore Guanabara Bay on a schooner boat cruise. Or, join a colonial walking tour around the city.This morning, choose how you’d like to experience Rio de Janeiro with your choice of sightseeing.

Day 29 - DAY 35 Depart Rio De Janeiro

After breakfast be transferred to the airport.

Day 30 - Please Note:

Itineraries are subject to change.

Trip Dates

Start	End	Price From	Room Type

Inclusions

The Ultimate Wildlife Wonder. Home to thousands of animal and marine species, the Galapagos Islands is a definite must-see destination.
Heart Of The Inca Empire. Discover the fascinating history of the Incas as you explore ancient Sacred Valley and incredible Machu Picchu.
Torres Del Paine. Board Zodiacs to explore soaring mountains, golden plains and glistening ice fields in Torres del Paine National Park.