Your South America adventure begins with an overnight flight to Chile.

Upon arrival in Santiago, you’ll be met by a Vantage representative and transferred to your hotel. Afterward, embark on a comprehensive bus tour of Santiago’s colonial and contemporary highlights. This includes the famous Alameda, the city’s lively main avenue, and the Plaza de Armas. In the evening, attend a Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant.

Included Feature:

• Bus tour of Santiago’s city highlights

You’ll have a full day at leisure to explore colorful Valparaíso at your own pace today, with lunch and dinner on your own.

Destination Enhancement: Customize your journey when you add an optional excursion. Take in Valparaíso’s beautiful beaches and vast vistas during a full-day optional excursion. Learn more

Today, we’ll head two hours out of Santiago into Santa Cruz, the hub of Chile’s wine-growing region. Before we venture into local viniculture, we’ll stop by a local rodeo along the way. Rodeo is the country’s national sport. Here, several skilled huasos (cowboys) will teach you about rodeo’s origins, traditions, and garments. Afterward, you’ll savor asado, Chilean BBQ, for lunch. This will show you an entirely new side of rodeo!

Once in Santa Cruz, settle into your balcony room at our intimate, colonial-style hotel. Later, we’ll discover pisco, a grape brandy produced in winemaking regions, when we learn how to concoct a traditional pisco sour and how to make a revered cultural icon: the empanada. These pastries — stuffed with everything from minced meat to cheese to seafood — are Chile’s national dish, typically savored on the street on the go, or with a glass of red wine at dinner. After your culinary lessons in the afternoon, you’ll enjoy a private folkloric show, demonstrating the lively cueca, Chile’s national dance. Dinner is on your own tonight in charming Santa Cruz.

Included Features:

• Rodeo demonstration and background of this tradition
• Barbecue lunch at Rodeo Club prepared by huasos

Cultural Discoveries:

• Learn how to make pisco sour and Chilean empanadas
• Private cueca dance show

After breakfast, we’ll take a short walk to the Colchagua Museum to view the largest collection of pre-Columbian art in Chile. Next, we’ll set out for the town of Lolol. Brimming with arid landscapes and terracotta-roofed homes, this pueblo will show us a richer perspective of rural life in Chile. Here, we’ll get another taste of local culture when we join a Chilean family in their home for a traditional lunch.

As we venture deeper into the Colchagua Valley, a wine aficionados’ paradise awaits. We’ll visit a Colchagua Valley winery for an introduction to what this region does best: from carménère to Syrah. We’ll learn about the region’s soil and climate, as well as the history of wine and the winemaking process in this region, all while sipping on wine. Then, if you're traveling during the harvest season between February and March, you’ll head out to the vineyard to pick your own grapes. Show off your skills as you make your own personal wine blend, based on what you’ve learned and tasted. 

Our tour continues with a cable car ride to Cerro Chamán Observatory. Sitting at 256 meters above sea level, this perch offers stunning views of the valley and vineyards below. If you’re interested, you can also discover the everyday life and culture of Chile’s indigenous people. This optional tour of their home replicas will teach you how they inspired the local wines.

Later, you’ll enjoy a sumptuous 3-course, wine-paired dinner at the winery before returning to Santa Cruz in the evening.

Included Features:

• Visit to the Colchagua Museum
• Cable car ride to Cerro Chamán Observatory
• Colchagua Valley winery visit and presentation
• Eat lunch in Lolol in a Chilean family’s home

Cultural Discoveries:

• How to make your own wine experience

Wine Features:

• Wine tasting and 3-course paired dinner

We’ll return to Santiago today to catch a flight across the Andes to the eastern side of South America. Montevideo is Uruguay’s cultural capital, overflowing with cosmopolitan flair and colonial plazas lined with palm trees. Upon arrival, we’ll transfer to our centrally located hotel. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.

Today we’ll take a walking tour of Montevideo’s Old City, exploring historic monuments, parks, and gardens. Afterward, we’ll board a bus for more panoramic view of the city. The tour will include the neoclassical Metropolitan Cathedral, as well as the Constitution and Independence squares. While riding past El Prado, an elegant neighborhood filled with colonial mansions and vibrant botanical gardens, we’ll witness the Palacio Legislativo. This marble structure dates to 1908 and serves as Uruguay’s Congress Building.

Later in the afternoon, we’ll visit a local winery. Here, we’ll appreciate a specially prepared lunch and wine tasting. As Uruguayan wine is not widely exported, this will offer us an insider’s perspective that is seldom found elsewhere.

Included Features:

• Old City walking tour
• Panoramic bus tour of Montevideo

Wine Features:

• Unique lunch and wine tasting experience

Today, we’ll approach Argentina while on the Uruguayan side of Rio de la Plata, the widest river in the world. Departing Montevideo, we’ll take a scenic two-and-a-half-hour drive into Colonia del Sacramento. Upon arrival to this historic, Spanish and Portuguese-influenced port, we’ll visit La Vigna, a rural estancia renowned for organic produce and sheep’s milk cheese. Here, we’ll have a tasting and interact with the locals, learning about their customs and traditions.

Afterward, in UNESCO-listed Colonia, we’ll take a walking tour along the town’s cobblestone streets and into the historic quarter. Along the way, we’ll visit a local artist to learn about the town’s vibrant art scene.

After wrapping up the tour with lunch, you’ll have free time to explore more of Colonia’s slow-paced vibe. We’ll then embark on a high-speed ferry, crossing the Rio de la Plata into Buenos Aires. Once we’ve checked into the luxury hotel, you’ll have the rest of the day to wander around Argentina’s lively capital.

Included Features:

• Colonia walking tour
• La Vigna visit and tasting

Cultural Discovery:

• Meet a local artist in Colonia

After breakfast, your Buenos Aires adventure begins at full speed with a panoramic tour. We’ll see the Plaza de Mayo, where porteños (Buenos Aires locals) gather to celebrate. This is arguably the city’s most important square, named after the May revolution, when independence from Spain was declared. Alongside the square is the Casa Rosada, a governmental building equivalent to the White House, and the neoclassical Catedral Metropolitana, where Pope Francis resides. 

We’ll then venture southward to La Boca — a tiny neighborhood bursting with color, tango, futbol, and art. After taking in El Caminito’s street art and Maradona caricatures of Maradona, the next stop is La Recoleta. As we stroll the elegant Avenida Alvear, we’ll pass stately manors and sprawling green spaces until reaching the opulent, above-ground Recoleta Cemetery. As the tour guide will inform you, this is where Eva Perón and other luminaries are entombed. 

Since no trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without visiting the famous Café Tortoni, it is here that we’ll have lunch. Founded in 1858 by an enigmatic Frenchman, this legendary café has been the haunt of artists and intellectuals, such as Jorge Luis Borges and Carlos Gardel, ever since. With its Parisian ambience, marble-topped counters, delicious churros, and live tango shows, you’ll quickly recognize its allure. 

Later tonight, you’ll gather with your fellow travelers at the hotel for an exclusive tasting of regional wines and delicacies. A local sommelier will guide you through different flavors and textures, offering an illuminating presentation on South America’s lush and diverse wine regions.

Included Features:

• City walking tour of Plaza de Mayo, La Boca, and La Recoleta
• Guided tour of La Recoleta Cemetery

Cultural Discovery:

• Lunch at Café Tortoni

Wine Feature:

• Meet a local sommelier and learn about South American wine culture before a tasting of regional wines and delicacies for dinner

Following breakfast at your hotel, you’ll have a full day to explore the sights of Buenos Aires on your own.

Destination Enhancement: Customize your journey when you add an optional excursion. You’ll have a choice of optional experiences today. Tour a local ranch and learn about Argentinean polo, or head out for a traditional tango dinner show tonight. Choose one — or both — and craft your own special day in Buenos Aires. Learn more

Today, you’ll get acquainted with this lively, sophisticated metropolis that’s been coined the Paris of South America — for good reason. This full-day tour of Buenos Aires will commence on foot, passing by neighboring mansions before arriving at the grand Teatro Colón. We’ll explore this architectural masterpiece, which is the world’s third-ranking opera house, before heading to El Ateneo Bookstore. This structure has morphed through the years from a theater to a cinema and is now one of the world's top five bookstores.

Next, we’ll head into the barrio of San Telmo for lunch at the Pulpería Quilapán. With its vintage colonial flair and superb traditional cuisine, it’s frequented by gauchos and city dwellers alike. Try choripan, a national sausage dish, with a glass of vino and typical Argentinean dessert. Afterward, browse through the stalls of La Feria de San Telmo, the weekly antique market that is one of the city’s most highly praised events. Before heading back to the hotel, you’ll have time on your own to explore the market and learn about its traditions.

To end this spectacular day with authentic Argentinean flair, we’ll dine with a local family. Our hosts will introduce you to Argentinean cuisine, wine, and traditions.

Included Features:

• Cultural tour of Buenos Aires, with visits to Teatro Colón and El Ateneo Bookstore
• Browse the San Telmo Market

Cultural Discovery:

• Home-hosted dinner with classic Argentinean cuisine

This morning, we’ll fly to the national park of Las Cataratas de Iguazú, which borders Argentina and Brazil. This mesmerizing site is also the world’s largest waterfall system, with 275 falls in less than a two-mile radius. Our first views of will be from the Upper Trail, located on the Argentinean side. We’ll enjoy a premium vantage point of this natural wonder as we literally walk across the water! After enjoying lunch in the park on your own, we’ll cross the border to Brazil– where the falls are known as Foz do Iguaçu. You’ll enjoy your first Brazilian meal at the hotel.

Included Feature:

• Explore the Argentinean side of Las Cataratas de Iguazú

Today, you’ll explore the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls, starting with a walking tour and magnificent views of Devil's Throat. Witness where the torrents crash into a narrow canyon from three sides, before enjoying some free time to further explore and have lunch on your own.

Included Feature:

• Excursion to the Brazilian side of Iguassu Falls

Destination Enhancement: Customize your journey when you add an optional excursion. Explore breathtaking Iguassu Falls up close on an exciting boat excursion through the Brazilian side of the falls! Or, experience Brazil at its most dazzling by heading out on the town for a traditional samba show sure to put you in the carnival spirit! You can add one excursion — or both — and make the most of your time in Brazil! Learn more

Today we’ll embark on the final leg of our adventure by flying to Rio de Janeiro. Known as A Cidade Maravilhosa, or The Marvelous City, you’ll be swept away by the tropical flavors, striking landscapes, and ever-present alegria.

Once we touch ground, we’ll ride a cable car to the top of Sugarloaf, or Pão de Açúcar, Mountain.

After descending, we’ll head to our hotel, situated in the heart of the renowned Copacabana Beach. Dinner is included at the hotel.

Included Feature:

• Cable car ride to Sugarloaf Mountain

See Rio’s iconic sites up close today. Ascend to the spectacular Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado Mountain. This iconic 125-foot soapstone figure has an arm span of 98 feet. Then, visit the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro and admire its modernist design inspired by Mayan pyramids. Head from the sacred to the footloose when you next visit Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, celebrated in song and frequented by the city’s carefree partygoers. The remainder of the day is at your leisure to spend as you wish. Tonight, join your fellow travelers for a celebratory Farewell Dinner at a traditional Brazilian churrascaria.

Included Feature:

• Rio de Janeiro highlights tour

Destination Enhancement: Customize your journey when you add an optional excursion. Go behind-the-scenes and learn all about the history and tradition of Carnival in Brazil, and the cultural significance of the samba. Learn more

Enjoy the hotel’s unbeatable location in Copacabana Beach before breakfast, as we’ll head to downtown Rio this morning. Our morning tour showcases the city’s colonial side, beginning with historic buildings as well as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, a modernist masterpiece. The last stop will be the famous Escadaria Selaron, or Selaron Staircase, artist Jorge Selarón’s homage to the people of Brazil.

After having lunch on your own, we’ll check out of the hotel and head to the airport to fly home.

Included Feature:

• Morning tour of Rio de Janeiro

Your overnight flight from Rio will arrive in the U.S. today.