VETS Patagonia/Buenos Aires 2025
Main Trip Day by Day
February 2025
We are delighted to announce our VETS Adventure Series expedition to Patagonia, with visits to both Chile and Argentina, trekking on foot and in vehicles with wild pumas, plus condors, guanacos, rheas and much more in the magnificent Torres del Paine National Park.
We will also have an optional pre-trip to see the Magellanic & King Penguins and an optional post-trip to Iguazu Falls & Hummingbirds.
Veterinarians will be earning Continuing Education credit as they travel with their Families to an amazing and beautiful part of the world.
The Main Trip— Day by Day
Friday, February 7, 2025: Arrive in Santiago, Chile
Your flight will arrive in Santiago, Chile. We will check into an airport hotel at the Courtyard Marriott Chile Airport. There will be an evening welcome dinner and drinks!
Saturday, February 8, 2025: Flight to Puerto Natales and bus trip to Torres del Paine
The morning of February 8th, the group will fly a scheduled flight to Puerto Natales, then bus to Torres del Paine National Park and our hotel, the Rio Serrano.
am – We will have a four hour bus ride to Torres del Paine. Based on weather and wildlife, we hope to stop and sightsee along the way. Lunch will be en route or on arrival at the resort (lunches are part of your resort fee.)
We will arrive at the Rio Serrano Hotel. We will be here for 3 nights. Fodor’s says “this grand hotel has great service and magnificent views of the entire Torres del Paine mountain range, with the Serrano River and windswept forest in the foreground. The rooms are comfortable, with knit carpets and large windows.”
We’ll have vehicles with guides for ~15 adventures with two to three visiting the pumas while the other 3-4 are visiting other critters and areas of this astounding national park.
We plan to have our first available Puma Trek (there will be a group rotation to ensure that all Attendees get at least 2 Puma Treks, if desired. Optional Activities do cost extra and they include: Base Towers Trips, Paine Lookouts, French Valley, Ferrier View Point, Grey Glacier Navigation, Serrano Navigation, Horseback Riding Nutria River, Cuermos View Point.
pm – Welcome Dinner for the VETS Adventure Travelers!!
Some Excursions available through the Rio Serrano!
Nutria River - I don't see this on the Rio Serrano website?
Sunday, February 9: Torres del Paine
Monday, February 10: Torres del Paine National Park, in Chile’s Patagonia region, is known for its soaring mountains, bright blue icebergs that cleave from glaciers and golden pampas (grasslands) that shelter rare wildlife such as llama-like guanacos. Some of its most iconic sites are the 3 granite towers from which the park takes its name and the horn-shaped peaks called Cuernos del Paine.
am – Breakfast
Condor Viewing and Exploring the Park. Optional Excursions (“Navigations”) as noted above and on the hotel website (www.rioserrano.com.) Puma Trekking based on assigned Groups.
Lunch (on your own) at Hotel or a Box Lunch
pm – Condor Viewing and Exploring the Park. Puma Trekking based on assigned Groups.
Group Dinner at the Hotel on February 10th.
Tuesday February 11, 2025: Charter Flight to El Calafate
am & early afternoon: We will take a Charter Flight to El Calafate.
We will be checking into the Xelena Hotel in El Calafate
Optional Tours include: Optional for-a-fee activities such as horseback riding, a zipline, visiting a Glaciarium, Cuevas Walichu, etc. are also available. At the Glaciarium,
pm- Estancia El Galpon del Glaciar— enjoy wine/cheese appetizers and dinner, with music. (TBD). Only 20 kilometers away from El Calafate, on the same way to the Perito Moreno Glacier, is an old sheep farm named “El Galpón del Glaciar”. The establishment is surrounded by 3.5 kilometers of the shore of the Lago Argentino and 1.5 kilometers of the riverbank of the Centinela River.
Wednesday, February 12, 2025: Upsala Glacier
am –Breakfast
Travel to the Upsala Glacier.
Our trip to along the Upsala Glacier includes a boat ride across Lago Argentino (the largest lake in Argentina), a private trip up the mountain in 4 X 4’s for amazing views from above Upsala, lunch at a historical sheep ranch and a return across Lago Argentino. Dinner will be at our hotel.
Lunch and our afternoon activities will be at the Estancia Cristina View Point
Lunch on Tour at the main ranch, but is not exclusive to the VETS group.
pm:- Dinner on Own
We will stay at the Xelena Hotel for three nights total.
Thursday February 13, 2025: Perito Moreno Glacier
am- Breakfast
Perito Moreno Glacier - Multitrekking (5 hours) or Touching the Perito Moreno Glacier (4 hours) tours
Lunch at the Perito Moreno Glacier Nativos Restaurant
The VETS Adventure Travelers will meet up at the port and stroll through the walkways to have a panoramic view of the glacier.
Group Dinner at Mako Fuego’s Restaurant or Posada Los Alamos.
Overnight at Xelena Hotel.
Friday, February 14, 2025: Buenos Aires City Tour
am – Breakfast and then Transfer to airport with schedule flights to Buenos Aires.
We will transfer to the Palladio Palace Hotel and check-in.
There will be a Group Lunch at Sagardi Restaurante.
1/2 Day City Tour of Buenos Aires.
Dinner on Own or an Argentinian Experience (optional alternative dinner plan)
Overnight in the Palladio Palace Hotel
Saturday February 15, 2025: Optional Activities, Farewell Dinner
am- Breakfast
Optional Activities: Wine Tasting, Cooking Class, Cultural Tour, Grafitti Tour, The Fabrics of Colón (Colón Fábrica &Teatro Colón)
Lunch On Tour or On Own (depending on your Optional Activities)
Afternoon at the leisure— or . . . Shopping Shuttles!!!
Farewell Dinner at the Cafe Angelitos with Tango Show. Don’t miss a true Buenos Aires experience with a tango show at Café de los Angelitos. Lose yourself in the music of a live orchestra as you watch the dancers’ talented, dramatic interpretations. If you wish, enjoy a delicious dinner during the show.
Overnight at the Palladio Palace Hotel.