Grand Tour of South America 2025

**August 2025**

**Tue 19: Auckland > Santiago**
Fly to Santiago and transfer to our hotel.

**Wed 20: Santiago (B)**
Enjoy a morning sightseeing tour of Santiago.

**Thu 21: Santiago (B,L)**
Head for the coast on a full day tour to historic Valparaiso. Then visit a winery for a tour, wine tasting and a special ‘welcome to South America’ lunch before returning to Santiago

**Fri 22: Santiago > Quito (B,D)**
Transfer to the airport for a morning flight to Quito via Lima. On arrival in Quito, transfer to our hotel.

**Sat 23: Quito > Amazon Jungle (B,L,D)**
We take a short flight over the Andes into the Amazon jungle. Then we transfer by river to the very comfortable Sacha Lodge, set in primary rainforest.

**Sun 24: Amazon Jungle (B,L,D)**
Spend the next two days on nature walks, twilight river excursions and discovering the incredible birds, butterflies and wildlife. Other activities include piranha fishing and a treetop canopy walk, a great place to watch the sunset. Superb naturalist guides will help bring this incredible environment alive!

**Mon 25: Amazon Jungle (B,L,D)**
A full day of guided jungle activities.

**Tue 26: Amazon Jungle > Quito (B)**
Morning transfer by river then fly to Quito for overnight.

**Wed 27: Quito (B)**
Explore this charming city, once the northern capital of the Incan Empire and the first ever designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

**Thu 28: Quito > Galapagos Islands (B,L,D)**
Fly to the Galapagos and on arrival visit the highlands of Santa Cruz Island to learn about its unique ecosystems and biodiversity. Then see giant Galapagos tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Station and Breeding Centre before joining your comfortable expedition ship, the Isabela II.

**Fri 29: Galapagos Islands (B,L,D)**
This morning visit Bartolome Island for magnificent views, before enjoying a zodiac ride searching for the amazing Galapagos penguin and many other species of marine bird life. Later explore Santiago Island, an excellent location to see many different species of Galapagos finches, along with mockingbirds, lava lizards, Galapagos hawks and colourful flamingos.

**Sat 30: Galapagos Islands (B,L,D)**
Explore Dragon Hill on Santa Cruz Island, the ideal place to spot enigmatic land iguanas, and follow this with a chance to swim or snorkel. In the afternoon, explore the coastline of Buccaneer Cove on Santiago Island, which is very rich in bird and marine life.

**Sun 31: Galapagos Islands (B,L,D)**
Two of the best islands in the Galapagos await you today. In the morning cruise in zodiacs along the coast of Iabela Island spotting birds including the delightful blue footed boobies. Those interested can then snorkel with the sea turtles or alternatively, non-snorkellers may take a glass bottom boat cruise. The afternoon sees a landing on the youngest island in the archipelago, Fernandina. This area has an amazing volcanic landscape, with incredible vegetation and a huge number of marine iguanas sunning themselves on rocks.

**September 2025**

**Mon 1: Galapagos Islands > Lima (B)**
Fly late morning to the mainland and connect to Lima.

**Tue 2: Lima (B)**
A full day of great sightseeing in this historic city, including a visit to the wonderful Larco Herrera Museum.

**Wed 3: Lima > Sacred Valley of the Incas (B,D)**
We take a short flight to Cuzco and then transfer to the beautiful Sacred Valley of the Incas, situated at a lower altitude which will help us acclimatise to being at altitude.

**Thu 4: Sacred Valley of the Incas (B,L)**
This morning explore this picturesque valley. Visit the Inca salt mines at Maras and the amazing Inca ruins of Moray before enjoying a Peruvian Paso Horse show at our special lunch.

**Fri 5: Sacred Valley of the Incas > Machu Picchu (B,L,D)**
This morning visit the very impressive Inca fortress at Ollantaytambo before catching the train to Machu Picchu, the incredible ‘Lost City of the Incas’. Enjoy the balance of the afternoon at the amazing Inkaterra Pueblo Hotel.

**Sat 6: Machu Picchu > Cuzco (B,L)**
This morning enjoy a guided tour of Machu Picchu and then lunch before returning by train and coach to Cuzco.

**Sun 7: Cuzco (B)**
Morning tour of historic Cuzco, including the beautiful Cathedral and the impressive Incan fortress of Sacsayhuaman. Then enjoy an afternoon at leisure to explore.

**Mon 8: Cuzco > Puno (B,L)**
A very scenic and interesting day is spent travelling to Puno, situated on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

**Tue 9: Puno > Lake Titicaca > La Paz (B,L)**
Cross into Bolivia and cruise Lake Titicaca for a fascinating visit to Sun Island, the birthplace of the Incas. From here marvel at the azure blue lake and magnificent alpine views of the Royal Chain of the Andes. Continue to La Paz.

**Wed 10: La Paz (B)**
Morning tour to the markets of the most ‘Indian’ of South American capital cities. Also visit the mysterious Moon Valley and Mario Sarabia, a world-famous ceramics artist.

**Thu 11: La Paz > Buenos Aires (B)**
We fly to Buenos Aires and transfer to our hotel.

**Fri 12: Buenos Aires (B)**
Tour Buenos Aires, the ‘Paris of the Americas’.

**Sat 13: Buenos Aires (B,D)**
Explore, shop or relax in this great city. In the evening we will enjoy a tango lesson before a special dinner and tango show.

**Sun 14: Buenos Aires > Iguazu Falls (B)**
Fly to the mighty Iguazu Falls before transferring to our hotel situated inside the National Park.

**Mon 15: Iguazu Falls (B)**
Morning tour with amazing falls views then the highlight, the Devil’s Throat Cataract – the most impressive in the world.

**Tue 16: Iguazu Falls > Rio de Janeiro (B)**
Tour the Brazilian side of the falls and visit a wonderful bird and wildlife park before flying to Rio de Janeiro. On arrival transfer to our hotel overlooking Copacabana Beach.

**Wed 17: Rio de Janeiro (B)**
Visit the historical centre of old Rio, then take two cable cars to the summit of Sugarloaf. Afternoon at leisure.

**Thu 18: Rio de Janeiro (B)**
Visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer and later pass by Rio’s famous beaches. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure.

**Fri 19: Rio de Janeiro > Auckland (B)**
Afternoon transfer to the airport for our flight home via Santiago.

**Sat 20: In Flight**

**Sun 21: Auckland**
Early morning arrival into Auckland.