The specific promotions described in this article have now passed, but it remains online so that the resources named will be of future use to travelers.
It is fast approaching summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and although temperatures are rising, prices aren't, so now is an excellent time to take advantage of a variety of South American specials on offer.
Fly South Vacations (tel. 800/234-5245; www.flysouthvacations.com) features numerous individual or multiple Latin American city/country tours. Their "Buenos Aires and Bacriloche" special includes round-trip airfare from New York, three-nights accommodation at the Waldorf Hotel in Buenos Aires, two at the Hotel Tres Reyes in Bariloche, round-trip transfers, breakfast daily and half-day sightseeing tours in both cities. This package is priced from $1,099 per person plus taxes for travel from January 4 to March 31, 2006. Add $100 for travel between April 1 and June 10, 2006. Add $25 from Boston and Washington, D.C., and $125 from Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami or Denver.
The "Buenos Aires and Iguazu" special is priced from $899 per person based on dual occupancy and includes round-trip airfare from Miami, round-trip transfers, four-nights accommodations at the Waldorf Hotel in Buenos Aires, half-day classic tour of Buenos Aires, round-trip flights to Iguazu, round-trip airport transfer in Iguazu, two-nights accommodations in Iguazu, full-day Argentine falls tour, hotel taxes and breakfast daily. Add $100 from Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., $175 from Philadelphia or Atlanta, $200 from Chicago, $225 from San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles. This price is valid for travel between January 12 and 31, 2006 or add $100 from February 1 to March 31, 2006.
The "Santiago and Buenos Aires" special is priced from $999 and includes round-trip airfare from Miami, round-trip airport to hotel transfers in both cities, three-nights accommodations at the Tarapaca Hotel in Santiago, three-nights at the Waldorf Hotel in Buenos Aires, a half-day city tour in each city, hotel taxes and service charges and breakfast daily. Valid for travel from January 4 to March 31, 2006. Add $25 from New York, $40 from Boston or Washington, D.C., $50 from Los Angeles and $150 from Detroit or Chicago.
Purchase deadline for all of these deals is December 15, 2005.
Traveland (tel. 800/321-6336; www.traveland.com), the Latin American Connection, offer several package deals at discounted prices to get you to Argentina and beyond.
The "Deluxe Buenos Aires" package is priced from $799 per person based on dual occupancy and includes round-trip airfare from Miami to Buenos Aires, six-nights accommodations at the Amerian Congreso Hotel, a half-day city tour, a dinner and tango show, a shopping tour with lunch and transfer from the hotel back to the airport prior to departure. This tour departs regularly on Thursdays between January and October 2006. Add $100 from New York, $200 from Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston or Orlando and $300 from Chicago, Detroit or San Francisco.
The "Fab Four Countries" Tour is priced from $1,799 per person for a 12-day tour visiting five different cities in four countries: Rio de Janeiro and Iguassu Falls (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). The package includes round-trip airfares from Miami to Rio, flights between individual cities, airport transfers, 11-nights accommodations at four and five-star hotels, welcome dinner, half-day visit to Corcovado and Beach tour in Rio, full-day guided tour in Montevideo, shopping tour and half-day city tour in Buenos Aires, boat trip to Montevideo, half-day city tour in Santiago, breakfast daily. Add $200 from Atlanta, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles or $300 from Detroit, Dallas or Seattle. Taxes of approximately $250 are additional. This tour departs most Mondays from January 16 through to October 2006.
My personal favorite is the "Wines of Chile and Argentina" tour from Go-Today (tel. 800/227-3235; www.gotoday.com). This package includes round-trip airfare from Miami to Santiago, four-nights accommodations at the Tarapaca Hotels in Santiago, internal flights, two-nights at the El Portal Suites in Mendoza (Argentina), hotel taxes and service charges, transfers, extensive vineyard and winery tours and meals as specified in itinerary. This trip is priced from $1,799 per person for departures from January 4 to March 31, 2006. Add $25 from New York, $75 from Boston or Washington, D.C., $125 from Los Angeles and $175 from Detroit, Denver or Chicago. Purchase deadline is December 15, 2005.
Gate1 Travel (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com) has a "Seven-day Santiago" independent package priced from $1,069 with daily departures available from December 31, 2005 to March 31, 2006. It includes round-trip airfare from New York to Santiago, airline fuel surcharges, five-nights accommodations at the three and a half-star Hotel Diego de Almagro and breakfast daily.
Add on a "Chile Fling" land only package like the "Four-day Patagonia and Torres del Paine" for an additional $679 and enjoy three-nights accommodations (one at the Saltos del Paine in Puerto Natales, one at Hosteria las Torres in Torres del Paine and one at Cabo de Hornos, Punta Arenas), three breakfasts, two lunches, sightseeing per itinerary in modern air-conditioned motor coaches, services of English-speaking local guides and all entrance fees. Or for an additional $499 (between January 4 and April 30, 2006) spend four days on mysterious Easter Island with an Easter Island extension package that includes three-nights at Hotel Iorana, arrival and departure transfers, three breakfasts, one lunch, sightseeing per itinerary in modern air-conditioned motor coaches, services of English-speaking local guide an all entrance fees. Domestic flights for these add on packages are not included.
Travelers should also take into account that U.S. Citizens traveling to Chile for 90 days or less, need to pay a one time "arrival fee" of $100 cash payable upon arrival.
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