7-Day Antarctica Tour: Soar Above the Drake Passage

The trip was amazing. We enjoyed every part of our travel—Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and Antarctica. Zicasso’s travel company planned a very exciting vacation experience. They were caring, understanding, and reliable throughout the vacation. The travel company booked exciting tours and excellent accommodations. This travel company met our needs and made us feel safe and informed. We would recommend them to travelers seeking vacation planning in South America.

There are not enough words to describe how magical this trip was. It was 26 days and every day was an adventure filled with unexpected surprises. This trip touched the highlights of Argentina and just a tiny portion of Antarctica. Even though I was not able to see the whole of Argentina and the whole of Antarctica, the experience remained beautiful, all thanks to Zicasso's travel agent and his team, who made this trip very much a magical adventure. Yes, it was aggressive, as I covered many different parts. However, my agent and his team made it possible for me to feel comfortable and enjoy my experience. He and I worked together from March 2024 to October 2024 on customizing this trip. We talked about the budget and certain modifications. The result was a trip I will never ever forget.

Buenos Aires: I was there for one night and got a great overview of the history of Argentina from my guide. In the six hours I had on the tour, I understood I needed to stay in Buenos Aires longer to appreciate the city. There are many districts and each has its own history and, in a way, its own culture. I have to return to explore Buenos Aires a little bit more because six hours is not enough to explore this beautiful city. I was amazed at how green this city is. I appreciated the guide for giving me an overview of the history of Argentina. However, I know I need to come back to really get an in-depth education of the history of Argentina, especially the history of Buenos Aires.

El Calafate: This is a relatively new city in Santa Cruz province. Let me tell you, it is absolutely gorgeous. It has a different, country-style feeling. One of the biggest attractions of El Calafate is definitely Lago Argentino, with branches of its glacier river surrounding the city. The Perito Moreno Glacier was absolutely magnificent. I can't believe I was able to trek on top of the glacier. The guides were awesome. They helped me a lot while I was struggling to trek on this glacier. They made me feel comfortable and gave me the courage to trek on just a small part of the glacier. 

The next day, I visited El Chaltén. My guide was awesome. She made me comfortable during the three-hour ride and told me lots of interesting facts. She was very patient when I was hiking up to Laguna Capri. The hike, which is four kilometers from the base, was very challenging, but I was able to do it. On the ride back, I was able to see the cloudless peaks of Mount Fitzroy. That was really a lucky day … it reminded me that life can be very unpredictable, with many twists and turns.

Ushuaia: I cannot believe I came to the southernmost city in the world! I hiked eight kilometers in the Tierra del Fuego National Park and paddled in the Lapataia river. This was definitely a very challenging excursion, but my guide made me feel very comfortable and helped me all along this challenging trek. Everybody in my trekking group made me feel comfortable as I was struggling to hike along the steep path. However challenging this trek was, I still loved it and enjoyed it, and was able to inhale the beauty of this pristine forest. 

The next day I did a five-kilometer hike into Laguna Esmeralda, which was again breathtaking. Even though this track was not as challenging as the previous day, it was still challenging because of the muddy path. My guide was very patient with me and made us all feel very, very comfortable. This hike was worth it, as after five kilometers hiking, I was able to see Laguna Esmeralda. This beautiful green glacier lagoon was breathtaking; again not enough words to describe its beauty. I was very appreciative of my guide and all the group members who helped me as I was struggling to hike.

Antarctica: What can I say? I visited the coldest, driest, windiest place on our planet. Even though it was not fun journeying through the Drake Passage for 48 hours, going in and coming back, it was definitely worth the experience and risk-taking. After all, adventures are known for their challenges. The expedition team was excellent. They were highly and made sure everyone on the ship had a great experience. Every one of the crew cared about us. Again, there are not enough words to explain how beautiful this continent is. I have never loved winter, snow, or even ice, but it taught me how to fall in love with ice. There were so many beautiful icebergs. And I fell in love with the penguins. I can definitely see myself sitting down in a place and just watching penguins all day. I even did the polar plunge. This trip taught me that I have the capacity to do a lot of things I did not expect to be able to do.

Mendoza: Usually, people come to Mendoza for wine. I came to Mendoza for something else besides wine. I can't believe I was able to see Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain peak in all of the Americas. It was Mount Aconcagua that was my inspiration to come to Argentina. I saw Mount Aconcagua and learned about the different mountain ranges. I even enjoyed the beautiful ride along the mountain ranges through tunnels. I learned about the oasis and the irrigation system. I was very, very impressed with the irrigation system and how they divert the glacier river to feed the town and water the trees in the cities. I even visited an olive oil and balsamic vinegar factory. It was amazing to learn how olive oil was made before newer technologies came into place. I finally was able to taste different types of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, which I fell in love with. This was all thanks to my guide, who was wonderful throughout the trip. She was what made the trip so memorable. I definitely had a great time interacting with her and learning from her. I cannot believe that during my short stay in Mendoza, I was able to see many things and learn many things.

Salta/Jujuy: Again, my words come up short in describing how much I enjoyed these two beautiful provinces. They reminded me of Peru, having once been part of the Incan civilization. There is so much history and countless natural beauty within these two provinces. It was my guide who made this trip unforgettable. He made this trip very educational and fun at the same time. I visited some small towns, both colonial and pre-colonial. I visited many breathtaking areas, such as Quebrada de Las Flechas, Cafayate, Cachi, and Humahuaca. It was unbelievable how the topography changed on different points of my journey. I am so happy that he was my guy, as I learned so much from him, especially about geology. I sincerely do not have enough words to describe how grateful I am to have learned from him.

Iguazú: One word, spectacular! I cannot believe I saw the Iguazú Falls from the Argentine and Brazilian sides. It was hands down one of the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen. I even did a boat ride to get a river-level perspective of these falls. I'm glad to have had a guide who was so excited and enthusiastic in showing me different parts of the waterfalls along the different trails in the national park. He was excited to show me the national bird reserve in Brazil on my last day. I could feel myself coming back to Iguazú Falls and just standing there and enjoying the beautiful, spectacular view of this magnificent group of water bodies.

Once again, I thank my travel agent from the bottom of my heart for arranging this beautiful and majestic adventure for me. I learned so much history and geology. I also learned that I had the capacity to undertake difficult, challenging trekking that I didn't think I was able to. I came out of this trip feeling like a stronger person. I cannot wait to work with him again for another adventure!

Zicasso's trip planner is perhaps the best travel consultant I have ever engaged. As a point of context, I am a retired corporate executive who traveled 250K to 500K miles per year over the last 15 years of my career. I had the advantages of executive assistants, a corporate travel department, and extensive administrative support. Even with all those advantages, this trip planner and his team set a new standard of excellence. My trip planning covered Antarctica, Argentina, and Brazil destinations over a five-week trip. The full trip was for my wife and me, with an additional two-week block for my two children to join us partway through the vacation. He also helped to arrange the holiday for another couple who were supposed to accompany us, but they had a medical emergency occur before the departed. This necessitated a great number of changes and cancelations, which he handled, seemingly without any problems and without any complaints.

I had only traveled to that part of the world in a business capacity before, so I was entirely reliant on our travel agent, not just for the physical arrangements, but to also take the time to understand our interests, curiosities, and desired outcomes. He brilliantly translated that into choices and recommendations that I truly cannot complain about. He is so wired into the hotels, travel options, restaurants, sites, and culture of Argentina, Brazil, and Antarctica that we were blown away by his skills and knowledge. He arranged boutique experiences, personal guides, and superior transportation at all stops. There were no gaps in our travel coverage and I was 100% confident in all of our day-to-day experiences. He knew of things that I never would have discovered on my own. The ease of communicating with him was superior. He always responded to our queries within hours and even had a direct U.S. telephone number so I did not even have to pay for long-distance phone calls.

Our experience so far exceeded my already high expectations that we want to return to Argentina again, and we want to find a way to employ his services again to plan future trips to South America and Africa. Also, each person he had us interact with (drivers, guides, and support staff) was unbelievably capable, but also displayed exuberance and superior customer-service attitudes. Potential problems were non-existent.

I would be personally willing to speak directly to anyone who is considering using this tour company as their travel provider if that would sway them to choose him and his team. I have run out of superlatives, but trust me, I have very high standards. I have been to over 50 countries in my life. I have lived on three continents and (thanks to him) I can finally say I have set foot on all seven continents. With that said, this travel agent earned my admiration as a professional in his field. I believe if you engaged anyone other than him, you would likely receive a fantastic experience, but not as good as it could have been.

We went mostly into Patagonia and Torres del Paine, an amazing location. Zicasso’s travel specialist delivered as promised! Everything was first-class and his recommendations for everything from tours to restaurants were right on.

A special note to those with food allergies:

I have a lot of food allergies, so it is not easy for me to eat out, let alone out of the country. I let the travel specialist know ahead of time and all my tours, hotels, and guides knew I was coming and really helped to accommodate me. THANKS AGAIN!

Everything went very smoothly. Zicasso's travel agency did a great job and was beyond our expectations. The cabin was as advertised, the food was spectacular, and the exploration staff were very knowledgeable and great at their jobs. Antarctica was breathtaking, with beautiful landscapes and up-close wildlife of many kinds.