20 days in Argentina, Uruguay & Chile Itinerary

Home to the highest and lowest points in South America, diverse Argentina enthralls visitors with its contrasting landscapes and rich cultural heritage. A tour of Argentina reveals a sprawling land of fiercely proud and hardworking gauchos, the legendary cowboys of South America's pampas. A vacation in Argentina also leads you to giant urban centers, filled with modern tourist attractions that include fine restaurants, award-winning museums, and renowned public parks, gardens, and zoos. Away from big cities, Argentina sightseeing combines visits to mighty waterfalls situated inside World Heritage-listed national parks in the north of the country, with excursions to icy glaciers in the south.

One of the smallest countries in South America, tourist-friendly Uruguay is often called the "Switzerland of South America" because of its consistent economic development and progressive society. Open-minded Montevideo serves as the starting point of most Uruguay vacations, offering visitors an eclectic cultural scene and a chance to discover some of South America's major architectural treasures. Away from the cosmopolitan capital city, vacations in Uruguay involve exploring wildlife-rich areas along the Atlantic and touring the rustic interior on horseback, gaucho style. In this sports-loving country, the highlight of your Uruguay trip might just be a soccer match between Penarol and Nacional, the country's two major clubs.

The Province of Mendoza extends east from the peaks of the Andes and contains Mount Aconcagua, which at 6,959 m (22,831 ft) boasts the highest summit in the Western Hemisphere. Snowy mountains define daily life here, so most Province of Mendoza vacations involve visits to one of the largest ski resorts in the country, hugely appealing to fans of extreme winter sports. The area also encompasses one of Argentina's major wine regions, inspiring an increasing number of gastronomical trips to Province of Mendoza for a chance to tour modern estates producing world-class reds and whites.

Squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, geographically diverse Chile is a long, thin stretch of land encompassing some of the world's driest deserts in the north, and some of its largest glacial fields in the south. Though most Chile holidays include some form of adventure in the vast wilderness areas, the country also contains charming cities providing plenty of urban things to do and see. Many tours of Chile include at least a brief visit to the country's lush wine regions, where backyard vineyards compete with sprawling estates producing some of the world's most respected whites and reds.