Active Chile & Argentina Exploration Private Tour

Although on the larger size with 205 rooms, we love this sophisticated Santiago property in the Las Condes area! The details of rich wood paneling and marble floors offer a clean and classic look and feel. The rooms are decorated in a true classic style with light yellow and white hues as well as all the necessary modern amenities. Bathrooms feature marble finishes, large soaking tubs, and separate standing shower facilities. Guests can enjoy the 100 Grandos Bar for cocktails at the beautiful rooftop or relax and unwind at the glass-roofed spa (with pool!) on site and fitness center. Dining is also inviting, offering four venues including Estro, serving Chilean cuisine.  

The 50-room Explora Atacama offers a 5-star adventure property, including four pools, horseback riding, hiking and cycling. Of particular note are the lodge’s units 29-44, providing amazing views of Licanabur Volcano. Similar to the Explora properties in Patagonia, the service and guides here are top quality and world class. We feel one of the unique features of the lodge is its special stargazing observatory, the largest of its kind in Chile. The remote location offers one of the clearest skies for stargazing anywhere on the planet!

Opened in 2021, Explora Patagonia National Park is the second-newest addition to the Explora portfolio in South America. Set in the remote Chacabuco Valley, the lodge is located within one of Patagonia’s most important conservation areas, part of the Tompkins Conservation legacy. Special shoutout to Douglas and Kristine Tompkins who spearheaded this conservation effort, leading to the creation of Patagonia National Park in 2018! FYI Kristine Tompkins was the president and co-founder of Patagonia, and the late Douglas Tompkins founded North Face inc. This privately protected valley is home to thriving ecosystems, from open grasslands to ice-capped peaks, and is rich in wildlife including guanacos, condors, ñandú, and the endangered huemul deer. The lodge has just 13 rooms (5 suites and 8 standard rooms), all featuring panoramic views and built using local stone, reclaimed wood, and recycled copper. A strong focus on sustainability runs through the property, in line with Explora’s core values.

Exploration activities include hiking, e-biking, kayaking, and helicopter explorations across mountain lagoons, rivers, and glacial terrain. The spa features three outdoor hot tubs facing the surrounding mountains. All meals are included, with menus centered on Chilean ingredients and traditional gaucho-style cooking.

Despite its recent opening, the lodge has already earned significant recognition—including the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Award four years in a row (!) and “World’s Leading Lodge 2024” by the World Travel Awards.

The extraordinary Explora Patagonia (also called Explora Torres del Paine) is our favorite luxury lodge in the entire 1,242-foot stretch of the Patagonia Andes. The 49-room Explora Patagonia is located in the very heart of Patagonia in the unspoiled Torres del Paine National Park, sitting on the shores of Lake Pehoe. This lodge is the quintessential base for exploring the array of ecosystems in Torres del Paine National Park, designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve!

Despite its remote location, Explora Patagonia provides all essential luxuries in a comfortable, understated way that reflects Patagonia’s natural environment. The sleek, linga-wood designed rooms seem large when looking out at the splendid views. A deciduous mountain tree, the Patagonia linga is now fully preserved in its unique South American environment. Though it is perhaps not as architecturally striking as the Singular, the Explora Patagonia more than makes up for it with one of the most spectacularly picturesque settings of any lodge we have stayed at in the world! When we stayed here, we also stayed in the Cordillera Paine room and LOVED the room’s amazing views of Cordillera del Paine mountain group.

Explora’s luxurious amenities include open-air hot tubs with the Paine River in sight, a heated pool, spa, sauna, Chilean bar, and its own horse stable. With the area’s highest quality guides, wonderful food selections, and many hiking and horseback riding options, this place is certainly worthy of a four-night stay. Of special note, Explora is the only lodge in Patagonia with its own bred and trained stable of horses. All horses have been raised on the Ibanez Estate, not far from the Explora property. It should be noted that Wi-Fi here is only available in the common areas and not in the rooms, as the goal of Explora is for guests to relax and sleep in rooms while engaging in camaraderie and communication in the common areas. For this to happen, disconnection is key!

Opened in 2021, the 20-room Explora El Chaltén is a luxury boutique lodge located in Argentine Patagonia, an approximate five-hour drive from the Explora Patagonia property in Torres Del Paine National Park. Situated in Los Huemules Conservation Reserve, the lodge offers views of the surrounding Electric Mountain Valley, Marconi Glacier, and rivers. We appreciate how the Explora brand aims to blend its hotels with their nature surroundings, and this property is no exception! The hotel’s design emphasizes sustainability and merges seamlessly with the natural landscape. Its use of local materials and thoughtful architecture minimizes the environmental impact while maximizing guests’ immersion in Patagonia’s wilderness. Each room has windows that frame the panoramic views of the Southern Andes, allowing nature to take center stage.

Offering the only naturalist guide schools in all of South America, we wholly trust all Explora properties to provide top-tier nature excursions. Guided excursions at this property include hiking, climbing, biking, kayaking, glacier walks, and cultural experiences. We were particularly impressed when exploring the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, the world’s third largest freshwater reserve! In addition to daily naturalist guided adventures, luxury amenities include all-inclusive cuisine emphasizing fresh local ingredients, an outdoor hot tub, and all-inclusive spa, with two massage rooms, two saunas, and five open-air Jacuzzis.

The Alvear Palace Hotel is widely considered the premier 5-star hotel in all of Buenos Aires. Located in the heart of the Recoleta district, the Alvear is near many high-end restaurants and shops. The 207 rooms are designed in Empire, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, and all suites have butler service. Most of the bathrooms here have LCD televisions and separate showers. Breakfast in the glass-roofed L’Orangerie is not to be missed! Some amenities include a rooftop bar with striking views, heated indoor pool, spa, sauna, and fitness center.

The Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires is a 5-star property located in Buenos Aires’ Recoleta neighborhood, which mixes traditional Argentine aesthetics with a European influence. The hotel offers 116 rooms and 49 suites, including a 20th-century French-style mansion, “La Mansión,” that houses seven of the suites. Opened in 1992, the hotel features a range of luxury amenities, including an outdoor heated pool, spa with a variety of treatments based on the Germain de Capuccini natural product line, sauna, and fitness center. Guests can enjoy a range of dining options, such as the award-winning Elena Restaurant, the stylish Pony Line Bar, and Nuestro Secreto, an open-air steakhouse.