The estancias are ranches in which the main residence, generally a mansion built last century, has been adapted to receive guests, luxuriously furnished, and with the amenities of a first class hotel . They are laid out in large tracts of land where the cattle graze freely and the sown fields take advantage of the land's exceptional conditions. Others maintain the attraction of the colonial style, with an austere and refined elegance.
The main purpose of this type of tourism is to come into contact with a unique environment, living the customs and traditions of the Argentinian countryside and participating in a wide range of sports and leisure activities.
The guests can go horse riding, take part in sports, go on excursions to observe the fauna and flora, and share in the daily chores of the Gauchos working in the fields.

La Estancia Villa María is a unique rural estate of 1.489 hectares, only 56 km away from Buenos Aires City. It can be reached easily from Buenos Aires

It was built by Vicente Pereda at the end of the XIX century, and was from the start a pioneer in the cattle growing area of Cañuelas. In 1919 his son, Celedonio Pereda decided to build a new house, He ordered its drawings to the young Alejandro Bustillo, who was already the most fashionable architect in Buenos Aires´ high society.
(In later years he built the Llao Llao Hotel in Bariloche and the Provincial Hotel in Mar del Plata).
The result is this magnificent three-floor Norman-Tudor neo-gothic mansion covering almost 3000 m2.

The 74 hectares park and the superb house are an accurate exponent of the elegant ranches built by the Buenos Aires aristocracy towards the end of the XIXth century in the province of Buenos Aires.

Activities:
Golf: 18-hole golf course, par 72, 7130 yds.

Polo: 2 regular fields and a main one for special events.
Polo fields for practice.

Horse riding:
25 kms of paths for riding/ pista de saltos / stable area / boxes and fences / carriage competition areas.

Nautical Activities:
1 lagoon 500 mts long by 80 mts de wide, 3,5 mts depth / sailing/ Implantation of fish specimens for sport fishing (catch and release)

Other activities:
Tennis, 4 brick courts.

"El Galpón", homestad of a 70 years old sheer farm, is only 15 minutes from the town of “El Calafate” and on the way to the “Glaciar Perito Moreno”. Warm and cozy homestead surrounded by a natural and picturesque patagonian rural area. The 16 rooms are equipped with private bathrooms in order to make your stay more comfortable. All ensuite rooms look on to an incredible landscape: the lake "Lago Argentino" and "Los Andes" mountain range.

Surrounded by 132,000 acres of sheep-farming land and overlooking the Perito Moreno Glacier, Hosteria Alta Vista has made the transition from private home to an excellent 7 room inn. An ample lounge and dining room, both decorated in the style of the original house, provide guests with an excellent setting for activities and great food.

Alta Vista is 50 kms away from the Perito Moreno Glacier and close to Puerto Bandera, where cruise boats leave for daily tours through icebergs towards Upsala Glacier, and 35 kms from El Calafate.

This is a great place to sample life on a family-run estancia and a good base for visiting the attractions of the area.

Helsingfors is located 180 km north of El Calafate. The lodge is surrounded by a stunning landscape, sheltered by coniferous woods that make way to a panoramic view of the lake and the Andes Mountains. It has 8 comfortable rooms each with private bathrooms, a dining room and a cosy living room; simply but cosily decorated, combining warm colours and different textures that blend in with the natural environment. A cellar with select Argentine and Chilean wines accompany the delicious evening meals. Activities include trekking and horse back riding, trout fishing and glacier visits.

Surrounded by 132,000 acres of sheep-farming land and overlooking the Perito Moreno Glacier, Hosteria Alta Vista has made the transition from private home to an excellent 7 room inn. An ample lounge and dining room, both decorated in the style of the original house, provide guests with an excellent setting for activities and great food.

Alta Vista is 50 kms away from the Perito Moreno Glacier and close to Puerto Bandera, where cruise boats leave for daily tours through icebergs towards Upsala Glacier, and 35 kms from El Calafate.

The countryside around the lively university town of Cordoba is made up of rolling hills and is a wonderful place to get away from it all. Estancia Dos Lunas is a beautiful hacienda-style lodge with spacious rooms, fantastic views and an outdoor pool. This is the perfect base from which to explore the great outdoors or simply relax.

The Estancia can arrange treks (on foot or on horseback) into the surrounding hills, valleys and woods, and if you`re feeling adventurous, your ride can include a typical gaucho barbecue and a night sleeping under the stars. This property comes highly recommended with fantastic reports from our clients.

Club Tapiz is a small posada and restaurant in the vineyard region, just 20 minutes from the centre of Mendoza. The posada has been stylishly converted from a house that dates from 1890. The bedrooms are warm and minimalist in style and maintain some of the features of the original house. The rooms are built around a garden, and there is a swimming pool and a gym within the grounds.

The Terruno restaurant prides itself on using the finest local ingredients and offering the best wines of the region. The wine list includes wine from thirty of the best bodegas in the province and there is also a private cellar. You can see the snow-capped Andes mountains from the terrace of the restaurant and the posada is a great base for visiting the surrounding vineyards.

The province of Mendoza, in the foothills of the Andes, is the home of Argentina`s finest wines. The Posada Salentein is a stylish country inn in the vineyards of the Upper Valley of Uco, set among mountain streams and ancient chestnut trees.

People come here for trekking, horse-riding, fishing, rafting and bumping around the wilderness in 4 x 4 vehicles, but for wine buffs the highlight has to be a visit to the nearby Bodegas Salentein winery, where you see the whole wine making process in action, and get to taste the results.

Rincon Chico belongs to the fourth generation of two families who were the one of the first inhabitants of the Peninsula Valdes. The house has 8 comfortable double-rooms with a private bathroom in each; a cozy drawing-room, and a dining-room furnished in a style that keeps to the family tradition. This estancia has the most privileged location - right in the heart of the National Park.
It is the ideal place from which to enjoy the vastness and mystique of this flat Patagonian countryside and its amazing wealth of wildlife. Rincon Chico has over 10 km of private Atlantic coastline with wild stretches of beaches upon which hundreds of elephant seals and sea-lions breed each year.

Huechahue is in the Andean foothills about 45 miles from San Martín de los Andes and 125 miles from San Carlos de Bariloche, and is particularly well know for the quality of their riding holidays.

The area is overshadowed by the Lanín Volcano, rising to 13,000 feet. The 15,000 acres support 900 head of Hereford cattle and 400 acres are irrigated for alfalfa production. The farm is virtually self-sufficient, with orchards of plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots and apples. There is a tennis court (although most people do not find time to use it), a pool and excellent fishing on the river Alumine, which borders the property. Another interesting feature of the Estancia is the caves, some used by the local Maipuche Indians as burial sites, and some with primitive art on the walls. The landscape is made up of scrub-covered hills and rock outcrops with a mountain backdrop. The mountains are thickly forested and range from 5-7,000 feet.

Your hosts are Jane Williams and her family. Jane is British and grew up in England. In 1978 she married into an Anglo-Argentine family and has been running both Estancias since then.

Activities
The main activity is riding (all levels), but they also offer fishing and river activities, stalking for red deer and walking. For riding Jane can cater for everyone from the expert to the beginner, and programs are tailored to the individual's requirements. Your stay can be based entirely at Huechahue, or a longer trek in the Lanín National Park, in which case camping will be involved (minimum 4 people). This is an opportunity to explore some of the least populated and unspoilt natural scenery in the world, through dense forests, tumbling streams and silent glades. Comfortable sleeping bags and two-man tents are provided (although many people prefer to sleep under the stars!). All setting-up and cooking is taken care of for you. Horses are local Criollo crosses, part Anglo-Normando, of about 15 hands, broken to the neck-reining method. Saddles are also local style, with plenty of sheepskins on top.

The accommodation at the estancia is simple but comfortable, there are 2 guesthouses; each has 3 twin bedded rooms with private bathrooms. All meals at the Estancia are served in the dining room of the main house. Activities include horse-riding, fishing, bird watching, walking, tennis (there is a court near the house), river activities (rafting).

Estancia Río Quillén, nestled in the Lanín National Park, in the Argentine Patagonia, is one of the world`s most unspoilt and irresistible places. The main house, with its cosy country style, built with local timber, is strategically located on a hillside overlooking the valley and river Quillen. Having breakfast in the verandah and sharing drinks watching the spectacular sunsets by the fireplace is a special experience. All of the guest rooms are large, comfortable and well decorated, most of which overlook the valley.

Activities include horse riding across the Andes, fly fishing for trout, walking through ancient monkey-puzzle forests, swimming in old volcano craters and sleeping under the stars after having sampled a delicious Argentine barbeque.

The Rivadavia Farm lies in the midst of its 10.000 hectares, a combination of valleys, lakes and mountains in the heart of the island. This is a traditional sheep farm, founded by José Antunovic, a Croatian pioneer back in 1925. His granddaughter and present owner, Myrna Antunovic has opened the doors of her estancia (farm) to share the magic of this unique and unforgettable place.

Estancia Don Manuel - Estancia Don Manuel is located 35 miles outside of Buenos Aires and just 10 miles from Ezeiza International Airport. The architecture of the Estancia reflects its neo-colonial roots recreating the atmosphere of the big houses in the fertile Argentine Pampas.

The Estancia offers 5 double-rooms with in-suite bathrooms in the main house. There is a separate smaller house with 3 additional bedrooms. In the small house 2 bedrooms share one bathroom and 1 bedroom with the bathroom in suite. There is a Club House on the property with an open bar, large grill and gym equipment if you want to work out If you want to play polo, improve your game and mix it up with some other activities, Estancia Don Manuel is a good choice for you. They have a more relaxed program where you can customize the polo program to meet your or your groups needs. There are also some additional social activities including tours to other clubs and areas of interest. Their daily polo program includes stick and ball or lessons in the morning and 4 chukker practices in the afternoon. They have one polo field (all-weather field) and a practice field

Every year since 1996, players from all over the world converge at EL METEJON to enjoy the game and life-style inhererent to polo. the typical Argentine estancia atmosphere is what this place offers, as well as the highest standards in terms of level of play and facilities.

El Metejon is a beautiful estancia offering 12 double-bed rooms with private bathrooms. The club house is comfortable and spacious. Everything is thought out for you to bask in comfort after the strenuous days of polo: food is abundant and delicious, and the service, superb. Everything from drinks at the bar to meals and laundry service is included.

El Metejon has three polo fields (designed and made by Ing. Alejandro Battro), a ring for training ponies and 300 acres of open grounds.

The main activity at El Metejón is polo. Every morning is devoted to stick-and-balling. Lessons are also available. In the afternoons 4-chukker practice matches are played with a maximum of 2 foreigners (guests) per team. The following are some of the local polo players present at the practice matches: Santiago Chavanne (8), Hilario Ulloa (6), Salvador Ulloa (5), Francisco Irastorza (5), Federico Teves (5), Marcelo Puga (3), Paola Martinez (2), María Chavanne (1).

If the main purpose of your trip is to play as much polo as possible and improve your game, El Metejon is the perfect estancia for you to visit. El Metejon has a very structured polo program which is designed to push your limits and to help teach you how to be a better player. Normally by the third day you are exhausted. It is at that point you push through and see improvement. Their daily program includes stick and balling or lessons in the morning and 4 chukker practices every afternoon. They have three polo fields, one is an all-weather field.

Estancia el Colibri is a colonial-style mansion, which combines the tradition of a working Estancia with state-of-the-art technology. Each of the 9 suites and bedrooms has their own personal charm, refined details and welcoming open fire. All the rooms are equipped with satellite television, personal DVD with stereo surround sound, Internet connection, mini bar and room safe. The relaxing spa has its own Jacuzzi, Finnish sauna, Turkish bath, high-pressure shower and massage room. You can also enjoy the swimming pool, which overlooks the stunning Cordoba Mountains.

The Estancia boasts two majestic polo fields and offers a number of activities ranging from horseback riding and trekking to mountain biking and tango lessons. Guests are also given the chance to learn how to prepare an authentic Argentinean “asado” (the world famous barbeque).