I had wanted to go to Patagonia for years and finally took the plunge and booked this trip - it certainly didn't disappoint! There's a lot of travelling and so much crammed into the two weeks that it flies by. The overnight stays in Buenos Aires that bookend the main activities were brilliant, and it was nice to start and finish with a blast of heat. The walking surprised me by being no more difficult than some of the longer Lake District/Scottish Munro type walks, and the gear I had was more than adequate. Food and drink were delicious and drinking tap water all the way caused no problems - Argentinian steaks, Patagonian lamb and Malbec were favourites.
A wonderful trip I would definitely recommend if you like barren landscape, mountains and glaciers. The itinerary was well thought out and even though there were long stretches travelling on the mini bus, this allowed for a great overview of Patagonia.
"First, thank you so much for all the arrangements, the trip overall was wonderful, and we feel like we did manage to see the highlights of Southern Patagonia in the time we had available. We were extremely pleased with all of the transfers, with only one exception, they were all on time, professional and courteous. The exception was in Ushuaia when we were waiting to be taken to the airport. We had received a message saying they would pick us up at 9:15 instead of 9:00, but when they hadn't shown up, or we hadn't heard from them by 9:30 we called a taxi. We were worried we might miss our flight. We did eventually hear from them, and they were apologetic, but even a message to the hotel earlier would have reassured us. As it was, we had no time to spare at the airport. All of the tours you had arranged went as planned, again with one exception, but the error was caused by the hotel in Ushuaia, not your company or the tour company. We expected to go to the tour company's office for the start of the tour, hike to Emerald Lake, but Altos Ushuaia gave us a message saying we would be picked up at the hotel. After waiting, texting, and two taxi rides we finally caught up with the shared tour, and felt badly about the inconvenience we caused to the other two people. It all worked out in the end, but it left us with a bad feeling about the hotel. The only other tour I would say anything negative about was the day trip to Torres del Paine from El Calafate. While the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and we are glad we were able to see it, I wouldn't recommend that tour. It took 16 hours: we were picked up at 6:30 and returned at 10:30pm. The red tape involved in the border crossings took up about three hours, and then again at the National Park headquarters. We knew the entrance fee was not included, and we were ready to pay, but even though they ask for the fee in US $, they will not accept cash, and our credit card was rejected, along with several of the others on the bus. In the end the tour guide paid for several of us with her credit card and we gave her the cash, but all that took more than an hour. The total amount of time we were allowed in the park was only about 2- 2 1/2 hours, which doesn't justify the long, uncomfortable trip to get there and back. Several of the tours were just spectacular, and we give very positive recommendations to the tour companies and the guides. The hotels that were chosen for us were all comfortable and we enjoyed our stays. My only comment would be about Altos Ushuaia, which is very remote, and has a restaurant which is not open after breakfast until dinner at 7pm. It required taxi rides, which is fine, but a more centrally located hotel would have been more convenient. Overall, we loved it, and have created some very special memories. I would not hesitate to recommend your company for anyone looking for a similar package!