Chile testimonials

Some independent feedback on our
trips from past travellers over the years
All countries
   
Chile trip, Scott K (from USA) - February 3, 2012
Hi Laura,

Everything was perfect and in fact, the hotels we stayed at were nicer than I thought they`d be! :) The rental car did the job and the paperwork speed us through customs both going into Argentina and returning back to Chile.

There are a couple things that might help the trip for future reference, although they didn`t affect the outcome of our trip at all. These are based totally on personal experiences and might not apply to all travelers, but knowing some of these might have helped a bit.

1 - Hotel Las Torres - From the entrance to the park to the hotel is quite a ways and it`s all dirt roads. Make sure to leave time to explore the park on the way.

2 - At Hotel Las Torres you can book excursions on horseback, by van or on foot to see glaciers and all the wonders of the park.

3 - Customs on both sides - The customs agents were more willing to help people in cars than those in tour groups on buses. Go inside and ask around and they may either shuffle you to the front of the line or better yet, take you in back and process your car and passports personally. :)

4 - Hotel Temauken in Puerto Natales is not where Google Maps says it is. It`s further up the hill.

5 - Filling the tank with gas - "llenar" means to fill the tank. There are several places to fill the tank right on the outskirts of Punta Arenas.

6 - I would make the recommendation to stay two nights in Torres del Paine National Park.

7 - Not too far from Punta Arenas there is the Seno Otway penguin colony that is worth the short side trip.

Thank you so much! That was an awesome trip and my dad and I had a wonderful time! It truly was a week of seeing some of the most beautiful sights that Patagonia has to offer.

I`ll send some pictures when I filter through them. :)

Thanks again!!!!

Scott
Chile trip, Brian L (from USA) - January 16, 2012

Dear Laura,

Overall the trip was wonderful, we enjoyed it immensely and would recommend a similar trip to our friends and family. We loved the hotel that I had chosen in San Martin de los Andes, Argentina: La Casa de Eugenia – a very friendly and homey hosteria in a historic house with great hosts. I would recommend this to other guests who like a more intimate hotel (the Landhaus San Sebastian in Pucon that you had recommended was also a very lovely more intimate place to stay). That being said, we did like very much the hotel in Puerto Varas, so we are not opposed to nice larger hotels too. As I am sure you already know, Puyuhuapi Lodge was just magical, especially over Christmas where they prepared such a nice dining room experience both on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. Hacienda Los Lagos is very special!! Beautiful area of Chile, beautiful accommodations with very lovely and accommodating staff. The excursions there (including the horseback riding) was spectacular. However, like Puyuhuapi, the distance from Balmaceda airport to the hotel is far – about 4hours of driving (over 5 with stops for photos or lunch). We LOVED Hacienda though in all other ways!!!

Thank you!
Best regards, Brian

Chile trip, William Hill (from USA) - December 26, 2011

Hi Laura,

The Self-Drive tour that you arranged for us, we could not be more satisfied with the arrangements. The larger car and the hotel accomodations really made the trip one of the best we have taken. On the drive to Lago Grey, we experienced a major flat tire which left us with only the ones on the wheels and we thought that we would have to drive all the way back to Puerto Natales for a replacement but the staff at Lago Grey were incredibly helpful in finding a new tire in their garage which they provided for us, thus making the rest our our trip a safe and totally enjoyable experience. We found El Calafate quite a surprise and full of life and good food.

Best regards,
William Hill/King Lam

 

Chile trip, Lindsay W (from UK) - December 15, 2011

Hi Laura.

We have just returned home after a great holiday which included our trip to the Lakes and Mountains in Chile, we had a great time and the guides were very good. They spoke good English and gave us a wealth of intresting information about the places we visited. The trips were well planned and good.

Lindsay

Chile trip, Grigoriy I (from USA) - October 5, 2011

Dear Laura,

Our journey is complete. Everything was great, we had no big problems. We were happy to see a new country and cities. Thank you for your service and support, we will recommend you to our friends. If we have the opportunity, we want to travel again to Latin America. Greg Ivanov

Chile trip, Liem S (from Singapore) - May 24, 2011

Dear Laura,

We had a great time at Torres del Paine. The Explora staff at the hotel were very professional and I throughly enjoyed our visit there. The hotel is very comfortable and the food superb. The weather also held up well.

Thank you

Chile trip, Nitin G (from USA) - May 16, 2011

Mauricio

Just wanted to drop a note to THANK YOU for all your hard work and making my trip to Atacama a memorable one. ; )

I had  a great time and you delivered everything  you promised. Thank you once again for accomodating my requests and changes. I appreciate all you did for me.

Now I am client for life for Latin America trips, as I have had 2 wonderful experiences with your team.

Thank you
:)
Nitin

Chile trip, Catherine J (from France) - March 14, 2011

Hi Laura,

The trip was really great : very good choice of hotels (good location, comfortable, kind service) and good planning of the different stages.

Best regards,

Chile trip, Wojciech K (from Poland) - February 28, 2011
Dear Laura:

Everything went smoothly.  We found Don Thomas Hotel as very convenient and San Pedro is a charming place to stay. All trips went as per the agreed program and we enjoyed it very much.

Let me once again thank you very much for your support.

Kind regards,
Wojtek
Chile trip, Marie-Jo G (from France) - February 28, 2011
Chile trip, Amy S (from USA) - November 5, 2010

Hi Laura,

The trip went well and the places we visited were unforgettable!

Excellent hotels. Wonderful rooms and fantastic locations. I was very pleased with every place that we stayed. The car was a good choice. Very comfortable and not too bad on gas mileage. All the paperwork was in order and we had no problems at the border.

Sincerely,
Amy

Chile trip, Liz Wise (from USA) - October 22, 2010

Laura,

Although our trip had a rough start, we really enjoyed our Chile vacation. You were wonderful to work with and so appreciate your help and patience.
 
The self drive was challenging but we did enjoy being able to explore at our own pace. Mario & Eduardo were fantastic guides and took good care of us on our trip to Putre & Lake Chungara
 
We took lots of pictures to help us remember our wonderful adventure in Chile.
 
Thank you very much for your help!
 
Best Regards,
 
Liz, Jeff & Callie

Chile trip, Andrew N (from US) - June 1, 2010

The hotels were of a very good standard and the overall itinerary was well-balanced. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Many thanks!

Chile trip, A. W (from USA) - April 26, 2010

Dear Laura,
 
The tour guide and driver were friendly, accomodating, and timely.  The guide spoke english very well.  The main sights, the museum, the salt lake, the geyser, the moon valley, and the archeology sites were great to see.  The airport transfers worked great and the tour guide helped us check in for our flight too.  We enjoyed our time in Atacama and hope to return to Chile again in the future.  

Thank you for making the arrangements for us and for answering our questions promptly.  It was a pleasure working with you.
 
Regards,
 
A.W

Chile trip, Nitin Gaur (from US) - February 11, 2010

Hello Laura
I had an amazing time, and I do want to thank you for an amazing work with organizing the entire trip. Chile Patagonia is an amazing place, and I had been planning this for a long while, but your company made is so much easier and valuable.

I have recommended your company`s name to many of my friends who were also interested after seeing amazing pictures, that I brought back.

I do want to THANK YOU for an amazing work in planning my trip, and I also found a lot of value in booking through you.

Next year I intend to go to Peru (Inca trail), and I will be sure to contact you again.

Regards,
:)
Nitin