Just finished the Nov. 15 Patagonia tour
This was our 13th and most challenging tour. The pace is fierce. We started almost every day by 0800 and were not back in our rooms until after 7:30 pm. Having said that, Patagonia is breath taking.
Our tour director, Wendy, couldn’t be more friendly, fun and competent.
Immigration in Santiago took a while. They closed one lane and told everyone to just find another lane. Put us back a ways but not more than an extra ten minutes or so.
Schedules - they are suggestions. Rarely were we on time. You need to go with the flow.
Hotels - all hotels were good to great. The Singular Patagonia is very unusual and was our favorite. We noticed breakfast buffets were not as elaborate as most hotels, but it suited us fine. The staff at all hotels were fantastic.
Laundry service was available at all hotels but the Singular hotels were the most reasonable. To clean a shirt was 3.5 Chilean pesos. The Xelena did not post prices and friends wound up paying almost $10 Argentinian peso per item.
There are several restaurants within easy walking distance of the Singular Santiago. We dined at Bocanariz one night after a pisco sour at Républica Independiente del Pisco. They have both Chilean and Argentinian pisco sours. And lunched at Liguria just around the corner from the hotel. Husband and I shared a traditional sandwich called the chacara. Beef sliced with tomato and green beans.
Food - this is empanada land and we enjoyed many. The food was in abundance and in many cases fancy. Typical Tauck cuisine.
Internal flights - we were lucky and were able to fly directly to Puerto Natales which avoided a three hour drive from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales.
Both LATAM and Aerolíneas Argentinas were on time. Just a note, you walk down stairs with your carryons for both flights.
Two boat rides. Remember motion sickness medicine as it can be very choppy.
Wildlife - more to be seen on the Chile side. We saw grey fox, rios, guanacos, sea lions and many types of birds.
Weather - can change in a minute. We had a very windy, rainy first day but wonderful weather afterwards. Bring a backpack with layers.
Local guides - all were very knowledgeable and fun. We actually had the same bus driver in Buenos Aires as we had on our Essence of South America tour ten years ago.
Recap:
Very long days, no downtime, sometimes getting finished with dinner at 10:30 pm or later.
Take walking sticks. They can provide a few but you need them in a few places
Walking - a lot of walking on uneven paths. A lot of stairs at Perito Moreno glacier. People with knee problems struggled
Bring motion sickness medicine for boat rides and long bus rides
Lots of lamb - let your tour director know if you prefer something else
Comments
Thanks for the review. In reading it, it does not seem to be a tour that we would go on because of the pace and hours.
[Added note: We're pretty far up in age. Perhaps this tour would work well for those a few years younger.]
Mike Henderson I agree, this is not for everyone. Because we did the Essence of S. America and saw the tengo show, we opted to go to the Farewell reception and skip the dinner and show. Those that went returned to the hotel around midnight.
However, we are glad we took the tour because of the fabulous Patagonia ice field. It was majestic.
One of our favorite tours! Breathtaking scenery. I don’t recall it being difficult apart from the hike up the mountain to see the condors, I decided not to go to the very top but saw the condors anyway. The challenging part, all this before Covid times, were the very slow service and late meals in the hotels, often finishing around 10-30pm as mentioned and not good for the digestion. If your day starts were 8am, that’s not early for some of Tauck’s tours.
We are going to Argentina and Chile in January with another company that explores further, including Tierra Del Fuego, and is a longer tour. We hope the meals begin earlier.
Thank you so much for your detailed review. We are thinking of booking this trip. Our first Tauck tour was the Essence of South America 10 years ago and we loved it. The pace of that was also demanding with late dinners.
Thank you for the review. We are going with Tauck the end of January. How cold did it get? We are usually carry-on-only and I think we might have a problem on this trip with all the layers we might need.
Debi, it was pretty cold our first day because the wind gusts were 30-35 mph and it was raining. The other days were cool to cold but it can change rapidly. We had layers and rain pants/jackets and were fine being outside. I think the weather should be warmer and dryer in January.
Also, keep in mind, the hotel laundry service is reasonably priced, so you can have things laundered if you want to pack light.
We went in November last time. I’m not someone who gets cold easily, but the winds were very cold. We wore longjohns, pants and windproof/waterproofs on our legs, yes, three layers. Two layers on our heads. I know Buenos Aries and Santiago will probably be even warmer than it was in November when we go in January but otherwise it will be cold and windy. That’s what I’m packing for anyway. Don’t forget, you are going to see ice fields and icebergs and go into an ice bar. You will also have a longish boat ride which if I recall correctly is at speed.There are several long walks to get to see some of the sites.
AZCreeker - thank you for taking the time to post your trip report. I am interested in your feedback on the Day 5 activities, the day at the Singular Patagonia in which there is a choice of half day and full day hiking, etc.
My husband and I went on this tour one year ago. While I consider myself a robust city walker, I am not a hiker and do not have confidence on slippery downhills. So I avoided the Condor Walk. In our group, which I would say had a typical representation of Taucker abilities, only one person signed up for the Condor walk, and a guide was prepared to accompany him, but the guest ended up canceling because his wife got sick. Neither the 9 mile hike nor the Benitez Rupestre hikes were offered to us. There was another walk around a lake, as I recall, that is not on this list.
If you go on the Singular Patagonia website, you can find all the included activities. Not all of them were offered when we went. I suspect they, along with the TD, size up the group in advance and see what makes sense to offer. Weather is a factor as well, of course.
I went on the Milodon Cave walk. It was pretty easy. There was a man with Parkinson’s with us who used a walking stick. He did fine, if not a bit slower. It was a beautiful spring day and I enjoyed it. People who went horseback riding really enjoyed it.
What I learned about Patagonia is that there really is no easy hiking. There are either nature walks or more challenging hikes. We were still fortunate to enjoy beautiful scenery but good hikers will do better.
Great information. Thank you.
I think we were only offered two choices when we went, one of which was the Condor hike. We also all got an included 25 minute massage. You could not combine one session with another persons to make it 50 mins. We both paid the extra and had a fifty minute massage each which were excellent. Do they offer that on the tour now?
Yes, we also received a 25 minute massage but didn’t have the opportunity to pay for an additional 25 minutes. However, our friend was able to use her husband’s 25 minutes.
AZCreeker Did you need any special shots for this trip?
No, none. I would suggest taking super C’s with zinc (if you are able) before and during the trip. You will want to beef up the immune system because of the enclosed boat rides, many long bus rides and two internal flights.
Have you had your flu, RSV and Covid boosters?
My husband and I had a flu shot. No need for the others in our doctors opinion. Friends we traveled with have had every vaccine including all Covid boosters and they got Covid on the trip.
The vaccine doesn't prevent Covid. It lessens the symptoms and decreases morbidity/mortality.
Yes for the Flu shot. I will check on these others with my doctor. I wasn't getting them because I wasn't going anywhere but the wait list for this trip opened up. I like suggestion for the c's with zinc. Thank you.
Don’t forget that Tauck stopped the requirement for Covid shots, so potentially there could be unvaccinated people on the trip.
We haven’t had Covid.
I received all the recommended Covid shots. I've had Covid twice, about a year apart. The first time, I caught it while skiing, most likely while going in for lunch. The second time, I caught it at the very end of my VCT trip (one person left the tour about half-way thru because of Covid and it was obvious to me that several other people had symptoms). Both times, my symptoms were very mild, like a cold.
The yearly COVID and flu updates have become routine for us. The RSV is still a one-time only inoculation—at least for now anyway.
I'm winding up my NYC holiday and was surprised to see how few masked people there were in the subways. We continue to wear masks in airports, on planes until boarding is complete and at theatrical performances—wherever large groups of people congregate. It's just a way of life now.