Argentina and Chile Tours and Trips

Itinerary: while the tour was rated as "full on", we discussed on a number of occasions that we all had expected - and hoped for - more physical activities and serious hikes rather than leisurely strolls and a lot of hop-on, hop-off as there would have been time for that in the itinerary. It was also confirmed that normally, guests are older and it would make sense to manage expectations in that regard. Explore Leader: as we had the privilege to only be a group of 4, we often felt to be over-chaperoned with a tour leader, a local guide and a driver which was a ratio of 3:4 which probably makes sense for bigger groups. While it is nice to have a knowledgeable tour leader for the entire trip, there really was very little for him to do on most days other than time management, room allocations, splitting restaurant bills or liaising with HQ for queries as the local guides did all the site seeing. It often felt we were five guests, not four. Accommodation: No complaints, comfortable and adequate. Of course, being a single traveller who was willing to share but then got a room to myself as there was no-one to share with, I was very lucky and did not expect premium rooms.

It certainly was not the Luxury Gold that we expected. Hotels were excellent but the locations of the hotels were not in a place that we would feel safe walking and enjoying the surroundings. We expected luxury but it did not meet The Gold name more like Bronze!! This is my first time writing a review As many times as I have traveled all over the world! Had to get up very early as we were told after 9:00 am no way! We never felt we were on a Luxury tour except for a few restaurants but I can eat at excellent restaurants better than the ones they chose for us…after paying over $16,000 not worth the time snd money paid. Other agencies would have been a lot less with 80% of the same itinerary!!!

This is a great trip to see a variety of unique environments and to learn about the history of these areas. Andres is an excellent tour guide and leader. As the itinerary is so packed there is limited time for hiking or more strenuous activity. Definitely recommend this trip.

The Easter Island extension after Argentina, Bolivia and Chile was outstanding. A perfect opportunity to see this beautiful island, the people and to learn about their history. The 1000 year old Moai are breathtaking.

This trip really is an adventure. From San Pedro de Atacama and The Devil's Throat Gorge taking in Geysers (and if you book it yourself the most amazing star gazing astronomy expereince) Chile is impressive but is quickly over shadowed by the wonders of cycling in Salta Argentina. So many days of amazing geology and scenery it is both joyful and overwhelmingly beautiful. Read the full itinerary and then visualise that more or less every one of those days will be spectacular. Highlights included the downhill ride to the Hill of Seven Colours, the Los Cardones National Park (thousands and thousands of cacti and mountains) and the cycle along the Conchas river which is just life affirming. There's also a free day in Salta which is great as it's a traditional Argentian city with a lot of quirky culture and history and some great steak restaurants. We also had quite a few trips to vineyards to do winetasting which Alejandro was happy to organise.

The tour guides were all excellent. Hotels were excellent. Food ranged from good to fair: not acceptable for Luxury Gold