A splendid trip that truly captured the highlights of Patagonia.
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Buenos Aires, Torres del Paine N
Buenos Aires, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Patagonia, Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park, Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, El Chalten, El Calafate, Puerto Natales
We planned our epic trip to South America with Analia. She was excellent at listening, advising, tailoring, meeting expectations for our requirements to make this trip an amazing experience.
Joaquina then took over to support and guide us through the finer details of the trip, and whilst we were on our holiday. We had access to a WhatsApp support for any queries along the way, a 24 hour emergency WhatsApp number also.
The tours and guides were of all very good, with some guides standing out as excellent. We did find it a little annoying when on larger tours with multi lingual guides as we seemed to be in the minority. It felt like we weren't gaining from the same level of information as that delivered to the Spanish speaking!
However, overall, the service was seamless, caring, friendly and professional.
I would recommend the team without hesitation.
Thank you 🙂🙂
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
5-79 yrs
Operated in
english, spanish
Destinations
Buenos Aires, Cusco, Machu Picch
Buenos Aires, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Rio de Janeiro, Sacred Valley, Chinchero District, Aguas Calientes, Iguazu Falls
This is a physically demanding but very rewarding holiday which takes you to a beautiful part of the world.
Trekking and Hiking
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Camping
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
El Calafate, Torres del Paine Na
El Calafate, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Perito Moreno Glacier, El Chalten, Buenos Aires, Torres Del Paine, Las Torres, Camp Los Cuernos, Camp Paine Grande, Los Glaciares National Park, Santiago
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Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Salta, Iguazú Falls
Departures: No. Just check departures for Train to the Clouds
Season: All the year. We suggest to take this tour from April to September.
Notes: We suggest to make bookings in advance. It`s the ideal tour to visit Argentina during autumn and winter season.
Destinations included in the package: Salta, Humahuaca Canyon, Train to the Clouds, Iguazu Falls, Mendoza and the wine country, the High Andes, Buenos Aires.
Departs from: Buenos Aires. If you don`t need services in Buenos Aires, we can start this trip in any of the others cities.
Specific Interest: No. Traditional Tourism
HIGHLIGHTS
- The City of Buenos Aires and magic of Tango (Buenos Aires)
- Mendoza and the wineries
- The High Andes and Aconcagua Mount
- Humahuaca Canyon
- Train to the Clouds
- Iguazu Falls
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
1-99 yrs
Operated in
english, spanish
Destinations
Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Mend
Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, Salta, Puerto Iguazu
Diego, our Explore leader was excellent. He was very informative, went out of his way to make sure we had a good time and were kept safe. Christian and Raquel, who also joined us, as tour guides, were also very knowledgable, which they shared in a humorous manner. The highlights of the tour for me were the Iguazu Falls, Paraty and Ilha Grande.
Active and outdoorExplorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Il
Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Ilha Grande, Iguazu Falls, Iguazu Falls, Sao Paulo, Paraty
If you love big landscapes, deserts, rock formations, volcanoes, geysers, remoteness and views that go on forever, then this is the trip for you. This was combined with very friendly people, local culture and good wine, making for one of the best trips I've ever had.
This was my first trip with Explore. (All the other members of the group had travelled multiple times with them). I would say the trip exceeded my expectations in every respect. Judging by the comments of the rest of the group, it was one of the best many of them had been on too. I have taken away memories that will last forever and met some wonderful people along the way.
There were six travellers in the group (all solo travellers) as well as Andres our guide, local guides and drivers. This was the first trip run on a new itinerary or at least one which Explore has not sold for a number of years. So in that respect our group were the guinea-pigs for the trip. I felt the group got on very well. I would say six was a good group size for the minibuses. It gave us room to spread out with our bags and snooze if needed on the longer journeys.
Itinerary:
The itinerary covers a lot of ground in a short space of time so is definitely full-on. However, overall, I thought it was well-paced with well-timed rest periods. Given that this was a new itinerary, there are a couple of "tweaks" I would make (mentioned below). However, they are minor changes only to what I found to be a well-rounded and balanced trip.
HIghlights for me included the Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia. I loved the desert, lagoons, volcanoes, flamingoes, the salt hotel and of course, our meal with our wonderful Bolivian guides - which I'll never forget. Another highlight was the sunset and moonrise over the Atacama Desert near San Pedro. I felt the trip was a gift that kept on giving. Just when you had one experience which you thought could not be topped, along came another one. The trip was cleverly planned in that sense.
In terms of amendments, I would suggest the following:
HIgh altitude is a feature of this trip and perhaps needs to be emphasised and explained a little more fully in the trip notes so that travellers can take a view. However, for me, any discomfort was more than compensated for by the remoteness and beauty of the landscapes we saw.
I particularly loved Bolivia and perhaps Explore could consider adding that another day to this leg of the trip. This would allow more time to get to know this fantastic country and its people but would also allow more time to acclimatise.
We had a wonderful day in the wine region of Cafayate. Both wine and food were delicious and plentiful. However, I think we all felt the number of tours and tastings should be reduced a little to allow us to relax into one wine tour and the meal without worrying about time.
Guiding:
Andres was our Explore guide and I cannot speak highly enough of him. Most of the group had travelled extensively over the years with Explore and said that he was one of the best guides they had ever had. Andres was excellent in every respect - professional, knowledgeable, organised but relaxed and very person-centred, attending well to the different needs of the group. The trip ran very smoothly and to time. Andres paid close attention to detail, making small changes to the itinerary as needed, He found good places to eat, and timed visits to avoid any crowds in particularly popular places. As far as I am aware, there was one small logistical glitch during the whole trip. This was beyond Andres' control but he took it in his stride, dealt with it and it did not affect the group. Definitely 5* for Andres.
The local guides and drivers in each country were very friendly and efficient. I would say the guides in Argentina and Bolivia were particularly knowledgeable. The warmth and kindness shown to us was lovely. I would single out Wilbur in Bolivia for particular praise.
Accommodation:
Before the trip, I did not have particularly high expectations of the hotels, thinking that location would take priority over hotel standard and that budget hotels would be used to keep costs down. To a certain extent this proved to be the case. I would say in most places the standard was 3*. I found all of them were perfectly acceptable although some had variable hot water and wifi which is only to be expected really given the region. All hotels were very friendly and in a very good location. Some hotels stood out as having more character and better service than others. The Salt Hotel (Laguna Salada) on the Uyuni flats was something truly special. The stunning location, the hotel design and the friendliness of the staff there were something I will never forget. The Hotel Los Flamencos at the Laguna Hedionda was graded as "simple" and we warned to take warm sleepwear as it can get cold at night. However, I found the hotel to be warm and characterful and again, the location was stunning. Standing outside the hotel (albeit at about -5 degrees Celsius), watching the flamingos on the lagoon and the sun come up over the volcanoes behind was something truly memorable.
San Pedro de Atacama was the most touristy place we visited and I would say the hotel there reflected that. It felt a bit more generic than the others, although the barman was excellent and served some knockout Pisco sours.
Overall, I would give this trip 5* without hesitation. Unforgettable - in the best possible way. Any quibbles are very minor ones to me. I would highly recommend.
Sightseeing Tours
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Buenos Aires, San Pedro, Santiag
Buenos Aires, San Pedro, Santiago, Salta, Cafayate, Purmamarca, Tilcara, Tupiza, Uyuni, Incahuasi, San Pedro De Atacama
