Matt and Sarah returned in April from Trekking in Los Glaciares National Park. Here they tell us about their experiences on their trip, and in booking with Swoop and our partners, as well as providing some helpful tips for other travellers visiting Patagonia…
How were Swoop Patagonia?
Excellent in every way, would recommend them to anyone.
What did we do well?
Everything! Swoop offered expert advice and it was clear from the outset that you specialise in this area. They were very responsive, friendly and considerate – we typically travel independently but it didn’t take long to realise the benefits of engaging with Swoop. I do hope we get the chance to return to the region and if so we’ll be sure to contact you again.
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What could we have done differently?
It sounds like a cop-out but genuinely, we can’t think of anything we would have liked to be done differently/better.
How were our partners who supported your trekking in Los Glaciares?
They were also excellent – helpful, friendly, knowledgeable… great to have support from them while we were in Chalten too. Thoroughly recommended.
How did you enjoy their itinerary?
Excellent – we worked with them to tailor the trip to our preferences and time available and it worked really well. We were lucky to squeeze in Perito Moreno Glacier, a small trek on Viedma Glacier and 3 great day-treks… and spent time in El Chalten which is a fantastic little town. I don’t think we could have done any more with the time we had available.
How were their guides?
Pedro accompanied us to Laguna de los Tres and we really enjoyed our day with him. We were lucky enough to have great walking conditions and probably didn’t absolutely need a guide, however we got so much insight into the area, local mountaineering etc. He’s such a friendly and genuinely hospitable kind of guy with a wealth of experience in the area… if we ever return to the area (I really hope we do) we’d be sure to look him up!
Is there anything you would have changed about this part of your trip?
More time possibly to take in multi-day treks or head to Torres del Paine though that wasn’t really viable. We had 5 nights and with the time we had it was perfect.
What was the highlight of your trip?
Very hard to say but a close call between trekking to Laguna de los Tres & Loma del Pliegue Tumbado
Do you have any tips for other people planning a trip?
1. Consider a guide for at least 1 trek; we got so much out of walking with Pedro.
2. Don’t rush it too much – we thought we were rushing but we heard of plenty of people with so little time in Chalten… the area is stunning and deserves more. It’s a great place to hang out too.
3. Consider the weather – we were extremely lucky but I don’t think what we had was typical.
Did you manage to visit anywhere else in Chile or Argentina?
We also had time in Buenos Aires and around Salta in the North-West. From here we hired a car and saw some of the surrounding area… Quebrada de Humahuaca, Salinas Grandes, Cafayate etc. All great and we’d thoroughly recommend it all – although Patagonia remains our firm highlight.
‘Once again a big thanks, I do hope we’ll be in touch again for another trip at some point.’
