Jimmy returned in early September from a Winter Trek in Torres del Paine National Park. Here he tells us about his experiences on the trip and in booking through Swoop and our Chilean partners…
What did you think of Swoop Patagonia?
I found Swoop very helpful and informative in giving me all of the options available, taking into account my preferences and finding the most appropriate tour company and itinerary.
What did you think of Swoop’s partners who ran the W Trek?
Our guide for the trip was excellent, very friendly and knowledgeable, however I was a little disappointed with some of the 3 day Winter W Trek itinerary. This was partly because of the time of year and restrictions on where we could stay in the park (with the refugios not open at the time). I felt that for the price we paid, we didn’t get to see as much of the park as we would have liked to. If I could have done the itinerary myself, I would have chosen to do a lot more hiking or tried to plan the trip a little later, so that we could have done the full W circuit.
What was the highlight of your trip?
The highlight of Torres Del Paine was the first day as we got to do a full day of hiking and got right up to the towers.
Did you manage to visit anywhere else on your trip?
We travelled throughout South America on our trip but nearby we also visited Los Glaciares (El Chalten, El Calafate and Perito Moreno Glacier), the Lake District in Chile and Argentina (Bariloche, Pucon etc.), which were all fantastic. I very much enjoyed the hiking and scenery in El Chalten.
Do you have any advice for other people planning a trip?
Advice to other travellers would be to try and plan the trip so that you are in the park at the start of the peak season so that you can do the Full Circuit and stay at the refugios.
