Dana
United States Of America
Customer
Rating
9
Customer Rating On return from their adventure we ask customers: “On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the highest, how likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend or colleague?”
Dana 's Trip Date:
23rd Jan - 6th Feb 2017
Overall, how was your trip?
-- Highlights were day hiking out of El Chalten, and glacier at Lago Grey! -- Hiking is rugged, trails are rocky and often steep, not much wildlife in that part of the world....did see guanaco, red foxes, condor's, parakeets, woodpeckers. -- Had a good group of folks in our group and also met a culturally-diverse crowd along the way! -- Surprises? Hmmmm. You can definitely drink water out of any stream in all parts of Patagonia without filtering. It wasn't as windy as was expected, and overall our weather was fantastic!
In one sentence, what did you think of Patagonia? Did it live up to your expectations?
Patagonia is an amazing part of the world, rugged and beautiful!
Would you visit again?
Maybe
How was the service that Swoop provided?
-- The itinerary was great, especially the Walk Patagonia folks out of El Chalten....they were both beyond amazing (Juliana and Pedro)! The guide in Torres del Paine not so much....disappeared for hours on end, took naps on trail, and not as attentive overall. -- Service prior to trip was great -- Did not call 24/7 support -- Consider a different local guiding company for Torres side. Also, there was almost zero time for seeing the local towns, shopping, etc. El Calafate is a great town, but our hotel was too far away to walk downtown and we had no time to really explore it. The hiking days are long though, so not sure how to incorporate leisure time in there!
How likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend?
9 out of 10
Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Patagonia?
-- Bring hiking pole(s). -- I just wore my sneakers for all the hikes and was fine; don't need heavy-duty hiking boots. -- Just bring a 16-oz water bottle and refill as you hike, no need to carry anything more. -- The food/snacks are adequate, no need to bring any energy bars from home. -- Bring a sleeping bag liner if the Frances refugio is in your itinerary. -- The other folks in the group threw away a lot of their clothing, socks, etc. as they went on the Torres trekking part of the trip to lighten their load. I brought a 35-litre pack and it weighed <20# for the Torres trek...this is the minimum size pack you will need, and 40-litre would probably be a bit better. -- Bring sunscreen! And lip balm with high SPF!
What was the highlight of the trip?
-- Tour leader (Juliana) and trekking guide (Pedro) for the Los Glaciares portion were out-of-this-world amazing! Juliana took great care of us, and seemed to really enjoy spending time with us. Pedro was very knowledgeable and personable. Just two really neat people! -- Tour leader (Chalo) in Torres del Paine was not nearly as attentive. He didn't seem to really enjoy getting to know our group or spending time with us. He would often be absent on the trail, or tell us to go ahead while he took a nap. At the refugios, he would spend time with his friends and not with the tour group. -- Logistics were great -- Accommodation's were good and bad. The refugio at Frances should be avoided or at least tell folks to bring a sleeping bag liner. Overall fine, but I'm happy to be done with bunk beds! On another note, I was disturbed to see all the mouse bait out at the Serrano glamping site....any non-lethal options?? -- Different guide service in Torres del Paine. Having the two guides in Los Glaciares was great...ideally would have two in Torres as well.