Jemma
United States Of America
Customer
Rating
10
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?”
Jemma's Trip Date:
23rd Feb - 10th Mar 2024
What was your most memorable moment?
The Alto de Toro hike from Patagonia Camp!
Which of the following best describes your adventure?
Life changing
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend or colleague?
10 out of 10
On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your trip: Experience Paine's Nature and Wildlife?
9 out of 10
On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your trip: Matetic Vineyard?
10 out of 10
Tell us about Tres Rios Lodge
Tres Rios Lodge was exactly what we hoped. Amazing fishing on the Petrohue, a beautiful room and view, delicious food. The non-fishing partner got a personal daylong tour of seaside villages with John the owner, who went above and beyond to take care of us. We got a surprise day of tuna fishing in the ocean for no additional charge. We really hope to return.
Tell us about Patagonia Camp
Patagonia Camp is paradise- the views are incredible. the staff is fantastic, and the excursions were great. We met amazing people and were comfortable in the yurt. See note on previous page about the timing of excursions-- we were told to do the French Valley on the third day when we arrived, but the other yurt cancelled and so we would have had to pay $600 to go. However, a trip had run on the second day which we missed out on.
Tell us about The Atacama
Terrantai Lodge was amazing-- in particular Moises and Cristian at the hotel were incredible to us. We loved the cocktail hour and snacks, and they were very accomodating about early breakfast times. Our Southbound Guide, George, was incredibly kind, funny, and knowledgable. We had a blast with him. We loved the first day with Gato Andino, and the geysers were magic! We felt well-prepared in terms of gear. The highlights were drinking pisco sours in the desert as the sun set, the rainbow valley, the flamingos and vicunas and the geysers. Hard to pick just one!
Tell us about Chilean Lakes
See discussion of Tres Rios Lodge! We relaxed every night on the porch with a pisco sour and view of Osorno. Couldn't be better!
Something Else?
The only mishap of our trip was that we had specifically requested a yurt at Patagonia Camp with a hot tub, however, on arrival we got a yurt without a hot tub and Patagonia Camp had no record of our request from Swoop. We had presumed the "deluxe yurt" meant that it had a hot tub. Luckily some incredibly kind fellow guests traded yurts with us, and the staff at Patagonia Camp was really wonderful and helpful.
Would you consider another trip to Patagonia with Swoop?
Yes
Would you be interested in travelling to Antarctica with Swoop?
No
Would you be interested in travelling to the Arctic with Swoop?
No
Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Patagonia?
Use Swoop!
Has your experience changed your perspective in any way?
We have both traveled widely to many countries, and Chile was our favorite country we ever visited. The landscapes were breathtaking, but the most special part were the Chilean people we met. We cannot wait to return.
Do you have any recommendations for Swoop, or feedback about the team?
We absolutely loved working with Peter. He listened to exactly what we wanted and designed the perfect honeymoon for us. Two pieces of feedback for the team: 1) We were told to book our flights and which flights specifically to book. AFTER we booked the flights, we were told one of them had to be changed which was a lengthy process and Swoop covered the cost of the change. However, because of this mishap, we had separate flight reservation numbers from Calama-->Santiago and Santiago-->Puerto Montt and the baggage was only checked through to Santiago. We had to claim the baggage and recheck/go through security in Santiago which was stressful due to a short layover. We would recommend in the future being completely sure about the timing/availability of travel partners before advising clients to buy tickets. 2) Aside from the flight issue (for which Cecilia profusely apologized), we found our email interactions with Cecilia somewhat challenging. For example, when we asked where we could do laundry if needed, we received a lengthy description of how we should not plan to do laundry in order to preserve water in Patagonia, and a description of local laundromats. In fact, Patagonia Camp has a very straightforward and professional laundry system. We found her email somewhat abrasive and unhelpful. We also received an "URGENT" email from Cecilia to fill out a form on the Swoop website several weeks before our trip. We frantically filled it out, but found it required all information we had given long ago. When we asked if she had received it, she advised us to refer to the Swoop website in a manner that did not convey any urgency. Finally, Cecilia told us we would have to bring all of our own fishing gear in a note in our itinerary. When we checked with John at Tres Rios, he confirmed he had everything available for us, as Peter had told us. We hesitate to give negative feedback about an individual, but we felt it was worth conveying to you because it was a source of stress leading up to the trip.
How prepared and excited for Patagonia did you feel?
Very excited and very prepared!