Sharon
Canada
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?”
Sharon's Trip Date:
21st Feb - 10th Mar 2025
What was your most memorable moment?
Too many to list
Which of the following best describes your adventure?
Great holiday
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: Torres del Paine Ultimate Luxury?
9 out of 10
On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your trip: Custom Buenos Aires?
10 out of 10
Something Else?
Hotel Awa in the Chilean Lake District was such an incredible surprise. We thought it was on par with Awasi. Food, service, room, guided private excursions . In addition they have a great spa and masseurs. Location, views… Even including 2 days of pouring rain and only one day of sunshine. Chalten Camp was a fun experience sleeping in the Yurt. Mornings are quite cold! For foodies: Mako restaurant in El Calafate is run by a Michelin trained chef and it shows! A great but pricey meal enjoyed here. Also for foodies: in BA there are a number of « closed door » ( puertas cerradas) restaurants which chefs set up in their homes or unlikely places. Highly recommend Treintasillas . Reserve on WhatsApp For Jewish travelers: the Jewish history of BA is fascinating. We did a private 4 hour tour of the Jewish sites of the city with www.jbatours.com. Expensive but worthwhile
Would you be interested in travelling to the Arctic with Swoop?
No
Would you be interested in travelling to Antarctica with Swoop?
No
Would you consider another trip to Patagonia with Swoop?
No
How prepared and excited for Patagonia did you feel?
10/10 prepared 12/10 excited
Tell us about Awasi
Our guide was fabulous. Bartender Cesar was very talented… we don’t drink and he created daily mocktails for us. View from the villa is spectacular. So nice to be secluded from sight and can sleep with the shutters open and enjoy the stars and the night sky. Staff to guest ratio is 3:1 so always felt taken care of. Staff made a point to remember everyone’s first name. I didn’t appreciate how far the distances were that we had to travel each day for excursions. And on bumpy roads. Unfortunately spaces on the boat were not available on both days during our stay to get into the park and access the hikes that we would have liked to do. I think that as of March 1, end of high season, one of the two boats is taken out of use. It would have been nice if our spots could have been reserved in advance. Food…always being fed. Food is delicious and beautifully presented. Snacks on excursions and lunch too. Portions were very large. Impressed with all the items they had in stock like non-alcohol beer and lactose-free milk. A couple of our excursions started early in the morning. We were advised to preorder our breakfast the night before so that it would be ready promptly at 7:30 upon our arrival in the dining room. Unfortunately this didn’t happen as planned and our day was delayed and breakfast was hurried. The next day was another early start. This time we ordered a cold breakfast which they brought to our villa the night before. A better solution. Upon our departure they kindly packed both breakfast to have in the car on the way to the airport as well as a box lunch to eat on the plane. It was a nice touch that our guide was the person that drove us to the airport so we had a proper chance to say goodbye. Loved having a fireplace in the villa. A fire was made daily however even though we asked a few times the wood shelf was never filled. They would leave a maximum of 3 logs for us in the room to keep the fire going. Just sharing the little inconsequential things. Overall it was a fabulous stay and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend staying at Awasi.
Tell us about the Trekking
Emi with Walk Patagonia was a fabulous guide. Los Glaciares is easy to hike on your own but having a guide really enhances the appreciation for the flora, fauna as well as Argentina in general if the guide is from there.
Tell us about the Excursions
We had to replace a kayaking excursion that got canceled. We opted for mountain biking and lunch at EstanciaBonanza… enjoyed our visit, the beautiful views from the valley and the delicious meal. We also did an estancia tour with dinner show in El Calafate at estancia 25 de Mayo. It was a bit long but very fun and informative. As the estancias are such an important part of the culture in Argentina Patagonia I was happy to learn more about them. The low point of our trip was the visit to Perito Moreno. We had both a private guide and driver. We didn’t find the guide very engaging but on reflection we questioned how much is there really to talk about regarding the glacier.
Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Patagonia?
Prepare for uncertain weather