Leah
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?”
Leah's Trip Date:
30th Jan - 12th Feb 2025
What was your most memorable moment?
The most memorable moments were being in Torres del Paine on a guided trip. The scenery was magnificent and the guide, Lucille from Chile Nativo tours, was incredible. We hiked for 5 days, staying in the fun and funky refugios. The whole trip was beyond my expectations! Thank you for helping us plan a perfect Patagonia exploration!
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: The Original Torres del Paine W Trek?
10 out of 10
Something Else?
So there were a few glitches I'd like to speak to someone at Swoop about. Could someone call or email me? In the US at (916) 425-4556, lmorrismail@sbcglobal.net Issues: 1. We expected to be transported to and from our hotel in Puerto Natales to the bus station to then travel to the Torres Del Paine park. Turns out NO hotel transport was arranged by Swoop. Thankfully the guide, Lucile from Chile Nativo, knew transportation was not arranged and helped us to be prepared to schedule and pay for a taxi, both ways (on Feb 7 and on Feb 11). If we had gone by our itinerary from Swoop, we would have been waiting for a pre-arranged ride to the bus station and may have missed the bus to Torres Del Paine -- messing up our whole schedule. We also had no Chile pesos, so we had to sort that out too, causing us a bit of a panic as it was after hours to do money exchange. 2. Though our Swoop itinerary said on February 11, 2025 we would be on a "Boat trip to face of Glacier Grey... set off across Grey Lake to the massive facade of Grey Glacier..." We apparently were not booked for that boat. Our guide had instructions and boat tickets for us to hike from Refugio Grey BACK to Refugio Paine Grande and take the catamaran boat from there to the dock at Pudeto. All that was OK, but I believe the cost of the catamaran is less than the cost of the Grey Glacier boat that takes you to the face of the glacier. Will we get a refund soon? Thank you for addressing these issues!
Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Patagonia?
I'd say use Swoop and do the W east to west, and have a guide!!
Do you have any recommendations for Swoop, or feedback about the team?
Please see above comments about a few glitches in the final part of the itinerary. I think we are due a small refund...
How prepared and excited for Patagonia did you feel?
Well prepared and very excited. I would suggest you add a few items to your packing list suggestions: 1) bring a small backpack to carry your lunch and water the two times on the W when you can leave your backpack and hike with a smaller bag. Thankfully we brought small nylon "Chico Bags" for any grocery shopping we might have to do, so we used those on the first day hiking up to Las Torres lookout, after dropping our backpacks at the Refugio Torres Central. We also could drop our backpacks at the Ranger Station to go up the French Valley and again were glad we had our Chico Bags (it's a company from Chico CA that makes small backpacks that fold into their own pocket). So glad we had those to allow us to leave the big backpacks behind for those times. 2. Recommend encouraging antibacterial toileting cloths for all hikers. We have "Kula Cloths" which are from a US company, you can buy at REI for about $15. There was LOTS of toilet paper strewn along the side paths when we went to relieve ourselves in the forest. The Kula Cloth avoids carrying and tossing TP when you pee, and it is totally washable when you are back at the refugio. I suspect there are other similar products on the market? 3. Take resealable baggies. The lunch sandwiches are HUGE, and the guide offers other items to make them tastier (avocado, pesto spread, peanut butter...) when we added the extra tasty stuff to the sandwich, it was good to have our own resealable plastic bag to carry the now bigger sandwich. We also re-used those bags every day after rinsing.
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?
Yes