Customer Reviews

Oooh, impossible question. In general, experiencing the vast, spectacular, rugged landscape of Torres Del Paine--whether hiking, biking, horseback riding or mountain biking--with no other people in sight. The enormity of Perito Moreno Glacier. The remoteness and beauty of the Estancia stays. Seeing the wildlife of Peninsula Valdes, again, with no other humans in sight.

It’s hard to chose one memorable moment but I think sitting at the top of the British gardens view point after traversing the Frances valley was a key highlight The terrain was challenging and spectacular all at the same time. Seeing the blue lake in the distance and hearing the cracks of the glacier as it calves off small looking avalanches shards of ice was exhilarating. In conjunction with all those sites and sounds to be able to drink from the icy river cascading down the slopes was refreshing and so fresh

My most memorable moment was seeing the three Towers of Paine. We were fortunate to have a blue sky day with little wind and spent more than an hour enjoying the incredible scenery and ambiance at the base of the towers.

Jorge and Carlos - our guide and driver. Everyday was memorable. Spectacular views, scenery, sunrise/sunsets, and unbelievable winds. Our final day was probably the most memorable as Jorge altered our itinerary making it a really enjoyable day - The Towers + Lago Azul then culminating with an up close sighting of two Puma cubs.

The highlight was the traverse of the St. Lorenzo mountains with our guide Jimmy. It was epic climbing through thigh deep snow. The guides selected by Swoop without any exception were absolutely great and responsive to our particular wishes, again a great job.

Vastness of the landscape was awe inspiring.

-- 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!

Hiking while surrounded by incredible snow-covered peaks and glaciers on all sides.

So hard to pick just one-- probably either the Base of the Towers or the Lago de los Tres hikes-- these were super intense and strenuous, but the views at the top were stunning, and the feeling at the end knowing I accomplished something big was great.

The Winter W-trek was a truly unique experience, and part of our bucket list of places around the world to go hiking. The highlight of my trip was reaching the Grey Glacier after a long distance hike and having lunch facing the glacier in silence - a moment of pure tranquility. The landscapes we saw varied day to day and we were lucky to see a herd of guanacos, condors and even a wild puma! We got on very well with the other people in our group (from the USA and China) and learned a lot from them - they inspired us and gave us more locations to add to our holiday bucket list! The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. I have some amazing pictures and have been showing them to everyone at home and at work. We hope to visit Patagonia again in the future, perhaps to experience it in the Summer.

- Torres del Paine was the highlight, hiking in Fitz Roy was also amazing - More wildlife than expected, but no pumas :( - We met mostly the guides and some other hikers; all were very nice

Overall, the obvious highlight was the W-trek through Torres Del Paine. The park is great, the route is fantastic. We got very lucky with the weather. We did the refugios and the 'glamping' option which we enjoyed for our short trip - the food in the refugios was surprisingly excellent and we enjoyed all of that a lot. In particular, our guide Chuma, was fantastic and really made the trip too. I was a bit dubious about having a guide but that worked out brilliantly. The whole W is great, but getting up to the towers, and hiking up to Brittanica (a slight detour) were both really great. As was going up to see the glacier field above Glacier Grey by hiking up over the second suspension bridge (another detour). Alongside all the of the information and time with glaciers was fascinating.

The entire trip was a highlight! Totally worth the effort getting down there. Between all the flights and bus rides, all of the hours of traveling seemed to disappear the minute we entered the park. The crazy blue waters, the amazing snow covered peaks, the freshness of the air, the excitement of all the other people heading in. We were lucky with the weather, had beautiful partly sunny, partly cloudy days, with only one snowy/rainy day, and of course the winds...must experience the Patagonian winds!! Overall the trip was AMAZING!!!

So many: 1) Seeing the penguins in Ushuaia 2) Hiking the Laguna de los Tres trail with views of Mt Fitz Roy 3) Taking the boat to see the Perito Moreno Glacier 4) Amazing meals in El Chalten 5) Getting engaged overlooking the Condor viewpoint!

There are too many to choose just one! One of my favorite days was day 1, when we first got to see Fitz Roy on the way to Lago del Desierto. This say was when our group kayaked at Lago del Desierto, hiked up to the Huemel Glacier and into the forest surrounding Desierto. No one realized at the start of the day that we would be able to all the activities - we thought we needed to choose between kayaking or seeing Huemel. Thankfully we were mistaken! Both activities were so incredible, and the forest on the way up to Huemel and surrounding Desierto is something else - nothing like our group was used to seeing in the Rocky Mountains. Because we had a big group, we split up into 10s between the three activities and would see each other at the exchange times, enjoy a beer from the little snack shack and our very good bagged lunches. We ended the day at the lodge to have some tea or wine and plan the next day with our incredible guides from Walk Patagonia - Nico and Sebastian. This first day was just an incredible way to start the trip and be introduced to this beautiful region all together. Wish I could go back and relive it!

The highlight was the shear beauty of the landscape - and the opportunity to experience it free from crowds, at our own pace and with excellent and extremely generous guides. We were blessed with gorgeous weather, great views and daylight until 9 PM...so we could take our time and truly absorb the surroundings. We met lovely people - not many, but everyone was in the spirit of the surroundings. I think my husband was surprised by the difficulty - but our guides were incredibly supportive. the most magical moment - day three as we got close to Cerro Castillo and the blue lake and the spectacular campsite that night! We will absolutely tell friends and family...and already have!

Loved exploring the mountains and hiking. That is the best views and wilderness. The trails were fantastic shape, well marked and just spectualar views. Jeff enjoyed the fishing and literally said it was the best so far hands down and we have been on MANY vacations that involved fishing.

The entire hike of the french valley

Every day in Torres del Paine was amazing.

The highlight was definitely going over the John Gardner Pass. It was a tough but really rewarding day. One of the most magical moments was when we made it through the pass and had an absolutely gorgeous view of the Grey Glacier in front of us. I also really enjoyed going through the windy passes and fighting our way through the infamous Patagonian wind! It was a pleasure to meet other people on the trail and to discuss what we had seen already and comparing experiences.