November Reviews

Fantastic trip, hugely varied in landscapes and experiences. Great. Lots of highlights not just one - but the Stella Australis was very special. Landscapes were huge, dramatic, inspiring and beautiful. We found the wildlife varied and interesting - including two pumas! All the people we met were helpful and friendly. We always felt safe. Iguazu was more dramatic in size and scale than photos suggest. There were many magical moments. So much to like.

The highlight was our puma tracking trail with Antonia in TdP (6.2km) which also took us to ancient cave paintings or the condor trek we did where we got to "soar" in the Patagonian wind at the top of our mountain and condor lookout. She tailored made an experience for me (a non-hiker) that made me absolutely fall in love with the park. She found was to get us to taste, see and smell all the truly wild and magical pieces of this special place. Without her wisdom and enthusiasm, our experience would have been so different, and I'm certain it would not have been as good. Whether we got Antonia by luck or by a plan, she was absolutely perfect for us. We are looking forward to keeping in touch with her.

Puma Tracking was an incredible experience. Our guide Matias was a skilled tracker and knew the animals and their behaviors. He was extremely respectful and knowledgeable of land, flora and fauna. Having Petaca and her cubs approach us on her own and accepting us into her world was very moving and humbling.

The Patagonian ice field when we first saw it after .John Garner pass Stunning scenery and surprisingly varied with the steppes, mountains ,glaciers, mountains and lakes. The animals and birds were very different from any I had seen. Many species of birds. I enjoyed the wild flowers which were flowering as it was spring. In Buenos Aires generally the people were not as friendly but the taxi drivers and reps were fine. The guides, hostel staff, porters, etc were all very friendly. Being able to drink from a mountain stream was a surprise. If I have grandchildren I will tell them that this trip was one big adventure.

It was amazing! Every aspect of it was phenomenal (except for the king penguin excursion, will get to that). I was really impressed with how well it went, logistically. I think Swoop did a great job of making sure that there wasn't a lot of downtime (other than the travel from point to point, which couldn't be avoided and was still minimized as much as possible). And I appreciated that there were multiple guides so the group could split up and be flexible if necessary. The group, for the most part, was phenomenal. Everyone was excited and enthusiastic and for the most part very supportive of each other, emotionally and physically. I've made some good friends for life!

Our trip was GREAT! Some of the biggest highlights were the Towers in Torres del Paine, Mirador Britannico in the French Valley, Perito Moreno glacier, and the hike to Laguno de los Tres in Los Glaciares near El Chalten. Oh, and how could I forget the Zodiac boat ride and "glamping" at the Serrano campsite... that was awesome! I have already begun to tell my family and friends, basically the moment I touched down! I was surprised at how full the schedule was... I expected day hikes and then time to rest, but they were full, good days, and that was wonderful! We had some fantastic guides, and the landscapes were grander than I thought. More glaciers than I could have imagined! We didn't see a puma, but saw so much other wildlife, and at every turn, which was really great.

The Chilean fjords had just about everything: humpbacks, penguins, sealions; remote location; great scenery; glaciers; boat trip; small group, no crowds. Trekking from El Chalten was somewhat hampered by the weather, with some wet walking to viewpoints with no view! But managed to see Fitzroy and Cerro Torre on the last day. National park felt over-managed: signposts, guides, large numbers of people. Enjoyed the Viedma Glacier trek but group too large and disparate (approx. 30). Retreat of glacier now means longish scramble to access: not a problem for me but there were three falls (and one submission!) among the party, and I heard that the subsequent trip herded 60 people around together, with one person requiring x-ray after a fall. Better to split into small groups of similar experience. Packed lunches in El Chalten dreadful: unimaginative and repetitive. Sailing to Cape Horn excellent, with great landscapes, wildlife, and charming and highly experienced skipper. Hadn't expected tourism to be so highly developed, but met some interesting people from all over Europe, as well as locals, and overall a great combination of varied activity with good accommodation and restaurants.

Excellent varied package of life experiences, in a stunning unspoilt part of the world with great scenery and wildlife, friendly hospitable people and well organised logistics. Enjoyed the UNESCO sights of Valparaiso and Chiloe churches.

Torres del Paine was the highlight. Aguas Arriba was a close second. The landscapes were stunning. There wasn't terribly much wildlife, but we'd also ranked landscapes over wildlife in our trip preferences. Every one of the local activity leaders was fantastic--professional, exceptionally good at communication, and really worked to provide the best experience (Nikolas in Torres del Paine, our driver Luis, Juan in Chalten, both of our kayak operators at Perito Moreno glacier, and the head guide in our Torres del Paine kayaking trip). The glacier was a surprise--we weren't expecting it to be so impressive. I wish we could have gotten closer. Waking up in the quite of Torres del Paine campsite and Aguas Arriba were pretty magical. Watching Alexi grill meat (and try to warm up the wine), while ignoring everyone's instructions on how to cook steak rare, and listening to NWA, it started snowing in our campsite--that was pretty unique.

Seeing my first puma in the wild - imperious, at ease, powerful, and very beautiful. An amazimg moment.

Overall the trip was great with the highlights being the kayaking excursion and homestay on Yolande's farm and the Chiloe Island wildlife. Everyone we met was very friendly, especially Yolanda, and the guides were all excellent especially Isobel. The Patagonia (Torres del Paine) landscapes were fantastic but we didn't see as much wildlife as we would have liked.

Highlight was the hiking in Argentina and in Chile. The unbelievably good weather enhanced the whole experience. There were guanacos, condors, ostrich type birds, sheeps, horses and others spotted a puma. The people at Tierra and our guides were exceptional. We would tell everyone to head to Patagonia in both Argentina and in Chile and to stay in El Chalten, Argentina and with Tierra in Chile. The most surprising element was the luck we had with the weather and how stunning Tierra Patagonia is. The most magical moment was taking a nap in front of and at the base of Laguna Cerro Torre while hiking in Argentina.

There were so many but I found the hike on day 3 through the French valley to be out of this world.

Overall, my trip was incredible and that was due to the (1) scenery (2) personal challenges that I conquered (3) the guides and fellow travel mates. The landscapes were gorgeous and we really lucked out with weather only having a little bit of rain in Argentina and only 1 day of rain in Chile. Both Juli and Claudio were incredible guides that really supported and encouraged us all. Yes, unfortunately the biggest surprise was that I had to pack my 28L backpack for 5 days and 4 nights. This was NEVER clear to me in any written communications. And this was OPPOSITE what was told to me during a phone call with Swoop while booking my trip.

Overall the trip was fabulous. The highlight was probably the cruise on the Stella Australis - the weather was so good we were able to sail around Cape Horn. The landscape was amazing ranging from the peaks of Torres del Paine to the geysers of the Atacama. The wildlife was another highlight with penguins to condors to flamingoes & guanacos, rheas & llamas. Our only regret is not seeing a puma! The local people were lovely as were the travellers we met - sometimes the same people at opposite ends of the country!

There were so many highlights that it is difficult to pick one. We experienced it all. From the 10 hour hike in freezing rain, gale level wind, and no view to days of perfection weather (so lucky) and stunning views every minute of every hiking hour. The bicolor majestic cuernos (horns), the glassy turquoise surface of the Nordenskold lake, the 360 degree amphitheater view in the Frances Valley, the wild orchids of Patagonia, and the bluest of blue Gray Glacier. One day, we even experienced the famed four seasons Patagonian day. My magic moment? Las Torres....the gleaming granite towers of Paine sheathing straight to the Patagonian skies from the pit of volcanic hell. After a very steep climb, I turned the corner and the scenery took my breath away. My heart stilled. No human could have conceived or imagined such beauty. Pictures are one dimensional and emotionally limited. I can now understand why Las Torres have been a life time dream of hikers and mountain climbers the world over. It is here that heavens and earth syphonically merged to create a beauty that will forever endure.

We loved the variety of the trip. Highlights were Iguazu Falls, seeing a glacier calving and Eco Camp. The landscapes had a very different feel that anything we had experienced before. Our most magical moment might be sitting and watching the wild horses in Torres del Paine.

Highlight was the entire w trek, including the scenery, the challenge of the hike, meeting people along the way. Within the w trek the glacier trek, french valley day hike and torres hike were the best. It was enjoyable to completely disconnect and have no internet, email, phone, text, etc. Most of the people that we met were happily doing the same and had a variety of backgrounds and stories. The paine grande refugio was our least favorite and if there is a way to skip that, that would be advised.

There were so many great highlights of the trip. I very much so appreciated the progression of hikes and thought the order in which we encountered them was perfect. I think if things had gone in any different order, it would not have been nearly as good. The very best part though was our guides. Juli and Claudio were perfection. Thank you for trusting us to them - they both did a phenomenal job! I can't recommend anyone more highly. They went out of their way so many times to ensure we had an unforgettable trip.

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.