Trip Summary
This is meant to be only a brief summary of our trip to Patagonia and is written nearly a year after the trip because I never wrote the final blog entry. In addition, I lost a lot of my pictures and data in moving my blog from Wordpress that hosted it.
I thought mainly that the distances involved in traveling to Patagonia are large and you spend a lot of you time getting from one place to another. It is a barren land for the most part and unless you want to see a lot of raw nature and to do a lot of hiking, you might not want to travel to this area of the world. I liked the scenery but I think we have similar places in the USA that are easier to get to.
Santiago, Chile is a large city with a lot of smog. This is where you fly into if you want to explore the wine regions of northern Chile. The city is much like most cities and the only thing of interest was taking the finicula to the top of the nearby hilltop where you can appreciate the city smog. You can then take a cable car down the other side. It gives you something to do.
To get to the glacier region you must fly because you cannot drive there by vehicle. You fly from Santiago to Punta Arenas and then to get to Torres del Paine, you must take land transportation. It is a long ride on a two lane road. Torres del Paine is a beautiful, remote area and our trip may have been longer than normal because several bridges were washed out. There are not many accommodations in that area so you want to be certain you have reservations in advance. It is a windy area so proper clothing is a must. We were glad that we purchased warm Patagonia coats before we left the USA. The coats should be rain resistant.
I think a tour of two glacier areas is sufficient. The boat tour of the three glaciers is a waste as the boat is packed with people who hog the viewing areas. The Petite Moreno Glacier is the best one to see.
Bariloche is a beautiful area in the Lake Region of Argentina and I highly recommend this geographical area. Unfortunately, Enchanted Travels booked us at a hotel that was about two miles from town and there is no transportation that you can use easily. We fortunately were capable of walking but the road is narrow and busy with traffic so you must be alert for traffic.
The tour of the Seven Lakes was just OK. I gives you an appreciation for the area but other than that I don't have a lot of positive things to say about our tour. Enchanting Travels saiid it included a visit to San Martin de Los Andes but our guide did not take us there. It was a long day in a private van and we were probably glad to miss that town that was no doubt a tourist trap. I think I might recommend renting a car to explore this area on your own.
The lake transit from Bariloche to Puerto Varas, Chile was a delightful full-day adventure. I would highly recommend this if you are exploring these areas of the world. It was interesting that in our hotel in Puerto Varas, we encountered a physician friend of mine and his wife. They live about 15 miles from us and to encounter them on a separate tour was an amazing coincidence.
I think the tour of Chiloe Island could be skipped. It is a long day to get to the island by ferry boat and to see colored houses seems a bit much. I can't recommend this excursion.
The Mendoza Wine area was a bit of a shock to us as we flew in. Mendoza is in a desert and has a lot of oil wells and industry. I expected a verdant area like Napa in California and did not expect to see such a dry, brown place. Our pre-planned tours were not as advertised but we did learn about this wine region.
Buenos Aires is a fun city and it is a place that I know well. Earline and I had our honeymoon there and I spent a month there a couple of years later with my brother on the pretense of studying Spanish. We investigated many of the wines and the foods in the Palermo district. Since this is an easy place to fly back to the USA, I would recommend you spend several days there.
Overall, I felt the trip was reasonable. However, Enchanting Travels dropped the ball in several places so I cannot recommend them as a travel agency. Our trip was planned for us individually so it was on the expensive side but I liked not having to follow a guided lollipop and they did make proper accommodations and transport connections.
This is meant to be only a brief summary of our trip to Patagonia and is written nearly a year after the trip because I never wrote the final blog entry. In addition, I lost a lot of my pictures and data in moving my blog from Wordpress that hosted it.
I thought mainly that the distances involved in traveling to Patagonia are large and you spend a lot of you time getting from one place to another. It is a barren land for the most part and unless you want to see a lot of raw nature and to do a lot of hiking, you might not want to travel to this area of the world. I liked the scenery but I think we have similar places in the USA that are easier to get to.
Santiago, Chile is a large city with a lot of smog. This is where you fly into if you want to explore the wine regions of northern Chile. The city is much like most cities and the only thing of interest was taking the finicula to the top of the nearby hilltop where you can appreciate the city smog. You can then take a cable car down the other side. It gives you something to do.
To get to the glacier region you must fly because you cannot drive there by vehicle. You fly from Santiago to Punta Arenas and then to get to Torres del Paine, you must take land transportation. It is a long ride on a two lane road. Torres del Paine is a beautiful, remote area and our trip may have been longer than normal because several bridges were washed out. There are not many accommodations in that area so you want to be certain you have reservations in advance. It is a windy area so proper clothing is a must. We were glad that we purchased warm Patagonia coats before we left the USA. The coats should be rain resistant.
I think a tour of two glacier areas is sufficient. The boat tour of the three glaciers is a waste as the boat is packed with people who hog the viewing areas. The Petite Moreno Glacier is the best one to see.
Bariloche is a beautiful area in the Lake Region of Argentina and I highly recommend this geographical area. Unfortunately, Enchanted Travels booked us at a hotel that was about two miles from town and there is no transportation that you can use easily. We fortunately were capable of walking but the road is narrow and busy with traffic so you must be alert for traffic.
The tour of the Seven Lakes was just OK. I gives you an appreciation for the area but other than that I don't have a lot of positive things to say about our tour. Enchanting Travels saiid it included a visit to San Martin de Los Andes but our guide did not take us there. It was a long day in a private van and we were probably glad to miss that town that was no doubt a tourist trap. I think I might recommend renting a car to explore this area on your own.
The lake transit from Bariloche to Puerto Varas, Chile was a delightful full-day adventure. I would highly recommend this if you are exploring these areas of the world. It was interesting that in our hotel in Puerto Varas, we encountered a physician friend of mine and his wife. They live about 15 miles from us and to encounter them on a separate tour was an amazing coincidence.
I think the tour of Chiloe Island could be skipped. It is a long day to get to the island by ferry boat and to see colored houses seems a bit much. I can't recommend this excursion.
The Mendoza Wine area was a bit of a shock to us as we flew in. Mendoza is in a desert and has a lot of oil wells and industry. I expected a verdant area like Napa in California and did not expect to see such a dry, brown place. Our pre-planned tours were not as advertised but we did learn about this wine region.
Buenos Aires is a fun city and it is a place that I know well. Earline and I had our honeymoon there and I spent a month there a couple of years later with my brother on the pretense of studying Spanish. We investigated many of the wines and the foods in the Palermo district. Since this is an easy place to fly back to the USA, I would recommend you spend several days there.
Overall, I felt the trip was reasonable. However, Enchanting Travels dropped the ball in several places so I cannot recommend them as a travel agency. Our trip was planned for us individually so it was on the expensive side but I liked not having to follow a guided lollipop and they did make proper accommodations and transport connections.