Lindy Gardener

United Kingdom

Customer
Rating

8

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?”

Lindy Gardener's Trip Date:

29th Oct - 26th Nov 2017

Overall, how was your trip?

Highlights-- time in Bariloche and Torres del Paine Landscapes etc----immense and spring was lovely time to go with all the flowers. Also saw new born chulengo and Torrent duck family :). All Chilean & Argentinian people were great, helpful & friendly

In one sentence, what did you think of Patagonia? Did it live up to your expectations?

It was as beautiful and diverse as I,d hoped it would be, in every aspect!!--I often wiped a tear from my eye as I couldn't believe I was seeing vistas for real.

Would you visit again?

Yes

How was the service that Swoop provided?

I have no complaints about things before my trip. Staff were always friendly and helpful. My itinerary was great, I might have liked it 2 wks before i went. The money info was confusing as I didnt find all places accepted US$, in Buenos Aires especially, so glad I took local currency too. I hope my post trip questions will be addressed

How likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8 out of 10

How was your experience in Aysen?

My Itinerary said 'standard room' but I was sharing for this trip, Was this correct? Mel had me down as sharing. I can't fault the Viva team nor the places I visited but the 'Bitch' comment + the muttering from another V rude man DID spoil my week and i doubt if I will ever travel in a group again. I could'nt wait to leave the bus if I,m honest. I can stay in the UK and be insulted. Very unlucky

How was your experience in Buenos Aires?

All good here, Hotel was good, staff helpful. Tour was ok. Tango show was good, as was the meal and not too touristy . I was a bit concerned when the driver was late for my airport pick up then the traffic was awful and i was getting stressed! We were going at 5 mph on the Autopista. May be checking traffic updates might be an idea. They must have them in BAires.

How was your horse riding experience?

I'm going to talk about the estancia here as this did not go as planned. Isidora admitted she,d forgotton I was coming on the Thurs so not a good start. The ferry times had changed so I had to take a small boat. Even when I arrived there was talk of me getting a ferry back on th Sat at 10am because of the time change, but I said 'no' cos I has 2 days activities-or so I thought. I had 1 walk with Sebastian and that was the ONLY activity {it was a really nice walk}. Then there was talk of people going to vote, the weather was going to get worse and the ferry might not run, but they said I could go in the boat again. I did say that if the marines shut the port due to bad weather why am I going across in a small boat(I wasnt happy with this option, I think Isidora thought i was difficult and Hernan didnt speak to me on the last day so it was not a good stay} I,d paid A LOT of money for just 1 walk and this did not live up to my expectations. The food was great though, Angeles the daughter who cooked everything was a sweetie. I,d be interested to hear their side of events

How was your experience in the Lake District?

1st week here was great, Loved the hotel, staff were great, food was the same, loved the location of the hotel. Did some lovely walks by myself and saved some things for the next trip!!

How was your experience in El Calafate and El Chalten?

Hostel was great, had fab view from my room! Walk Patagonia lent me a bike and I went to the waterfall when i arrived. Sadly, THE Aussie went there too and I was darting around trying to avoid him--felt like i was in the SAS!! Day 1 guide was luvely, Rosia and very informative. Day 2, Pedro, was ok am but then left me treking by myself for the majority of the afternoon and I was NOT happy, I spoke to Valeria in Walk Pat. office and she apologised. He let me go ahead and I had to wait for him (at one point i was tempted to go back to the town without him) He chose a route back he said was easier and shorter.. not according to the map I had back at the hostel. It was a narrow track, double the length of the am's assent and I had to wait for him for 5mins when the paths divided so i took the right one. Not a guided return in my opinion! El Calafete went to plan (prefered the Grey glacier, though. Less crowded. Hostel here was fine. I had a ridiculously big room !! Great

How was your hike in Torres del Paine?

I feel bad moaning about my trip when most of it has been wonderful BUT this 1 point is my only real issue with the pre planning. I was so looking forward to the WTrek- it was my fundraiser for Cancer charities- and I,d really trained hard. However, at the pre talk, I knew things were not as I,d been led to believe...this is how the walk to the towers was described to me...by various people at Swoop- 'similar to walking up Old Man of Coniston' 'you walk along the valley then through the woods' 'the slower group will go at a more leisurely pace', sorry, no slower group for me! We were only 4 and the guide said the groups are up to 6. 'finally it,s an hour through the boulder field' Distance on my sheet 18km - actual 20km Time 7-8hrs my sheet actual 10hr+ The 1st assent was like Coniston but NO ONE told me about all the extra assents there would be along the valley and through the woods. Then, when I saw the 200ft or so assent up the boulder field, I was distraught and actually cross!!! I felt very much that I,d been misinformed about the degree of difficulty of this trek. There was also the issue of what was I going to do if the others went on. In the end, I borrowed a walkie talkie and made my way down by myself, another return solo trip!! I was really disappointed. I,d talked to the guide about my concerns after the briefing, he knew i,d down some walking by myself in my prep and that I was not a novice walker( I used to lead school trips to Aran and the Lake District). I would have been so cold waiting for them at the base of the boulder field this was the best option especially as we could speak through the walkie-talkie. I did all the other walks, I enjoyed the glamping and Rodrigo, the guide, was excellent. He talked to everyone, he checked I was ok regularly. You could not have a more reliable,caring, professional person in this role. It was only 1 day of disappointment, but it was my big day!! Please make sure people know exactly how challenging this walk is. It would have had an impact on everyone's day if I,d not walked down by myself!

Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Patagonia?

If you are hiking make sure you are aware of the degree of difficulty of these treks. Even after weeks of training I found some hard. You can trust Swoop to organise your trip with great logistics. I was so impressed with this aspect.

Anything else? Tell us anything you’d like to share that we forgot to ask! It’s ok to leave this empty too :-)

Can you answer my question about room sharing on the VIVA trip. My itinerary said 'Standard room', I didn't share anywhere else. How could I have got more accurate info about the degree of difficulty of the W Trek. I was REALLY disappointed that my itinerary and the pre-trek talk were different & I had to miss the Boulder Field section I did have a fantastic 4 weeks though, thank you

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