November Reviews

The highlight of our trip was our guide, Jose "Chacho" Navarro Jorquera, a contractor to Antares Patagonia--he surpassed our expectations in every way--he facilitated our entrance into Torres del Paine, he made sure we were comfortable, gave us an overview of what to expect on our hikes each day, went out of his way to find new birds for us to watch, and was friendly and polite to everyone on the trail. The surprise, if you can call it that, was that we had several days of absolutely jaw-droppingly good, clear weather with fabulous views of the mountains, including the Torres and Los Cuernos.

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.

Highlight — going across El Paso de las Agachonas while in the middle of a blizzard. We thought we were on another planet. People — INCREDIBLE. My favorite group was the first with Chile Nativo, simply because it was the largest (7 ppl) and every single person was amazing. I still loved the other groups too. Landscapes / wildlife — landscapes were out of this world, with all the glaciers taking the spotlight. Wildlife was pretty good. Friends and family — I let the photos speak for themselves. They told me that it looked legendary. Surprises — Dickson campsite. All the icebergs nearby along with the glacier itself. Very lovely. Magical moment — again at Dickson campsite, by the lake, there was this small bank on the lake with perfectly still water and I caught a photo with the mountain and glacier in the back with PERFECT reflection. Looked like a mirror.

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.

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.

Trip was fantastic. The people were welcoming and helpful, the scenery spectacular and towns were all quaint and very walkable. I spent the greater part of my trip trekking - where I have incredible photos to cherish.

It was terrific ! Guides were great and very well informed about the local flora , fauna , politics and history of the area and country . Definitely learnt a lot about a new culture !

Overall it was good, we were lucky with the weather and the group was fairly easy to get on with.

Patagonia Camp was an awesome 5 days. We all loved that part of the trip best. the staff was amazing, accommodations super and the overall VIBE of the place was great. Met super people there. We also really like Terra Luna. More rustic for sure but a great contrast.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Our trip was amazing! We only wish we could have stayed longer. Patagonia Camp was superb. The service was exceptional and the yurts were very comfortable. We enjoyed the community there and meeting fellow travelers. It was a highlight each night to come back and enjoy good conversation about the days adventures over delicious wine and beautiful views.

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.

The highlight was walking on the Grey glacier. This is a totally different experience from hiking and takes some getting used to. Walking on a river of ice with crampons is daunting at first, but one soon starts feeling secure and can appreciate the amazing surroundings. Our guide, Anna, was fun to be with - she took great care of us and we thoroughly enjoyed her company.

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 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.

Big Ice Trek - Which I could have done without Swoop.

Torres Del Paine