MATER Sustainable Travel

Somewhat dated. Walkable but a long way to main drag, though taxis are easy. Nice view of lake but not really to the mountains. Mix of great and surly staff. Pretty much lives up to its website—calibrate your expectations. I wouldn’t recommend seeking it out, but if you’re short other options, it serves its purpose.

I loved this hotel. The location was close to the main town (walking distance or accessible by shuttle). I loved watching the birds in the lawn in the morning and looking out my window at the beautiful view.

this was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We learned so much and were really able to appreciate the culture of Buenos Aires

This show is very long and ends late at night (there is then a bus ride back to the hotel that takes a while). You do learn a lot about the development of the tango

One of the highlights of the trip. The guides were amazing

it normally would have scared me to bike in a big city, but Buenos Aires has good bike lanes and the guide is good. This is a rigorous day we biked just under 12 miles and were out for about 4 hours.

this trip helped you really understand the power of the waterfalls and see them from a different perspective. I also really liked the trip in the 4-wheeler type vehicle through the jungle to get to the boat.

Great location. Excellent staff at reception, especially Jose and Adrian. Breakfast staff were wonderful. Dinner in the restaurant was excellent. Comfortable room.

Unique location and ambience. With it being a ways from the town, there was no opportunity to exchange money or eat elsewhere unless you hired a taxi, Wish the breakfasts were available a half hour earlier as pickups for excursions made it very rushed.

Good location and friendly reception and breakfast staff, Wish they had a safe in the room. Also they don’t make up rooms until after the third night. They charge to change towels. Before that.

Good location. Helpful reception staff. Allowed early partial breakfast or boxed breakfast if leaving early. Floors of the room were dirty. Both times we were there, slippers and dressing gowns were provided. Toilet paper was not filled after the first night both times we were there. You have to put the sign out to make up room or your room won’t be attended to. Can only use YouTube to get old English news.

Great ambience and staff. Wilson was fabulous. All staff were friendly. “This is your home” mantra allows you to have wine and beer and yogurt , juice, fruit and filtered water all day long.

Location was a ways out of the town core. Very windy so not easy to walk into town. Rooms not in the main building were good for people able to bring in good to cook but a bit dated. Bed was in the loft upstairs. TV did not work. Breakfast staff was friendly. Food basic. For dinner, space is limited. Nice view from the deck. Most places provide box breakfasts for free if you leave before breakfast but this place charges. They also charge for box lunches which is fine but the price seems high though I don’t know what is provided.

This was one of the highlights of our trip. Graciela and Pierre gave us an interesting tour of Boeda with a stop for drinks at a characteristic bar. Then hosted us at their home and showed us how to make empanadas and we had a fabulous dinner and great conversation. Plus they gave us gifts to take home.

The Falls were excellent to see and walk the walkways. Highly recommend the tour. The guide not great. Wish more information was provided and there was a lot of wasted time that could have been utilized elsewhere. Perhaps some of this time was due to Devils Throat not being accessible. Plus juggling the group when some did the boat ride and others didn't - rather than wasting time eating and waiting around, we could have just gone back to the hotel.

The Brazil side was far more spectacular than the Argentina side of the falls. Excellent guide and experience. The trip was well organized and accommodated people doing the helicopter ride. We were going to the airport after the tour so the tour company juggled all the various itineraries of the travellers and managed the border crossings well too.

Recoleta is a must see. Enjoyed walking the streets getting to Recoleta. Plus had some bonus visit to a museum that the guide was surprised that we lucked out when we were there and initiated conversation with the curator who opened it up for us. We walked the area back to the hotel so went through the rose gardens and parks on our own which was interesting.

Excellent guide who provided good info and history of the area. Loved seeing the Grand Splendid Bookstore. We walked back to the hotel after being dropped off there.

Did not find the Estancia visit worthwhile but the visit to the Perito Moreno Glacier was good. The small boat ride out to the glacier seemed like a time filler by going a long about way plus it was not great as the water was very rough. The description we had did not advise we would be in a very small boat that bounced along the waves and had water flowing in. Luckily there was four us plus our guide and the two people handling the boat. It could have handled two more people but that would not have been great. Once we got to the glacier it was okay. Good to take photos from the small boat there. I would have found it more enjoyable just driving to the glacier with a stop where we saw other boats going to the glacier and going to the glacier by boat there (we just landed there). It would have been smoother and shorter so not wasting time. The actual visit to the Perito Mereno Glacier walkways was excellent.

Unfortunately the weather was raining for the whole day but we could see how spectacular it would be to see it on a better day. Luckly, I was able to get pictures from someone I met when we did the Grey's Glacier day as she was doing this tour the day after that. But highly recommend this tour. Guide and driver were good. The driver was an amazing photographer so great to see his pictures of the area.

Great city snd enjoyed the colourful streets. But not impressed with the guide. Tour started at 9:39 and ended at 3:45 with about an hour and a half lunch spot. Tour guide , Filipe, had his lunch and a couple of glasses of wine on us. Not impressed that he didn’t offer to pay for his own. We gave a smaller tip to him but still felt we needed to give hime something. Not a lot more of added info compared to most tours. We could have walked around exploring on our own. The driver both ways was outstanding. He was the best driver of the whole trip. He made an effort to give us info often using the translation app. And he gave us little Chilean flags as a memento of our trip to Chile.

Enjoyed the tour. Interesting to see the geysers. Guide was good. Food was good.

Gabriel’s dinner was a highlight of our trip. Unique experience. Fabulous food and drink. The soup and lamb dishes were so tasty. Great conversation with the others there.

We just wondered around the hotel area as we had no plans after arriving later in the afternoon. Didn't feel comfortable with walking at night too much as didn't have a feel for the area. Driver from the airport got lost so took extra time to get to the hotel.

Instructions were not clear to others on timing and how to get to the boat as the driver did not speak English. Luckily, we knew where to go as we had been down to the beach on the previous day tour. Plus I had read it was a 40 minute walk. Unfortunately two of the people on the bus were slow and the boat was held up 15 minutes until they got to the boat. Glad the boat waited for them but they should have been advised of the time frame to get to the boat and proper instructions. Good experience to see the glacier. Not a wow but okay trip. Walking back we offered to help the slow people. It was very windy and difficult to walk back from the boat along the beach even if in good shape. Too bad the boat didn't have options to get people to and from the boat if they needed assistance or perhaps it was the fault of the instructions in not explaining the physical condition people needed to be in though I expect these two people figured they didn't need it. He was always late getting on the bus and not respectful of others time in a number of circumstances of the day.

We enjoyed walking around and going up San Cristobal Hill both via funicular and sky ride (teleferico). Tried to walk down but couldn't find the path despite locals trying to help. Unfortunately security staff could not help and had blocked off a pathway.

Guide was okay (he had a cold so was sniffing and runny nose most of the time so we were trying not to catch it from him). Santiago was not our favourite city but we saw the major things.

Outstanding guide. Interesting tour. Good to swim in the lagoon. Nice cocktails and appetizers at the end. Glad this tour was our first one in the area. Nice set up for the rest of our time in the area.

Good guide. Lagunas were beautiful. If you were short on time in San Pedro de Atacama, this would be the tour to skip.

I would have preferred to have breakfast at the hotel and start the tour later (others felt the same way). Because all the tours started so early, we missed having breakfast at the hotel though it was included. Felt the breakfast on the tour was a time filler and a lot of time standing around while the breakfast was being set up. Enjoyed the things we saw on this tour. Guide was good.

The tango was enchanting. Dinner before was delicious

Just stunning. No explanations needed

Tour guide, Mariana, provided extensive and interesting discourse on Argentinian history

boat ride under the falls was thrilling

Glad that Dario escorted us through Brazilian border control

Walked from Palermo to La Baca with tour guide Sophia. Outstanding information about history and architecture

Amazing experience with Rosa and Silvestre! From empanada making to wine tour and tasting, a wonderful day, beautiful landscape and a very welcoming family.

Amazing glacier! Shame it can only be accessed in huge boats, as there was a large group that was extremely noisy the whole day, and it really felt a bit more little cattle herding than quiet contemplation or enjoyment.

A beautiful day, going through amazing landscape. Diego was a great guide, attentive, knowledgeable, enthusiastic!

A small group and a fantastic guide made this day extra special. Jimena was very enthusiastic, and really knowledgable about the area, the fauna and flora, it´s history etc. She really made sure we were all enjoying it. Thanks for the gentleman on the boat (apologies I forgot his name) who also went above and beyond in the cold to make sure we all got to see the glacier and took photos. Lunch in the estancia was also excellent and a beautiful setting.

The sight seeing was amazing, but the unplanned activities and lack of control of timings kind of made the day stressful for us.

Fantastic day! I would recommend it for sure

Again, this hotel was listed as our place to stay, but at the last minute, we were shifted to another hotel. Therefore I cannot accurately rate this hotel.

I can't rate this, since our booking was changed at the last minute to a different hotel.

This is the third hotel that was assigned to us, but it changed at the last minute. It's too bad that kimkim doesn't have our actual hotels available to rate.

We appreciated our driver who negotiated everything from busy Buenos Aires traffic to the bumpy and very dusty last mile or more to the estancia with aplomb. The visit and tour of San Antonio de Areco was lovely, though it seemed a bit brief since we had to leave to get to the estancia in time for horse riding before lunch. The church, museum, and inside view of some workshops (silver, and braided fine strips of rawhide) in San Antonio de Areco were worth seeing. Our guide, Laura, was proud of her local history. At the estancia (El Ombu is not as prominent in the tourist literature but was really wonderful, and we credit Agustina for steering us to this estancia), we had lovely weather for lunch outdoors, shaded by large spreading trees. A typical asado has very little in the way of vegetables, but this one included a couple of very nice salads. A highlight of the afternoon was being invited to learn a simple dance and dance with the live musicians after their performance. The last performance of the day was a young man and a horse who performed quietly and impressively with only gentleness (aka horse whispering).

At the request of our guide, Sandra, we met for this tour an hour later than scheduled. This is another of the small groups (just us three and the guide) that we appreciated for their individuality. Palermo and Recoleta is a large area, so we didn’t know what to expect. We did walk by highights that Sandra told us about, then went to Recoleta Cemetery. The cemetery was impressive, and Sandra drew our attention to some areas of special interest. Part of the tour, for us, was two brief rides on the subway, so we were able to see some of the art we’d heard about in the Subte system.

We can't review this because we didn't do it; our itinerary was changed because of the timing of our flights into and out of San Carlos de Bariloche. Instead, we did the Chico Circuito which did allow us to see some of the sights in beautiful Bariloche.

Melina met us on foot at our lodgings, then led us to our car and driver for the evening. First, we went to a dance studio where we had a private lesson in the basic tango step with her. As expected, I didn’t feel at all confident when the lesson was over, so when we got to the milonga (it appeared to be a hotel ballroom where the dance floor was surrounded by tables), I was filled with fears of not doing well, not being graceful, and not fitting in. Melina made things easy for us by introducing us to another tour leader, Martin who graciously agreed to dance one dance with each of us. We were grateful that Melina was willing to leave much earlier than planned (10 pm instead of 11:30 pm) because we were scheduled to leave for the airport the next morning at 5 am. The evening did leave me with more appreciation of where to start learning to dance the tango.

This was a very exciting (and wet) boat ride into the water splashing up from the bottom of the Devil’s Throat. We got very close to rocky shorelines and saw animals like capybaras and caymans on small beaches on the way. There were a lot of steps down (and back up) to get from the rest of the paths around the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, and the logistics of putting everything into a dry bag, and changing into dry clothes afterward were tricky (no real locker room or place to change). It was almost warm enough to wear a swimsuit for the whole experience, but it still would have been tricky to dry off and change into dry clothes afterward. Our turn to do this boat ride was in the middle of the day, and the rest of the day was walking around on walkways where the drizzly weather and mist from the falls combined to keep us wanting our ponchos on, as well as a lot of walking that wouldn’t have been comfortable in water shoes. They managed to give a lot of people the experience, and it was fun, but we’d have appreciated a neater way to change clothes.

This was a long day which, for us, was interrupted by the Gran Aventura Navigation Tour. We followed our guide Francisco to many viewpoints of the falls. Looking at photos or a map ahead of time didn’t prepare us for how much walking up and down would be involved, nor did the photos prepare us for how large an amount of water we’d be close to. It was thrilling! The handrails were quite slick at times, making it feel a bit less secure, though the area is designed to keep people safe. We saw capuchin monkeys cavorting in the trees, and toucans just being themselves. If I had it to do again, I’d wear a waterproof hat with a brim over the waterproof poncho to better keep my head dry. The poncho hood I had didn’t provide enough cover. Fortunately, the air temperature was warm enough that getting wet wasn’t too uncomfortable, while the drizzle kept the sun from roasting us.

This half-day tour with Dario as our guide and Diego as our driver included quite a bit of walking with more wide panoramic views of the falls than on the Argentinian side. It was a wonderful complement to the views from Argentina. We stopped near the entrance to the park for refreshments and saw a chameleon in some rocks along the path. We got wet on walkways that went out over parts of the falls, and that was exciting! There was also a souvenir shop conveniently placed near the end of our walk. After we left the falls themselves, we visited the Birds Park (reviewed separately), and a large souvenir shop before heading back across the border. We were also given the option to take a helicopter tour over the falls which we declined in favor of more time in the Birds Park. With all the time that the border crossings took in both directions, it was more than a half-day total, but fortunately, we didn't have anything else scheduled.

This was amazing. Wonderful! Loved it, and wasn’t prepared for how much we would enjoy wandering into the birds’ spaces. Some were protected from us, and others were allowed to fly right past us. It’s a refuge, so there are displays about various aspects of conservation and concerns with ecology. We were very pleased that we'd visited the Bird's Park (Parque das Aves).

We did this on our last morning in San Carlos de Bariloche. The weather was sunny and not too cold or windy. It was wonderful to be inside the beautiful scene of the lake and mountains we’d been seeing from shore for two days. We were outfitted with gear including water booties, a spray skirt, and a life jacket. The kayaks were very stable, and we were given basic instructions. This activity was a great contrast to walking and driving tours. However, some of us had sore arms by the end, not being accustomed to the movements of kayak paddling. We had a nice break on a tiny beach where we were served a variety of snacks and teas. Our guide, Leticia, was very helpful and shortened our outing to enable us to get changed into dry clothes and back to our hotel in time to meet our airport pickup.

This is long because there are a lot of points to be made. -We were anxious when the bus didn’t pick us up soon after 12:30, though it did eventually come. We had been switched to a different hotel and pick-up point that wasn’t written down and didn’t know who to call or text to check our information. -We had more confusion in the boat launch area because we already had our boat ticket, but needed to get a pass (the English signs said everyone needed to pay entry tax) for the park entrance later in the day. -The catamaran boat was crowded and slow, though it was equipped with a snack bar and restroom facilities. -The cruise aspect would have been more enjoyable if it had been easier to see the scenery around us (beautiful lake with mountains in the distance) out the windows but they were somewhat obscured by spray from waves on the lake. Options for clearer viewing were on a deck above the majority of passengers, reserved for some special subset, and the top of the boat which was so windy as to be unbearable for long. -Time at the two stops was shorter than we would have liked, -At one stop (Victoria Island) it was strongly suggested that we stay with the guide rather than risk getting lost. But the guide spoke only Spanish, so we missed a lot. Also, we were encouraged to stop at the snack bar there, but it took a very long time to get our order (pizza) filled, which left no time to eat it. -The amount of time on the boat felt very long compared to the short times at the two stopping places. The day was listed as 8 hours, and we spent 50 minutes at the first stop and less than 1.5 hours at the second; the rest was riding in the bus to and from the boat launch area and on the boat. -The two stopping places were disappointing, mostly because we couldn’t understand the guide who was pointing out things of interest on Victoria Island, and because we’d already seen some Arraynas trees the day before (though the Bosque de Arraynes stop this day did have more trees, we were in a hurry to be sure we’d be able to get back on the boat).