50th Anniversary Patagonia tour
Patagonia
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Oct 28 - Nov 16, 2024
Patagonia was a trip of a lifetime. My husband and I decided to celebrate our 50th Anniversary with a trip to Patagonia. We were interested in the beautiful landscapes; Patagonia and Erin did not disappoint. An important detail that was so crucial to us was the land transportation. Transportation to and from airports, hotel, excursions etc. was all arranged in advance. Dittmar Adventures provided "coupons" for each transport, hotel, excursion etc. These coupons were very helpful as many taxi drivers did not understand my level 3 Duolingo Spanish *). I could verify with them that we were going to right place by handing them the coupon with hotel address. etc. I learned to have these coupons at hand, and then it was always clear which excursion we were to be on. We started in Puerto Varas with a private tour to Mt Osorno. Loved the private tours we took through out as they allowed us to go at our own pace. Each tour guide was very knowledgeable about the flowers, trees and birds of the area. We loved hanging back and letting a tour bus load of people go in front of us, then we could just enjoying the trails and views to ourselves with our guide, staying as long as we liked drinking in the gorgeous scenery. I had two favorite places. Pumalin National Park was the 1st. We were blessed to stay in one of the very few cottages at the park. Our guide Marco was amazing. I loved touring the garden and information center at the park. Marco also arranged for a private boat up the "fiord" past sea lion colonies that was very interesting. Pumalin is a rain forest, so had those amazing giant rainforest ferns and trees. Trees, some of which are older than the Giant Sequoias in California. Marco pointed out the differences in the trees of Pumalin to the pines of North America. He also shared Mate with us at lunch, what an interesting tradition! I regret that we did not have more time on the trails at Pumalin. Punta Arenas was our next stop. Erin arranged a private tour out to the Nao Victoria Museum that has a replica of Magellan's ship, and a replica of the Beagle, the ship that Darwin was on, as well as other replicas. You can climb up into the ships and get a sense of the size and understand the bravery of the men that sailed the world in such vessels. There was time for a brief stop at the cemetery in Punta Arenas. I did not realize that it was so beautiful, and would have planned for more time there. On to Puerto Natales and the Bernardo O Higgins National Park and Torres del Paine Park, Stunning, breathtaking... words cannot describe. We stayed at Hotel Lago Grey. Our room had an incredible view!! This area is exactly what we came to Patagonia to see, it was my most favorite favorite place. Next was El Chaltén and then Laguna Condor Lodge. There are plenty of hiking trails right from town in El Chaltén. The Laguna Condor Lodge is a ways out of town with cute little cabins. Mt FitzRoy dominates the view from the lodge at breakfast. We enjoyed a couple of days rest away from hustle of travel and just relaxed or walked along the glacial river. The last days were spent in Terra Del Fuego, then home. Erin and her staff were very responsive to our wishes. Penguins? Yes. Hikes requiring tents? No. Large cities, museums, wine tastings? No. Outdoors, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, glaciers? Yes, yes, yes! Tour buses? No. Private tours? Yes!!! Chain hotels? No. Boutique hotels and cabins? Yes. The only things I would change is more time on the trails at Pumalin and another hour at the Punta Arenas cemetery. Dittmar Adventures included with their very detailed itinerary, maps of each town marking location of lodging and nearby restaurants. There was a very nice mix of cute little downtown hotels for exploring the locale to upscale hotels with stunning views. We have not traveled extensively outside the English speaking world, so I was very worried about taking taxis with my poor Spanish capabilities. Dittmar arranged prepaid taxi drivers who had my name on a card, to and from every airport. Sometimes this transportation was 20 minutes. Sometimes it was closer to 3 hours. The team was responsive to my questions. Checked with drivers then changed times when I was worried about connection time. Checked with tour guides when I had not checked the What's App and did not realize the tour time had been changed by half and hour. Airline strike in Buenos Aires... Ack!! They said they would keep tabs on that and help me where needed. (Strike was avoided at the last minute) The tour that Erin and Nara planned was exactly what we wanted. The trip went as planned. Thank you Erin, Nara and Dittmar Adventures!!!!
Hotel Reviews
Staying at the Lodge Caleta Gonzalo was wonderful. The cabins were cozy and fit perfectly with the surroundings of Pumalín National Park. The hospitality and location added greatly to the experience of being in the stunning natural landscape.
Hotel Lago Grey was simply fantastic. Our room had a breathtaking view of the water, glacier, and mountains. Even though I missed out on the glacier tour due to being sick, sitting and enjoying the view was a perfect experience. The setting in Torres del Paine is exactly why we came to Patagonia.
Our stay at Hotel Albatros was disrupted by noise from construction work. In the windy city of Punta Arenas, the noise from corrugated metal roofing kept us up at night. Though I appreciate that they were working on it the next day, the timing was unfortunate as it hindered our nap to make for the sleep lost the night before. Once the construction is completed, I'm sure the experience would be better.
Laguna Condor Mountain Lodge in El Chaltén was simply beautiful. The lodge was perfectly situated and elegantly designed, offering a serene and stunning mountain retreat.
Activity Review
I absolutely loved the multi-day hiking tour at Pumalín National Park. The little cabin we stayed in was fantastic, and Marco, our guide, was amazing. We explored a small activity center about the volcano and the history of the area, which was fascinating. This part of the trip was truly one of my favorites.
Stephanie,
I have nothing but positive to say about planning with you and Richard, not only was it one of my favorite trips planned this year, you all were so easy to work with and knew exactly what you wanted from this trip. I am thrilled to hear about all of the amazing experiences you had, and will be sure to pass along the feedback to your guides. Pumalin is such a gem, one of my favorite parks in Patagonia and so few take the time to go there, I'm really glad that you all made space for that and great to know it would be better with an extra day.
Cheers and happy holidays to you both!