Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The scenery was beautiful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

My group leader Alex was one of the best ever.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring many different kinds of clothing.

Suggestions

Great trip over all.

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably the most inspirational moment was a sunset picnic in front of an Ahu on Easter Island extension. Yes there was a reflection and realisation of the cultures that had passed before. But also a chance to relax and reflect on the wonderful tour and the high number of great experiences over the whole tour. There was a highlight virtually every day. It was like being on holiday 4 times as each environment/landscape is very different and it feels like you've entered another country/continent. We'd like to do this trip all over again, and again?

Thoughts on Group Leader

Miguel Angel was informative, efficient, humourous and very experienced with the running of this tour. We enjoyed his company, thoroughly nice chap.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for cold weather at Desert (-8 degrees at Taita Geysers sunrise) and also Patagonia. Although the extreme cold at Patagonia is from the wind chill so have windproof clothes with coverage over all exposed areas, hats, scarfs gloves etc. This isn't a strenuous trip. Easy walking, no big slopes. Paths are well maintained. Perhaps the cost of restaurants and bars is quite high (London prices) but you have a variety of options including take aways from supermarkets (yep its like mcdonalds/kfc/greggs/waitrose all in one?). And the off sale wine / pisco sour is cheap too!

Suggestions

If you eat and drink at hotels I reccomend put it on the room bill and pay in US Dollars. That way I discovered the hotel waives the 19% local tax which is a good saving. Not something they advertised but made it clear when I paid so it isn't anything dishonest, its normal.

Most Inspirational Moment

The desert, the Lake District and Patagonia were each a highlight, but there was something special about Patagonia - the setting, the landscape, the wildlife, the colours, the weather, the wind, the air.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Alex was excellent, timings spot on, kept us on track, plenty of info. One of the best guides I have had.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is not a trip for culture vultures, more for scenery observationists, physical geographers, those seeking a special place to chill out, and photographers. Hotels - all decent clean hotels in good locations. Flight timings good for the internal flights. Be a bit clever with packing. I went two days ahead of the trip, and got over the long flight out and saw some of Santiago. If you see something to buy then buy buy buy, especially before travelling to Patagonia. There is a lot of travelling about but this trip actually felt like a holiday. Plenty of time for naps on the buses.

Suggestions

I would love to go back and do a longer trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing the Moai (statues) on Easter Island made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck - and I have done a fair bit of travelling. Contrast the Moai with the sight of the Queen Mary II sailing just off shore was a bonus. On the mainland, seeing the smoking volcanoes in the Atacama Desert and the Valley of the Moon from Coyote Rock was amazing. In Patagonia stopping to watch two sets of real gauchos herding sheep and cows (separately) was just what you think of in South America (but don't actually expect to see!) And the golden sunrise through the cloud on the 'horns' in the Torres del Paine National Park from our room in the lovely Hotel Rio Serrano was certainly a highlight.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Helen Kinzl was an excellent leader. She gave us all the information we needed and had a real passion for Chile and its people. She was always there when needed and did her best to sort things out and make the trip run smoothly to give us the best experience possible.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The tap water is drinkable - but we used bottled water in the desert and on Easter Island (not sure if this was really necessary. There are some long travel days here because of the geography and infrastructure. Hopefully Exodus will choose better internal flights this season than with our trip where there were some unnecessarily early starts and a silly 8 hour stopover in Santiago en route from Calama to Puerto Montt. (Allbeit they did give us a free Wine Lands tour!) Take clothes you can add or subtract in layers. It can go from cold to hot in a few hours. Spend as much time as possible walking about seeing things and don't stay in the hotels too long!

Suggestions

There are some excellent resaurants in Chile - so you don't have to eat in the hotels all the time - but the service times can vary quite a lot. The local shops and people are helpful and friendly. It can be VERY windy in Patagonia - we couldn't do the penguin collony trip for this reason. San Pedro is dusty and hot - it is in the desert! It feels (and looks) like a 'frontier town'. The hotels in the town itself don't seem to have aircon (the Don Raul certainly doesn't and they don't supply fans either so the rooms are like ovens! Nor do they bother to open the bar or the restaurant some of the time) . But it is worth being uncomfortable for a few days just to do the trips - geysers, volcanos, salt flats, sand dunes. Some lunch stops were too long; the time could be better spent by having a quicker (snack?) meal, then seeing the country, rather than the inside of a restaurant

Most Inspirational Moment

Attending a Rodeo, and looking across to snow capped volcano we'd just visited.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent... Well informed and most caring

Advice for Potential Travellers

Necessarily there is quite a lot of travelling.

Most Inspirational Moment

Torres del Paine.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very competent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be flexible. Early morning starts, lots of flights.

Suggestions

I would have booked the trip to Easter Island with Exodus, but when I asked for prices, I was quoted almost £1,600 for 4 days. £800 for the flight and a similar amount for the land portion. I therefore organized a 5-day trip to Easter Island on my own for around £900 pounds. I was greatly surprised to learn that 4 of my companions on the Discover Chile trip took the Easter Island add on for a total of around £700! Staff should check up before giving out costs.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many. Eating breakfast in the freezing cold surrounded by Geysers. A picnic at sunset in the Atacama Desert. A very hairy boat ride to see the penguins on Magdalena Island. Nowhere else in the world can you sit and view giant statues on a beautiful beach.

Thoughts on Group Leader

It was very obvious that Miguel is a very experienced guide. He whisked us through the various airports with ease. When for any reason we could not follow the itinerary he quickly found an alternative. He recommended various places to eat in each area from the cheap to expensive and let us decide for ourselves where we wanted to eat. .He is a very calm guy with a good sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take warm gloves and scarf. Fleece and windbreaker t-shirts and a few jumpers. You have to be fairly laid back to do this trip.There a four internal flights and long bus journeys on some bumpy roads. If you are interested in Astronomy it is well worth doing the tour in San Pedro.

Suggestions

I had two flight delays one on the way out from Manchester due to fog. The flight from Easter Island back to the mainland was delayed by 24 hrs.This was not a problem for me but worrying for some of the group who had connecting flights to other areas. The Exodus staff in Santiago were excellent. I was met at the airport taken to a hotel overnight and my flight was re-booked for the next day this was all done with no extra cost to me. The delays were completely out of the control of Exodus, so I was very surprised when I returned home to find a cheque for £ 165 plus a £50 voucher off my next trip.This was a very goodwill gesture from Exodus and I will defiantly be travelling with them again.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sight of "the fifteen" - one of the sets of Moai on Easter Island. Sunset in the Atacama and dawn in The Torres del Paine were others.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Alex worked so hard for us both to make sure we got the most out of the experience but also sorting out any niggles along the way. He was well informed and seemed to love sharing his country with us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Try to include Easter Island, it is an amazing place. Don't count on the penguin trip, it wasnt possible for us and apparently this is common. Be prepared for a lot of travel but it is worth it as you see so much. There are a lot of variations in temperature so layers work best. Carry snacks and a drink as there were sometimes long gaps between meals.

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many to choose just one - Watching the sunrise over the Torres del Paine. Picnic at a beautiful turquoise lake at the base of the Torres on a clear and sunny day. The eerie dawn at El Tatio Geysers.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Alex was a charming and fun guide. He has a wealth of knowledge in a multitude of subjects from wildlife, geology, plants and history. He was really considerate and very sociable with the group and made what was an already wonderful trip, so much more special. He went the extra mile to give us the best possible experience of Chile.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This country will amaze you ! Don't be put off by all the flights - it is a small price to pay for seeing the diversity of Chile. Some of the short treks are actually tough going if you're not a walker. Be prepared for all weathers with lots of layers and a very warm jacket for the chilly mornings. Do as many of the activities as you can to make the most of the available time - there is so much to see. Don't underestimate how cold it will be in the morning at the Geysers ! When flying to and from Punta Arenas/ Puerto Montt try to sit on the side of the plane that overlooks the mountains as you will get an amazing view of the Ice fields and Glaciers.

Suggestions

This was an fantastic trip shared with a wonderful group of people and guide. I will definitely return to Patagonia to explore more of this stunningly beautiful place in the future. Book it now !

Most Inspirational Moment

The extension to Easter Island - very good excursions, wonderful history. Local Agents in Easter Island & in Santiago & Hotelier, all very helpful regarding the delayed flight back to Santiago.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Miguel was a very knowledgeable guide. Fewer arranged group meals than expected. Also a bit more notice on some timings would have been helpful.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Enjoy the country, be prepared for all weathers, early starts & some long days. The food on the internal flights is very limited, you may want to eat at the airport.

Suggestions

The Park Inn in Puerto Varas had very poor restaurant service, our Guide sorted the issues the next morning (he did not eat with us that night). LAN looked after us well with regard to the cancelled flight from Easter Island, except for the transfer back to Santiago airport, where they did not send enough mini-buses & after waiting an hour the hotel paid for our taxi. IBERIA did not look after us very well on our delay from Madrid, they didn't even give us a cup of water though we were 3 hours late.