Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The beautiful view of the Torres Del Paine from the Rio Serrano hotel.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Miguel was an excellent leader.

Advice for Potential Travellers

On the second day in Torres del Paine the mountains weren't visible and we were told this was more typical weather for the area. If so you could be very disappointed if your main reason for coming on this trip is to see these mountains and you couldn't see them. Similarly we were very lucky with the weather in Puerto Varas when we went to see the Osorno volcano.

Suggestions

Many of the places where we ate were unable to provide anything decent for vegetarians. This doesn't worry me too much but could upset some or at least stop them eating with the group.

Most Inspirational Moment

To survive the Zodiac trip inside T del Paine as I carried a lot of cameras and I was afraid of water damage etc. I was well prepared and the operator was expert and the wind and temperature cooperated. No guarantee inside the Park as it can change on a dime! The elements are critical as high wind would make this much more challenging.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb, full marks

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring your own acetozolamide( Diamox ) for altitude sickness as you should take them in Atacama; anything over 10,000 feet or 3500 m would cause the problem. You don't want to feel sick or disabled while on holidays. To enjoy the place one needs to be feeling well and fit. Take no chances as nobody can escape altitudes sickness unless you are born in high altitudes. I have been to many places over 3500 m and this one is no different. I used the drug every time and it saved me from feeling unwell; I still feel short of breath on walking but it is manageable. I have seen others that were not prepared and how ill they felt. Take precautions so that you will not get sick!! I forgot to bring it but I was able to buy it in Santiago.

Suggestions

Do some walking to prepare yourself for this trip. It is quite strenuous. There are many hikes and you have to keep up the pace. You have to climb up as well. If you have pain in your knees or hips on walking bring your own antiinflammatory drugs. You will need them. Prepare for at least a month to get fit.

Most Inspirational Moment

Christmas Eve with a clear view of Torres del Paine while eating our Xmas meal (which they celebrate on Christmas Eve). Penguins (unfortunately not on the island in Megallan Straight) Flamingos in the Atacama. Night sky in Atacama

Thoughts on Group Leader

Charming and helpful but was obviously a trekking Leader and looked out of sorts trying to work out what to do with us at times as it was a non-trekking holiday. Most of us wanted to stretch our legs instead of short 15 mins pointless walks. I believe he was brought in at last moment as a standby.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Look at number of internal flights and work out if you could make better use of your time by booking an alternative holiday. If you want to go to Easter Island book a LONG time in advance (8-9 months especially over Christmas and New Year). Most of people that went there booked it separately from the trip. If you book your onward flights separately then allow for delays with internal flights Many of the options are now integral with the new brochure as what is the point going if you don't get to see some of the major optional high-lights Be warned. Some options are weather dependent with a reasonable chance of cancellation (as both ours were, Penguin Island and Serrano Boat Trip). If you want some walking (even as long at 3 kms) then not really trip for you

Suggestions

This is not a cheap country. You will be paying European prices for just about everything. If you like beer the country has several micro-brewers much to my delight Food is usually excellent. However be warned portions can sometimes be massive, e.g. in some places order a pizza for 2. Giant Crab in Puerto Natales are the biggest you will ever see. The largest costs around £90 but will feed 4 easily without any need to eat anything else. (not all restaurants sell them). Bring binoculars as a fair amount of bird and animal life. Don't rely on camera zoom. It's not the same. Bring layers of clothes. It can rain, especially in Patagonia. Normally fairly warm, if you ignore the fact the rain can be horizontal and 100kms winds in some exposed places. A wine excursion would be good on return to Santiago. There are some around but you need to book before you return to city as they start at 9am. The alternative suggested was a very expensive taxi/guide. The Pre-Columbian museum is excellent but the Casa Colorada is shut with no opening date. The Cathedral is undergoing repairs but could get in. The "Pueblo" at Los Dominicos is good for souvenirs at end. There is even a steam train museum (sigh but never made it!). The underground is easy to use but watch your bags. Ice -cream is good everywhere as everybody eats them Watch the stray dogs in Santiago. They are in surprisingly good condition. They even stop at pedestrian crossings and only cross when green. Walking boots are an overkill for the current holiday arrangements. Walking shoes are more convenient and comfortable. I got by with walking sandals Service can be slow especially when a group arrives and each wants to pay separately. They tend to take food and drink order at same time and that includes all the bother of trying to work out what each dish is. The record was 55 mins between arrival and first drink.

Most Inspirational Moment

For me the highlights were the Lake District where I wish we could have spent more time and done more walking and the extension to Easter Island. I am in a minority here within our group where the Atacama and Patagonia were the most popular.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Unfortunately Felipe was an adequate guide but no more. This was the first time he had done this trip and it showed. He normally does the walking tour and seemed to regard this as a trip for (inactive) OAPs. As a result we did less walking than I had expected from the trip notes. He was not very communicative and we had to ask what was happening rather than just being told. I got more information on where to eat and shop in Santiago from a woman I sat next to on a plane than I did from Felipe.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for a lot of busy travelling days and waits at airports. If you are Travelling from Heathrow with Iberia and from Madrid with LAN check in on line as the airline systems don't talk to each other at Heathrow. Take clothes for both warm and cold climates - the only things I took and didn't need were waterproof trousers. Be prepared for some of the optional extras like the trip to Magellan Island to be cancelled due to rough seas.

Suggestions

Although I have been quite critical I did enjoy this trip and am glad I went to Chile with Exodus. It was a great and varied group of people. We laughed a lot. With a better guide my rating would probably have been higher.

Most Inspirational Moment

Full of inspirational moments - geysers at dawn, a truly photogenic volcano, the magnificent Torres del Paine and even a monument to the wind near Punta Arenas.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Maria, in my view, was an excellent group leader - almost tirelessly translating for the group at meals and more than willing to assist with some of the silly little problems that can crop up when travelling.

Advice for Potential Travellers

(1) Remember that this trip involves quite a lot of flights. (2) Check the local cost of optional excursions compared to the cost charged by Travel Art (Exodus's local operator) before you sign up. (3) Check that your 'universal' adaptor is sufficiently universal to cover Chile (I wasn't the only one caught by this). (4) If doing Easter Island, Peso is better than dollars - ensure you have enough before you go there; you will get better rates. (5) If your flights are being booked by Exodus and you are travelling from the UK, be aware that the connecting flight from Heathrow to Madrid may well be 'budget' in nature - i.e. ALL refreshments at extra cost. This can matter if your flight is at, say, dinner time.

Suggestions

If the zodiac trip to see penguins at Punta Arenas isn't available (due to weather), you could do worse than looking round the really nice cemetery they have there (this sounds far more ghoulish than is actually the case - sorry).

Most Inspirational Moment

Waking up early in the morning to see geysers because sunrise

Thoughts on Group Leader

My group leader is friendly, she is helpful when I had any questions. We have a small group of travelers in this tour and we all took care of each other

Advice for Potential Travellers

carry appropriate clothing from desert like temperature of 31 degree to the Patagonia temperature of 7 degree with strong winds. Also, be mindful about the change of altitude at the desert area

Suggestions

My husband and I enjoyed the trip very much. We saw different kinds of birds, flowers and animals. We were able to see different scenery like desert, geysers, lagoon, salt flats, volcanoes, lakes, and glaciers in one country.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many! I think I can only generalise - I was amazed by the extremes of the country from the Atacama desert to snow capped volcanies to glaciers to penguins etc. etc.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was invaluable for all of the travelling involved and he eased us through the various local airports especialloy the more remote ones where only a little English was spoken.   His administration was first class.I do feel however that although he had lived in various parts of Chile he could have provided more 'tour' information, the information he did give was accurate and informative.On the whole he made a positive contribution and the trip was the better for his presence.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Chile was more expensive than I had believed it to be, it is a fairly prosperous society and most things were more expensive than the UK.  Almost everywhere would take US dollars and in the exchange bureaux I rarely saw an exchange rate for sterling.  Although a little more expensive generally everything was good value and some of the meals were huge!Easter Island was also expensive but as virtually everything is imported this is perfectly understandable. 

Suggestions

Chile was superb but for me Easter Island was the highlight, it had always been a long held ambition to visit and it did not disappoint, our group was 'stranded' there for 14 hours as our plane which was due to arrive from Tahiti was unable to fly due to a typhoon - you could have left me there!!

Most Inspirational Moment

The optional extention to Easter Island was the main highlight of the entire holiday.  The Geysers were also an amazing experience.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The Group leader had a lovely personality and was very caring and helpful.  However, there were certain times when she was not as communicative as expected with information relating to certain aspects of the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Osorno Volcano in teh lake district it is everywhere.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very knowledgeable, lovely personality, and had a real interest in making sure thge group got the most out of their time in each area. Went out of her way to assist or get answers to questions posed. On arranging the internal flights she took the time, to prebook online, chosing the seats carefully, enabling the team to get great views of the Andes from the plane, given the number of intenal flight and time in air this was greatly appreciated by me, if not the rest of the group. The local guides were also very good, they provided specific local information varying from wildlife spotting, to local speciality restuarants/shops, this complemented the information available from the group leader and the guides books.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There are a lot of early starts, so be prepared for cake and tea for breakfast on a number of occassions.

Suggestions

The Don Juan hotel in Atacama was not great. The beds probably need to be replaced, as you woke yourself up turning over.Atacama - after visiting the geysers  the last afternoon seemed wasted, as already had plenty of free time in San Pedro.  It maybe there to enable other optional day trips, so depending on the popularity of the optionals, you may was to consider, travelling to Lake District instead, giving the trip more time here potentially enabling an optional trip to Chiloe island, which was the one thing missing of the exodus itinerary that I would have liked to have done.