Hi Nick and Ed
Firstly, thanks so much for organising the trip - we had such a great time and loved it all. And for all your help and patience in answering my many questions before hand Nick!
I will put a comment on Trust Pilot - did you say something about putting some photos somewhere? We have some wonderful ones of volcanoes, street art, geysers etc.
Things we liked:
The Vamoos App was really good, especially the downloaded map - we would have been very stuck on quite a few occasions if we hadn’t had the map showing us where we were and where we should be - Chile especially is not very good at signposting!
Hotels - were really well chosen. We loved the history of the Pucón one (although it is in danger of becoming a bit too shabby chic, especially the gardens) and the views from our room as well as the wood burner which we lit on a very monsoon-like cold day. Enjoyed the Palafito experience - despite not being able to stay in the one we wanted. Did a self catering one for 1 night which we booked ourselves (Palafito Azul) then had to move to Entre Mar y Tierre when 1326 was flooded - this had a wonderful room overlooking the sea whereas the other 3 rooms were right on the busy road and it was very noisy with cars and dogs. However the feel of the big open plan living room with fire was lovely. Position of Palafito Azul and 1326 much quieter than where Entre Mar y Tierre was.
Also great restaurant called The Cevicheria next door to 1326. Lovely lady who runs the place with her boyfriend and sister. She wrote out a Pisco Sour recipe as well as her wonderful lemonade, mint and ginger drink. So welcoming. We also loved the 2 x Noi hotels - great buildings, and the best hotel staff of the holiday, especially the one in the Colchagua. We had such a laugh with them. Great characters. Adored the buildings in the Colchagua and had definite house envy. Also the position and history of the one in Valparaiso.
Hotel Fierro was great as well - not so sure we loved Palermo Soho but the area around the hotel (Palermo Hollywood) was lovely with a growing number of bars and restaurants round the corner from the hotel. The hotel lent us the equivalent of an ‘Oyster’ card and it was easy to get on the metro from there into the centre of things. All breakfasts were outstanding (apart from Cabana del Lago) and we fate well in the morning then didn’t need to eat until the evening. Trips and restaurants - we visited Fleur du Sel near Pucón - great food. Great experience at the Llau Llau Hotel. (Goodness, Argentina was so much cheaper than Chile!).
Enjoyed the ferry trip to Chiloé. Interesting side trip - 2 days definitely maximum. And definitely the right recommendation to stay at Puerto Varas before flying out the next day - having driven through Puerto Montt, it would have been a nightmare to get out for the early flight. Easy back road from Puerto Varas to the airport.
The trips in the Atacama were good, especially the one to see the geysers at dawn. Very good meals on both that and the flamingo one at sunset. Good guide - Victor. In the Colchagua we had booked lunch at Viña Vik - amazing building. Not sure we would run to staying a night there (starts US$1000 a night BnB) but lunch was worth it - food was good without being outstanding but the whole experience of the carefully designed modern building etc was great. Mr Vik is also a very interesting character having researched him. We also blagged our way into Lapostolle to look at that amazing building as well - just stunning. Loved it round here. Could have done with another day at least.
Buenos Aires - the guided tour gave us a flavour but we arrived at Boca too early and nothing was happening and there was so much traffic just after the G20 that we did sit in traffic quite a bit. Still, it gave us a taste to want to explore on foot ourselves the next day. - what amazing buildings - so many influences. Spent 8 hours walking round. It's a shame we had to juggle with days for our trip here as we understand the weekend is great for the market in San Telmo and other places. (We met some people who were actually on the flight we were told was cancelled from Ushuaia - they had kicked up a fuss and in the end the flight did go but landed at the International Airport rather than the Domestic which was closed for the G20).
The Tango Show was amazing! We thought it would be just a tourist trap - and of course it was all tourists there but the food was excellent - just the most tender steaks, great service. Show was wonderful - no complaints at all. Really enjoyed the whole experience. We did and saw so much - just a really great holiday - loved it. And in the end it was lovely to finish with some warmth rather than going progressively colder if we had gone south.
Definitely one of our better holidays. We are buzzing with all we saw and experienced. We didn’t need rest days in between - we just want to see and do everything when we are in a new country.
Many many thanks for helping to put this together for us. We are used to putting together itineraries to Canada, Australia etc but were so glad that we had booked through you with your experience, especially when we had to alter things right up to the last minute.
We would have been completely thrown without your help.
Kind regards Penny
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