12 independent reviews for Chile holiday, 17 days south to north
Reviews for Chile holiday, 17 days south to north
Steve France review 23 Feb 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
All of it. Doing a road trip through South America is fantastic.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Use this operator. She is brilliant. Everything ran smoothly. She was always available to help. Checked in with us regularly to ensure all was OK. Best travel consultant/agent we have ever dealt with.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, Federica works to promote understanding of indigenous culture in schools etc. Also reserves hotels/tours that benefit local communities.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Brilliant. Thanks to Responsible Travel recommending Federica.Julie Forshaw review 31 Jan 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most memorable was the variety of sights and places to visit which I hadn’t appreciated before I left.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared for a lot of travelling, Chile is a huge country!3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, we used local hotels and guides all over.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent itinerary and a wonderfully organised tripAlun Griffiths review 11 Dec 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Pretty much all of it! If forced to choose then I would say that the Torres del Paine was the most memorable.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Pack for all seasons! We experienced everything from snow to blazing sunshine. And the ability to speak some Spanish was really helpful.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes - we felt that most of the cost of the trip ended up with local companies, many of them relatively small.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Absolutely fantastic! Chile is a beautiful country, the people very friendly and the organisation was outstanding.Caroline Cobbing review 8 Dec 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Visiting Perito Moreno Glacier and the Iguazo Falls.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
A full-on holiday - a day or two resting between trekking in El Chalten and visiting the Iguazo Falls might have been beneficial.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes - we stayed in some smaller local hotels and used local taxi services.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Absolutely excellent. The local operator arranged everything to perfection, were clearly tracking our progress and were readily available when we had a couple of questions/concerns.Samuel review 7 Apr 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Walking in Patagonia and seeing humpback whales in Chiloe Island.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Federica from the local operator provided us with invaluable information to help us decide on our itinerary. Our trip was tailored exactly to our requirements and our tip would be for anyone interested in a tailored holiday in Chile to work with this local operator with their own requirements. They can be sure that they will get all the assistance they need to design an ideal trip.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
By using them we were able to support them in their aims of helping local children to understand and learn about traditional Chilean culture - such as their production of educational playing cards to help children learn. We were given a set of these cards as a gift from Federica which we are able to keep.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
A fantastic holiday which met all our expectations. The country was spectacular and the people were so friendly. Going through responsible travel and their partner was also great value compared to other tailor made companies. The support that we received from Federica before and during the holiday was great. She met us on our first day arrival and made sure we were happy with all arrangements and she contacted us throughout the holiday to make sure everything was okay. She even checked us in for all our internal flights. The whole holiday went absolutely smoothly.Lisa Bintliff review 6 Mar 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Such a difficult question. From the desert of the Atacama to Patagonia Chile absolutely blew us away.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you have the time and funds go out to Rapa Nui worth every penny3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes. Meeting with Federica from the operator was great. She gave us a fantastic overview of how and what they do as a company with the communities they work with. The service we received was 5 star and beyond. Everything was perfect from start to finish. Every question answered perfectly prior to our trip and whilst we were there. Federica’s work ethic was fabulous, and the attention to detail was outstanding. We felt we had the opportunity to connect with the community and learn from them. The hotels were all small and locally owned and operated.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fabulous and to be frank we are hoping to travel again with the operator if we get the opportunity and time.Christine Taylor review 23 Apr 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It was like visiting three different continents and I wouldn't put one above the others. Two highlights were watching condors fly over the Torres del Paine and seeing the Geysers in the Atacama Altiplano2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Pack lots of layers as temperatures ranged from -6 to 26 (once in the same day!). Be open to embracing as many experiences as possible,including the seafood.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Most of the hotels were chosen because they had an environmental ethos. We did not include specific visits to local communities as we don't speak Spanish so would not have been able to engage with them. I'm afraid it would be hard to argue choosing a holiday that includes a return long haul flight and 5 domestic flights is environmentally sound4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Brilliant. Awesome scenery, lots of interesting birds and animals and very friendly and helpful peopleGareth Jones review 21 Jan 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It's hard to pick one thing from such a grand trip but one of the standout moments for me was the stargazing night in the Atacama desert. Even though I have lived in and visited many areas with exceptionally beautiful night skies, I have never seen the night sky as beautifully full of stars as the night we spent gazing upwards in the Atacama desert. In my humble opinion it is a must-do if you go there.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Travel as light as possible, avoid tourist restaurants, learn basic Spanish, open your eyes and sleep when you get home.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Very difficult to quantify this an eco-friendly holiday when flying half way around the world and taking internal flights given the sheer size of the Chile. However, full credit to the agency for using small scale operations as much as possible, avoiding large hotels and prioritising local entrepreneurs. We always try to eat out an non-tourist hotspots out of the main areas so in this area we tried to spread our expenditure to the locals rather than national companies.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
This was an extraordinary adventure and we loved it. The itinerary that was built for us was exceptionally well put together and the agency followed us throughout our voyage to ensure that things were running to plan and to adjust any plans on the go as needed. In just 4 weeks, we saw an amazing amount of such a hugely diverse country. If like us you fancy visiting Chile but work and holidays are a limited commodity (not a student on a gap year cruising around South America!), I would highly recommend this trip if you fancy maximising your time and experience.Sophie Jefferys review 8 Jan 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The views all around the country are inspirational but climbing up the the mirador Torre de Paine was just stunning. The food and the people have been a delight to experience but a pisco sour rica rica comes out on top. We saw so much wildlife and all of this would not be possible without the support of Fede!!2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Book it now... Trust Fede, she is an excellent agent who will work on your behalf, but if you have any specifics ask. Take both MasterCard and Visa, each town has different preferences. Investing in a local sim card makes QR code restaurants easier.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
The company support local education and having local eating / activity suggestions means bringing money to local areas. Unfortunately in Chile the amount of air and land travel means this tour is not environmentally friendly but the choices to eat locally sourced food and walk/hike when in county helps.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
This was a fabulous holiday and we are all glad we booked and got to explore this fascinating county, 122km of hiking and three areas explored in detail!Sean Maguire review 5 Jan 2020
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The diversity was fantastic2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Federica was superb at working out with us what we wanted to do and suggesting a great itinerary. Her remote support during the trip was really useful and reassuring3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Great trip. Federica organised it wonderfully and Chile was a great country for an active holiday.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you so much for your trust; it was lovely to receiving you and your family here in Chile.
Howard Lawes review 8 Nov 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
There are so many memories - we enjoyed seeing the wildlife on Peninsula Valdes, driving across endless wilderness in the Chubut Valley, the lake views in Bariloche, the white-water rafting on Petrohue River beside snow-capped volcanoes, outstanding mountain scenery and hiking in Torres del Paine, the Perito Moreno glacier near El Calafate, Teatro Colon and tango in Buenos Aires.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Do not rely on debit cards to get cash, there are very high charges (25%) to withdraw money from an ATM, much better to take US dollars or euros and exchange at the cambios in the bigger towns and cities. Chile is considerably more expensive than Argentina.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, the tour operator donate part of the price of the holiday to charitable projects.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent.John Robinson review 23 Nov 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The overall package was never the same day in day out2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
My agent passed on 3% of the cost of the holiday to local good causes.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Our travel agent provided excellent service both before and throughout the holiday. First class.Holiday Reviews
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