Torres del Paine

Why Ask Experience Chile

to Make Your Arrangements?

Torres del Paine:

Why Ask Experience Chile to Make Your Arrangements

and not do it All Yourself?

In order for you to have a great time in Chile and / or Argentina, you will require reservations for every night at various hotels or other types of accommodation.

In addition, you will require transport, both in the air and on the ground. Moreover, you may wish to include some activities.

Therefore, you have two options:

Option 1 – You make ALL you own arrangements.

Option 2 – You ask a professional, expert, locally based operator to put it all together.

Below we will outline good reasons to ask us to handle your travel itinerary requirements.

NOTE: We DO NOT charge anything extra for this service!

SEND US YOUR ENQUIRY

The Negatives of Arranging it All Yourself

1 – Suppliers often take a long time to get back to you.

2 – The dates you want are not available.

3 – You get some dates confirmed, but not others and then you need to start all over again.

4 – Other parts of your itinerary are booked and then you discover you cannot get into the refugios or other accommodation.

Some of Our Happy Experience Chile Clients

Previous Problems that Travellers have Endured

Fires in the Park, forcing it to close.

Strikes by locals, blocking roads.

Covid, premature end to the season, rapid evacuation of all travellers to home countries.

Cancelled and Delayed Flights

When any or all of the above happen, it can be a “nightmare” for you to contact ALL the suppliers to change everything.

The Positives of Experience Chile Handling it All

1 – We spend the time securing the dates you want and if they are not available we can come up with alternatives.

2 – Firstly, we will get the W Trek confirmed first and then sort out the rest of your itinerary in Patagonia.

3 – The rates we use are special, trade rates and we then add a margin to these to get a total. We do NOT charge an extra fee for our service.

4 – You get a professional, LOCAL company on the ground in Patagonia that will be there for you if you have any problems during your trip.

5 – In the event that you are forced to change parts of your itinerary due to an outside problem (various can occur), you will have just ONE company (US) to sort everything out, and you will NOT need to contact each and everyone of the suppliers where you have a reservation.

Our Track Record

Established specialists in Patagonia for over 30 years.

We have handled groups up to 52 people, however, most of our clientele comprises couples and small groups of 4 to 8 to 20 people.

Partners to exterior travel operators for their clients.

Often we have “rescued” clients from problems caused by sudden changes to their plans as mentioned above.

Please, get in touch – Our EMAIL is: request@experiencechile.org

Send Us Your Enquiry

More Satisfied Experience Chile Guest Clients

Experience Chile Torres del Paine Testimonials

All in all one of the best holidays we have ever had, if not the best, so thank you for putting together such an enjoyable itinerary for us.

With best wishes for the new year.

Joe

Season 2017-18

The Trekking

The trekking was just terrific. We were blessed with glorious weather almost all the time and had just one wet morning which at least meant we got to use all the waterproof kit we were lugging around. What fabulous scenery, truly memorable and a great family experience.

We spoke to one Australian trio who had elected not to use you (fools!) and their logistic travails made me understand how effective your operation is. Congratulations to you – it’s appreciated.

AltiPlanico. Fantastic hotel and lovely staff. Expensive, but fantastic Christmas Eve dinner. A nice celebration. Heated bathroom floors a delight especially on our return. Baggage all put in our rooms and laundry brought to us on return. Above all, this place is really tuned in to its punters.

Torres del Paine

Catamaran. Worked well though we only worked out just in time that we had to pay at the desk that looked like a bar before a massive queue to pay formed as it neared the dock.

Refugio Grey. We really enjoyed this place. The bar was nice if crowded, good food and comfortable beds. Most importantly, lights and charging sockets in all rooms. Perfect.

Ice Hike

Bigfoot. Curiously they did not have our kayaking booking, but it was too windy anyway. So they said forget that and come ice hiking instead. Therefore, they only took the incremental money from us and said they’d sort the rest out – nice touch. The ice hiking was wonderful and was a highlight. Consequently, it took 5 hours so we did not leave until 4pm for our next stop so it was a long, but well worthwhile, day.

Refugio Paine Grande

Refugio Paine Grande. Though large we liked this very much and though we only arrived there at almost 8pm everything was perfectly organised. As a result, we had our own room which was very nice and comfortable with everything we needed.

Domos Frances

This was a lovely quirky place. The dome was comfortable with a reading light by each bed which was very nice. However, the eating area was small and very hot but very pleasant. We had expected liners for the sleeping bags but these were not available even to hire. As a result, I would suggest that you highlight this to all guests as the bags are clearly not cleaned or even aired daily.

Refugio Chileno

We had the best dinner here, though breakfast was mean. However, it is a rather crammed operation with 2 sittings of breakfast and dinner leaving you relegated to your room for too much time. The liner for sleeping bag comment applies again.

They do need to think customer a little more and provide reading lights as all other places seemed to have managed it – and also have something of a lounge area if they insist on having multiple meal sittings which is obviously a nice cash machine for them. Even though they tried to impose silence and promptly made lots of noise themselves. A challenging location in which to operate, I know, but we felt a mite exploited.

We ended up hiring towels every night, though we had expected some Refugios to provide. If we had understood this we would have brought our own which would have been easier as well.

Transfers

All transfers so far have been absolutely on the button with drivers introducing themselves and shaking hands. That’s really engaging and nice practise

Now finishing this off back home.

Wine

We had an easy transfer from the south and on to Santa Cruz. Above all, we really liked the hotel, lovely interesting place, and that museum was just fantastic. Thank you for mentioning that – we would never have found it without your prompt even though it is so near.

The wine tour and lunch at Lapostolle must be one of life’s best lunches ever. What a location, lovely people, interesting tour and fantastic wines. On New Years Eve we had room service which was quite fun as we got to see the spectacular fireworks and then fell into bed after a full days eating and drinking.

Zapallar

Transfer to Zapallar took just 4 hours which was a nice bonus and our driver gave a guided tour as we went of the interesting things. And the Isla Seca hotel – what a place. We just loved it and spent lots of time by the pool and walking down to the beach and the restaurants there. We were well looked after though did not get to check into our room until about 6 which seemed strange but a very nice ocean view room in the main hotel for us and a decent triple room for the girls in the extension.

Trip back to the airport was smooth and easy with a running commentary (!) and our BA flight, the inaugural Santiago to London flight, was great and we were all upgraded to premium economy. We then realised that our screens did not work. Consequently Jill and I were moved to business class. All the family like BA! Very sad to leave Joanna at the airport but she is enjoying Chile and hope her next 6 months go smoothly.

In conclusion, all in all one of the best holidays we have ever had, if not the best, so thank you for putting together such an enjoyable itinerary for us.

With best wishes for the new year.

Joe

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Our 60th birthday trip has been so amazing because of your fantastic help. We both turned 60 years old in 2018 so we wanted to celebrate by proving to ourselves we were still fit enough to do this kind of trip. Your help made this easy, so THANK YOU!!!!!!

Randy and E

Season 2017-18

Birthday

We will for sure write very good reviews on all of your social media sites. Please tell Charles we loved working with you. Your country is so much more than we ever imagined.

We met a couple, Dan and Kathy, who were at Cuernos at the same day as we were. Most importantly, they booked through you too. They said a lot of nice things about you and Charles as well.

You have a beautiful city!!!

Thank you!!!!

Randy and E

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When you have a dream, expectations are high. My dream was to experience some of the wonders of Patagonia. It was my good fortune to come upon the experiencechile.org website and begin working with Charles Halifax.

Susannah Halpern

Season 2022-23

Trust

Right from the start Charles gained my trust: he unfailingly responded to every email, was attentive to the wishes of our group and also provided expert advice on itinerary selection and additional excursions we might enjoy. Moreover, Charles handled the complex task of booking all our lodging- from hotels to the refugios in Torres del Paine National Park. In addition, he arranged the many transports needed in both Chile and Argentina and most park entrance tickets.

In Person Meet

Charles met with us -in person- upon our arrival in Santiago and checked in with us on every leg of our three-week journey to ensure that all was going smoothly. Therefore, if you want someone you can trust to handle the myriad components of trip logistics or to put together a custom-tailored itinerary, I highly recommend Charles Halifax of Experiencechile.org. As I have said, it is thanks to him, our trip far exceeded my dreams!

Susannah Halpern NH. USA

Connecting the Dots

Charles Halifax connected the dots booking accommodations and transfers on a trip for 6 of us, using our itinerary. In general, I usually travel with one or two other friends, and we book accommodations as we go. Our itinerary always changes somewhat due to weather or suggestions from folks we meet along the way.

However, with six people traveling together, during high season in Patagonia, it seemed imperative that we have everything booked ahead for our three-week adventure. As has been noted above, Charles booked all of our accommodations along with all transportation….. and there were many legs of this trip!! Plus, Charles added highlight adventures in towns that we had two nights in.

Without a Hitch

In brief, everything went off without a hitch!!! Drivers were on time, checking into accommodations easy, early was even an option at times!!
I would recommend Charles Halifax and Experience Chile to anyone looking to book a trip around Patagonia!!!

Gretchen Loeffler NH, USA

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All of our transfers were seamless. The drivers were always perfectly on time, if not early, and also very friendly.

Sara Klos

Season 2022-23

Positive feedback:

Particularly, one driver gave us a ton of historical information about the area and was just a joy to talk to. In addition, the private transfers were especially helpful crossing the border from Chile into Argentina, and we were able to skip the long customs line! We could not have done the trip without the excellent private transfers set up by Experience Chile.

Hotels

The hotels selected were gorgeous- from Altiplanico to Hotel Lago Grey to Bidasoa, we had an exceptional experience and felt very at home no matter where we stayed. Another key point is that the service was wonderful at every location, and Experience Chile has clearly done the research into the best places to stay, and it paid off to have them book everything for our group.

The W Trek Highlight

Specifically, our W trek was perfectly planned. We had absolutely no hiccups and the trek went off without a hitch. As a group of five, it was imperative to use a trip planner like Experience Chile to make sure all of our refugio reservations, meal requirements, and catamaran and bus tickets were booked perfectly. All things considered, this trek takes a lot of logistical planning, and it was a huge weight off our shoulders to have Experience Chile figure it all out for us.

Extra Days

All of a sudden, we also had an extra two days in Chile due to a flight change and Experience Chile booked us a lovely itinerary which included a vineyard and ocean-side stay on the coast. It was the perfect way to end our three-week adventure, and we appreciated the ease at which the itinerary change was made.

It’s obvious Experience Chile has done this before! This was our first time traveling as a family outside of the country and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. We faced no issues at any point in the trip, and we can’t wait to book another trip to South America with Experience Chile!

And last but not least, it was great to meet you in person in Santiago. Thanks for making the effort to come say hello.

Constructive feedback:

– Pudo Lodge in El Chalten was quite worn down. The staff were incredibly helpful and kind, but the hotel itself and the rooms were a little rough (stains on the walls, creaky furniture, exposed wiring from light fixtures). It was fine for our stay, but for people who might want a little bit more “luxury” or comfort, might want to pick a different option. But again, staff were excellent and it was plenty comfortable.

-Because we did not know how much the private transfers cost, and we are unfamiliar with tipping customs in Chile / Argentina, there was some stress around tipping and how much we should provide. It would have been helpful for you to provide some context before the trip so we could be prepared for how much cash to have on hand for those moments. As well as restaurants, we did not know you could not tip on card and had to tip with cash, so we found ourselves in a few awkward situations.

-The matetic vineyard wine was not vegan, so one of our party members was not able to have any wine. In the future that would be a good FYI for any vegan travelers.

-It was very difficult to find open restaurants on Sunday evenings and holiday evenings which we didn’t realize. Had we known that Sunday evenings and holidays nearly everything was shut down, we would have gone to grocery stores to stock up on snacks / food ahead of time. We did have to skip one dinner because nothing was open. Would be good to let travelers know that in advance.

Regards and thank you,

Sara Klos

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Please Send Us Your Enquiry

For the best service please supply us with as much information as you can. For example, where you want to go, what you want to do, what you want to experience and how much money you want to spend (or do not want to spend!). How many people, what type of beds (matrimonial, twin, single etc.)

VIP

In the event that you are a VIP in any of the fields such as celebrity and/or political and/or business, and you need “special attention”. For example, privacy and/or security for your trip please use an alias in the enquiry but mention that you are VIP and one of the directors will handle your request and keep your real name and details confidential.

OFFER

Ask us to handle ALL of your South America, or Chile trip and we WILL include some items for free or at special lower-than-public rates. How much we can offer you depends on how much we can arrange and book for you. REQUEST@EXPERIENCECHILE.ORG

Remember, our specialty is to create a travel itinerary custom-built to your needs.