Chile adventure vacation
Highlights
Santiago | Valparaiso | San Pedro de Atacama | Salt Flats | El Tatio geysers | Lake District | Puerto Varas | Torres del Paine National Park | Optional: Magdalena Island penguin colony, zodiac tour to Balmaceda Glacier
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Small group vacation
Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, traveling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week vacation, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travelers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your vacation time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your vacation.
Solo travelers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those traveling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travelers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travelers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travelers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Story: The first British woman to climb Manaslu, Valerie climbed Everest for her 50th birthday. She’s spent fourteen Christmas Days trekking to Everest Base Camp, and is involved insetting up Responsible Tourism initiatives in the Himalayas.
Story: Roshan has led over 130 trips – he adores showing travelers around Sri Lanka. He won the company Leader Award in 2010, but his career highlight was working on their Tsunami Project – which earned him a responsible tourism award.
Responsible tourism
Responsible tourism: Chile adventure vacation
Accommodation and Meals:
We use several small, family owned hotels and hosterias during this trip which helps to keep money in the local community. We spend 12 nights in mixed hotels or locally owned bed and breakfasts. One of the hotels you will stay on is in on the edge of the Torres del Paine National Park, set on the banks of the Serrano River. At these places, locally food is served wherever possible and where meals are not provided, we encourage clients to spread their commerce to a variety of authentic restaurants. Chile is famed for BBQ and wine but they also have several micro-breweries and some wonderful, local seafood.
Activity:
Our guides enforce a strict 'Leave no trace' policy in National Parks, which involves ensuring that so litter is left behind and that flora and fauna are left undisturbed by our tours. We visit Valle de la Luna, Vincente Perez Rosales and Torres del Paine National Parks. In each case we pay entrance fees which then go towards supporting indigenous communities in surrounding areas and for conservation initiatives. Although much of this trip is spent exploring rock formations, glaciers, lagoons and geysers, we still make time to explore cities and small towns. By giving guided tours of these inhabited areas (Puerto Varas, Puerto Montt, Valparaiso etc.) we are introducing clients to aspects of Chilean culture and supporting the employment of a local guide.
Local Craft and Culture:
There are several local craft and food markets on this tour which sell traditional handicrafts and regional delicacies like in San Pedro de Atacama, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas. These are great opportunities to support small vendors and get in insight into daily life for many locals. Handmade earthenware, painted pottery, brightly woven textiles and intricate jewellery are all common items. At the Central Market in Santiago and Angelmo Market in Puerto Montt it is possible to buy and eat an array of colourful, fresh local food- fruit, ice cream, empanadas, completes, shellfish and sopaipilla.
UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.
Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.
2 Reviews of Chile adventure vacation
Reviewed on 23 Apr 2017 by Anna Hards
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
I fell in love with Patagonia and in particular our time in Torres del Paine. It's absolutely stunning!
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Don't expect to have much free time for independent exploring, it's an action packed itinerary.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
This was my first trip to South America and going solo I was a little nervous. It was great to be part of a group and explore Chile together. Even though the
itinerary is action packed everything is organised for you so long travel days are stress free. This trip allows you to experience the diversity of Chile from the
deserts to the lakes and mountains. It's a great adventure! I particularly enjoyed our time in Atacama at valley of the moon and the optional stargazing
evening. We also had the chance to go to the hot springs which were so peaceful. My favourite part of the trip was Torres del Paine, it's such a beautiful setting and feels so remote.
Reviewed on 05 Dec 2017 by Phil Duddles
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Atacama Desert & Patagonia - these were quite stunning.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
The vacation was quite expensive and I had to share a room with a fellow traveler. I was disappointed that the tour operator made no attempt to advise if the fellow traveler had any habits such as snoring that would keep you awake most nights. Having discussed this with the vacation rep there was nothing that could be done, about this. Taking into account the cost of the vacation. I feel that the tour operator have a responsibility to highlight situations like this to their customers so that a solution can be found before embarking on the vacation. If our tour operator can not do this then I would not hesitate to use another travel company.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes we stopped in local hotels and dinned in local restaurants.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The country was great and the scenery was quite spectacular for this I would give a 4 or 5 star rating. However, the lack of sleep for the reasons stated in 2 above and the fact the tour operator could not find this out from a polite questionare before the vacation has reduced my overall rating to a 2 or 3 star.
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