Heather

My friend and i are considering a trip to Patgonia (a trip booked through www.away.com called "The Best of Patagonia.") What is the weather like in Patagonia mid to late January (farenheit please)? Is it going to be freezing? Although i know winter months in the USA are summer in Chile, I've heard that Jan in Patagonia is an entirely different beast. What should we expect for temps and weather conditions? Also, did any of you research any guided tours for the area or did you explore on your own? The guided tour cost is $2190-$3500 per person. Is this reasonable or does anyone know a good tour that hit the Patagonia Highlights and costs less? What should we expect to spend for 2 weeks, above and beyond tour price if we are not extravagant (just an estimate in US dollars)? Any info and advice is much appreciated

Who

Name a time when the weather ever stopped you before? <BR>Suggest lots of layers and silk thermals which are lightweight, low bulk, and wick away moisture from you skin. <BR>The online reports seem to vary greatly, though my reommendation is to plan for the worst. <BR>Sounds like a great trip at a great price. Suck it up chilly-pants.

santiago

I don't know what is included in the guided tour, then I can't make a judge on the price. I think that you can make a lot of things with half the money of the guided tour(non extravagant things). <BR>The weather in the zone is very variable within a day but October to April is the recommended season. The temperatures are not a problem in this season, do not expect under 32º F and for January the media varies from 43 F to 63 F. The wind blows strong, then the thermic sensation may be different. <BR>Depending on what type of activity you will develop is the type of wearing apparel you need, but nothing very technical. <BR> <BR>I suggest to visit Torres del Paine park (a lot of things to do), navigate the Ultima esperanza fjord, navigate the Mountains Channel, navigate Serrano river(in Zodiac), visit the Perito Moreno glacier, trekking the Paine mountains. <BR> <BR>This is a MUST zone in the world. Enjoy !!!!!!!! <BR> <BR>For specific information do not hesitate to contact me. <BR>

Claudette

Hi, I would like to meets the penguins and go to Bariloche, and i'm thinking go in Septempber or Octuber, i wuold like where i can look up a travel for know the thing that i want, how long it's necessary, if this periods are good for go to see the penguins and go to Bariloche and how moch money you think that i could speend. <BR> <BR>I know that my english is bad for i hope you can understand me <BR> <BR>thanks, Claudette

Lisa

Definitely do not miss Torres del Paine (horned mountains, glaciers, icebergs, pumas, guanacos - llama relatives, rheas - ostrich relatives, condors with nine foot wingspans, etc.), although to experience it correctly, you need to spend at least a week there. I went at the end of December, beginning of January and my words to you are...GORETEX, GORETEX, and more GORETEX. It's not that it is cold, but it is extremely windy, much windier than the guide books are able to convey. And, the weather can change dramatically in a matter of minutes, so you may get caught in rain...although it's not a monsoon-like rainy season. Make sure you have good hiking boots...I suggest short boots/sneakers, not full-on hiking boots (unless you are backpacking it with full loads). <BR> <BR>I spent a week at the Hotel Explora which was about $2700 pp. This included 4-star lodging, 4-star dining, and excellent guided hikes/horseback rides through the park. I could not recommend this hotel more. <BR> <BR>Check out the National Geographic video on pumas...it was filmed at the park. Also, and this is a bit strange, but look for the recent Valtrex commercial (herpes medicine), it was filmed at the park and really gives a good, quick snapshot of the scenery. <BR> <BR>Make sure you spend a day in Punta Arenas and visit a penguin colony. Although, I recommend visiting the land-based one, not Penguin Island. You'll have just as good an experience. The "ferry" (and I use this term lightly) is notoriously unreliable due to the weather in the Magellan Strait, and it can be a long, scary, wet trip. <BR> <BR>Explora has another hotel in Atacama, the driest place on earth. I haven't been there, but other people at the hotel had just been there and said it was spectacular. You may want to look into hitting both. <BR> <BR>Feel free to e-mail me if you want to discuss it further...I could write for hours on this park.

Kara

Lisa, <BR>When you were staying at the Hotel Explora, did you just do day trips into the Park? Does the hotel offer any overnight or 2, 3 day hiking trips? <BR> <BR>Thanks. <BR>

jenny

My husband and I went to Patagonia last January. My best trip so far and I'm dying to return. We flew to Punta Arenas from Santiago(Lanchile had a deal) and took the local bus to Puerto Natales. We booked the refugios ('cheap' backpacker's hostels, about US$15-25 pp per night)and transport to and from Torres del Paine at Puerto Natales with the local travel agency. Rented a backpack next door. They rent tents too. T del P. is astounding. We took a big boat up a river to a glacier, walked a little to a zodiac which took us to the Park and a park bus that takes you to Park HQ and on to the trailheads and our first refugio. The less fun option is to take a van from P. Natales to the Park directly. We hiked from refugio to refugio. The local travel agency will give you the options of which trails to go on depending on how much time you have. We ached so much on our first hike up to view T del P that we hired horses to take us to our next refugio, shamefacedly passing the real hikers. The weather changes swiftly, but we didn't really freeze. The winds get chilly tho. On a sunny day it's quite comfortable. But I would bring a goretex windbreaker and a light fleece along. I would stay at the Explora hotel if money wasn't a problem, altho I enjoyed slumming it.

jenny

I forgot to mention that I enjoyed the video Patagonia by Living Edens as well as the National geographic Puma video.

caroline

Hi. I'm planning a trip to Patagonia this Dec -Jan. I was trying to get information regarding the Park from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales then to the park. <BR> <BR>I was trying to contact Jenny, [email protected] but the mail was bounced. Please email me with some information regarding the refugios - are they safe and clean (being a girl)? do we need camping equipments? <BR>Thank you so much. <BR> <BR>caroline

jenny

The refugios seemed pretty safe and defintiely clean, but it would be wise to take the usual precautions, eg padlock one's backpack etc. There'll be 6-12 bunk beds per room, and shared but not mixed bathrooms. Bring along a sleeping sack and bath towels and ear plugs. You can rent sleeping bags at the refugios for the cold nights. Sometimes the hot water runs out, and I'd bring big wet ones along. Some refugios were not full but others were so it's wise to pre book your stay.