Travel agency to avoid in El Calafate
Jan 23rd, 2006, 04:02 PM
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Travel agency to avoid in El Calafate
I traveled in Argentina for the last two weeks of October. The trip was, in general, wonderful.
However, I wish to warn anybody traveling to El Calafate NOT to use the travel agency, SurTurismo.
1.) The travel agency charged me twice for a boat trip to the three glaciers outside of El Calafate, and refused to refund the extra 178 pesos (~USD 59) which I had to pay!
I went to the travel agency in town, and paid them 178 pesos for the trip. For some reason, they were unable to issue the voucher directly, and promised to deliver it to my hotel the next day, for a trip leaving early the following morning. Although they delivered an envelope to the hotel (while I was away on another excursion), the envelope contained only a voucher for transportation to the boat dock. The travel agency insisted that they had also included a voucher for the boat trip, but I am certain they did not. I was thus forced to pay the 178 pesos for the boat trip a second time when I arrived at the park. When I returned from the trip, I went immediately to the travel agency, but they refused to refund the 178 pesos. I wasted several valuable hours arguing with them (which I would have preferred to spend doing touristy things), to no avail. The provided a Catch 22 argument: in order to receive a refund, I had to present the "original" voucher which, of course, I never received!! I emailed the head office in Buenos Aires after I returned to the States, but they also refused to refund the money, insisting that it was my word against the word of the worker at the travel agency who insisted she had sent me a ticket. They could easily have refunded the money to me with no loss, since only one ticket was ever used for the trip.
There were other problems with the El Calafate SurTurismo office as well. For example:
2.) A transport company picked me up at the airport in El Calafate, as arranged, but they did not give me vouchers or an agenda for my trip, and told me that somebody from the SurTurismo office would contact me within the hour. Nobody ever contacted me! I waited impatiently for more than two hours - when I really wanted to start exploring El Calafate! Finally, the people at the hotel helped me locate the telephone number of the SurTurismo office in El Calafate and to contact them. The office said they had received no information that I had arrived, and had no plans to provide me with the required information! They even made me go to the office myself to pick up the information. The people at the SurTurismo office were totally disorganized!
(By contrast, the SurTurismo office in Ushuaia was excellent. I received an agenda and voucher immediately when I was picked up at the airport. They also explained other optional excursions that were available.)
I should say in their favor that the El Calafate office did a good job of re-arranging my agenda when I decided to go on the mini-trek instead of the originally planned trip to Perito Moreno. This involved exchanging the days for the boat trip and my trip to Perito Moreno, so it was not simple.
3.) The SurTurismo office in El Calafate did not confirm my next flight, to Ushuaia. I had to do that myself. (Again, the office in Ushuaia did an excellent job. They confirmed my flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, obtained a boarding pass for me, and at the airport they even directed me to the appropriate lines for sending my baggage and paying the airport tax. They were very helpful throughout the trip, and gave me a telephone number to call if I had any questions. As I mentioned above, I had no way to contact the office in El Calafate; fortunately the people at the hotel were very friendly and managed to get that information for me.)
4.) There appears to be tremendous turnover at the travel agency. On the recommendation of a friend, I contacted the headquarters of Sur Turismo in BA - about 6 weeks before I planned to leave for my trip. The agent my friend suggested no longer worked there, a fact I discovered only because I called them in desperation (a USD $50 call!). They set me up with a second agent, who also quit within two weeks, and who left me hanging. Finally, I was transferred to a third agent, who was very nice and responsive to emails.
Thus - CAVEAT EMPTOR - DO NOT USE THE SUR TURISMO OFFICE IN EL CALAFATE!!!
5.) I am not just a curmudgeon. I highly recommend the travel agent Mayra Brill, at least for help in and around BA. She was extremely helpful, offered some excellent suggestions about air flights to and from Iguazu, and responded immediately to my emails. She is terrific!! Her contact information is available elsewhere at this site - I don't have it handy.
Enjoy your trip - Argentina is a fantastic place to visit!
However, I wish to warn anybody traveling to El Calafate NOT to use the travel agency, SurTurismo.
1.) The travel agency charged me twice for a boat trip to the three glaciers outside of El Calafate, and refused to refund the extra 178 pesos (~USD 59) which I had to pay!
I went to the travel agency in town, and paid them 178 pesos for the trip. For some reason, they were unable to issue the voucher directly, and promised to deliver it to my hotel the next day, for a trip leaving early the following morning. Although they delivered an envelope to the hotel (while I was away on another excursion), the envelope contained only a voucher for transportation to the boat dock. The travel agency insisted that they had also included a voucher for the boat trip, but I am certain they did not. I was thus forced to pay the 178 pesos for the boat trip a second time when I arrived at the park. When I returned from the trip, I went immediately to the travel agency, but they refused to refund the 178 pesos. I wasted several valuable hours arguing with them (which I would have preferred to spend doing touristy things), to no avail. The provided a Catch 22 argument: in order to receive a refund, I had to present the "original" voucher which, of course, I never received!! I emailed the head office in Buenos Aires after I returned to the States, but they also refused to refund the money, insisting that it was my word against the word of the worker at the travel agency who insisted she had sent me a ticket. They could easily have refunded the money to me with no loss, since only one ticket was ever used for the trip.
There were other problems with the El Calafate SurTurismo office as well. For example:
2.) A transport company picked me up at the airport in El Calafate, as arranged, but they did not give me vouchers or an agenda for my trip, and told me that somebody from the SurTurismo office would contact me within the hour. Nobody ever contacted me! I waited impatiently for more than two hours - when I really wanted to start exploring El Calafate! Finally, the people at the hotel helped me locate the telephone number of the SurTurismo office in El Calafate and to contact them. The office said they had received no information that I had arrived, and had no plans to provide me with the required information! They even made me go to the office myself to pick up the information. The people at the SurTurismo office were totally disorganized!
(By contrast, the SurTurismo office in Ushuaia was excellent. I received an agenda and voucher immediately when I was picked up at the airport. They also explained other optional excursions that were available.)
I should say in their favor that the El Calafate office did a good job of re-arranging my agenda when I decided to go on the mini-trek instead of the originally planned trip to Perito Moreno. This involved exchanging the days for the boat trip and my trip to Perito Moreno, so it was not simple.
3.) The SurTurismo office in El Calafate did not confirm my next flight, to Ushuaia. I had to do that myself. (Again, the office in Ushuaia did an excellent job. They confirmed my flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, obtained a boarding pass for me, and at the airport they even directed me to the appropriate lines for sending my baggage and paying the airport tax. They were very helpful throughout the trip, and gave me a telephone number to call if I had any questions. As I mentioned above, I had no way to contact the office in El Calafate; fortunately the people at the hotel were very friendly and managed to get that information for me.)
4.) There appears to be tremendous turnover at the travel agency. On the recommendation of a friend, I contacted the headquarters of Sur Turismo in BA - about 6 weeks before I planned to leave for my trip. The agent my friend suggested no longer worked there, a fact I discovered only because I called them in desperation (a USD $50 call!). They set me up with a second agent, who also quit within two weeks, and who left me hanging. Finally, I was transferred to a third agent, who was very nice and responsive to emails.
Thus - CAVEAT EMPTOR - DO NOT USE THE SUR TURISMO OFFICE IN EL CALAFATE!!!
5.) I am not just a curmudgeon. I highly recommend the travel agent Mayra Brill, at least for help in and around BA. She was extremely helpful, offered some excellent suggestions about air flights to and from Iguazu, and responded immediately to my emails. She is terrific!! Her contact information is available elsewhere at this site - I don't have it handy.
Enjoy your trip - Argentina is a fantastic place to visit!
Jan 24th, 2006, 05:28 PM
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General hint about hotels in Argentina: use an Argentinian travel agent. Normally, I make all hotel reservations myself when I travel, but in Argentina, the agents seem to have special arrangements with some of the hotels, and can get better rates than you can, yourself. I particularly recommend Mayra Brill: [email protected]. She responded to my emails immediately, and was always gracious and helpful. She'll also do plane reservations, etc.
In BA, I stayed at the Loi Suites Arenales. The hotel is nothing special, but the friendly, helpful people at the desk more than made up for any deficiencies. The location is good for a first time visitor to BA, as I was - it's near the Plaza San Martin, which is close to Av. Florida and other sites, and it seemed pretty safe. My friends in BA regarded it as a "good" location. Cost me about $70 USD/ night, as negotiated by Mayra.
In El Calafate, I stayed at La Posta Sur hotel. It's a bit nicer than the hotel in BA, but not exceptional. Again, I would recommend it primarily because of the friendly, helpful people at the desk. It also has great views of the mountains. See my post "Tips for Travellers" for a discussion of the great massage I got there, by one of the waiters.
In Ushuaia, I stayed at the superb B&B, Hosteria Linares. Sorry, I don't have contact information with me for any of the hotels I mention - you can probably find the required information on the web. Hosteria Linares is beautiful, clean, run by a lovely family - the husband will arrange excursions if you wish. It has a gorgeous view.
In Puerto Madryn (Peninsula Valdes), I tried to stay at a great hostel, El Gualito. Unfortunately, there was a problem with their computer reservation system, and they lost my reservation. But they let me hang out at the hostel, where I met many interesting travelers, treated me to a beer to make up for the mix-up, found me another hotel (which I don't particularly recommend), and let me go on their excursions. Seems like a great place, although I didn't get a chance to see the rooms.
In BA, I stayed at the Loi Suites Arenales. The hotel is nothing special, but the friendly, helpful people at the desk more than made up for any deficiencies. The location is good for a first time visitor to BA, as I was - it's near the Plaza San Martin, which is close to Av. Florida and other sites, and it seemed pretty safe. My friends in BA regarded it as a "good" location. Cost me about $70 USD/ night, as negotiated by Mayra.
In El Calafate, I stayed at La Posta Sur hotel. It's a bit nicer than the hotel in BA, but not exceptional. Again, I would recommend it primarily because of the friendly, helpful people at the desk. It also has great views of the mountains. See my post "Tips for Travellers" for a discussion of the great massage I got there, by one of the waiters.
In Ushuaia, I stayed at the superb B&B, Hosteria Linares. Sorry, I don't have contact information with me for any of the hotels I mention - you can probably find the required information on the web. Hosteria Linares is beautiful, clean, run by a lovely family - the husband will arrange excursions if you wish. It has a gorgeous view.
In Puerto Madryn (Peninsula Valdes), I tried to stay at a great hostel, El Gualito. Unfortunately, there was a problem with their computer reservation system, and they lost my reservation. But they let me hang out at the hostel, where I met many interesting travelers, treated me to a beer to make up for the mix-up, found me another hotel (which I don't particularly recommend), and let me go on their excursions. Seems like a great place, although I didn't get a chance to see the rooms.
Jun 15th, 2006, 05:52 AM
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I just flew to Argentina and I used a company in Miami that was really helpful. they provided good information, and they sugested great hotels in Buenos Aires, Bariloche and Calafate. They are www.afinetour.com
Argentina is amazing and everybody should visit such a great country.
Thank you
Herb
Argentina is amazing and everybody should visit such a great country.
Thank you
Herb
Jun 15th, 2006, 06:32 AM
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Lo siento, traveller. I just now saw that you asked me a follow up question about reposting. I do apologize. In response, I thought the title was clear and self explanatory. Don't assume because no one posted a response that no one read it.
Feb 3rd, 2007, 08:22 AM
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I am happy to read about your experience with afinetour.com as I stumbled on them (and checked them out on the internet)-- and they got great prices and were very able to get us precisely what we wanted. I tried dealing with a few others, and each time I asked for something there would be errors or they ignored my request. It just got too much. I dealt with Hector at afinetour.com and he has been wonderful. I guess I will report after we actually take the trip, but I am so happy to get it arranged!
