susiesan

I am starting to plan a trip to Patagonia for husband and I, both in our 60's but physically fit, the summer season Nov. 2017 to Feb. 2018. I will have 2 1/2 weeks time to be in South America. I am trying to decide between a 14 day cruise from Valparaiso to Buenos Aries on a Princess cruise ship or doing this trip on land with a private tour.

The Emerald Princess cruise departs Valparaiso and stops at Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, Falkland Islands, Puerto Madryn, Montevideo, and ends BA. I'd likely stay on In BA for 1 more night. Cost for a balcony cabin is $2600 each. I would use award tix to fly into Santiago and out of BA.

The other option is to fly to Patagonia area, travel on land by bus or with a drivers a private tour arranged by a local TA (which I have not found yet).

This would be my first trip to this part of South America. As a first time visitor what are the pros and cons of each option for visiting Patagonia? Can I do a self tour for the same cost as the cruise?

mlgb

If cost is a factor, I'd recommend keeping an eye out for sales on that cruise, and not limiting yourself to Princess.

I went on NCL this year and it's a great cruise. About 10? years ago I also went to Chilean Patagonia by land.

I'm pretty sure my cruise was much less expensive. But especially if you want to see Torres del Paine, you don't get enough time on the cruise. To balance that out, if you are lucky you will visit the Falklands, although a fair percentage of cruises aren't able to make the landing. Really fantastic experience with the King Penguins at Volunteer Point. NCL didn't offer that excursion, you had to book it direct with one of the local operators.

BTW I preferred Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, and would recommend at least a full day (two nights) before your cruise.

thursdaysd

I much preferred the scenery to the cities in that part of SA. And that was scenery in the interior, not the coast. I would not recommend a tour, and I had no difficulty traveling independently even though I don't speak Spanish. Click on my name for my SA TR.

mlgb

I agree you don't need to spend any time other than a layover day in Buenos Aires, but I enjoyed Valparaiso. Those pretty painted houses are spread over hillsides, along with some fun ascensor rides, Neruda's house, and great restaurants and bars.

When you do a cruise usually you have time in Puerto Madryn to go to Valdez Peninsula or the enormous penguin colony at Punta Tombo. I had to do those penguins, but I think Valdez is a better choice for most people.

Ushuaia is stunning, not only do you cruise the Beagle Channel, but you can visit Tierra del Fuego NP. One of the reasons I went in March/April was to try to get the fall colors in the beech forests, and we hit the scenery jackpot in TdF.

Fortunately I had already been to Torres del Paine (for a week, hiking) so that wasn't a big loss for me. It's a difficult/expensive journey to do during a cruise stop.

I was less than impressed with the lake district (Puerto Montt). But we had a very enjoyable day with Birds Chile in one of the forest preserves near Llanquihue. Even saw that Magellanic Woodpecker.

crellston

Hi Susie.

SouthernPatagonia is on my list for that time next year too, mainly to complete my trip down the length of Ruta 40, to visit Tierra del Fuego, hike the W in Torres de Paine etc..

Can't help with the cruise aspect as, apart from numerous dive trips, I have never been on one and probably never will. Althought the Navimag cruise in that region has always appealed. I think Thurdsdaysd may have done that trip and may be able to comment.

For our all too brief foray into Patagonia we went by bus and a self drive rental car. It Worked well for us as we had a lot of time and could please ourselves on where we went and how much time we spent in a hotel place. Even if you don't want to hire a car, the buses in Argentina are fantastic. Go first class and it is similar to first on a decent airline. Entirely possible to get a nights sleep on overnight trips.

Buses can now be booked online and are very reliable. The main airlines are Aerolineas Argentina and Latam. Whilst AA departed and arrived on time they were endlessly changing our flights which could be disastrous on a tight schedule. Apparently Latam are more reliable but much more expensive.

Basic Spanish language skills will help tremendously, but it is perfectly possible to get by without although a few basic phrases will always be appreciated.

In terms of cost I am sure that it would be entirely possible to DIY this trip at less cost than that cruise, unless, as mlgb, suggests, you can get a decent discount on a cruise. That may be entirely possible as, during the last six months in South America, tourism numbers did seem markedly down, possibly due to an over- reaction to Zika.

Puerto Madryn/ peninsula Valdez is a great place to see the whales close up, but I think they will be long gone by the time you arrive ( but do check). They penguins and seal may still be there though.

I agree with trying to visit Valparaiso, a great place to spend a few days. Some photos on our, now very old, blog @ http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html entry 77 - valpo is 66

Personally I love BA and think it would be a great place to spend a few days at the end of your trip.

thursdaysd

@crellston - yes, indeed, see:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ored-on-boats/

It bore no resemblance to a cruise ship, although I think they are now using a different boat.

mlgb

Trip rrport on hy

Sun

http://www.fodors.com/community/crui...march-2016.cfm

mlgb

In addition to the airlines mentioned above, to get to Punta renas from Santiago you can use the low cost Chilean carrier4 Sky Air4lines.

My price for a private cabin on my cruise wasless than 1/2 of what Navimag charges, and I had heat in my room (and yes, you do need it).


We often saw dolphins from the dining room. NCL is very good about giving private tables near the windows to parties of 2, something Princess doesn't.

jmc12

Yes, you could do a bus/self-drive tour if that is the way you like to travel. If you like to cruise though, one of the smaller ships can take you through the fiords, up to glaciers, and have guided shore excursions to places you can't reach by car - much different than the large cruise ships. And the guides are much more informative about nature, etc. , if you are interested in that.

mlgb

tHE CUTTER tURISMO 21 DE mAYO CAN TAKE YOU FROM NATALES.

tHE Cruise ships all hve excursions from the ports, using local guides, or you can book you own. YOU can also rent cars in several of the ports including Madryn and Arenas. I would expect also Puerto MOntt.

Puerto Chacabuco there are local taxis and buses as well as the excursions. We had an excellent guide on the ship's excursion.

mlgb

The cruise ships cruise the Patagtonian Channels and Beagle Channel..as well as going toward Cape HOrn and out in the ocean to the Falklands.The Beagle Channel is similar to Alaska for glacier viewing.

If you want to see glaciers up close Glacier Grayiby zodiac in Torres del Paine but it isn't cheap. pERITO Moreno is easier if you go to the Argie side.

mlgb

The local bird guide we hired independently thru Fantastico Sur out of Punta Arenas was terrible. I wouldn't be making generalizations abou which opion gets you better guides based on our expereience.