jandj

Hi - My husband and I are planning to travel to Patagonia in December, 2022 for about 2 weeks. Although we have travelled extensively, we have not been in this part of the world. We are especially interested in birdwatching and wildlife, love seeing the variety of scenery in the world, and are unable to do extensive hiking. We are looking at a wide collection of books but are unsure which path to take. Our current thought is to choose 2 or at most 3 stops, fly between stops, and do day trips. The immediate questions that come to mind are: Should we go to Chile or Argentina? Should we hire private guides at each stop? Should we rely on trips run by hotels?
Any thoughts or advice will be gratefully received.
jandj

thursdaysd

You might find my TR helpful, although it is a bit old.

Start here (links at the top of the page): https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...more-glaciers/

I only flew once, from Buenos Aires to El Calafate. Otherwise I used buses and a few tours booked after I arrived. I would probably vote for Argentina, but crossing between the two were highlights of my trip. You will see more scenery if you do not fly. I am not a birdwatcher and I believe there are some good opportunities, you would need more specialized research.

MichGuy

I've been doing some thinking and reading about a similar trip but haven't gotten to actual planning yet. I made several trips to Argentina, staying in BA and San Carlos de Bariloche, but in the early 1990's so my experience is very dated. I really want to get to Patagonia too.
Sorry to join your post at this late date. Are you still planning and do you want ideas, or are you all booked? In the latter case would you mind sharing your itinerary?

jandj

We are actually all booked and departing December 6th. Our decision was to use private guides and the trip is basically in two sections. Our emphasis is on seeing birds and wildlife. The sequence of overnights is: Santiago, Puerto Varas, Castro, Tepuhueico, and back to Puerto Varas. Then we fly to Punta Arenas and our overnights are Punta Arenas, Porvenir, Cerro Castillo, and Puerto Natales. We are staying in Chile the entire time which is approximately 2 weeks.. I'm happy to give you more details if you are interested.

mlgb

Have a great trip jandj. If you managed to book your guiding with Raffaele you will have a great time. We were lucky to get him on a day trip from the port in 2016.

If anyone else is looking for a birding tour company in Chile, this is The Man! (Their head office is in Puerto Varas).

https://www.birdschile.com/about_us

PS we were not as happy with a different guide we arranged separately in Punta Arenas, who will remain unnamed. There we would have done as well to hire a car and drive ourselves along Ruta 9 and and to the Tres Puentos marsh and Laguna Los Palos. A lot of time was wasted walking over cobblestones searching for the Magellanic Plover which is not an outing for those who can't walk far.

MichGuy

Enjoy your trip! And thanks for sharing your plans. I'm not a birder and want to focus on the mountains so it looks like I'll keep reading.

MichGuy

I see that you had an overnight in Cerro Castillo, Chile. I'm investigating a trip that would take us from El Calafate to Cerro Castillo and using that as a base for day hiking in the Torres del Paine NP. Any comments or suggestions?

mlgb

Unlikely to work out for a variety of reasons.