At the immigration check in we learned that the entry fee into Chile is $132.00 USD, not $120.00, but this fee is good for the life of your passport.
After the usual tiresome overnight flight from Toronto to Santiago, Chile we checked in mid morning at the Holiday Inn directly across the street from the airport main entrance.
Of course our room wouldn't be ready until noon, but there is a comfortable lounge just off the lobby. There are several computer terminals in the lounge that are free for guests use. However, if you do not speak Spanish this can be quite a challenge as the keyboards and screens are all in Spanish. Another challenge was to find the symbol @. I found out from another guest that you have to simultaneously press ALT, SHIFT and Q - which did the trick.
The hotel has a very adequate continental breakfast which opens at 0500 and may or may not be included with the room rate. We had to check out on the morning of Nov.5 by 0600 so didn't bother with breakfast at the hotel.
This hotel is an excellent place to stay if you are just staying overnight to catch another flight. You can leave your luggage on the airport trolley and just wheel it across the street to the hotel entrance.
There is an excellent Gatsby's buffet restaurant in the upper level at the airport which has a vast array of food choice at a reasonable price.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.