Many people would say that there's not much to do in Punta Arenas and they'd be correct. But the little we discovered the one free afternoon was so much fun. We arrived to Hotel Rey don Felipe and they had equipped us with a handy map of the small town. Toby took a well-deserved map while I looked through the details. When he woke up, we took off on our afternoon adventure.
We had a really fun afternoon exploring Punta Arenas when we arrived. We found some Austral beer! (Franny Friesz)
We found a restaurant that served Austral Beer - must-have if you enjoy German beer, or beer at all, really. We found a street along the main square that was selling souvenirs where we go Toby a real, authentic, "Patagonia" hat. We visited the Tierra del Fuego statue and kissed his toe, as instructed if we ever want to return to Patagonia - we do. We wandered down to the beach and found a nice collection of sea glass. Toby was brave enough to stick his feet in the cold ocean just to say he did it. Then, we visited a restaurant called La Luna. Calafate pisco sour complimentary from Hotel Rey don Felipe! (Franny Friesz)
They had the best pisco sours, a tender leg of lamb for Toby, and a king crab bake for yours truly. I will warn you, those pisco sours pack a punch! We continued to walk around the small town of Punta Arenas before we headed back to our hotel. Hotel Rey don Felipe gave us two free Calafate pisco sours (another thing you need to have in order to return to Patagonia). We really enjoyed our afternoon exploring this small down. I recommend doing everything we did and trying to find those sea urchins.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
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
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
