Hi Federico,

I checked your link to write a short report about my trip to Jujuy, Salta, etc. Unfortunately I couldn’t find or open a window to write directly there and I’m rather busy to get back to important projects I have to organize. So I ask you to put it in the correct frame!

As I had already stayed in Buenos Aires for several times one of my Argentinian friends insisted, I had to get out of the city and have a look at other wonderful places around Argentinia. I rather prefer warm places and mountains, so I decided after some weeks here in BsAs to go for getting some information about the North of Argentinia in Say Hueque, because I already had a nice experience of a friendly lady a year ago. There I got some basic ideas to think about my trip. When I finally returned with the idea to go to Salta and take ‚ el tren en las nubes‘, an interesting ‚package‘ of places to visit was prepared for me. Unfortunately this idea could not be realized as the train did not run in this period, but I was offered an interesting variation of my original plan >> going for a day to Cafyate. What could be a disappointment at first sight then became the most interesting and amazing part of my whole trip: the first part we were going to Cachi, a place that overwhelmed me because of it was small, quiet and just lovely as well as the next stop in Molinos where we had a small lunch and enjoyed the fascinating atmosphere of this unique place - could have stayed there a little longer. The landscape we travelled through then was awesome to look at. Arriving in Cafayate I enjoyed a wine tasting and finally was taken to a nice hotel to relax and spend the night there.
I was completely satisfied about the choice of the hotels the agency had booked for me, real nice places all of them: one in Cafayte, one in Salta and one in Purmamarca.
I had quite enough time to explore Salta on my own after my day trips, enjoy visiting a peña and some museums.
All the guides that accompanied us were quite friendly and informed profoundly about the places. I visited San Antonio de las Cobres and later Las Salinas Grandes and finally got to Purmamarca where I spent the night. I loved this place because of its amazing mountains surrounding it and enjoyed the ‚curcuit‘ there.
The last part was the trip through the Quebrada de Humahuaca and to Tilcara - amazing as all the other places.
All in all my 5-day-trip was awesome, the recommendations and the organization of Federico Luna from Say Hueque was something I did really enjoy and appreciate. I would go there with pleasure again for booking another tour !

Best wishes Federico, have a good time; at the moment I really, really enjoy a lovely and rather warm spring time for a change here in my local area.

Gudrun Albrecht

Dear Patty,

Thank you for your e-mail.

For your questions, here are our replies:

-Which hotel did you like the most? Mirador del Lago Hotel was the most acceptable among the accommodation we've stayed.

The rest were quite disappointed.
Hosteria La Posada in Puerto Madryn, Posada del Barranco in El Chalten, and Jasy Hotel in Puerto Iguazu were totally unacceptable.

Particularly, rooms in Posada del Barranco were dusty and sandy, windows could not be tightly closed during the gusty windy nights. This hotel, in fact was semi-shut down for business. Its main entrance door was locked and no one was in the hotel during morning and night hours, and because of this, one of our group members had to stay behind in the cabin to wait for the manager to show up, finally at 10:30am on our check out day, thus she could not join the group for the early morning trekking to Fitz Roy. In addition, the manager in Posada del Barranco admitted that the hotel needs to be re-renovated soon. He also repeatedly mentioned that Say Hueque knew that the hotel only had 3 cabins available and had never requested rooms with 2 beds for us.

As to Jasy Hotel in Puerto Iquazu, it was very unclean. Floor, towels, shower curtains, bed sheets and pillow cases were very very dirty.

-Which was your favorite excursion? Moreno Glacier, Punta Tombo, and Iguazu Falls (both Argentina and Brazil).

-What was the best of traveling with us? Arranged transportation to and from airport.

-Is there anything you think could be improved?

1. Definitely on accommodation. On this, we still anxiously want to know why Say Hueque booked these 3 hotels: Hosteria La Posada in Puerto Madryn, Posada del Barranco in El Chalten, and Jasy Hotel in Puertofor for us to stay.

2. The vehicles for the transfer between Calafate and El Chalten were old and small, passengers were crammed together for 2-3 hours on both trips. On the road, we saw many others' private tour groups had much bigger and more comfortable vehicles compared to ours.

3. There was no drinkable hot water available in all hotel rooms for making tea or coffee. If it is common in Argentina and Brazil that no thermos / kettle is provided in hotels, better inform us in advance as this is rather unusual to us and we may bring our own.

4. Tour guides:
-most helpful is Patricia in Buenos Aires
-most satisfied is Cotty (names??) in Puerto Iguazu and Brazil Side
-most disappointed is Mary in Peninsula Valdes and Puerto Madryn

Kind regards,

Julia

Hello Ursula, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. Getting back to work this week has been crazy. We had fun in Mendoza. We really enjoyed the wine tours. We had lots of wine. I think we drank a bottle everyday we were on the trip. The high country tour wasn't exactly what we expected. It was mostly sitting in the car driving. I think we would've enjoyed a hiking tour though.

Our photo session went really well. We got some good pictures. Did Yuna show you some? Everyone really liked them.

We tried going on the Say Hueque site and trip advisor to write a review but couldn't see where to add one. So we really enjoyed everything with Buenos Aires. Great hotel, great city tour with you! We enjoyed the tango show. We are glad we had that extra day. For Mendoza the hotel was just ok. It was older, the elevator did not work, the rooms weren't as nice, but staff was friendly. Like I said the high country tour was not what we expected. The wine tours were really nice. On our free day we rented bikes in Maipú and biked to different wineries, and did tastings. That was really fun.

Thank you and everyone at Say Hueque for everything y'all did for us! We had a great trip. Everything went smoothly

Monica Allman

Hi! We had a wonderful time visiting your wonderful country!!! The 3 hotels we enjoyed the most were Los Colorados Cabanas in Purmamarca, the location was great,
the breakfast had freshly squeezed orange juice, the hotel clerk was so nice and the building was so different. We also liked Lares de Chacra in Chacras de Coria outside of Mendoza.
We had a room with a balcony overlooking the pool and they provided a glass of wine which we enjoyed on our balcony. We also found L’Hotel Palermo to be very nice in Buenos Aires. the desk clerk was great
and they had a nice breakfast. We really enjoyed all the tours that you provided for us. The hotel in Bariloche I would not recommend, Costas del Nahuel, - I spent the entire day writing reviews on Trip Advisor and so now I am worn out. That hotel
needed new carpets and the only good thing was it had a nice view of the lake but the breakfast was also quite bad. The hotel in Puerto Iguazu - Posada del Jacaranda was also very nice and only 2 years old.

Everything your agency did was great, the guides all met us at the airport as planned. We really liked the wine guide, Vicente R. Cardusa through Sak Wine tours, he is very knowledgable and very personable.

WE truly enjoyed all the excursions since they all involved beautiful countryside and views which is what we enjoy. I think it is very important when traveling the Andes up to Purmamarca to spend the night there.
Most people do this all in one day from Salta and I am glad you recommended that we stay in Purmamarca, it is also such a lovely small town. We are so glad we had time to do some small hike near by our hotel too.

Thank you for the recipes I certainly will try them!!!!
Diane

Hola Patty,
Thanks so much for your email and again thanks for coming and picking us up in San Antonio de Areco...above and beyond and appreciated! Our flight back went smoothly and it was good to be back home after 30 days on the road.
We just finished an album of our Patagonia trip and Paul has been telling everyone of our experiences. All in all it was a great trip filled with some good memories...
To answer some of your question...
Favorite hotel...Lirolay Suites in Bariloche
Los Sauces in El Calafate

Excursion has to be with Federico Kawen Adventures, kayak trip to Lago Mascardi

Best of traveling with Say Hueque: Timely transfers, and knowledgeable guides like yourself!

Improvements: Better communication, reply promptly to emails. Make sure you check out quality of hotels prior to letting someone book. In our case we chose the superior lodging and got a 3 star hosteria in El Chalten..
Make sure that independent travelers do not get put in an excursion package that is overcrowded and impersonal...otherwise we would have chosen a tour group instead of traveling on our own. The Christiana Upsala Glacier tour was an example of being overcrowded. The Fitz Roy Expeditions in El Chalten is an example of offering personal experiences without a "full bus". Had a great kayak experience with them. Their eco-lodge is wonderful.
Thanks Patty for your recipe and keep in touch.

With Kind Regards,
Alice & Paul Arthur

We have just returned from 2 weeks in Patagonia (both Chile and Argentina organised by Say Hueque travel. I cannot recommend this company highly enough, everything from the flights, buses, accommodation, restaurants recommend was excellent. I would give them 20/10 for their professionalism, from our very first e mail enquiry until we arrived back in South Africa.

Say Hueque you are possibly the best tour operator in the world

[:es]Hello Ursula!

I'm well, how are you doing? I can't believe how quickly time flies - you're right. It's already been 3 weeks since I came back to Toronto.

I told you in person, and I will happily say it online as well - I was very impressed and happy with Say Hueque. Even with the change in my itinerary due to the cancelled flight, the company was able to accommodate and make the necessary changes (although i wish they could have done something more to get me a refund for the one evening lost at L Hotel). All of the tours, hotels, flights and excursions went smoothly and I was very happy with most things booked via Say Hueque.

To answer your questions:

Best hotel: the Iguassu hotel (St. George) was very well located and had great accommodations and buffet breakfast. Also, L hotel was also in a very nice location very close to Serrano Plaza. The hotel in Mendoza was ok. It was a little bit out of the way, and a few blocks away from the main streets. I think my favourite was George hotel in Iguassu.

Excursions: My favourite excursion by far was the wineries in Mendoza! Nothing even came close to this. I had my own person guide who was absolutely great (I cannot remember her name) and my own personal transfers by a very nice driver! I enjoyed all of the wineries I visited. The only one problem we encountered was the last winery where I was scheduled to have lunch, but had to be changed last minute because the winery had double booked an event and bumped us to one of its sister wineries nearby. It was still a great lunch experience, so it wasn't a big deal. The entire Iguassu excursion in both the Argentine and Brazilian side was also very nice. The guide was there the entire time, and took us through the entire park and explained everything, but was not overbearing. The one excursion that I wish was a bit better was the Buenos Aires city tour. I wish we spent more time in certain areas, and did more hop on/hop off at certain sites.

The best part of travelling with Say Hueque: the headache-free travel! Everything was taken care of by the company, and i was able to just book my international flight and have the company do all of the rest. I liked this, because I just didn't have the time nor the patience to research everything. I had preferences and ideas in my mind, and they personalized my trip to my unique taste in every aspect (excursions, hotels, domestic flights) - it was very well done! They catered to my needs diligently. I was very satisfied.

Anything that could be improved: I wish i was able to have more information about the pricing of the entire trip. I was quoted a price by Say Hueque, but I really wanted to make necessary changes to reduce the price (the Canadian dollar devaluation made the US dollar price of the trip very expensive). I asked to get details of the pricing (a breakdown at least showing hotel/transfers/guide cost detail), but this was never provided.

Overall, I really really enjoyed my trip created by Say Hueque. They did a fantastic job accommodating my needs and were so attentive to ensuring i was well taken care of! My pick-ups from the airport were always very dependable and punctual, there was usually a guide accompanying me in each city (that would be you Ursula!) who made me feel welcomed. I felt safe for the most part in all of the hotels I was in. My biggest fear coming to Argentina as a single young woman was that I had no idea whether Say Hueque was trustworthy and dependable. My fears were definitely put to rest once I came to the country and realized what a professional and organized tour company Say Hueque really is.

So a big THANK YOU to you Ursula, and everyone else throughout my trip and booking process who made me feel safe, welcomed and happy :) The salad was my pleasure, and it was the least I could do. I will definitely take the time to write a review on tripadvisor in the coming days.

BIG HUG back,
Tina Abkarian
[:]

Say Hueque,
It has been 2 ½ months since I returned from my South American vacation and not a day goes by that I don’t think wonderful, happy thoughts of my trip. Part of this is because of an excellent cruise to the Antarctic with Holland America. The rest is due to the hard work of Say Hueque and its staff.

From the minute my friend and I arrived in Santiago, Chile, we felt we were in good hands. The Say Hueque driver did not speak English, but had a letter from the office for us outlining when and where we would be met by our guide. The driver was excellent and very courteous, but the letter gave us the reassurance that we needed upon arrival in a new country.

Throughout our 3-night stay, we were at the NH Ciudad de Santiago. This hotel was recommended to us by Say Hueque and we would recommend it to anyone. It is not a luxury hotel, but it is very clean, the rooms extremely large, the staff helpful, and the breakfast buffet had everything (hot and cold). The hotel was in an excellent location for those who like to walk and close to the metro for longer excursions.

We spent the next day doing our own thing and then joined a two-week cruise to the Antarctic. After an excellent cruise, we re-joined Say Hueque in Buenos Aries, Argentina. Patricia and a driver came to pick us up at the port. Our only concern about the pick-up was that the vehicle was not very large and so our 34” luggage barely fit. We were given a basic tour on the way to the hotel, more to just get us familiar with the different areas. Once at the Savoy Hotel, we were able to check in early, as Say Hueque had made arrangements for us. Before leaving us, Patricia gave us some good pointers, a map, and a bottle of Malbec wine to get us going. We took her suggestions for a circle route and headed out on a long walking tour. We got a little wet in the light rain, but still had a wonderful time exploring the city.

The next morning Patricia came and got us for our official tour of the city. We covered a couple of the same areas, but we enjoyed seeing them again as Patricia was able to share with us the history and wonderful stories of the buildings and sights. The tour Patricia took us on was very extensive. Although Buenos Aires is a large city, I know we got to see the best of it both old and new --- La Boca, San Telmo, Recoleta and its famous cemetery, to name just a little of what we saw. At all times, Patricia made certain that we were getting out of the tour what we wanted and was very open about discussing the topics of interest to us. At no time during our 4 hours did we feel like we were just another group for her to take about.

The next morning we were picked up for a transfer to the local airport for a flight to Puerto Iguazu . Say Hueque made the best arrangements for us, as our hotel held our luggage for us and we could just travel with our packs. This arrangement would save us in Puerto Iguazu a couple of times.
In Puerto Iguazu we were met at the airport by Argecam (Say Hueque’s rep). I was a little disappointed in Argecam right from the beginning. The first problem was that they had not planned on anyone bringing luggage with them. Although we were traveling light, a two others in our shared pick-up were not and it was touch and go as to whether we and the luggage would fit.

I have no doubt that the Say Hueque staff played a large part in the enjoyment I had on my vacation. I initially tried to book with a different group that was recommended to me, but they didn’t seem to want my business. I found a positive review on Trip Advisor for Say Hueque and sent them an email. From the first, quick response, I could tell that this was a company that not only wanted my business, but wanted to make me happy.
My first contact was with Patricio. He was excellent at finding out what we wanted and suggesting sights, tours, etc. that we might want to consider. He was good about checking into various costs and giving us a variety of options to choose from. He kept checking with us about any flight changes / ship arrivals & departure times and made us feel confident that at no time, in no situation, would we be without someone to call in an emergency. Most importantly, at no time did we feel pressured into anything by Patricio. He gave us a great tour package at a fair price. Most importantly, he made it seem like we were his only customers and it was his sole job to make our trip the best it could be --- he more than succeeded!
Even after only spending a week in the company of Say Hueque and its representatives, we were already extoling their virtues onboard our cruise ship. Over dinner we would hear horror stories of people who had not enjoyed their pre-cruise time in Chile, due to poor planning, bad tour groups, etc. I think that some of the people felt that we were lying when we spoke about how great everything had been, our private excursions, and all that we had done in such a short time with Say Hueque. Several times I would pull out Say Hueque’s email address and tell people to get them to book their upcoming post-cruise time in Buenos Aires with them.
It has been the same since returning home. I have passed Say Hueque’s contact information on to several people who are thinking of traveling in South America. I cannot thank the company enough for helping to make my vacation the best I have ever had. Thank you Say Hueque! And know that I will be booking with you again in the future!
Lynda Purdy