HI Patricia

Sorry it’s taken so long ………it’s been a rough chaotic start to 2016…. with a quick trip to Kenya squashed in as well.

Our trip was friggen awesome, incredible! mostly because you guys run a fantastic ship.

Honestly. only one thing was NOT OKAY!

Calafate.
From the start, we were picked up by a driver …….no info nothing literally loaded on a bus that was it, we arrived at the Hotel, dumped is probably the correct term. No representive from Huellas del Sur.
The chap at the front desk, told us that someone from Huellas del Sur, would come and see us at 7 pm, So we rushed in to Town and made sure we were back at the Hotel at 7pm ………………………………………….no one arrives.

Next morning, we off to the Big Ice ……Mind blowing ……, we realised that we need to book quickly something for our “free day “
As soon as we got back to the Hotel, we spoke to the chap at the front desk as to what he would recommend,
He told us the boat to the glaciers is what we should do ……. if someone from Huellas, had seen us on day one, this would have been already planned ………………
The chap called Heullas, as they are “our operator “, they tell him we need to get to the Huellas office within the next hour, so off we run and within 30minutes we at the office.

There is another couple been attended to …. but lots of voices, behind …you guys know the setup .so after a few minutes someone is called to assist us, we explain who we are ………………………………….
Oh no you have to book direct now, no let me see what I can do, I can take to the operator nothing.
Just NO. {

WHAT A ROUND AROUND!!!!
So in short, NO ONE FROM HUELLAS SAW US, WE WENT TO THEM ………………AND NEVER AGAIN!!!

I suggest you separate your brilliant operation from them ………………I am honest everyone besides the Heullas team was brilliant.

Each of you, we met were fantastic
The small things, the check in /boarding passes the day before ….Heullas did not ,even with your request ……..get rid of these guys .
The transfers to and from the airports first class

The small things, mate /picnics…….and just because you all were relaxed, just made it awesome.

Guys as a team we experienced, THANK YOU! We had a fantastic trip of a lifetime. We thought that we would have drama somewhere as one does when traveling …. WELL nothing. and honestly another thing which stood out is your Airline, WOW ! what a pleasure, at check in , it normally a disaster anywhere you go , it was a pleasure

Thank you SAY HEUQUE!!!!

And please should any of you come to this side of the Atlantic please let us know, advise or a place to crash, you will be most welcome.
PS. Your recipe has been tried and tested …. yummy

Best Regards
Ivan & Genevieve

Hello Patty

I want to thank you for the excellent organization of our trip to Patagonia. We, both couples, enjoyed the sequence and variety of our trip. I owe this all to you and your knowledge of the Patagonia region. We loved El Chalten, our first stop and the trekking was awesome. We loved the beauty and the grandeur of Fitz Roy and we enjoyed excellent weather. Only once did we experience the promised wind, rain, and the need to put rocks in your pockets and that was on the hike up to the base of Los Tres where we couldn’t see the towers. Our hotel Kaulem was lovely and well situated and the town is just a delightful grab-bag of fun restaurants, hotels and hostels and businesses with lots of dogs. We enjoyed the atmosphere.

All of our hotels were of excellent quality and each unique. We enjoyed the hospitality at all of them but our favorite was The Indigo in Natales and unfortunately our time there was short.

We want to thank you for all the transfers. Everything worked like clockwork except the one airlines glitch with an emergency landing between El Calafate and Buenos Aires, and there you were not responsible but your representative was available by phone.

The cruise was fantastic and a perfect break after trekking in two beautiful parks. I would tell everyone to take the cruise despite its expense and 4 nights was perfect.

Finally, back to Buenos Aires, both the Tango Show and the bike riding were perfect for us. We enjoyed the bike riding in particular and learned so much about the city and your country. Our guide, Rodrigo was perfect for us.

We will be recommending Say Hueque to our friends and I will get something on Trip Advisor soon.

thank you for your professionalism and expertise

Betsy Blum

Good day from South Africa

Sorry I have been a bit slow responding to your email but we have only just returned from our travels.

We had a fabulous trip. It was beyond our expectations. Southern Patagonia is a magic place to visit. The scenery is spectacular & we really enjoyed trekking in El Chalten & Torres del Paine as well as with a guide in Tierra del Fuego national park. The climb from Hosteria Las Torres to the view at the base of the Torres was so worth the long climb. Even the climb was enjoyable. We were also very lucky with the weather. We only had 2-3 days of quite cold windy weather. The rest of the time was very pleasant as long as we took a sweatshirt along. Even the evenings were not bad. We just needed a jacket & of course the restaurants are warm.

You asked which hotel we liked best. That is quite difficult to answer. Hotel Madre Tierra in El Calafate was excellent. Because it is small we had the personal attention of the owner & he went out of his way to make our stay enjoyable. The breakfasts were very good & they were prepared to serve at 6am when we had leave early. Bedrooms also very nice.
Hotel las Torres was also really good. Nice big comfy bedroom with a stunning view of the mountain. The restaurant served excellent breakfasts & there were windows all around it with beautiful views. The bar area also had a restaurant which served very tasty food. Also a nice selection of wines. A bit expensive but I think that is because of its position in the park. Also it is quite an upmarket hotel.

Hotel Patagonia Jarke in Ushuaia was another one we couldn't fault. A lovely light filled hotel with comfy rooms with beautiful views of the town & the Beagle Channel.

Pudu Lodge in El Chalten was a bit of disappointment. Although the rooms were nice & big they were lacking something. Also the reception area was lacking in atmosphere. The staff however was quite friendly & the hotel was conveniently located for restaurants & hiking trails. The breakfasts were also not that good.
Hotel Tierra del Fuego in Punta Arenas was also a bit old & tired. Needs some upgrading. However we only stayed one night & it was in an excellent location for the bus to Ushuaia. We could just walk with our bags to the bus station.

My favorite restaurant was El Viejo Marino, Maipú 227, in Ushuaia. They only serve seafood & are moderately priced. I had centolla fresh from the tank which I had been looking forward to the whole trip. I wasn't disappointed. The atmosphere is very local & casual. I think it is a good idea to book as they were very busy & were turning people away.

I think with hindsight it would have been better to go back to El Calafate & fly to Ushuaia as we spent almost 2 days traveling by road instead & there was not really any reason to visit Punta Arenas except as an overnight stop. We might then have had time to fly to Bariloche. I know this would have made the trip more expensive but if your clients are able to budget for it this might be something to keep in mind.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in your beautiful country. We also spent 4 days after Ushuaia in Buenos Aires doing our own exploring. Everywhere we went we found the people very helpful & friendly. Just had a problem with some taxi drivers in BA. However after we got caught the first time we were more alert. Also had terrible problems getting money from ATMs. Perhaps you should advise your clients to bring dollars. Luckily most of the time we could use credit cards but cash is always a necessity.

Thank you to Say Hueque for helping us organize this trip. Everything went very smoothly. The shuttles were there to collect us even when our flight to El Calafate was cancelled & we arrived 4 hours late. Also the companies doing the tours notified us of collection times & were very well organized. The guides all spoke quite good English & were very friendly & helpful.

So once again, thank you. We will always have wonderful memories.

Kind regards
Catherine.

Everything was good. The best hotel was Carlos V at Bariloche. All the hotel personnel, drivers and guides were very friendly and helpful.

Huseyin Tuncel

Carolina, Yuna, Silvia,
Just finished our trip. Sitting in the lounge of Buenos Aires airport.
Wanted to commend all three of you on a job well done.
.. Excellent organization.
.. All transfers got to us in time without a hitch.
...great advise on restaurants and things to do.
.. We did a trip to a ranch
Riding horses, good lunch and wine. Really enjoyed it.
...you did a Great job checking up on us during the trip to check for problems.
My hat's off to you.
I know that Pal and Rajeev feel the same.
Anil

Carolyn
I had the most wonderful experience trekking in Patagonia. The travel arrangements made by Say Hueque were superb. I liked all the hotels. Our trekking guide Omar in Chile was very good. He was knowledgable and very helpful. He made sure that I got the vegetarian food in the Refugios.
I really enjoyed the trekking experience in El Charlten, Argentina and would love to come back some day with my family.
Thanks for all your help. I will always have fond memories of Chile and Argentina.
Best Regards
Paul Sikand

Dear Patty,

Thank you for everything with Say Hueque, and your introduction to Buenos Aires. We're sorry for the delay in replying!

We're mostly adjusted back to being in Hong Kong, though we both wish we were still in South America! Thanks also for the empanada recipe. We're looking forward to making them next Easter weekend.

Here are the answers to your questions:

Which hotel did you like the most?
View Hotel in Bariloche

Which was your favorite excursion?
The hike in Bariloche. Our guide Victor and our driver Rodrigo were simply phenomenal.

What was the best of traveling with us?
- That we could sort everything out at once through one point of contact
- That you were able to accommodate for our tight schedule.
- That you took the time to check in for us through our many flights!

Is there anything you think could be improved?

We definitely enjoyed most aspects with Say Hueque and loved the Argentina part of the trip overall. With that said, here are a few small points

- We were a little surprised with the exchange rates, and how widely they varied throughout Argentina. Given the recent news and politics, that's fair, but we were a little surprised when asking for a good rate, there wasn't anything better than 12.5ARP to 1 USD. We easily found 14 ARP to 1 USD elsewhere. A heads up would be nice in terms of when and where would be a good place to exchange money given our itinerary. (Though this may not be the fault of the tour guide though!)

- We think it would be helpful to further emphasize which transfers are not included, and to offer alternative options. Since everything else was included, we were a bit taken by surprise that the transfer in Ushuaia to the Beagle channel wasn't included. Tell us up front in an e-mail "transfer is not included", and offer a few options if you can (taxi numbers, walking distance/route). Simply saying "After making your way..." is rather ambiguous. Our hotel was also off of their map and the link is in Spanish.

- We were taken by surprise by the distances to the city centres in both El Calafate and Ushuaia. In the future for other tourists when deciding, please also mention the distance and average walking time to the city centre, and other relevant information (e.g. the wind in El Calafate, uphill/downhill in Ushuaia)

That's all for now. Thanks again for an amazing trip! We'd be more than happy to leave positive feedback on TripAdvisor.

Best regards,

Vanessa and Alex

Hola Carolina!

We are home now safe and sound from our wonderful visit to your country! Everything ran smoothly and the transportation was fine, except the Public Bus from Punta Arenas put had us complete the last 4 hours of the transfer, to Ushaia, in a van-like bus with no place for luggage, so they stacked it high in the aisles of the vehicles and we were packed in the vehicle like a can of sardines. I had to keep upbeat, or I would have gone claustrophobic.

My favorite hotel was Kau Yatun(beautiful setting, spacoius lobby with comfortable furniture to sit and read,lots of outdoor space,nice staff,and complimentary bikes to ride to town) in Calafate. We also enjoyed Teira del Fuego hotel in Punta Arenas(nice hotel in the city and we had a suite).

I would recommend that you let travelers know about the glacier cruise and/or availability to do a guided kayak trip near the Upsala glacier on the free day during the trip. We heard about it from other travelers, but it was time to leave the area so we felt we missed out on what we would have enjoyed in Calafate area. I also, although the guide was kind and knowledgeable, did want to do a day hike in Torres del Paine. I had no idea we would be sitting in a van most of the day and stopping at highlights only; we did not enjoy being in a Torres del Paine being driven around all day. We really wanted to an extended outdoor hike, as what we did instead was more suitable for sedentary type/limited in mobility type of people.

Overall, we had a nice experience and everything went smoothly. Looking forward to coming back someday and visiting Peru and Bolivia. let me know if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Marcia and David Fahrenholz