Kimkim Trip Reviews for Patagonia

Made it easy to do a bit more of an adventure than the normal vacation.

Overall, we had a great trip and with minor exceptions all the logistics and tours went very smoothly. Some notes regarding our specific experiences in each destination:

1. Bariloche
- Gabriella, our guide for the first two days (Kawen Adventures) was exceptional. She was extremely knowledgeable and provided a wealth of information regarding the geology, flora and fauna, etc. She was very attentive and accommodating to our individual needs and interests.
- Both drivers (Tricky sp?,... read more

Overall, we had a great trip and with minor exceptions all the logistics and tours went very smoothly. Some notes regarding our specific experiences in each destination:

1. Bariloche
- Gabriella, our guide for the first two days (Kawen Adventures) was exceptional. She was extremely knowledgeable and provided a wealth of information regarding the geology, flora and fauna, etc. She was very attentive and accommodating to our individual needs and interests.
- Both drivers (Tricky sp?, and Freddy) were very good. Freddy in particular was very attentive and functioned almost as a 2nd tour guide rather than just a driver. He shared Mate with us, helped with lunch, and assisted us in navigating some rough terrain when we hiked to a waterfall near Lake Traful.
- Kawen Adventures was very responsive with including Rupert in our tours when his plans for fly fishing on 24 and 25 February did not work out.
- The gluten free lunch we requested through Mery was not provided for Patricia on the first day. Gabriela made the effort to ensure a gluten free lunch on Day 2, but the lunch providers need to improve their ability to respond to dietary restrictions in a creative way.
- The Design Suites hotel was comfortable and the restaurant at the hotel was very good. However, the rooms did not have good sound insulation, and the showers did not drain properly. The front desk staff were a bit surly and not very customer friendly.
- We thoroughly enjoyed all of the tours and activities in the Bariloche area, including strolling around town.
- The white water rafting was well organized and a fun day. Lack of changing or bathroom facilities at the shore where we began the trip was a challenge. The lunch provided was very nice.

2. El Calafate:
- The Esplendor Calafate Hotel was comfortable and had a good breakfast. The front desk staff was very helpful. We had to arrange our own laundry service in town as the hotel's clothes dryer was broken. I don't understand why the hotel could not have taken our laundry to a private facility, but this was a minor inconvenience. There was a problem with elevator floor not stopping at the same level as the corridor floor, which resulted in Carol tripping and falling. The hotel did take the elevator out of service, and fortunately Carol was not injured.
- The Perito Moreno Glacier tour was spectacular, and our guide Natalya was exceptional. She was fun, knowledgeable and responsive to our interests and requests. The itinerary incorrectly identified the meal to be provided as "breakfast". In fact, we ordered our box lunches to take with us from the hotel's kitchen.
- The bus trip from El Calafate to Puerto Natales was OK, but not the most comfortable bus we have experienced. The bus departed about 45 minutes late. The immigration and customs process to enter Chile was time consuming, and we waited in line outdoors in a very fierce wind.

3. Puerto Natales:
- The Weskar Lodge Hotel was cozy and comfortable, although the rooms are a bit small (challenging when you are traveling with luggage). The Ennos Restaurant in the Weskar Lodge is very good, as were the breakfasts. Nicole at the front desk was exceptionally helpful, and even adjusted the breakfast serving time to accommodate our schedule. They also were very helpful with arranging taxis, and coordinating the pick-up times with Patagonia Planet.
- We clearly did not receive the same level of personal service from Patagonia Planet that we enjoyed with Kawen Adventures and Huellas del sur. When we went to the pre-tour briefing on 29 February, Macerana of Patagonia Planet told us we would be in a group of seven (7) rather than with a private guide as per our itinerary. She also seemed to exaggerate the difficulty of the trek. We worked with Ines of Say Hueque while at the briefing and Patagonia Planet honored the commitment for a private tour.
- The vehicle that Patagonia Planet sent to pick us up at the airport appeared to be a personal vehicle and was too small for all our luggage (so we had to hold some bags on our laps).
- They did not provide the gluten free lunch that we had requested for Pat.
- They required that we travel to their office for the briefing rather than meet us at our hotel.
- It appeared that the first time they really paid attention to the requirements that you had arranged for us was when we showed up for the briefing on Saturday evening.
- The the trek in Torres del Paine National Park with Rosanna (our guide) went very well. Rosanna made adjustments to the pace, and Carol decided to stay at the "refugio" (where the cafe and bathrooms are) while Rupert, Pat and I continued. We did not make it all the way up the the lookout over the lagoon, but we made it onto the moraine. We were tired and it was getting late, so we decided to return. On the way back, Rosanna took us to a 2nd lookout behind the ranger station where we ate our lunch. We got back to the vehicle at about 6 p.m. We had a very good day. A little rain at the end, but otherwise the weather was very good (and not windy), although when we arrived at the lookout the clouds and fog was coming in and partially obscuring the 3 towers.
- Overall, Patagonia Planet seems more focused on the physical logistics of moving bodies to the Park, and not really focused on providing personal service and an experience matched to the needs of the client. That said, Rosanna was very attentive and accommodating to our needs and we had a great day.
- The tour of the Balmaceda & Serrano Glaciers was enjoyable, although a bit crowded due to the size of the group on the boat and on the trail. We very much enjoyed seeing the sea lions, and the interesting flora along the trail to the Serrano Glacier. The itinerary indicated that we needed to get a taxi to town to the 21 de Mayo office, but the Weskar front desk was able to call and confirm that they would pick us up at the hotel on the way to the dock.

4. Santiago de Chile:
- Luis, our driver, was great. It was nice that he did all the transfers for our stay.
- The Cumbres Lastarria Hotel was very luxurious and comfortable, and the staff very helpful. We had a great dinner at BocaNariz just a short walk from the hotel.

5. Regarding the entire vacation, we are very pleased with everything. The only significant issues have been that the tour providers did not provide the requested gluten free meals for Pat (although Kawen Adventures made an effort to provide a gluten free meal for Pat on the 2nd day), and the disconnect with Patagonia Planet regarding the private guided tour to Torres del Paine.

Thank you to Erin and Julia for planning a spectacular trip. The process was so smooth and problem free that we never had to reach out to the kimkim team once for help. Every time we went to our new destination, the drivers were always ready to pick us up, the hotels knew we were coming and the guides were ready to pick us up at the designated time without fail.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon kimkim via a random google search after our trip with another vendor fell through (they had a strict... read more

Thank you to Erin and Julia for planning a spectacular trip. The process was so smooth and problem free that we never had to reach out to the kimkim team once for help. Every time we went to our new destination, the drivers were always ready to pick us up, the hotels knew we were coming and the guides were ready to pick us up at the designated time without fail.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon kimkim via a random google search after our trip with another vendor fell through (they had a strict travel period). We could only do a specific date range and I loved that Erin was able to customize a trip just for us based on those dates with the requests I made. It couldn't be more personal which made this whole planning experience stress free. I would highly recommend using their service!

Overall we had an amazing trip to Patagonia. Laura and Julia were extremely responsive when we needed their assistance throughout the trip. We usually plan our trips and navigate countries on our own, so this was a new experience for us. Not having to think about anything...and just being picked up at the airport and hotels was great. Our experiences with the various guides and drivers and most hotels were all positive.

Such a beautiful part of the world!

The only reason I can’t give 5... read more

Overall we had an amazing trip to Patagonia. Laura and Julia were extremely responsive when we needed their assistance throughout the trip. We usually plan our trips and navigate countries on our own, so this was a new experience for us. Not having to think about anything...and just being picked up at the airport and hotels was great. Our experiences with the various guides and drivers and most hotels were all positive.

Such a beautiful part of the world!

The only reason I can’t give 5 stars to the overall experience is because we didn’t receive our final itinerary until 24 hours before we flew to Argentina (2-3 days before our Patagonia trip started), and when we did we realized some of our accommodations had been changed. We booed over 6 months in advance, so the reservations should have been secured.

The first hotel wasn’t great, the second hotel had amazing staff, but still didn’t feel like the quality of hotel we paid for. Laura and Julia made sure the next two hotels were much better. Indigo in Puerto Natales was our favorite.

We also weren’t picked up from for our airport transfer in Punta Arenas, but we just grabbed a cab and they are going to provide us a refund.

The biggest disappointment of the trip was our penguin island excursion being cancelled, but that was due to weather and out of anyone’s control.

Overall it was a very good experience and we would consider using Dittmar and Kimkim again. My advice to other travelers is to make sure to ask for your detailed itinerary a month or two in advance. Read it very carefully and call out any inconsistencies. And be prepared for things to change based on the extremely unpredictable weather in the region.

What an adventure! Erin and Julia were amazing working through all of the details to plan out a perfect trip for us to Patagonia. Everything from choosing our hotels to booking our daily adventures, it all went flawlessly. Timing couldn't have been more perfect each day. Erin figured out our needs early on in the planning, and was right on target with everything that we did. We did get extremely lucky with the weather the week we were there - No rain, winds or extremely cold weather made... read more

What an adventure! Erin and Julia were amazing working through all of the details to plan out a perfect trip for us to Patagonia. Everything from choosing our hotels to booking our daily adventures, it all went flawlessly. Timing couldn't have been more perfect each day. Erin figured out our needs early on in the planning, and was right on target with everything that we did. We did get extremely lucky with the weather the week we were there - No rain, winds or extremely cold weather made each day picture perfect. The hotels were quaint and clean and in nice locations, although now that we've seen other places we could've stayed, we probably would have wanted to upgrade a notch.
Felipe, our guide in Santiago and Cajon de Maipo started our trip off in a great way. We couldn't have imagined how much we would enjoy our time with him. His knowledge of Chilean history and culture was outstanding and his easy going demeanor was perfect on our road trip to Cajon de Maipo for hiking and and beautiful landscapes.
We flew to Punta Arenas and the 2-hour transfer to Puerto Natales was easy, although flying directly to Puerto Natales would have been great. We loved going to Estancia La Peninsula and our guide Nico from the estancia was excellent! Horseback riding, jeep tours, sheep shearing - one thing was better than the next. Highly recommend! Transferring to Torres del Paines was easy and Tomas, our guide, was THE BEST! He helped us with taking amazing pictures and showed us beautiful spots around the national park trying his best to stay away from the crowds. Gorgeous national park! Stayed overnight at Hotel Lago Grey - loved staying in the park for the night!
Our drive from Torres del Paines to El Calafate was long, but well timed, crossing the border into Argentina. Our driver, Daniel, was on top of everything including getting us ahead of a huge bus load of people also crossing at the same time. He saved us at least an hour of long lines in Chile and Argentina!
We loved El Calafate and Perito Moreno! The group tour to the glacier was fine. We had enough time to do everything we wanted to do and got amazing pictures and videos of the glacier and calving. Beautiful place!
Ended our adventure in Buenos Aires, where we planned our own time there since KimKim couldn't help us there.
Amazing, once in a lifetime adventure. Erin did an awesome job!

Vi did an absolutely fantastic job preparing our itinerary for Patagonia in January 2020. She was accommodating to our preferences (everything from date preferences to hotels to activities), and she served as a resource for additional activities and sights to experience during our time there. When we ran into issues with planned excursions, she went out of her way to find alternative solutions for us. I couldn't have imagined a better way to have spent 9 days in Patagonia. Thank you, Vi, for the trip of a lifetime.

Planning and booking our trip on kimkim was so easy and convenient. Visiting Patagonia can be complicated and you should ideally book everything months in advance since the campsites and refugios fill up. Since we didn't book far in advance, kimkim was super helpful in securing everything we needed. We did the 5-day W Hike and came home with lifelong memories. Having a guide show us the ins and outs of the park was great and super helpful when buses didn't show up when they were supposed to... read more

Planning and booking our trip on kimkim was so easy and convenient. Visiting Patagonia can be complicated and you should ideally book everything months in advance since the campsites and refugios fill up. Since we didn't book far in advance, kimkim was super helpful in securing everything we needed. We did the 5-day W Hike and came home with lifelong memories. Having a guide show us the ins and outs of the park was great and super helpful when buses didn't show up when they were supposed to or ferries decided to leave early! We didn't have to worry about planning out our days or cooking our own meals, that was all done for us. Highly recommend. We can't wait to book our next trip!

Patagonia was a once in a lifetime trip for me & my wife for our honeymoon. It was everything we could have hoped for and more. Erin helped to meticulously plan the trip throughout with her fantastic knowledge of the local areas and activities.
There were so many highlights including: wine tasting in the Casablanca valley, trekking to the base of the towers in Torres del Paine, horseback riding in Puerto Natales, white water rafting in El Chalten and an amazing zodiac boat trip down the... read more

Patagonia was a once in a lifetime trip for me & my wife for our honeymoon. It was everything we could have hoped for and more. Erin helped to meticulously plan the trip throughout with her fantastic knowledge of the local areas and activities.
There were so many highlights including: wine tasting in the Casablanca valley, trekking to the base of the towers in Torres del Paine, horseback riding in Puerto Natales, white water rafting in El Chalten and an amazing zodiac boat trip down the Magellan Strait.
However, of particular note was Patagonia Camp. This place was an absolute treat for us staying in a luxury yurt in the middle of the Patagonian wilderness. I would highly recommend it.
Overall the trip was very well organised. There were a couple of instances where some of the timings for pickups were slightly out (so worth double checking timings!) but this was quickly and easily resolved during our travels with no effect on our enjoyment of the trip.

The team at KimKim ensured that travelling around South America went as seamlessly as possible. My partner and I went from el Chalten, el Calafate and then into Chile for the W trek. It was all the thought that was put into the little details that really made a difference, for example being picked up after every bus with a transfer to our hotel rather than waiting outside for a taxi.
Each part of the trip was planned perfectly working with the local travel agencies on the ground to provide the best services.

I would highly recommend!

Thank you very much, Erin and Julia, for making this amazing trip a reality. Hard to believe but all the complex arrangements you made worked out flawlessly. Our private guides, Marco (Chile) and Juan (Argentina) were terrific during our trips. We lucked out with the weather, too so no complaints except for the long delays at the borders (but that's not you fault).

Erin was awesome. I felt like I was talking to a friend in the planning process. She really listened to what I wanted in my experience and that I had experience with. She definitely had a huge impact on my dream trip. I couldn’t have done it without her!

Working with Erin and kimkim was absolutely the best decision we made for our trip Patagonia. Erin was able to answer all of our questions leading up to the trip and help us create the perfect itinerary. The support only continued while we were there when she helped us reorganize our initial plans after a flight delay. We are beyond grateful and would recommend kimkim to anyone!

We enjoyed all our time in Argentina and Chile. The itinerary was super detailed and we experienced no issues during the trip. The local guides and hotels were all great.

I want to thank Virginia for helping me out on the planning for my Patagonian trip and make the most out of it within a short amount of time in the area. Communication was extraordinary since the very first moment and her tips and recommendations made my trip very memorable. I truly loved Torres del Paine and reaching to the top of Laguna de los Tres to see Mt. Fitz Roy in El Chaltén. Although there were a few issues with one of my lunches, someone not picking me up to be transferred to a hotel and some schedule changes overall it was a great experience with kimkim. Totally worth it!

The local tour guides were fantastic. They took a personal interest in each of us and our needs. That being said, the transportation to and from the airports at some locations was lacking. I felt that Kim Kim should have arranged the various flights from each of the locations. In a country where you don't speak the language it is difficult and frustrating sometime. Some of the locations where we stayed were hostel. We had clean private rooms with private bathrooms. We should have been... read more

The local tour guides were fantastic. They took a personal interest in each of us and our needs. That being said, the transportation to and from the airports at some locations was lacking. I felt that Kim Kim should have arranged the various flights from each of the locations. In a country where you don't speak the language it is difficult and frustrating sometime. Some of the locations where we stayed were hostel. We had clean private rooms with private bathrooms. We should have been given the opportunity to stay in hotels. Many of these places were either cold or extremely hot and uncomfortable. The internet was almost non existent. Part of our itinerary we did not receive until three weeks before the trip even though it was book almost 9 months prior. This would have given us an opportunity to discuss our logging.

I've been in touch with Erin and Julia, and they both were very professional, helpful and nice! Patagonia was a blast: the place is incredible and, if you love being out in the wild, Torres del Paine is definitely the place to be. If I could do this again, I would probably spend 80% of the time there. It's worth every penny!

I was very impressed with the kimkim platform and Dittmar Adventures! Erin was extremely helpful from the very first moment that I requested information, responded quickly, and worked with me to build a customized trip that fit into my budget and schedule. Not having to manage the logistics on my own made the planning so much easier.

Highly recommend the guided tours of Torre Del Paine, Perito Mereno Glacier, the Estancia and the guided hikes via Walk Patagonia (Pablo was great). All of... read more

I was very impressed with the kimkim platform and Dittmar Adventures! Erin was extremely helpful from the very first moment that I requested information, responded quickly, and worked with me to build a customized trip that fit into my budget and schedule. Not having to manage the logistics on my own made the planning so much easier.

Highly recommend the guided tours of Torre Del Paine, Perito Mereno Glacier, the Estancia and the guided hikes via Walk Patagonia (Pablo was great). All of these tours were very well run, and the guides provided very interesting information.

The one suggestion I have for the future- unfortunately, due to weather our Penguin tour in Punta Arenas via Solo Expediciones was cancelled. It is very important to have a plan B for this ahead of time, because it seems that the penguin tour is frequently canceled for weather and the “alternate Condor Tour” offered by Solo Expediciones was extremely disappointing.

Thank you to Erin and Julia for your responsiveness and for setting us up with a great trip!

The planning and itinerary was nicely planned. It was a good balance of adventure and rest/recovery considering our 36hour flight from Singapore. The transfer instructions were clear and easy to follow and we didn’t face any issues in getting to Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales.

It would be better if it had been specifically brought to our attention that we had to book the internal flights within Chile. (Even though it was indicated in the comments of the trip instructions that such flight... read more

The planning and itinerary was nicely planned. It was a good balance of adventure and rest/recovery considering our 36hour flight from Singapore. The transfer instructions were clear and easy to follow and we didn’t face any issues in getting to Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales.

It would be better if it had been specifically brought to our attention that we had to book the internal flights within Chile. (Even though it was indicated in the comments of the trip instructions that such flight arrangements had to be made on our own, we would have sorted this out earlier if it was expressly made known to us in a clear manner upon confirmation of our trip i.e. things to do.

Nonetheless we had a great time and enjoyed the tours with our guides (Felipe and Jaime).

4/5 stars for this trip! :)

Erin was super helpful in getting us all that we needed for our trip to Patagonia. She put together a completely customized itinerary to suit our needs. Everyone who was scheduled to pick us up and bring us somewhere was on time, was very pleasant, and the transfers went smoothly, with one exception, upon our leaving Torres del Paine National Park. In that case it was the other company that had some confusion in their paperwork and was expecting to pick up other people. The tour guide,... read more

Erin was super helpful in getting us all that we needed for our trip to Patagonia. She put together a completely customized itinerary to suit our needs. Everyone who was scheduled to pick us up and bring us somewhere was on time, was very pleasant, and the transfers went smoothly, with one exception, upon our leaving Torres del Paine National Park. In that case it was the other company that had some confusion in their paperwork and was expecting to pick up other people. The tour guide, Simon, for that portion, was informative and entertaining and spoke great English, and the transfers throughout Glacier National Park were smooth as well. Scenery was amazing.
One tip: don't accept the first room offered by hotel reception staff upon check-in. We traveled at a very slow time of the year and in each case were assigned teeny rooms with no views -- despite the low occupancy rates at that time -- until we spoke up. This was not KimKim's fault at all, but thought they should know. In each case we did succeed in getting much nicer rooms. Squeaky wheels . . . .
I do recommend this company highly and don't know how much time I would have wasted trying to do all the research on my own.

1. We lost 2 hours from exploring Perito Merino because the company Erin
contracted us with forgot to pick us up. When we brought our concern to her attention, she didn’t seem to care about the anxiety I had to go through not knowing if I’ll ever see the glaciers that
I came for from far? And the little to no Spanish we spoke trying to figure out what happened? Thanks to a personal connection our hotel owner had with
the local companies, they figured out that we were forgotten and were able... read more

1. We lost 2 hours from exploring Perito Merino because the company Erin
contracted us with forgot to pick us up. When we brought our concern to her attention, she didn’t seem to care about the anxiety I had to go through not knowing if I’ll ever see the glaciers that
I came for from far? And the little to no Spanish we spoke trying to figure out what happened? Thanks to a personal connection our hotel owner had with
the local companies, they figured out that we were forgotten and were able to get a hold of the company. Once the company showed up, the tour guide rushed us in the park so we don’t miss the last running boat in the
afternoon. When I called Laura via emergency line, she promised a full
refund for that day because of what we had to go through.

2. I hired KimKim to make sure my religious dietary restrictions were
respected and not to have us starve with the 22km hike to Torres Base Camp.

3. In Paine Grande, they didn’t have running water. So we weren't even able
to brush out teeth or take a shower during our stay. They told us
maintenance is working on the water. They charged us each 5 pesos for the
towel. They promised us warm warmer the morning after, which never
happened. How can you run a business with no running water? Or warm water
even in winter?

4. On our way to ElChalten, Walk Patagonia left us hanging yesterday in the
van in-front of the airport for over an hour waiting for passengers to
board. We were freezing in the car. Someone should have let us know about
this.

5. We missed our meals yesterday because we had red meat in our meal and we
were not sure if it was pork or not. The hotel tried to call Walk Patagonia
to check but no one was answering the call. We had no idea what time we
were supposed to be picked up. The hotel told us 8:30am, however it was not
until 9am that a car came to pick us up.

6. Walk Patagonia sent us a bottle of wine to apologize about their poor
service. I told the hotel receptionist that I have let you (Erin) know that
we don’t drink alcohol. I let her have it. However, she contacted the
company to let them know about the bottle of wine. They sent me a box of
sweet today.

Thanks!

All came together well. Guides were very knowledgeable and had a sense of humour which is always a bonus. Mery had everything planned and organized. Thank you 😊

Erin was a delight to work with. She was very prompt in responding to our questions, took our feedback on board and managed to put together our ideal itinerary. We had fairly limited time and quite a few things to fit in, but Erin managed it! Everything worked super well, all transfers on time and comfortable and the local partners she put us in touch with for the hiking equipment, lunches etc were also super lovely and helpful.
As 2 friends with very busy and quite stressful jobs in big... read more

Erin was a delight to work with. She was very prompt in responding to our questions, took our feedback on board and managed to put together our ideal itinerary. We had fairly limited time and quite a few things to fit in, but Erin managed it! Everything worked super well, all transfers on time and comfortable and the local partners she put us in touch with for the hiking equipment, lunches etc were also super lovely and helpful.
As 2 friends with very busy and quite stressful jobs in big cities, we just didn't have the time and mental energy to figure out this itinerary by ourselves. Having Erin take care of things so well for us was amazing and meant we could just relax and enjoy with full peace of mind that we were in expert hands. Thank you Erin & team!

My 27 year old son and I had an amazing trip to Patagonia. Erin and Emily planned it beautifully. Every place we stayed, every connection and each experience was just what we wanted and more. Even when the weather was uncooperative we were able to make the most of an activity. We especially enjoyed staying at the all inclusive Hotel Rio Serrano right outside of the park. The accommodations were luxurious and the guides and daily excursions gave us a terrific understanding of the area and... read more

My 27 year old son and I had an amazing trip to Patagonia. Erin and Emily planned it beautifully. Every place we stayed, every connection and each experience was just what we wanted and more. Even when the weather was uncooperative we were able to make the most of an activity. We especially enjoyed staying at the all inclusive Hotel Rio Serrano right outside of the park. The accommodations were luxurious and the guides and daily excursions gave us a terrific understanding of the area and wonderful memories. Erin and Emily were always available to help with questions and get us through a missed flight connection. and any other hiccup along the way. They gave us a sense of security while traveling down at the bottom of the world. I will recommend Dittmar Adventure to any friend planning a trip to southern Chile and Kimkim for anywhere in the world.