1) Several transfers had been arranged for us, of which 4 were to get us to airports in time for flights. Two of those were so late we found other ways to get to the airport. Kimkim did refund the cost of those two missed transfers, but that didn’t restore our confidence in their ability to provide timely transportation to airports. See also comments on communication below.
2) Communication was good before the trip. Agustina was our contact. When we arrived, we were assigned Nicolas as on-site contact. We met him over coffee and asked many questions. He named the person who would be our contact for the coming Saturday and Sunday when he was off. But we never were told who our contact was for our final day (Friday, a week later). That day, when our transfer was 15 minutes late, we tried in vain to contact Nicolas. Even later, we got a text from the previously-named weekend person (now working on Friday). By then we had hailed a taxi and had barely enough time to get through all the lines at the airport for our departure from the country (we’d allowed 4 hours). So, while it was helpful to have a local contact person, it was disturbing to be unable to contact him when we needed help on our last day.
3) We would have appreciated a more helpful description (i.e. what the different price ranges would be) between their strata of “comfort,” “mid-range,” and “basic,” rather than planning the whole itinerary before realizing that the total cost would be beyond our comfort zone. They did adjust things in response to our requests for less expensive accommodations and fewer arranged tours. So, we made our own lodging arrangements and chose our own activities for half the trip. We were disappointed that they didn’t give much help deciding where to splurge and where to save on our itinerary. On our last night, we were in a hotel room (booked by them) where the toilet ran continuously every time it was flushed. That hotel’s concierge, on the other hand, did an excellent job of communicating with the taxi driver we’d hailed, so that we were able to pay with the funds available to us. In the end, we had a good experience, and wish that others would be given more clarity about the prices of different options than we were.
4) The tours kimkim arranged were good, and we had a better time with the smaller groups than the large ones. For example, kimkim had scheduled our Milonga night right before being picked up in the morning for the airport at 5 am. That activity was just our guide and us, and she accommodated our request to leave the festivities at 10 pm instead of 11:30 or later. The other extreme was a boat full of people (100+). It made two stops and for each, we were told we must all be back on board at a specific time. For one of us, 50 minutes was not enough time to relax and enjoy the 0.6-mile loop path in the Bosque de Arrayanes (Myrtle Forest), much less the snack bar at the end of the path.
5) One more thing: kimkim knew our preference to communicate in English, and for the most part, paired us with competent English-speaking guides. However, the tour of Victoria Island in Lake Nauhuel Huapi was led by a Spanish-only speaker. The boat that took us there had some commentary in both languages and some only in Spanish. For the Island, we were given a firm time to return to the boat and cautioned to stay with the guide so as not to get lost (it is a larger island and has more paths than the Bosque de Arrayanes). We would have enjoyed that day better if we’d understood what was said both on the boat and on the guided tour of Victoria Island.
Hotel Reviews
Hotel Nevada Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche
Again, this hotel was listed as our place to stay, but at the last minute, we were shifted to another hotel. Therefore I cannot accurately rate this hotel.
El Pueblito Iguazu
Puerto Iguazú
I can't rate this, since our booking was changed at the last minute to a different hotel.
Infinito Hotel
Buenos Aires
This is the third hotel that was assigned to us, but it changed at the last minute. It's too bad that kimkim doesn't have our actual hotels available to rate.
Activity Reviews
Day Trip to the Pampas & Estancia Lunch
Buenos Aires
We appreciated our driver who negotiated everything from busy Buenos Aires traffic to the bumpy and very dusty last mile or more to the estancia with aplomb. The visit and tour of San Antonio de Areco was lovely, though it seemed a bit brief since we had to leave to get to the estancia in time for horse riding before lunch. The church, museum, and inside view of some workshops (silver, and braided fine strips of rawhide) in San Antonio de Areco were worth seeing. Our guide, Laura, was proud of her local history. At the estancia (El Ombu is not as prominent in the tourist literature but was really wonderful, and we credit Agustina for steering us to this estancia), we had lovely weather for lunch outdoors, shaded by large spreading trees. A typical asado has very little in the way of vegetables, but this one included a couple of very nice salads. A highlight of the afternoon was being invited to learn a simple dance and dance with the live musicians after their performance. The last performance of the day was a young man and a horse who performed quietly and impressively with only gentleness (aka horse whispering).
Walking tour: Palermo & Recoleta
Buenos Aires
At the request of our guide, Sandra, we met for this tour an hour later than scheduled. This is another of the small groups (just us three and the guide) that we appreciated for their individuality. Palermo and Recoleta is a large area, so we didn’t know what to expect. We did walk by highights that Sandra told us about, then went to Recoleta Cemetery. The cemetery was impressive, and Sandra drew our attention to some areas of special interest. Part of the tour, for us, was two brief rides on the subway, so we were able to see some of the art we’d heard about in the Subte system.
Valle Encantado trek
Bariloche
We can't review this because we didn't do it; our itinerary was changed because of the timing of our flights into and out of San Carlos de Bariloche. Instead, we did the Chico Circuito which did allow us to see some of the sights in beautiful Bariloche.
Milonga night
Buenos Aires
Melina met us on foot at our lodgings, then led us to our car and driver for the evening. First, we went to a dance studio where we had a private lesson in the basic tango step with her. As expected, I didn’t feel at all confident when the lesson was over, so when we got to the milonga (it appeared to be a hotel ballroom where the dance floor was surrounded by tables), I was filled with fears of not doing well, not being graceful, and not fitting in. Melina made things easy for us by introducing us to another tour leader, Martin who graciously agreed to dance one dance with each of us. We were grateful that Melina was willing to leave much earlier than planned (10 pm instead of 11:30 pm) because we were scheduled to leave for the airport the next morning at 5 am. The evening did leave me with more appreciation of where to start learning to dance the tango.
Gran Aventura Navigation tour
Puerto Iguazú
This was a very exciting (and wet) boat ride into the water splashing up from the bottom of the Devil’s Throat. We got very close to rocky shorelines and saw animals like capybaras and caymans on small beaches on the way. There were a lot of steps down (and back up) to get from the rest of the paths around the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, and the logistics of putting everything into a dry bag, and changing into dry clothes afterward were tricky (no real locker room or place to change). It was almost warm enough to wear a swimsuit for the whole experience, but it still would have been tricky to dry off and change into dry clothes afterward. Our turn to do this boat ride was in the middle of the day, and the rest of the day was walking around on walkways where the drizzly weather and mist from the falls combined to keep us wanting our ponchos on, as well as a lot of walking that wouldn’t have been comfortable in water shoes. They managed to give a lot of people the experience, and it was fun, but we’d have appreciated a neater way to change clothes.
Full day to the Argentinian side of the falls
Argentina
This was a long day which, for us, was interrupted by the Gran Aventura Navigation Tour. We followed our guide Francisco to many viewpoints of the falls. Looking at photos or a map ahead of time didn’t prepare us for how much walking up and down would be involved, nor did the photos prepare us for how large an amount of water we’d be close to. It was thrilling! The handrails were quite slick at times, making it feel a bit less secure, though the area is designed to keep people safe. We saw capuchin monkeys cavorting in the trees, and toucans just being themselves. If I had it to do again, I’d wear a waterproof hat with a brim over the waterproof poncho to better keep my head dry. The poncho hood I had didn’t provide enough cover. Fortunately, the air temperature was warm enough that getting wet wasn’t too uncomfortable, while the drizzle kept the sun from roasting us.
Half day tour to the Iguazú Falls (Brazilian side)
Argentina
This half-day tour with Dario as our guide and Diego as our driver included quite a bit of walking with more wide panoramic views of the falls than on the Argentinian side. It was a wonderful complement to the views from Argentina. We stopped near the entrance to the park for refreshments and saw a chameleon in some rocks along the path. We got wet on walkways that went out over parts of the falls, and that was exciting! There was also a souvenir shop conveniently placed near the end of our walk. After we left the falls themselves, we visited the Birds Park (reviewed separately), and a large souvenir shop before heading back across the border. We were also given the option to take a helicopter tour over the falls which we declined in favor of more time in the Birds Park. With all the time that the border crossings took in both directions, it was more than a half-day total, but fortunately, we didn't have anything else scheduled.
This was amazing. Wonderful! Loved it, and wasn’t prepared for how much we would enjoy wandering into the birds’ spaces. Some were protected from us, and others were allowed to fly right past us. It’s a refuge, so there are displays about various aspects of conservation and concerns with ecology. We were very pleased that we'd visited the Bird's Park (Parque das Aves).
Lago Moreno Kayaking
Bariloche
We did this on our last morning in San Carlos de Bariloche. The weather was sunny and not too cold or windy. It was wonderful to be inside the beautiful scene of the lake and mountains we’d been seeing from shore for two days. We were outfitted with gear including water booties, a spray skirt, and a life jacket. The kayaks were very stable, and we were given basic instructions. This activity was a great contrast to walking and driving tours. However, some of us had sore arms by the end, not being accustomed to the movements of kayak paddling. We had a nice break on a tiny beach where we were served a variety of snacks and teas. Our guide, Leticia, was very helpful and shortened our outing to enable us to get changed into dry clothes and back to our hotel in time to meet our airport pickup.
Cruising on Lake Nahuel Huapi and Victoria Island
Bariloche
This is long because there are a lot of points to be made.
-We were anxious when the bus didn’t pick us up soon after 12:30, though it did eventually come. We had been switched to a different hotel and pick-up point that wasn’t written down and didn’t know who to call or text to check our information.
-We had more confusion in the boat launch area because we already had our boat ticket, but needed to get a pass (the English signs said everyone needed to pay entry tax) for the park entrance later in the day.
-The catamaran boat was crowded and slow, though it was equipped with a snack bar and restroom facilities.
-The cruise aspect would have been more enjoyable if it had been easier to see the scenery around us (beautiful lake with mountains in the distance) out the windows but they were somewhat obscured by spray from waves on the lake. Options for clearer viewing were on a deck above the majority of passengers, reserved for some special subset, and the top of the boat which was so windy as to be unbearable for long.
-Time at the two stops was shorter than we would have liked,
-At one stop (Victoria Island) it was strongly suggested that we stay with the guide rather than risk getting lost. But the guide spoke only Spanish, so we missed a lot. Also, we were encouraged to stop at the snack bar there, but it took a very long time to get our order (pizza) filled, which left no time to eat it.
-The amount of time on the boat felt very long compared to the short times at the two stopping places. The day was listed as 8 hours, and we spent 50 minutes at the first stop and less than 1.5 hours at the second; the rest was riding in the bus to and from the boat launch area and on the boat.
-The two stopping places were disappointing, mostly because we couldn’t understand the guide who was pointing out things of interest on Victoria Island, and because we’d already seen some Arraynas trees the day before (though the Bosque de Arraynes stop this day did have more trees, we were in a hurry to be sure we’d be able to get back on the boat).