Best of Patagonia - 9 Days
Argentina | Nov 17 - Dec 2, 2018

K
Katia N.
United Kingdom | Reviewed on Jan 13, 2019

We had a great time booking with Kimkim, and will definitely use them again. We would also recommend them to others, and in particular others doing the trip we did.

We had some really great calls with our specialist Martin, who did an amazing job, and helped us plan the trip that we wanted. I was very particular about our accommodation, but Martin listened to what I wanted and (patiently) found the perfect options. He also helped us maximise our time in Patagonia e.g by thinking outside the box and finding other flight options when we discovered that all the domestic flights were booked out due to the G20 (we had booked our international flights by ourselves and didn't realise). He was also so helpful with all the logistics of moving round so much in such a short time, and planning the best trip possible so we could see everything we wanted to in the time we had.

When circumstances changed (e.g unpredictable closures in Buenos Aires during our stay due to the G20) Martin was on hand to help out in person (he even came to our hotel) with other options for us - very quick thinking!

He also put small touches on our trip which were both lovely and personal and absolute lifesavers (such as arranging for us to have a shower after a hike and before a plane ride when we had checked out of our hotel) which allowed us to be comfortable and make the best use of our time.

It is one of the best trips we have ever been on (if we planned it again we would change nothing) and all the individual tours we did as part of it were amazing, in particular all the day trips and accommodation in el calafate. Special shout out as well to Hotel Lago Grey and our guide Carlos, which were absolute highlights of the trip.

We would only mention a couple of other points as feedback:
1) I would generally allow plenty of response time to queries during the planning phase (as this could sometimes take a few days or so)
2) to double check the schedules and bus tickets etc have the correct dates and hotels on them (we had to get some errors corrected to match our itinerary, but once pointed out these were speedily corrected by the travel team)
3) one transfer showed up half an hour early and then left without us, but as it was only a cab ride to the nearby bus station we were able to run there to make the bus, and
4) when we were dropped off in Torres del Paine it was later than scheduled and there was no one there to meet us, and the phone in the cafe wasn't working - luckily we found someone who spoke English who took us to talk to a ranger who was able to radio base to call our hotel, who then came to collect us.

These are all however minor points (which happen when you have so many things booked), and did not detract from how pleased we were with this absolute trip of a lifetime, and the hard work put in by Martin to help us realize this. Thank you so much Martin! 11 out of 10! We would recommend to anyone visiting Argentina and Chile.

Local specialist: Martin Ogawa
Martin
Martin Ogawa
Local specialist in Buenos Aires, Argentina | Replied on Jan 28, 2019
Hi Katia, I'm really happy you and Michael had a great time in our country. I also appreciate all your words about me. This is one of the main points that make a travel specialist work harder to be every day a better professional and love what we do. I work to create lifelong memories and I think that this time, I did it!
We also really appreciate your suggestions and comments. There is always something to improve and these little details from our travelers help us a lot.
Once again, thank...
Read more

Hi Katia,

I'm really happy you and Michael had a great time in our country. I also appreciate all your words about me. This is one of the main points that make a travel specialist work harder to be every day a better professional and love what we do. I work to create lifelong memories and I think that this time, I did it!
We also really appreciate your suggestions and comments. There is always something to improve and these little details from our travelers help us a lot.
Once again, thank you very much for traveling with us. I really had a good time preparing this trip for you!
Have a very nice year
Martin