Dec 2014 Buenos Aires to Valparaiso trip report

A few comments and descriptions before our wonderful trip recedes into fuzzy memory...

Legalities

Argentina reciprocity fee, do *not* toss your printed receipt after checking in for your flight to Argentina - you will need it to clear Argentine immigration at the airport and we needed it twice again when checking in for our cruise - once to show and once to hand over with our passport. Argentina didn't care much about customs (in or out). Falklands requested no food brought ashore. Chile actually inspected bags as we left the ship at most ports (for agricultural products).

Very easy to get a remis or car service at the Buenos Aires airport, there are kiosks where they give you a fixed price and then take you out to a driver. Was very smooth, no waiting. Bonus: to get to the cruise ship terminal from the airport, the most direct route takes you down 9 de Julio (the "widest street").

Thanks to CC recommendation, we ate a very good lunch in Buenos Aires at Cabana las Lilas - quite convenient to the cruise ship terminal (short cab ride or looong walk), wonderful food (focused on beef from Argentina), serves continuously from noon, takes credit cards, great wine list. You can eat outside under an awning and enjoy a view of Puerto Madero.

Punta del Este

We actually missed stopping - there was quite a storm and no chance of tendering safely. Not the stop we expected to miss, but the only one we did.

Puerto Madryn

Thanks to CC recommendation we used Sentir Patagonia for a Punto Tomba excursion. It was excellent - shared modern mini-bus with great guide. We signed up as 4 and were in a bus with a total of 14 or so. Very well organized.

Roads are modern & totally paved except for the last 10 miles or so, which is a very wide & well-graded gravel road. Driver was in a hurry on the way down so we could beat the big tour buses (we did, even with a bathroom stop). Much more leisurely on the way back. Highly recommend, you see *lots* of penguins, many up close. If you have mobility issues, this would be less exciting as the path is mostly dirt or gravel and although there are a few penguins right at the parking lot, most are up the (short if no issues) hill and down to the water.

Those we talked to who went on the cruise lines' Gaiman outing were underwhelmed - most of the Welsh community has either mixed in with the locals or returned to Wales. Downtown Puerto Madryn is right at the end of the pier. *keep an eye out entering or leaving the bay - there was an entire pod of Right Whales on our way out!* There were independent taxis/volunteer tour operators at the city end of the pier.

Stanley/Falklands

We didn't do a formal tour. Very informative interpretive signs throughout downtown Stanley for DIY walkers. Even though we were in port on Sunday, most shops (including stamp desk at Post Office) were open - although rental car agencies were closed. We took a shared van out to Gypsy Cove, was US$20pp. Not as many penguins or as many close as at Punto Tomba, but shorter walk and fun to see a few up close and lots far below on the white sandy beaches. Those who went to Bluff Cove thought it was a looong drive for a short photo opportunity. The main settlement is right at the tender dock. There were some taxis and last-minute tour opportunities at the tender pier, would be more limited on a larger ship (we were 1,200 passengers).

Ushuaia

Didn't do a formal tour. Thanks to CC recommendation ate lunch at Restaurant Kaupe which was incredible. French cooking method meets fresh Patagonian ingredients, plus a great view. And a very good wine list, we enjoyed a 1990 (ish, spouse will remember exact vintage) Cabernet from Mendoza that was very good (pricey, but there were many other choices on the list). Short but steep walk from pier. You can get a meal for much less right downtown, but if you like fine dining this was hard to beat! Taxi stand and tour kiosks at the city end of the pier.

Punta Arenas

We were scheduled to tender 4km from downtown but ended up at the downtown tender port - just 4 blocks from the main square, so no taxi required. Not our favorite port, although pleasant enough for strolling and the local history folks have labelled many buildings of interest (sign languages vary depending on why the building was famous - we saw some 100% spanish, some spanish & english, some spanish & french) including some related to Shackelton.

A few restaurants, some open dinner only. The overlook is a nice walk uphill, close to the central square. My folks did a half-day tour that included some of the local museums, which they said were excellent. Otway Sound penguin tour was a long drive to a relatively long walk to a distant view of not many penguins according to those who went. Plenty of taxis/taxi tours at the ship terminal.

Laguna San Rafael - we didn't do the pricey ship's tour to the glacier, those who did were happy, they saw lots of ice (but few animals).

Puerto Chacabuco

We stayed onboard, the day was warm and the views from the pool of the surrounding mountains were great. Very small town, my folks enjoyed a walk around and said the flowers were great. Folks who went on the scenic tour (river, waterfall, Coyhaique) enjoyed it very much.

Puerto Montt

Great handcrafts market just to the left from the tender pier. Some stalls have mostly mass-produced stuff (some from Chile, some from China), but many are owned by artisans selling their own products. The guy who runs the lapis boutique with many old instruments as decoration makes his own stuff from a personal cache of lapis (he says the last Chilean lapis mine closed down 19 yrs ago). Ask to see his rings, he has drawers of them each unique. Or go see him in Vegas, he goes to the gem show there!

Just past the artisan stalls is the fish market, you can get a bowl of sea urchin roe for US$5 at some restaurants there (a *big* bowl). Would suggest getting a sampler platter - a bit spendier but where else can you get multiple ceviches, sea urchin roe, barnacles (a real delicacy, think lobster crossed with fois gras), local salmon & hake, 2 kinds of crab... Will post the exact restaurant (there are a lot of them, mostly tiny - 12 to 16 seats) when I unpack fully, I know we kept their card. Lots of taxi tour touts when we first disembarked, very few when we wandered back.

Valparaiso

We basically took a cab to Hertz in Vina del Mar and drove out of town toward wineries and the Colchagua Valley where we spent 2 nights post-cruise. Great view from the ship at dock of the colorful houses, steep hills and funiculars. Very reminiscent of Lisbon imo. There is a car service agency desk as you exit the ship terminal.

Weather - we left Buenos Aires Dec 2 and arrived Valparaiso Dec 16. Was not as rainy as I feared, but we may have been lucky. If you want to spend a lot of time on deck or exploring ashore, layers are your friend! I wore a pair of thermal leggings under my pants on the plane on the way down. Those, some wool socks, a merino turtleneck plus a down vest and rain shell kept me very comfy without adding too much to my luggage.

Wind may have been our biggest foe, if we had been in the Falklands 1 day later we would not have stopped as winds hit 50+mph. Most of this itinerary is relatively protected, but we did notice the waves when in open sea (1 of us out of 4 got a bit queasy, but accupressure bands handled it well). Our departure from Ushuaia was delayed about 4 hrs as winds pinned us *to* the dock (meant we hit Glacier Alley in the dark, oh well). That meant a delayed arrival to Punta Arenas...As we didn't have specific tours planned, this actually wasn't too much of a hassle. Do highly recommend booking earliest tour of the day if going through your cruise line - when destination services had to get creative, the later tours fared worse.

All in all...Those are most of the particulars I can remember that might be helpful. We (and my 85yo folks, who are highly functioning) had a wonderful time. Penguins, incredible scenery, great food & wine...good stuff!

Great info-- very helpful. Leaving for Buenos Aires on Jan 7th.

What was the price of the Punto Tomba tour?

Thanks.

Below, I cut & pasted from Sentir's email response to my initial inquiry. They will form a group for you - we were 4 and ended up in a mini-bus of 14. The mini-bus was quite nice, 3 across seating (2 and 1) and good AC. If you want a special meal, let them know ahead of time. Have a great time on your trip!

Rates 2014/15

Regular Service (sharing a vehicle with other passengers)

Punta Tombo US$ 95.- per person

12 or more people US$ 90.- per person

16 or more people US$ 85.- per person

Peninsula Valdes US$ 95.- per person

12 or more people US$ 90.- per person

16 or more people US$ 85.- per person

All our tours start and finish at the pier.

The payment it´s as soon as you get to the vehicle.

The payment it’s in cash in US currency only, we don’t accept credit cards.

These rates includes vehicle with up to 18 seats, with A/C, English speaking tour guide and box lunch (ham and cheese sandwich, piece of pie, granola bar, 2 Argentinean alfajor and 1 bottle of water) also you can choose vegetarian menu, gluten free meals and other options.

Entrance fee to park are NOT included.

Punta Tombo park admission USD 13.- per person

Peninsula Valdes park admission USD 23.- per person

Our vehicles are prepared for 4, 5, 12 or 18 people plus driver and tour guide.

We use small vehicles such vans, minivans or small minibus up to 18 seats, we don’t use coach buses for tours.

Appreciate your reporting and the sharing of so many important experiences and details. We are getting ready for a Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo back-to-back sailing, but have this sailing around this part of South America on our future "to-do" listing.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 89,212 views for this posting.

Everyone has their own priorities on a cruise, but frankly, I am surprised you didn't do tours at three of the very best ports, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt.

We did a combo of the Beagle Channel and the National Park at Ushuaia, not to be missed.

At Punta Arenas, we did the Otway Sound Penguin Colony, another great tour.

At Puerto Montt, we went to Puerto Varas and Petrohue falls, fantastic.

Chacabuco is a bit under rated but for us it was a highlight, did a great private tour. But don't worry, not taking advantage of some of the ports means you have a great excuse for doing another South American cruise, we're doing our 3rd in 4 years, just love the place.

Sandy in Spain

We will be sailing in the other direction, from Chile around the horn to Argentina. Do you have a recommendation for port side balcony vs starboard?

We will be sailing in the other direction, from Chile around the horn to Argentina. Do you have a recommendation for port side balcony vs starboard?

going from valpo to ba, best on port.

We were a group of active adults (3) and had fun in every port of call. We saved a few bucks and always met our guides just outside the port gates. These were a few of our highlights!

All were booked privately.....excellent communication before the trip, fair pricing and lots of fun! These were all independent and excellent! Falkland Islands, Volunteer Point---Estancia Tours with Nyree...what fun...and so many penguins!

Puerto Montt--Juan Sunkel Cerro at Tours Lake District Chile. He is a private guide who speaks English and is quick to answer all your email questions. We had a great day hiking, visiting lakes and waterfalls, and seeing Puerto Varas.

Puerto Chacabuco/Aysen-- What a fun day at the ranch with horseback riding and a delicious salmon lunch! Contact: Ecoturismo La Pancha , Lorena Pladellorens Casanova Phone: 067-2336656 Mobile: +56998878572 quincholapancha@gmail.com Website: http://www.ecoturismolapancha.cl/ Address: Camino Laguna Los Palos km 7,Puerto Aysén

Montevideo--visit the Museo Andes 1972 which is the first and only Uruguayan tribute to the survivors or the rugby team –all Uruguayan–, victims and their story. Museo Andes is a private venture by Jarg Thomsen, a Uruguayan businessman. Jarg was sixteen when the plane crash happened. He personally toured us in the museum. The book and movie, "ALIVE" is also their story.

Have a great trip!

Just a quick comment to thank "baby steps" for a well prepared and informative trip report.

going from valpo to ba, best on port.

Agree 100%. You will get to see the glaciers and land from your room. Starboard will be mostly open water which you'll get here and there as well on port side.

Everyone has their own priorities on a cruise, but frankly, I am surprised you didn't do tours at three of the very best ports, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt.

 

We did a combo of the Beagle Channel and the National Park at Ushuaia, not to be missed.

At Punta Arenas, we did the Otway Sound Penguin Colony, another great tour.

 

 

At Puerto Montt, we went to Puerto Varas and Petrohue falls, fantastic.

No worries! We tend to just wander around a port and talk to folks and eat the local food, so don't do tours that often. My folks (on same cruise) really enjoyed all their tours (Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas).

This is the sort of itinerary that is easy to make 'your own' depending on what you choose to do in port. I believe a little research on CC and/or Trip Advisor can really help tailor a trip to your specific interests.

Agree 100%. You will get to see the glaciers and land from your room. Starboard will be mostly open water which you'll get here and there as well on port side.

Thank you, I've changed our cabin to port side. :D

A few comments and descriptions before our wonderful trip recedes into fuzzy memory...

 

Legalities

Argentina reciprocity fee, do *not* toss your printed receipt after checking in for your flight to Argentina - you will need it to clear Argentine immigration at the airport and we needed it twice again when checking in for our cruise - once to show and once to hand over with our passport. Argentina didn't care much about customs (in or out). Falklands requested no food brought ashore. Chile actually inspected bags as we left the ship at most ports (for agricultural products).

 

Very easy to get a remis or car service at the Buenos Aires airport, there are kiosks where they give you a fixed price and then take you out to a driver. Was very smooth, no waiting. Bonus: to get to the cruise ship terminal from the airport, the most direct route takes you down 9 de Julio (the "widest street").

 

Thanks to CC recommendation, we ate a very good lunch in Buenos Aires at Cabana las Lilas - quite convenient to the cruise ship terminal (short cab ride or looong walk), wonderful food (focused on beef from Argentina), serves continuously from noon, takes credit cards, great wine list. You can eat outside under an awning and enjoy a view of Puerto Madero.

 

Punta del Este

We actually missed stopping - there was quite a storm and no chance of tendering safely. Not the stop we expected to miss, but the only one we did.

 

Puerto Madryn

Thanks to CC recommendation we used Sentir Patagonia for a Punto Tomba excursion. It was excellent - shared modern mini-bus with great guide. We signed up as 4 and were in a bus with a total of 14 or so. Very well organized.

Roads are modern & totally paved except for the last 10 miles or so, which is a very wide & well-graded gravel road. Driver was in a hurry on the way down so we could beat the big tour buses (we did, even with a bathroom stop). Much more leisurely on the way back. Highly recommend, you see *lots* of penguins, many up close. If you have mobility issues, this would be less exciting as the path is mostly dirt or gravel and although there are a few penguins right at the parking lot, most are up the (short if no issues) hill and down to the water.

Those we talked to who went on the cruise lines' Gaiman outing were underwhelmed - most of the Welsh community has either mixed in with the locals or returned to Wales. Downtown Puerto Madryn is right at the end of the pier. *keep an eye out entering or leaving the bay - there was an entire pod of Right Whales on our way out!* There were independent taxis/volunteer tour operators at the city end of the pier.

 

Stanley/Falklands

We didn't do a formal tour. Very informative interpretive signs throughout downtown Stanley for DIY walkers. Even though we were in port on Sunday, most shops (including stamp desk at Post Office) were open - although rental car agencies were closed. We took a shared van out to Gypsy Cove, was US$20pp. Not as many penguins or as many close as at Punto Tomba, but shorter walk and fun to see a few up close and lots far below on the white sandy beaches. Those who went to Bluff Cove thought it was a looong drive for a short photo opportunity. The main settlement is right at the tender dock. There were some taxis and last-minute tour opportunities at the tender pier, would be more limited on a larger ship (we were 1,200 passengers).

 

Ushuaia

Didn't do a formal tour. Thanks to CC recommendation ate lunch at Restaurant Kaupe which was incredible. French cooking method meets fresh Patagonian ingredients, plus a great view. And a very good wine list, we enjoyed a 1990 (ish, spouse will remember exact vintage) Cabernet from Mendoza that was very good (pricey, but there were many other choices on the list). Short but steep walk from pier. You can get a meal for much less right downtown, but if you like fine dining this was hard to beat! Taxi stand and tour kiosks at the city end of the pier.

 

Punta Arenas

We were scheduled to tender 4km from downtown but ended up at the downtown tender port - just 4 blocks from the main square, so no taxi required. Not our favorite port, although pleasant enough for strolling and the local history folks have labelled many buildings of interest (sign languages vary depending on why the building was famous - we saw some 100% spanish, some spanish & english, some spanish & french) including some related to Shackelton.

 

A few restaurants, some open dinner only. The overlook is a nice walk uphill, close to the central square. My folks did a half-day tour that included some of the local museums, which they said were excellent. Otway Sound penguin tour was a long drive to a relatively long walk to a distant view of not many penguins according to those who went. Plenty of taxis/taxi tours at the ship terminal.

 

Laguna San Rafael - we didn't do the pricey ship's tour to the glacier, those who did were happy, they saw lots of ice (but few animals).

 

Puerto Chacabuco

We stayed onboard, the day was warm and the views from the pool of the surrounding mountains were great. Very small town, my folks enjoyed a walk around and said the flowers were great. Folks who went on the scenic tour (river, waterfall, Coyhaique) enjoyed it very much.

 

Puerto Montt

Great handcrafts market just to the left from the tender pier. Some stalls have mostly mass-produced stuff (some from Chile, some from China), but many are owned by artisans selling their own products. The guy who runs the lapis boutique with many old instruments as decoration makes his own stuff from a personal cache of lapis (he says the last Chilean lapis mine closed down 19 yrs ago). Ask to see his rings, he has drawers of them each unique. Or go see him in Vegas, he goes to the gem show there!

 

Just past the artisan stalls is the fish market, you can get a bowl of sea urchin roe for US$5 at some restaurants there (a *big* bowl). Would suggest getting a sampler platter - a bit spendier but where else can you get multiple ceviches, sea urchin roe, barnacles (a real delicacy, think lobster crossed with fois gras), local salmon & hake, 2 kinds of crab... Will post the exact restaurant (there are a lot of them, mostly tiny - 12 to 16 seats) when I unpack fully, I know we kept their card. Lots of taxi tour touts when we first disembarked, very few when we wandered back.

 

Valparaiso

We basically took a cab to Hertz in Vina del Mar and drove out of town toward wineries and the Colchagua Valley where we spent 2 nights post-cruise. Great view from the ship at dock of the colorful houses, steep hills and funiculars. Very reminiscent of Lisbon imo. There is a car service agency desk as you exit the ship terminal.

 

Weather - we left Buenos Aires Dec 2 and arrived Valparaiso Dec 16. Was not as rainy as I feared, but we may have been lucky. If you want to spend a lot of time on deck or exploring ashore, layers are your friend! I wore a pair of thermal leggings under my pants on the plane on the way down. Those, some wool socks, a merino turtleneck plus a down vest and rain shell kept me very comfy without adding too much to my luggage.

 

Wind may have been our biggest foe, if we had been in the Falklands 1 day later we would not have stopped as winds hit 50+mph. Most of this itinerary is relatively protected, but we did notice the waves when in open sea (1 of us out of 4 got a bit queasy, but accupressure bands handled it well). Our departure from Ushuaia was delayed about 4 hrs as winds pinned us *to* the dock (meant we hit Glacier Alley in the dark, oh well). That meant a delayed arrival to Punta Arenas...As we didn't have specific tours planned, this actually wasn't too much of a hassle. Do highly recommend booking earliest tour of the day if going through your cruise line - when destination services had to get creative, the later tours fared worse.

 

All in all...Those are most of the particulars I can remember that might be helpful. We (and my 85yo folks, who are highly functioning) had a wonderful time. Penguins, incredible scenery, great food & wine...good stuff!

How much was the car service?

How much was the car service?

The car from EZE to the cruise terminal was $50 ish for the car (not pp). I think it was posted online as $55 but was $50 or $45 in person - fun with currency fluctuation.

Everyone has their own priorities on a cruise, but frankly, I am surprised you didn't do tours at three of the very best ports, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and Puerto Montt.

 

We did a combo of the Beagle Channel and the National Park at Ushuaia, not to be missed.

At Punta Arenas, we did the Otway Sound Penguin Colony, another great tour.

 

 

At Puerto Montt, we went to Puerto Varas and Petrohue falls, fantastic.

We are taking this cruise in December. May I ask which tour companies you used in Ushuaia and Punta Arenas? Thank you!!

Not 4774PApa but just got back. Used GV with Luis in Puerto Montt and edgardo calaio's guide in Ushuaia. Both wonderful tours. You will love it!