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GV Tours - Puerto Montt


jettaleea
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Has anyone used GV Tours in Puerto Montt, Chile? Their tours sound interesting but would like a recommendation.

 

GV Tours has been well recommended on this board, and we took a day tour with them last January based on these recommendations.

 

The tour was OK, and the price was right compared to ship's tours, but I can't say that it was outstanding in any respect.

 

The guide was not terribly communicative or informative and one of the guests actually complained to the management (Gail) about the standard of the guide which we had been assigned.

 

Out first stop was Frutillar, a scenic village on Lake Llanquihue, but we arrived (and left) before anything in town was open (except for one small gift shop). The German Colonial Museum was only pointed out to us as we left town. We were generally left to our own devices to wander along the lakeshore for an hour or so.

 

We next stopped in Puerto Varas. After a brief stop outside town for a panoramic view of the town, we were dropped off at the centre of town and given an hour or so to wander around . The guide gave us virtually no information on the history or the highlights of the town.

 

We then proceeded along the lake shore and as the clouds dispersed we had magnificent views of Mount Osorno. After a brief stop to see a few llamas, which our guide did point out are not native to the area, we stopped at a non-nondescript restaurant for lunch. The lunch (we had salmon) was OK, but nothing outstanding. Later on, our guide pointed out another restaurant on the shores of the lake which looked much nicer. He mentioned that this was the usual one used by GV tours, so I suspect that there were too many people on tour that day and a secondary restaurant had to be used as well for the overflow.

 

Our final stop were the waterfalls at Petrohue which were well worth seeing and here our guide was quite helpful and informative.

 

We then returned to Puerto Montt via Puerto Varas (no stops) where we were dropped off. We didn't tour Puerto Montt.

 

I don't know if this was typical of GV tours, but judging from the comments on this board, I suspect it was not. There were two cruise ships in port that day and probably their resources were stretched trying to accommodate as many guests as they could. I don't think that we had the best of their guides.

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I used GV and I believe it was Gail, a man, that drove just the 2 of us around in his small compact car. He said his van was damaged as it had been hit while parked and he didnt have insurance or the funds to repair it. Our time with him was not pleasant. He was a bore, drove way too fast and did not have anything interesting to say. Other members of the GV team may be better. They could hardly be worse.

Edited by stella53
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I used GV and I believe it was Gail, a man, that drove just the 2 of us around in his small compact car. He said his van was damaged as it had been hit while parked and he didnt have insurance or the funds to repair it. Our time with him was not pleasant. He was a bore, drove way too fast and did not have anything interesting to say. Other members of the GV team may be better. They could hardly be worse.

 

 

when did you use them ? ..i recall hearing about damaged van, no insurance but that was some 3 years ago ....thought all was back to normal now...please clarify time frame ...ty

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When we toured with them last January (Norwegian Sun), they had multiple Vans. Best part was the tour of the waterfall and it was magnificent. Lunch was served very late because the restaurant they used was too busy and the vans had to be staggered. Lunch was non descript. Van was crowded. I would rate tour 6.5

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We used GV tours (April 2010) and were blessed that their daughter was our guide. Itinerary included Fruitillar, Petrohue Falls, views of Mt. Osorno, etc. Our favorite was Cafe Allemein for lunch. We were a private group of four and had a very comfortable van. Highly recommend.:)

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GV Tours has been well recommended on this board, and we took a day tour with them last January based on these recommendations.

 

The tour was OK, and the price was right compared to ship's tours, but I can't say that it was outstanding in any respect.

 

The guide was not terribly communicative or informative and one of the guests actually complained to the management (Gail) about the standard of the guide which we had been assigned.

 

Out first stop was Frutillar, a scenic village on Lake Llanquihue, but we arrived (and left) before anything in town was open (except for one small gift shop). The German Colonial Museum was only pointed out to us as we left town. We were generally left to our own devices to wander along the lakeshore for an hour or so.

 

We next stopped in Puerto Varas. After a brief stop outside town for a panoramic view of the town, we were dropped off at the centre of town and given an hour or so to wander around . The guide gave us virtually no information on the history or the highlights of the town.

 

We then proceeded along the lake shore and as the clouds dispersed we had magnificent views of Mount Osorno. After a brief stop to see a few llamas, which our guide did point out are not native to the area, we stopped at a non-nondescript restaurant for lunch. The lunch (we had salmon) was OK, but nothing outstanding. Later on, our guide pointed out another restaurant on the shores of the lake which looked much nicer. He mentioned that this was the usual one used by GV tours, so I suspect that there were too many people on tour that day and a secondary restaurant had to be used as well for the overflow.

 

Our final stop were the waterfalls at Petrohue which were well worth seeing and here our guide was quite helpful and informative.

 

We then returned to Puerto Montt via Puerto Varas (no stops) where we were dropped off. We didn't tour Puerto Montt.

 

I don't know if this was typical of GV tours, but judging from the comments on this board, I suspect it was not. There were two cruise ships in port that day and probably their resources were stretched trying to accommodate as many guests as they could. I don't think that we had the best of their guides.

identical experience and sentiments as a participant of their tour in March 2009

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GV Tours has been well recommended on this board, and we took a day tour with them last January based on these recommendations.

 

The tour was OK, and the price was right compared to ship's tours, but I can't say that it was outstanding in any respect.

 

The guide was not terribly communicative or informative and one of the guests actually complained to the management (Gail) about the standard of the guide which we had been assigned.

 

Out first stop was Frutillar, a scenic village on Lake Llanquihue, but we arrived (and left) before anything in town was open (except for one small gift shop). The German Colonial Museum was only pointed out to us as we left town. We were generally left to our own devices to wander along the lakeshore for an hour or so.

 

We next stopped in Puerto Varas. After a brief stop outside town for a panoramic view of the town, we were dropped off at the centre of town and given an hour or so to wander around . The guide gave us virtually no information on the history or the highlights of the town.

 

We then proceeded along the lake shore and as the clouds dispersed we had magnificent views of Mount Osorno. After a brief stop to see a few llamas, which our guide did point out are not native to the area, we stopped at a non-nondescript restaurant for lunch. The lunch (we had salmon) was OK, but nothing outstanding. Later on, our guide pointed out another restaurant on the shores of the lake which looked much nicer. He mentioned that this was the usual one used by GV tours, so I suspect that there were too many people on tour that day and a secondary restaurant had to be used as well for the overflow.

 

Our final stop were the waterfalls at Petrohue which were well worth seeing and here our guide was quite helpful and informative.

 

We then returned to Puerto Montt via Puerto Varas (no stops) where we were dropped off. We didn't tour Puerto Montt.

 

I don't know if this was typical of GV tours, but judging from the comments on this board, I suspect it was not. There were two cruise ships in port that day and probably their resources were stretched trying to accommodate as many guests as they could. I don't think that we had the best of their guides.

in march 2009, we experienced the very same circumstances described and thus would not recommend this company, unless -they are the best available ......

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We were also not impressed with our tour in December, 2008. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't as good as it could have been. Gail was our guide, and he spent so much time talking about his personal life and family that we had a hard time getting a feel for the area. Pointing out a hospital or church doesn't make a tour memorable. He was unable to answer many questions people on the tour asked about vegetation, wildlife, and the culture, and he didn't really seem to care that he didn't know about them.

 

We were in a mini-bus with a driver who only spoke Spanish, and Gail could not communicate with him because he didn't speak Spanish (at least not at that time), even though he lived in Chile for many years. Fortunately for us, one of the passengers on our tour did speak Spanish and served as interpreter when instructions needed to be given to the driver. She also stepped in at the restaurant where the servers spoke no English.

 

I think if you get Annie or Veronica as your guide, you'll be OK. They are both bilingual and from all we've heard are good guides. Timing is everything.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went with this company, 3-10, with the daughter our guide on our bus, and it was a very good tour. It gives a nice overview, with sightseeing and several stops along the way. Lunch was good. and overall, a very good value for this type of "general" tour.

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  • 3 months later...

Based on generally good reviews and responsive replies from Gail via phone and email, I organized a 25 person Cruise Critic group to take GV Tours in Puerto Montt on 18 January 2011. Gail and Veronica met us in pouring rain. I was amazed that every single person who signed up from our roll call showed up due to the bad weather. Our guide was an English teacher on summer vacation and he was very knowledgeable about the area. The stop in Frutillar was a waste because of the deluge of rain. The rain cleared by the time we got to Puerto Varas, but because of the fog we were unable to experience the magnificent view of the lake the the volcano. Petrohue falls were nice, but if you have been to Iguazu, you may be jaded. The restaurant catered to large groups, but the food was generous and tasty and the service staff was responsive to requests.

 

The only negative, aside from uncontrollable weather, were some mechanical problems and limited leg room on the 28 passenger bus. However, the driver drove very safely. Gail and Veronica met up with us at lunch. They explained that they lease their vehicles as needed. We were supposed to go out in a brand new Mercedes bus, put the company they lease from did not have all the paperwork done in time. Thus Veronica had to scramble to get us a vehicle. She said that if they didn't use that bus, they would have had to cancel our tour.

 

In consideration, Gail and Veronica offered a reduced fee. All the people on our group felt the Steins were more than reasonable in their attempt to compensate for our disappointment. Overall we were pleased with the way the Steins responded to our concerns. And we did learn a lot from our guide. Had the weather not put such a damper on the day, I think this might have turned out to be one of the better tours.

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Had the weather not put such a damper on the day, I think this might have turned out to be one of the better tours.

 

We toured with GV in 2009 and it rained most of the day. The only thing that saved this port of call was the fact that we had a tour booked and it kept us busy (and dry) for most of the day. The lake was socked in; we never saw the volcano; it poured in Puerto Varas BUT we got to see a lot more than if we had try to manage on our own.

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Following recommendations on here we booked GV Tours for our November 2010 trip. We were left disappointed. Our guide spent much of her time revising for an exam she was to take the next day and left us to our own devices at the various destinations. We had to ask questions to get information. She also said it wasn't possible to stop the van to allow us to take a photograph we wanted.

 

The meal was nothing special and they tried to charge us for coffee but waived the charge when we questioned it.

 

All told, we felt that a tip wasn't appropriate.

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...recommend using Jaime with Patagonia Shorex. Here's a short blurb I gave on the Shorex site.

 

"I can only give Jaime and his wonderful folks the highest of recommendations. He does an outstanding job in responding quickly to e-mails, providing useful tour information and pricing tours fairly. We did a private tour using Patagonia Shorex (Jaime) who provided a driver/guide for touring the Puerto Montt Chilean Lake District on a recent cruise ship port call.

Jaime met us at the dock, provided a knowledgeable, English-speaking guide for the day and met us again at the end of the tour to make sure everything went well. Needless to say, I found this to be an example of the outstanding service and professionalism that Jaime provides. Whenever I’m in the Patagonia area again I will surely be contacting Patagonia Shorex for tours."

 

His contact information: jaimeliebrecht@gmail.com

 

Website information:

 

http://www.patagoniashorex.com/index.html

 

Bon Voyage & Good Health!

Bob:)

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Bob,

We are doing three shore excursions with Patagonia Shore excursions next month. Like you say he does respond very quickly, which is unusual for many of the guides I tried to get info from. Last year I Skyped with him and it helped me to get very comfortable with him and his company. Which guide did you have in Puerto Montt? We will be having Claudio.

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We too used and recommend Patagonia ShorEx (Jaime). I sent an email to GV Tours months before our trip and received a reply when we were on the ship. Needless to say we had made alternative arrangements. We had a very good day with Matthias as guide, a great meal in a wonderful local reataurant in Puerto Varas and as others have mentioned Jaime was at the dock to check things at the beginning and end of the excursion. We also used the company in Punta Arenas with good results as well. I was underwhelmed by GV's lack of responsiveness overall and impressed by Jaime's.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We used GV tours at the end of January, 2011. We had Claus as our guide, he is 17 and did an amazing job. We had a very nice tour with him, he was informative and knowledgeable and we had a great time. We were late getting off the boat, over 2 hours because we weren't on a ship's tour and they were all there waiting, Gail, Veronica and Claus. We also met Gail and Veronica at lunch and Gail was very fun and friendly. Their daughter performed a dance with a male dancer which was very good during lunch. We were lucky as the weather was 70 and clear. The waterfalls and volcano were stunning. It was one of our favorite tours and I would recommend GV tours based on our experience. Really enjoyed Claus, he had a great personality and did an awesome job!

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We used GV tours at the end of January, 2011. We had Claus as our guide, he is 17 and did an amazing job. We had a very nice tour with him, he was informative and knowledgeable and we had a great time. We were late getting off the boat, over 2 hours because we weren't on a ship's tour and they were all there waiting, Gail, Veronica and Claus. We also met Gail and Veronica at lunch and Gail was very fun and friendly. Their daughter performed a dance with a male dancer which was very good during lunch. We were lucky as the weather was 70 and clear. The waterfalls and volcano were stunning. It was one of our favorite tours and I would recommend GV tours based on our experience. Really enjoyed Claus, he had a great personality and did an awesome job!

 

They did a great job for us 5 years ago. Great to see that they are continuing to do a good job!

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We've just returned, last Wednesday. We used GV TOurs on Feb 7th. Fernanda was our guide, she was young, but well informed, and we too had great weather.... clear and sunny. We got some awesome shots of the volcano and the lake. Shopping in Puerto Varas at the artisan stalls was great. (I'm not much of a shopper, but I can tell quality.) The lunch was tasty, and the entertainment delightful. As was previously said, Gail and Veronica's daughter performed some folkloric dances. She was lovely. I highly recommend GV tours.

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  • 3 years later...

Miss Emile & Mr. Krys!

 

Thank you very much for your review. I am Felipe Sunkel, your tour guide that day. I remember how bad was rain that day (it's one of the worst rainy days in my whole life ever). Eventhough, I have great memories from that day and I am glad your did learn a lot from me :) I made my best in order to show you "my district".

 

I'm leaving my email here: felipesunkel@gmail.com because I would like to contact you as soon as possible, so, write me please (I wasn't able to send you a private message). Also I have sent you a friend request.

 

All the best!!!

 

Felipe Sunkel.

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