Valley Girl of VA

We just did one day on each side and wished I had spent more time in total. I would say at least three days since we had the commute between the two that broke up the day. We could have done more if we had more time on both sides.

I have stayed on both sides of the Falls this past March. I flew from BA and flew into Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Loved staying at the Melia. The next day we had a car take us to the Belmond. Going from Melia to Belmond was about an hour in total. We had to first exit Argentina and then the next building was entering into Brazil where we had to go into the building directly. If you have any questions about the hotels, etc email me at janeschwalm@gmail.com

I would like to book Solo Expeditions in Punta Arenas. I contacted them and in order to book they need our passport numbers. I have never been asked this before for any tour I have booked. Has anyone used them before and were you asked to give your number. Thanks.

I used them in February and it was the same thing. Go ahead and book them and don't worry. Many tour operators in Chile ask for the same information.

I used Leo Cuzman "Private Tours Chile" in February and they were exceptional.

The only suggestion I would give you is to fly into the city airport in Buenos Aires rather than the big, far out international airport. There are flights from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina to BA.

Like you, were are seniors too and I organized a number of tours for our Roll Call. Like others have said, you need to spend the money on Falkland Islands. We used Patrick Watts and he fills up very quickly as well as the landowner has decreased the number of people that can come onto Volunteer Point at one time. Do that first and you can reach him at pwatts@horizon.co.fk He wants you off on one of the first tenders so make sure you get in line about 30-45 minutes before they start passing out the numbers.

Punta Arenas, Chile - easy walk to downtown then take a cab to the Museum where the replicas of Magellan ship, the Beagle, etc are. We had our driver wait for us and it was about $15 pesos to go and return and wait.

Montevideo - I used Uruguias Brun Turismo and reached them through reservas@uruguias.com.uy I organized the tour and with 15 people, it came to $25 each for a large bus and a very good tour including a marketplace. I recommend them.

Buenos Aires - I did the ranch tour/luncheon that the cruise ship organized and I was very happy with it.

In Puerto Montt I organized a bus tour with Patagonia Austral. Think it was about $70

Ushuaia - I rented a boat from Patagonia Adventure and had others from our Roll Call book seats with me. Went into the harbor, close up to sea lions, seals, birds and we went to one of the islands and did a small hike. It was great.

You can save money by organizing the tours yourself - the vendors appreciate you getting them business.

Any questions, email me at janeschwalm@gmail.com

Jane

Canceling at the last minute is NOT the worst case scenario. IMO worse is significant medical problems during the trip. I have good worldwide health insurance plus substantial medical evacuation insurance and homeowners insurance that would cover much of lost or stolen items. I do not consider trip insurance a necessary evil, have never bought specific travel insurance and am way ahead of the game. Whether I cancel at the last minute or go on the trip the money is gone; just as I can afford the trip I can afford the identical amount of money if I cancel. Over the last 15 years I have traveled over 30 months or approximately 1000 days and not once would I have made a trip insurance claim. By not buying trip insurance and banking the money not spent I can now cancel at least 10 trips at the last minute and still be ahead. Until my health gets considerably worse and thereby changes the risk/reward ratio I’ll continue to self insure the actual trip. YMMV

I feel the same. I tend to "self insure" with the money that I saved by not purchasing health insurance. With that being said, I recently made an exception when we cruised around the southern part of South America. In Europe, we do not feel as though we need it since it is not a third world country. When I did have an accident and went to the hospital, there was no charge as it was one of the free hospital due to the socialized health care of that country. Left with stitches in my head and two bags of meds with no charge. Of course, this is risky but you can always supplement with medical evacuation insurance.

Thank you for sharing!

1) Are there any bathrooms on the drive to/from the penguins in either port?

2) When someone mentioned that everything was closed on Christmas and New Years, the tours still ran normally, right??

3) Is the Antarctica excursion offered on every Cape Horn sailing (weather permitting of course)?

 

 

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For the Excursion to Volunteer Point (private) there was a bathroom about an hour into the trip as we transitioned from road to driving over the land. Once at the penguins, there were bathrooms there as well.

I did the Santiago to Buenos Aires and there was an Antarctica tour available but it was not guaranteed that you would get there - and there was no refund.

My cruise ends with an overnight in Buenos Aires and the tours are all listed in the Personaliser for all ports except this one.

I'm wondering if those who have recently disembarked from the Emerald Princess in Buenos Aires can tell me what Princess offered on their last 2 days.

Was there a city tour with airport drop off on both days or just on the last day?

The Summary tells me those with flights on our first day in Buenos Aires should make sure they are not before 1 pm., so early disembarkation is allowed.

Any details would be very helpful.

dog:)

On the first day in port in BA, I took the Princess tour to Recoleta Cemetery, a drive through the city and then to the estancia for lunch, watching dancing, riding a horse. It was a 9 hour tour and we returned to the ship around 5:45. This was also offered after disembarkation and then the passengers were taken to the airport. Hope this helps you

What is the cost from your hotel to EZE by the taxi your hotel arranged?

I did not go to EZE but rather AEP so I could fly to Iguazu.

Seasoned BA and Iguazu Falls travelers, your tips and assistance are desperately needed for

 

Perplexed on the itinerary options of:

1. Splitting the stay at BA with visiting the Falls in the middle, pre-cruise

pro: hotel can hold check-in luggage,

con: RT from BA to Falls, travel time wasted in transit, need to arrange more transfers for transit

or

2. Head straight to the Falls first from US and then stay in BA pre-cruise

pro: ease of transit and save time

con: only carry-on allowed for flight to IGR (Falls), airport transfer bet EZE and AEP bc AEP has flights to IGR that can be connected from arrival flight in EZE, possible safety issue at AEP regarding 'bags').

 

Would really appreciate anyone sharing their experience and how these supposed issues above are resolved?

Most grateful to your advice, tips, and recommendation

 

Many thanks

I brought my full luggage with me on Aerolineas Argentina for the flight to Iguazu. You can bring more than carry on. No problem with safety or security at AEP Airport

When you get to Iguazu Airport, do not have to arrange a car to meet you. The cars and the taxis are the same price - at least it was for us going to the Melia. You must have 500 Argentinean dollars per person and your passports to buy the park tickets at the visitor center when staying at Melia and your hotel confirmation paper.

What other hotels aside from the Melia might be good choices? We are looking at booking with Diego for next year and want to choose our hotel wisely.

I would not hesitate to stay at the Melia considering all the updating going on, really good food for us, the ease of walking out and going on one of the paths to the Falls.

We took a cab in Santos Brazil and the driver quoted in US dollars - I asked the price in Reals and it was about half what he wanted in dollars so I paid in Reals.

Our cab ride was in Buenos Aires and they are the ones that wanted Argentinian currency. When we wanted to go to the airport we had our hotel call for one that would accept our credit card. We had no problem anywhere else

Just to clarify, alpaca does not come from a llama, it comes from an alpaca which is a domesticated vicuña. There are no wild alpacas.

you are correct and I knew that. Thanks for clarifying.

Specific ports of interest are:

Puerto Madryn

Punta Arenus, Chile

Chacabuco, Chile

Puerto Montt, Chile

Was just there last month and you can book tours for Puerto Madryn, Punta Arenas though we just walked to town and got a cab to Nao Victoria Museum and paid the cab driver to wait for us which was extremely reasonable in cost; Also Puerto Montt was no problem... We did not go to Chacabuco so I can't speak to that.

I too have sent quite a few emails with no response. I have now decided not to do their tour as there is a lot of time spent on the road then 'hanging around' in the small museum due to having to split into 2 groups. The time spent with penguins I think was approx 1 hr and the tour actually was a full day. I have read cost $160 USD. We are now opting for another tour in Ushuaia for 1/2 day as I would love to wander around on foot for a few hours. We have Patrick Watts booked for Pt Stanley which is up close and personal with the penguins and also looking at Puerto Madryn for more penguins, On all accounts Pira has fantastic reviews and would be well worth the $$$. Who knows if they bother to contact me I may change my mind. I do think that whatever tours we do will all be very special and such a wonderful experience. I feel very lucky to be able to do such wonderful holidays. Happy sailing :D

I believe I was told that they only ones able to take tours to Volunteer Point was PAtrick Watts, Jimmy Curtis and also Estanicia (sp?). We did Patrick Watts tour

Not a problem in Santiago Chile, to take a taxi from the airport (SCL) to your hotel. That's what I have always done.

When you leave the baggage area, you will immediately be greeted by a number of gentlemen holding signs that say Taxi/Turista, all trying to get your attention (and your business). It feels a little sketchy the first time, but that's just how it's done. Pick one, and they will lead you outside to their cab. If I recall correctly, the fare is about $25 USD (at least to the hotel I use in the Lastarria district).

 

As to surviving without local currency, I suppose it could be done. You will pay for your hotel in USD anyway (to avoid the VAT), and you will pay for meals with a credit card. But you should make sure that your taxi driver will take a credit card, before getting into the cab. Personally I like to take enough local currency to pay for the airport cab, and for tips and incidentals, but that's just me.

Also if you decide to take the subway to get around (and it's very good, just use the same common sense you would in Boston or NYC), then you should have some Chilean pesos, and you will also need pesos if you decide to do one of the "Tours 4 Tips" tours (although they might take USD).

Taxi should be around 8000 - 10000 pesos from the airport to your hotel. We had booked a transfer with SCL Transfer and he was very prompt and reliable

I found that I did most of my shopping on the west side of South America. That's where you will find most alpaca products since the llamas are in Peru and Chile. Also Lapis lazuli is only mined in Chile and Afganistan so if you want that stone, shop in Chile. Great little shops in Puerto Varas which was a stop during our Puerto Montt tour. Also in Montevideo, when you get off the ship, look at the two talls buildings in front of you and walk between them. About a block up was a street market. I didn't purchase anything in BA, Puerto Madryn. I did buy some yarn, knitted items in Puerto Arenas. To the left of the cathedral in the square, walk up about 1/2 block and you will see a little shop with yarn, hats, fur hats, etc inside and that is where I purchased items.

We needed Argentine dollars for the cabs. They would not take credit cards or US dollars.

This was one of the best excursions that I have ever taken. I booked with Patrick Watts about 13 months prior. There were four of us in the 4 x 4 plus the driver. The last 11 miles take about an hour and you think you will never get there. It was bumpy but not horrible - I was even able to do some knitting in the car. There is a potty stop about an hour after the ride begins and there are restrooms at Volunteer Point.

The ground was fine the third week of February, just a lot of penguin poop. You do get used to the penguin odor.

We were given a good bagged lunch consisting of a sandwich, cookie, bottle of water and granola bar. We had about 30 minutes when we got back to Stanley to do some power shopping. The tender lines are long and the last tender was not at 5:30 as Princess claimed (and our driver knew that sometime the last tender isn't until 7:00 because of all the people trying to get back on the ship. That gave me some leeway if I wanted to go into a store so don't feel too rushed.

We are using Sentir Patagonia for Peninsula Valdes in March. Will let you know how it is. So far the company has been very responsive.

Pam

I just used them about two weeks ago and they were prompt, showed us what they said and then since we were prompt we got to see something else.

In hindsight, I would not recommend going to Peninsula Valdes. The wildlife is at quite a distance and since we had just been to Volunteer Point, it was a let down. I heard there were a lot more penguins/wildlife at Punto Tombo

Any current information on vaccinations for South America cruise around the Horn? Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires; possibly Brazil.

None are required but we went ahead and got the prescriptions for the typhoid fever pills protect you longer than the shots) and the European version of the yellow fever shot since we were going to Iguazu. I just returned a few days ago.

As promised- here’s a report on the Melia. I checked in this morning an will be here a few nights.

 

The place does need some refreshing. Tile on the main floor in good condition. Carpet on second and third floors needs replacing. There is staining from wear and what appears to be water leaks? (Totally guessing on that one). Walls need some good prep and paint. The interior has a sort of musty smell, like the jungle. Actually, it MAY be the jungle. It’s my first time in one.

 

The pool deck can stand refreshing. Over all pool itself looks fine.

 

The staff seems nice, Front Desk is attentive. Not surprisingly, food is expensive. Dinner in the dining room (all you can eat buffet parilla is 1500AR. It looks and smells great. Did dinner in the bar for a little over 300AR. If you have questions please ask.

 

Adding: recommend bringing a coverup for the pool area ( or use the changing rooms. There are no robes provided.)

Do bring a surge protector if you are planning on charging something. We’re having lightning storms now and the power keeps going off.

We must have overlapped as I was there last week as well. I saw the staff replacing mattresses, fixing up the walls in the hallways - no noise that I heard.

I found the found at dinner in the main dining room delicious. We actually had several unique appetizers that we enjoyed. In the bar area on Thursday evening they had a tango dance show for us. You can order bar food there (cheeseburgers, etc). Shortage of chairs/tables since it was crowded so if interested, go early.

If you go to the lowest level where the spa is, you can ask for a robe to wear around the indoor giant hottub with 70 different positions using the many, many jets or use it for outside for the pool there. A few tiles missing in the outdoor pool floor.

You can organize tours at the hotel.

I will say that they went way above service when they helped out a friend of mine who way to leave the day after I left (I went to the other side hotel). She was sick the morning of departure, went to the airport and the airline would not let her board, called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Someone called the hotel and they began calling all of us, who were no longer there (even calling me at my hotel) to get in touch with her family members. They gave us continual updates on her and had her cone back to the hotel after she was released and took great care of her. This hotel has superb customer caring and service.

As I mentioned, I also stayed across the river at the Belmond on the Brazilian side and thought it was gorgeous, extravagant, etc I felt that Melia was better. We could walk out on the level paths to the falls, the one side of the hotel was basically all glass for beautiful views. I would not hesitate to recommend the Melia

There is a piblic bus service. If you make your reservation ahead of time, it will be about 20 eiros per person. It is an express double decker bus. Train travel not great. We bought a 2nd class ticket--they are on top deck.--better for veiwing scenery. Pat

I have taken this bus and it was great. No stops and goes between the train stations in both cities. I would also recommend 2nd class travel. If I remember, I think 1st class had a tray/table as well to play cards on.

We recently did 28 days on Emerald. We had a large and active roll call group and had numerous activities planned. We had a large calendar page that was had been made up and laminated so that it could be written on with dry erase markers (which disappeared a couple of times) and the info was entered and updated on that calendar.

 

The calendar was kept in the Michelangelo dining room. It was set aside for seating of course but, other than that, we simply went in the back door (the exit right off of the piazza on the starboard side) and the calendar was left on a table right there for us. It was very convenient as everybody knew where to check the calendar and where to post new or revised events. Princess was fine with this arrangement.

Thank you. We have a large and active Roll Call and want to organize some card games, Tai Chi, LRC (os some variation of those letters), etc. Some of those, like the card games, may be last minute and I wasn't sure where we could post those activities. Guess we need to make up a large calendar like tou did. That was a great idea.