Lodge-Based Patagonia Tours

Accommodations Review

The Venus Australis is a smaller cruise ship (which is a big advantage in my opinion) and was still very comfortable and modern. 

Meals Review

The food and cooking emphasized local ingredients and flavors. I found the guanaco to be very tasty and unique.

Itinerary Review

Visiting Buenos Aires and Santiago was a very enjoyable way to start and end this adventure. Both cities were lively, steeped in history, and a great way to experience the Spanish culture. Sailing the Straits of Magellan, navigating the Beagle Channel, and getting up close to glaciers and penguins via zodiac boats was unique and thrilling. Terra del Fuego is just enchanting and truly one of the great wonders of the world. Torres del Paine is a geological wonder with its mountains, valleys, wildlife, and glaciers.

Fellow Passengers Review

We were able to make fast friends with several of the couples on the trip and will make every effort to stay in contact with them. The ability to interact and become friends with people from different cultures and countries is always a highlight of these trips

Crew & Guides Review

Both the Ventas Australis and the Explora Lodge had wonderful trip leaders and guides.  Sergio and Guy, both Explora Lodge guides, were just so knowledgeable and passionate.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Great communication, tips, and advice were very much appreciated. Thanks for giving us a wonderful vacation and trip of a lifetime.

Traveler Advice

Be prepared to have fun. I recommend the use of trekking poles on hikes which are readily available.

Accommodations Review

Accommodations on the Sylvia Earle and Explora were great.

Meals Review

Food on the Sylvia Earle was great. The food at the Explora lodge in Patagonia was underwhelming, especially for the price. Too much repetition and the entrees had no vegetables and way to much puree. We wanted to take away the chef's Vitamix. Proteins were properly cooked but lack sauces and flavour. They were too bland.

Crew & Guides Review

Roger on the Sylvia Earle was a professional, safe and knowledgeable expedition leader...The others with Aurora were all fantastic. The Explora guides were uniformly awesome.

Itinerary Review

Antarctica and Patagonia were both fantastic, in different and unique ways...We liked all of the places we visited. Not a single dud...Both places were on the bucket list. We love nature and active vacations in unique places.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Great communication...Super experience with Leslie.

Traveler Advice

The fly/fly journey to Antarctica is stressful because you aren't guaranteed to get there. The voyage before ours was cancelled after 3 attempts to get to land at King George Island. This would be soul crushing. Next time I would sail/fly because you are at least going to get to complete the voyage.

Accommodations Review

No complaints.

Meals Review

Not used to three course meals for lunch and dinner. I prefer simpler cuisine but overall, it was very good at both Australis and Explora. I had no food issues concerning my celiac disease.

Itinerary Review

Torres del Paine was the place I enjoyed the most. The Australis cruise was a close second with the trip to Cape Horn and visits to the various glaciers. The visits to Buenos Aires and Santiago and the corresponding tours were very good. I was just more excited about the “nature” part of the trip than the “city” part.

Transportation Review

There were no issues with the arrangements. All connections with drivers and tours went off without a hitch...it all fit perfectly.

Crew & Guides Review

At both Australis and Explora, the guides were excellent in all aspects mentioned above. For the Australis cruise I had Valentina, Sophia, and Gabro as guides for excursions. At Explora I had Papo, Ignacio, and Cata for excursions. The guides for the city tours were excellent as well. Federico Vega in Buenos Aires, Luis in Santiago, and Tomas in Valparaiso. Very professional and eager to provide information and answer questions.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

We have worked with Andrew Browning before and his advice was essential for designing this trip and his final instructions email had everything we needed. I plan to contact you guys for the next trip.

Traveler Advice

Follow the packing instructions provided - there is a very wide range of weather conditions possible. If you are going to Buenos Aires and Santiago on the same trip, be prepared for much warmer weather than you will experience “down south.”

Meals Review

Unbelievably top-quality service and amazing food, both at the EcoCamp and on board Quark's Sea Adventurer. In fact, all of us guests spontaneously cheered the chef during one of our EcoCamp dinners, and the service on board the Sea Adventurer was on par with any Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City (where I live). Both venues did an excellent job managing my dietary restrictions (pescatarian).

Crew & Guides Review

Franco, Sebastien, and Pablo were simply extraordinary, with a passion for Patagonia and a genuine desire to make every guest's experience extra-special. Franco even dived after my backpack as it was rolling off a cliff; Sebastien made time to get to know each guest over dinner and drinks deep into the evenings; Pablo has an encyclopedic knowledge of local flora and fauna that turned every day trek into an unforgettable experience.  

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Andrew was great at providing advanced reading materials, packing lists, and answering all manner of pre-trip questions quickly and accurately. He had great advice and I consider Andrew to be primarily responsible for ensuring that this 2-in-1 trip combo worked so beautifully.

Traveler Advice

Bring twice as much camera film as you think you'll need. Prepare to be stunned by your fabulous surroundings.

Accommodations Review

The ship was able to give us a bed for two- we were able to change rooms before we sailed. Explora was a beautiful facility and we appreciated that they minimized/ did not use plastics. It would have been nice to have 2 chairs in the bedroom. Bathroom was great.

Meals Review

Ship food was superb. Explora was very good. Wait staff on boat was excellent. Explora wait staff was variable, from very good to fair.

Crew & Guides Review

There were many different Zodiac drivers and guides on the twice daily excursions. At Explora, I went on two full day trips lead by Claudia and Raul. A third full day trip led by Francisco was truncated because of the wind and a couple of "challenged" hikers (including my wife) - good decision. Again, guides were terrific!

Itinerary Review

The Tierra del Fuego cruise was excellent and we were able to round Cape Horn with good weather. The day 4 afternoon trip to Glaciar Aguila was cut short because a significant storm blew in, but the Zodiak and Captain handled it well. The captain scrubbed the penguin tour on Isla Magdalena because of rough seas, but we were fine with that decision. The Torres del Paine national park trip was spectacular and we experienced all four seasons of Patagonian weather, except perhaps calm winds- does it ever not blow? I was very glad that Explora guides allowed me to go trail running solo, where I was able to challenge myself, after doing a video waiver.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Greatly appreciated the pre-trip materials provided, including clothing recommendations and excursion descriptions.

Traveler Advice

Be prepared for any weather. Expect big strong winds in Torres del Paine.

Itinerary Review

Amazing trip. I normally do a lot of research and planning but since Arielle helped to identify amazing options with a lot of structure baked into the itinerary, I was able to just tell my buddy we could show up and figure things out for the day. It reduced a lot of the typical planning burden.

Traveler Advice

Have fun!

Crew & Guides Review

Explora guides were knowledgeable and engaging. They did a better job to speak a combination of English and Spanish than guides on other parts of our trip.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

I really appreciate AdventureSmith/Arielle with all the suggestions and support.

Accommodations Review

The rooms and service at Explora were excellent!

Itinerary Review

Explora Patagonia was our favorite. Numerous choices for excursions. Groups were kept to a small size. Days were active, whether one all day excursion or two half day excursionsMy husband is an avid hiker.

Crew & Guides Review

All trip leaders at Explora were excellent.

Transportation Review

Wish we had spent Saturday night at Explora and traveled to Punta Arenas Sunday morning, as our flight was late afternoon. Everything is shut down in Punta Arenas on Sunday so it was a very long day of waiting for a 6:00pm embarkment.

Traveler Advice

Prepare clothing/accessories as recommended. We needed all the layers, gloves, etc. and could have been very uncomfortable with them.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Appreciate all of Leslie's help! Flawless execution.