06 Nov 2013
The concept behind this tour is great - an overview of Buenos Aires, including a tango show, plus a trip to Calafate to see the amazing Perito Moreno Glacier. Almost all the sites and activities were wonderful. BUT, my husband and I experienced a number of serious problems with the tour, all of which stemmed from the main operator. First, they booked one of our Buenos Aires' hotel rooms on the wrong night. I found this out when I contacted the hotel directly to confirm. Second, they repeatedly failed to provide us with even the most basic info. We kept having to email their offices, which are not open 24/7, to find out what time we would be picked up, etc. For airport pick-ups, we ended up just trusting that someone would be there. For our tango show, after our requesting it, we were told when we would be picked up - but we literally got into the van having no idea where we were going. After getting frustrated with the daily hassle of requesting times, we asked them to send us an itinerary. We got a handwritten one, probably more than halfway through the trip. Fortunately, in Calafate, they turned us over to a travel agency. The agency folks were fantastic. We were given a schedule and vouchers, plus a full explanation of our time in Calafate immediately upon arrival. They agency was the exact opposite of the tour operator. The only problem - I blame this too on the tour operator - was that we were not able to do glacier trekking because slots for that were full. The tour operator should have informed us of these options or directed us to the local agency in advance. Other notes: The Buenos Aires bus tour was LARGE group, and not very good. Good thing my hubbie and I speak Spanish b/c the tour guide did not speak much Eng. Tango show/dinner was amazing. WARNING: This tour notes that airfare to Calafate is not included, but it doesn't do so prominently. You will have to buy your own tix, but the extra cost was worth it.