Patagonian Ranch: Nibepo Aike-avontuur met paardrijden

Highly recommended, from the friendly welcome with coffee and cake; through the variety of interesting and well explained activities about the history and running of the estancia; and the delicious lamb asado to finish. Such a pleasure to be made welcome to this estancia and to ride in this spectacular setting. Top marks to all. (Good to know that you may wait 30/40 m after pick up time as people are collected from a variety of different accommodation)

We booked the 3 hour horseback riding version of this excursion. We were picked up in the morning at our hotel Los Ponchos in El Calafate. The third party tour coordinator, Tangol, provided multiple communications via WhatsApp and contacted our hotel to let us know Nibepo Aike transport would pick us up at 8:30 AM in the morning. However, the transport was about 15 minutes late with no communication, which worried us until I contacted Nibepo Aike directly via WhatsApp and asked for an update. From El Calafate it was about a 1.5 hour mini bus ride to Nibepo Aike. The farm tour and sheep shearing activities were a bit gimmicky, and lasted too long since they were trying to time lunch with multiple different group activities (people who went horseback riding in the morning, people who were just there for the tour, and people who were coming in just for lunch). Lunch was filling but average, you’re assigned seats at communal tables. We weren’t given instruction about where to go and when to leave for our afternoon horseback rides, so we had to ask around. The horseback ride itself was wonderful and was closer to 2.5 hours, with the horses walking at a very leisurely pace and the guide picking trails at random. There is very limited direction and conversation during the ride, so if you enjoy watching scenery on horseback in peace and relative silence, you’ll enjoy this. If you’re looking for more interaction with the guide or a more exciting ride, you’ll definitely be bored. We found the experience very serene, particularly because we had excellent weather and the scenery truly is stunning. When we got back from the horseback ride, we also received no communication about how we’d be transported back to El Calafate. After asking around, we were told to wait until 6 pm for a car. We were the last remaining tourists so when 6 pm came and went, no car showed up, and staff started heading home, we got pretty nervous (especially since there is no reception at the estancia). Luckily the car finally showed up and we made it back safely, but the overall experience was a bit soured by lack of communication and predictability. Overall we thought the peaceful horseback ride and scenery made up for these snafus, but I could definitely see this being a frustrating experience for those who only came for lunch / the tour. The experience could be significantly improved with more proactive communication from the staff.

Ik heb vier dagen van te voren moeten annuleren ivm een hele zieke moeder en mijn reis moeten afblazen omdat ik terug ben gevlogen naar NL. Ik heb geen restitutie ontvangen en daarom is mijn waardering zeer slecht.