Latin Routes - www.latinroutes.co.uk

Latin Routes are very helpful and genuine people who arranged a superb South American adventure for us.They based the trip on places that we wanted to visit and made additional great suggestions. They also arranged all the accommodation and travel for us.Unfortunately coronavirus necessitated us to have to leave Argentina asap and despite the rapidly deteriorating and worrying situation Latin routes made at short notice all the arrangements for us to return to UK safely just before Argentina was shut down. They kept us informed at all times in a calm and supportive manner. Latin Routes are a truly professional company -superb service and I could not recommend them more highly.

We have just returned from a 5 destination trip to Argentina & Brazil arranged by their repFrom the start the organising was so impressive, their rep really put her self out to understand what our interests were and came up with many suggestions that we had not thought of. Having agreed an itinerary she then went the extra mile to find places of special interest to us at the destinations chosen. It really was a tailor made holiday. This included a programme of 9 flights, a couple of them involved two a day. A bit daunting given connections - it all worked seamlessly - I have to say both the Argentina and the Brazilian airlines put our cut price operators to shame with modern aircraft, on time and clean and efficient airports and toilet facilities and staff that smile! All the hotels chosen were exactly as expected, clean with efficient staff. Knowledgeable guides and tours. From icebergs in Patagonia to night skys to die for in The Pantanal, Iguassu Falls, tango's in B. A. and samba's in Rio.

Word of warning - it's not Europe, don't expect everyone to speak English - they won't but that's the joy of travel!. Do organise guides - you would miss so much otherwise.

Couldn't fault it - Thank you Latin Routers

Our honeymoon stay in Rio was amazing. The hotel and location was perfect. This was by far the best holiday we have been on. The service we received from Latin Routes was great. Every part of our trip was organised and well planned. We were kept up to date with any changes and they always kept in touch to make sure we were happy with everything. I would definitely recommend Latin Routes to anyone who wants to travel to South America.

We were away for nearly five weeks altogether - flying first to El Calafate via Buenos Aires, then by land to Torres del Paine, flying down to Ushuaia and then taking the cruise on the "Sergei Vavilov" for the next two and a half weeks before returning home via three nights in Buenos Aires.

Main problem may be where to start!? It was all great, and we really can't fault the arrangements made by Martin and Latin Routes. We had already decided on the cruise and he gave invaluable advice regarding what to do before and after. The only problem we had whilst away was when one hotel got our pickup time to transfer to the airport wrong, which meant we came very close to missing the flight to Ushuaia - it was comforting to know that if the worst had happened Latin Routes would have sorted it out (even though not their fault), which must be an argument against making your own independent arrangements?

The cruise went first to the Falklands, then South Georgia and finally the Antarctic peninsula. I can only say it was even better than I'd hoped for in pretty well all respects, and I'd definitely recommend including the Falklands and (especially) South Georgia if you can manage it. One key point made to us by a friend who had done a similar trip was to be sure to book on a ship with less than 100 passengers to get the most out of it, as there are strict limits on how many people can land at any one time.

Different people on the boat had different reasons for going. Some EXTREMELY keen ornithologists, then interests to varying degrees in scenery, photography, and the history of the area and the famous explorers associated with Antarctica. There were a few days at sea, and an extensive programme of talks was arranged on board with expert lecturers. Two were naturalists, a third was an authority on the history of the region and the explorers. The quality of their talks was first rate.

In all ways the trip can only be described as extremely professionally run. The knowledge of the staff, the organisation of the Zodiacs to ferry us to shore and the ability to be flexible with itinerary in the face of very changeable weather were all noteworthy. It's really difficult to find anything to fault.

High spots? Having previously read a lot about the explorers of about a 100 years ago, for me the most memorable experience must be seeing close up from a Zodiac Point Wild on Elephant Island. The very spot where Shackleton's men waited for months to be rescued, without knowing if he had successfully reached South Georgia. But there's so much more, from the intense blue colour of icebergs to the remains of the old whaling station on South Georgia, and the remains of the abandoned base on deception Island. To say nothing of being so close to vast numbers of penguins and seals.

And we mustn't forget Argentina and Chile as well! An excellent month away.

Our trip to Argentina and Chile was truly spectacular. Before contacting Latin Routes we had a good idea of where we wanted to visit but our consultant was very well informed from personal experience. He suggested hotels / estancias that were definitely to our requirement and taste and a suitable itinerary to follow so that we could see everything that we wanted to. He was also willing to change our itinerary and supplement our plans as appropriate.

Highlights included Igazu Falls both Brazil and Argetinian sides but be prepared for a soaking, the most amazing cruise on the Stella Australis a small cruise ship with extremely well informed guides with excellent food and accommodation. Torres Del Paine national park a splendid and remote location ideal for walking and winding down. We visited El Calafate to see the Perito Morena glacier, a point to make here is that there is the option to trek on the glacier which needs to be booked before hand, this was not pointed out to us. Next stop Peninsula Valdez and the Estancia Rincon Chico. An idyllic remote location with lots of wildlife / sea life on the doorstep. We thoroughly recommend this estancia : they were truly welcoming hosts and excellent guides. The whale watching boat trip is a must. We were sad to leave to return to Buenos Aires. We spent a couple of days exploring this vibrant city, a Tango night is also another must.

A memorable, if exhausting, adventure. Looking forward to planning the next one.

I've just returned from Argentina and Chile on what has been a fantastic 1st time visit to South America. I have to thank the staff at Latin Routes for their help in putting my itinerary together and for their wealth of knowledge. My primary goal was to see Perito Moreno Glacier and Torres del Paine, both of which were as awesome as I had hoped. I also visited many other parts of Chile and found the people throughout the country to be incredibly friendly and helpful.

The itinerary as organised by Latin Routes went entirely to plan and it enabled me to enjoy my holiday to the full. If you have never been to Argentina and Chile I would recommend that you do so without hesitation. There is such of range of scenery!

I hired a car whilst touring the Lake District and make sure you have plenty of change for the tolls on Ruta 5 (Carretera Austral) and remember when parking, find a place, the parking warden will come to you, give you a ticket and you pay them on your return.

My wife and I have recently returned from our first holiday to South America, having spent three weeks travelling around Chile. Our itinerary was based on suggestions from Latin Routes but tailored to our preferences including some self-driving and self-catering. Without fail the arrangements worked like clockwork with particular praise due to their agents on the ground who delivered all the pick ups and transfers smoothly. We were also impressed by the standard of the tours arranged by the company in the Atacama and Santiago which were enhanced by the quality and professionalism of the guides. Taken together with the high standards of accommodation which we enjoyed, we felt we had gained a real insight into the diversity which Chile has to offer. The experience has made us keen to return to South America and happy to recommend Latin Routes to anyone who is contemplating a trip to South America confident that they can be relied upon to deliver an enjoyable trip that is value for money.

The planning process is half the fun of foreign travel. When considering an adventure to unfamiliar territory, its good to have expert advice. My wife and I are just back from Chile and Argentina, following an itinerary crafted to our preferences by Latin Routes.

We had the opportunity to discuss our options and had a lot of constructive, expert advice. As might be expected, some places we visited pleased us more than others: Overall, our holiday was an unqualified success.

I wholeheartedly recommend Latin Routes to anyone planning a South American adventure.

I stumbled across Latin Routes while browsing the web for a 3-4 week holiday in Argentina for my wife and myself. I liked their suggestions as to what our holiday might include and their flexibility in incorporating some of our own ideas. From the outset, their help and friendly advice was first class and they clearly had a very good knowledge of South America. As soon as we had sketched out an initial plan of the holiday with the agent, a provisional itinerary arrived within a few hours by email, followed the next day by a hard copy in the post. Incredibly, the provisional itinerary included all the hotels, flights, transfers, etc. Having got the provisional itinerary, I asked Latin Routes if I could extend the holiday with an additional 3 nights visit to Torres Del Paine in Chile. Again, within a few hours, I received fully detailed itineraries with comparative costs of both the original and extended holidays.

We opted for the extended holiday, and although the cost was close to the top end of our budget, our overall experience was exceptional and well worth the money. The recommended hotels turned out to be lovely places to stay. Transfers to and from the airports usually included an English speaking guide, who advised on the best places to eat, places to see, places to avoid, whether certain areas were safe or not to wander around, etc. The guides also made sure we had all of the appropriate documents and vouchers for our pre-booked tours and excursions.

Just before and also during the holiday, there were occasional minor changes to internal flight times made by the airlines. Each time there was a change, our agent at Latin Routes appeared to be ahead of the game and made sure we were kept fully informed. Transfers to and from airports were magically adjusted to suit revised flight times and the whole holiday ran like clockwork.

Our experience of Latin Routes as a travel organiser was outstanding. My wife and I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone and we would certainly use them again for any future holiday in South America.

My husband has always had a notion to go to South America but has never done anything about it. I decided as it was a big occasion (his 70th) I would book it without telling him until it was all sorted. It turned out to be better than I expected and he loved it after he got over the shock.

We had a delay initially and this was sorted and new flights arranged by Latin Routes, no problem. In Buenos Aires, the Tango evening was outstanding. We enjoyed walking around BA and didn't feel in any way threatened. We found the Blue Pound issue to b e particularly interesting!

Igazu was great. We were met by a guide who helped us immensely. We visited both sides of the Falls. We found the Brazillian side had a better view. After that we went to Mendoza. The hotel there was in a vineyard and was fantastic. Beautiful restaurant. Then we had a hired car arranged by Latin Routes. We had a problem there because the documentation for travelling to Chile was not arranged. Eventually it got sorted out after a few hours! This was our only hiccup. We drove over the Andes to Santiago. A bit scary but unforgettable. This was when we realised that having a guide was a big bonus as we had trouble finding our hotel in the rush hour and also by smoothing our way through the borders. Santiago was very busy and we left our car in the hotel car park until we had to return to Mendoza. From there we travelled to El Calafete which at first we found to be a bit Hicksville. We had hired a car again and went to the Glacier. Again outstanding. Then to the piece de resistance. Torres del Paine. We didn't know what to expect here but it was awesome. Loved everything about it. The trips, hotel, scenery, weather were fab. We would thoroughly recommend it. We were able to meet other travellers there and chat and everyone agreed that this had been their best experience. Then back to Buenos Aires for three nights. We visited the Opera House which was majestic. The market on Sunday at San Telmo was worth a visit.

All in all, we were very happy with the service provided by Latin Routes and hopefully may use them again.