South America: The Best Countries To Visit on Holiday by Alan Lyall on 31st January, 2020 When planning your holiday to South America you may ask yourself; which are the best countries to visit in South America? South America is a continent of amazing contrasts. These range from tropical jungle to glaciers, remote high mountain villages to bustling coastal cities, mountain ranges to endless pampa. The continent is blessed with a …
Graffiti & Street Art Buenos Aires by Alan Lyall on 13th December, 2019 Street art is not what Buenos Aires is usually known for. The vibrant capital of Argentina is best known for its elegant parks, bustling boulevards, impressive historical buildings and buzzing day and night life. Lesser known, but no less impressive, is the abundance of graffiti raised to street art in several iconic districts of …
Bahia Bustamante: An off the beaten path wildlife experience in Argentine Patagonia by Alan Lyall on 29th November, 2019 Alan was recently in Patagonia and visited Bahia Bustamante in Argentina. Here he describes the experience of a few days in Bahia Bustamante, comfort, rooms, gastronomy, excursions and wildlife. He writes: “It was evening and the sun has just set when we arrived at Bahia Bustamante, a solitary outpost on the Patagonian coast of …
Buenos Aires Tasting Menu by Alan Lyall on 8th November, 2019 Alan was recently in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, where an important question was what to eat in Buenos Aires. This is the story of his personal experience of an evening of a tasting menu experience. He writes: Tasting menu – a lot of small “funny” dishes designed to confuse and challenge …
What to do in and around Los Glaciares National Park by Alan Lyall on 6th September, 2019 Los Glaciares National Park in Patagonia is found nestling into the Andes in South Western Argentina and bordering with Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park. It is an area of stunning beauty with towering mountains, glacial lakes and impressive glaciers. Covering an area of over 7,000 km2 (over 2,800 sq miles) it offers the …
The Best Eco Camps and Lodges in Patagonia by Alan Lyall on 16th August, 2019 We’ve compiled a quick guide to some of the best eco camps in Patagonia, from eco-friendly domes to lodges and refugios, perfect for your Patagonian holiday. With many places filling up quickly, it’s important to get places booked up a long way in advance, especially in the busier season of November to March. At …
Plan the perfect Patagonia honeymoon by Alan Lyall on 19th July, 2019 Patagonia – remote, wild and inspiring – a unique destination at the end of South America for the perfect adventurous honeymoon between October and May. In her poem “Patagonia”, Kate Clanchy begins: I said perhaps Patagonia, and pictured a peninsula, wide enough for a couple of ladderback chairs to wobble on at …
Top 10 things to see and do in Buenos Aires by Alan Lyall on 26th April, 2019 Buenos Aires is Argentina’s exciting, enticing and elegant capital city. Flanked by the River Plate on one side and the immense Argentine Pampa on the other, this bustling city is normally the first port of call for visitors to Argentina. It is certainly worth spending a few days there to get a …
Essential Travel Guide to Puerto Madryn in Argentina by Tom Shearman on 19th April, 2019 Our visitor’s guide to Puerto Madryn gives lots of ideas, tips and advice to help plan your holiday to this scenic corner of Patagonia, Argentina. Read first hand advice from our travel expert Tom Shearman who spent 10 days exploring the region. “Puerto Madryn is a fairly large town of around 100,000 souls, first …
Patagonia Traveller’s blog: Fitzroy, Paine and Ushuaia by Kathy Jarvis on 15th March, 2019 Larry and Gillian are coming to the end of their month of travelling with Andean Trails in Patagonia. We put together a tour designed to take them off-the-beaten-track – read the first instalment in their blog – covering Santiago and Aysen and remote border crossings. Once in Argentina, Gillian and Larry trekked to the base of …
Adventure holiday highlights in Aysen, Northern Patagonia, Chile by Kathy Jarvis on 1st March, 2019 Larry and Gillian are on a 4 week adventure through Patagonia. Currently they are just half way through and enjoying the small Argentinean frontier town of El Chalten, and walks to the magnificent granite spires of Fitzroy and Cerro Torre. They have sent some fabulous photos and some comments on their highlights so far. …
Self-drive and self-guided trekking holiday in Patagonia by Tom Shearman on 1st February, 2019 Steve Smith and Karla Miller took a 4-week trip with Andean Trails to celebrate Steve’s 50th birthday. The couple started at the mighty Iguazu Falls then flew to Ushuaia to start a series of treks; Montes Martial, and then self-guided in Chalten and Chile’s Paine W in Torres del Paine National Park. After …
Wildlife spotting in the Iberá wetlands, Argentina. by Alan Lyall on 14th December, 2018 Black caiman, capybara, howler monkeys and rheas are just some of the species you might come across in the Iberá wetlands, the second largest wetland in the world. Covering an area of over 6,500 square miles in north-east Argentina, the wetlands are a collection of lakes, bogs, swamps and rivers and are an important …
Top 10 places to visit on holiday in Argentina by Alan Lyall on 21st September, 2018 Argentina covers most of the surface area of southern South America and is the eighth largest country in the world. As such, it offers the traveller a cornucopia of vistas and experiences. Here is our choice of 10 unmissable experiences which Argentina has to offer. Iguazu falls Great Adventure Tour The Iguazu falls, straddling the …
Argentina – its weather, seasons and best time to visit by Alan Lyall on 14th September, 2018 Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, covering an area of 2.78 million km² (1.074 million mi²) which is about 1/3 the size of the USA. It covers most of the Southern part on the South American continent and as such has a varied climate. It is flanked by the Andes mountains …
Travel guide to Peninsula Valdes National Park, Punta Norte by Tom Shearman on 7th September, 2018 Where can you see almost a millions penguins, hundreds of sea lions, dozens of whales and even orcas, all in one place? Andean Trails’ travel expert Tom describes his trip to Argentina’s wildlife haven – Peninsula Valdes. He writes: “What’s that? Did you see that? Looking like a….Can’t be. Quick, let’s get a …
The Patagonia Highlights Trekking Tour Experience by Alan Lyall on 20th July, 2018 The majesty of Southern Patagonia can be experienced along the trekking trails of the Glaciares National Park in Argentina, infront of the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier, under the granite spires of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park and driving across enigmatic Tierra del Fuego. This can all be experienced on Andean Trails fully escorted small group Patagonia Highlights trekking …
Patagonia off the Beaten track: Villa O’Higgins to El Chalten by Kathy Jarvis on 30th April, 2018 Driving south on the Carretera Austral you eventually reach the end of this amazingly spectacular road, at the small town of Villa O’Higgins, 550 km from Coyhaqui and 48°28 S (on a par with Washington, Ontario and much of central Europe). The River Baker The scenery driving south is stunning all the way, …
Patagonia bucket list by Alan Lyall on 25th April, 2018 Patagonia as a destination has inspired many an explorer, author, poet and simple traveller and is on many a bucket list. Below you will find a sample bucket list that we hope will inspire the explorer, author, poet and traveller in you, and which would be entirely feasible in one incredible holiday to …
Patagonia holidays for families by Alan Lyall on 24th April, 2018 Chilean and Argentine Patagonia is an incredible destination with spectacular scenery, wildlife and a plethora of activities and outstanding trekking especially during the main season from October through to April. For families, especially with slightly older children there are many activities that can be considered. Here are some ideas you might wish to consider: …
