What an amazing experience!!! If I could give this a six star review, I would. Everything about... read more
What an amazing experience!!! If I could give this a six star review, I would. Everything about... read more
We had an absolute blast during our 2 day Kayaking trip down Serrano river with Christian and... read more
My family just returned from our first time ever visiting Patagonia in Chile. We often go rafting when we vacation in the United States (with Nantahala Outdoor Center, headquartered in Bryson City, NC) and so I was so excited to learn that it would be possible to go kayaking in Patagonia. After a google search, I was SO lucky to find Kayak en Patagonia. I communicated many times via email with Cristian who couldn’t have been more professional and helpful. In particular, I had misconceptions about the type of kayak that he uses and he enthusiastically answered all my questions and addressed each one of concerns.
The three of us in my family (me, the middle-aged mom, plus two college-aged “children”) signed up with Kayak en Patagonia for an all-day kayaking adventure. We kayaked in sea kayaks; I shared a kayak with my son while Cristian shared with my daughter. A second guide, Leslie, was in her own kayak. We were perfectly well-cared for from start to finish and I always felt completely safe. (I say this lest someone think these trips are only for the young and perfectly physically fit!) They provided all the equipment including kayaking dry suits, normally just used for their multiple day trips but shared with us because we were visiting during their “shoulder” season when the weather is unreliable. Although it was quite cold when we started in the morning, we never were uncomfortable and those dry suits certainly kept us dry.
My goodness, you wouldn’t believe the lunch spread they put out! Lots of options, all very tasty, selected and prepared with good healthy choices in mind. They had thought of every detail and impressively maintained total positivity the entire day, even after the 99th potty stop request.
We did the Grey Lake/River tour that begins with a paddle around super cool, humongous icebergs. Cristian was always mindful of safety, advising us of when it was safe to get close and when it was important to keep a distance. We were lucky to have the opportunity to paddle right up to one of the icebergs and actually TOUCH the iceberg! I even took off my glove to feel it with my fingers and the surface is…well, it is just a cool experience to touch! Doesn’t feel smooth; instead, it is more like a whole bunch of ice cubes all glued together. Who knew?!
Our experience was a bit different because it was unusually foggy, meaning that the typical mountain views were not visible. But we all agreed that the fogginess produced a nearly mystical view of the water and the icebergs. It was totally beautiful in its own way and we have come home with lovely photos, some of which were taken by Leslie. (No, this is not the kind of company that charges extras for photos!)
My family feels SO lucky to have found Kayak en Patagonia and we couldn’t have enjoyed our trip with Cristian and Leslie any more (I am pretty sure I am spelling her name wrong). They are consummate professionals, clearly love what they do and are committed to the “customer” experience. We hope to return to Patagonia again in the future and if we do, we will definitely paddle with Kayak en Patagonia again and maybe even consider one of their multi-day trips.
This is an exceptional company. My wife and I did the three-day trip, which essentially combines the one-day Grey trip, and two-day Serrano trip. It was the highlight of our trip to Patagonia. The three-day kayak trip made a great addition to hiking the W, and allowed us to further explore the area around Torres del Paine and get away from the crowds on the W. The overnight trips are not cheap, and were a significant expense for us, but we were so glad we did it. After seeing all the logistics and people required to make the trip possible (and the high quality of the equipment and guides), I think their prices are fair.
The company provides top-notch kayaks and equipment, a very high guide-to-client ratio, and has excellent guides. Our guides were experienced, knowledgeable, and went above and beyond to make the experience a great one.
You really only need to bring what their brochure tells you to bring. This was the best I've ever eaten while camping, and there was more than enough food and drink.
I've had some paddling experience over the years, but I am by no means an expert. I did not find the rivers we paddled on to be intimidating (there was only one section of small rapids that could be easily avoided.) Some of the paddling was challenging, however, due to Patagonia's notorious high winds. The windy conditions made for a few points a long the trip where we had to paddle hard, but it by no means diminished how much we enjoyed the trip.
If you're going to book something like this, you just have to accept that neither you nor the company has control over the weather. The company seems to really do all they can to avoid having to cancel trips due to the wind, and in my estimation, has a very fair policy.
If you are interested in exploring Patagonia by Kayak, and getting out away from some of the crowds of the W, I highly recommend this company and their trips.
My wife and I booked a full-day excursion of Lake Grey and the Serrano River when we visited Torres del Paine NP in February. We had extremely high expectations due to all of the great reviews that we read but Cristian and his team blew us away with how thoughtful and professional they are.
We could not have had a better experience! Leslie and Owens gave us thorough instruction so that we felt comfortable navigating the kayaks and using the gear. The weather was absolutely perfect and calm when we kayaked among the icebergs in Lake Grey and admired the amazing Torres in TDP. It is truly unbelievable to experience the beauty of TDP away from the river and away from all of the crowds.
I thought that the guides did a great job helping our group to slowly build up our skills so that we became comfortable with progressively more challenging parts of the river. We even got to navigate through a small rapid which was a lot of fun and really rewarding!
Every detail is planned perfectly and this trip is worth every penny. Do not miss the opportunity to do this unforgettable adventure. Thank you Cristian, Leslie and Owens!
I was impressed with the quality of service received from Kayak en Patagonia from beginning to end. I was initially sold on the thoroughness and assistance provided in communications pre-trip with Cristian who runs the business and got the impression that it was a well run and friendly business. The impression held true once we were down there on our two day excursion. Our guide, Ted, was not only professional, knowledgeable and extremely hard working but was a pleasure to hang out with, talking and enjoying the amazing scenery. And what great scenery it is. We did the kayak trip at the end of backpacking the Q circuit in Torres del Paine NP and although we had seen some remarkable sights already, it was still a thrill to see what the area had to offer from the perspective of the kayaks down the Rio Serrano. It was thrilling, and Ted was great in making it work for us. Good food, good equipment, good service, great time.
The day was cold and windy, but with the care, attention and professionalism of the guides, not to mention the great gear, we were able to get out on Gray Lake and onto the river. The weather improved and experience of seeing Patagonia and Torres del Paine from the River was very special. We had just spent 5 days on the W Trek and this gave us a unique perspective on our hike. The guides are very experienced and professional, and Luis, the driver was very thoughtful of our comfort and Leslie kept us organized on track. Thanks to the assistance of Owens, Taylor and Garrett we all had a great day..
We've down 4 to 9 day kayaking trips with companies from Alaska to Iceland to Thailand to NZ to Baja to Norway, and Kayak en Patagonia (& sister company Hello Patagonia) are as good as it gets. They are very safety conscious, with thorough instruction and superb gear from dry suits to boats (+tents/ bags if, as we did, you do their 3-day multi-day trip....for paddlers with some experience.) With >3 mile per hour river currents, covering 18 miles on the Rio Gray & 25 miles the next day on the Rio Serrano is no problem in the full-sized tandem sea kayaks which track and handle well Even in this often-windy environment, we didn't come close to capsizing or any other problems.
Our guide Garrett was awesome, unflappable, with much knowledge, English & Spanish, great culinary skills, & a wonderfully calm, instructive manner. Highly respected company owner-operator Christian has a very professional operation on the rivers, and his wife Leslie (Hello Patagonia) can (and did) arrange in advance in a wonderfully helpful and thorough manner all sorts of other activities and logistics (refugios/ camps on the Torres del Paine "W" trek, bus & boat connections, hotels, glacier walks, etc.) She even co-led the eight-customer paddling day trip we joined (in English & Spanish) and is much fun, very informative.
With safety and logistics "in hand" via Kayak en Patagonia, one can simply "sit back" and enjoy the Alaska-like world-class flatwater kayaking (snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, calving glaciers, National Parks, icebergs) here in one of Patagonia's best wilderness areas.