Hey Kendra,
You probably remember the primary purpose of this blog is to provide guidance and considerations for people who might be weighing the options of traveling as a part of an organized tour vs. striking out on their own; and specifically whether to do so here in the remote reaches of southern South America. Today's blog will be devoted to that topic as we've been here several days and can share an insight or two. Today's theme is Planning.
First, by way of background, we began to arrange this trip ~14 months ago. We did so because we wanted to use Frequent Flyer miles that offer limited travel choices and because we also wanted to book ourselves on a smaller explorer vessel for the Antarctic portion of the trip. As a result, very soon in the planning process we found ourselves locked into key dates from which the rest of the trip would revolve around. We also rapidly became more and more committed to the trip due to possible cancellation penalties. This is the first important consideration that directs the traveler to choosing the independent path.
Traveling this far, we also wanted to experience something other than a cruise. Hence we thought we would add a side trip to Patagonia. It was at this point the first big decision (and consequences therein) to travel independent vs. in a group had to be made. If we were to join a group, presumably we would price compare packages and pick one with dates that fit our cruise plans. Even easier, the cruise line already had packages we could join. However there were a few down-sides to joining a tour:
1. We already had flights booked on either side of the cruise so any tour would have to fit those strictures. Because we wanted some buffer time after the cruise and before the flight home, we added extra days to Santiago.They will be put to good use in a beautiful city while also assuring that we don't cut the connection between the cruise (which could be delayed) and the flights home.
2. The side trips with the cruise line appeared to be enormously expensive and not necessarily what we wanted to see.
3. We would have to tolerate other travelers. Although I appreciate the character building nature that such tolerance would provide, we would be tolerating everything from their scents, their chatter (and God-forbid: sharing), their slowness (or quickness), and, likely, their American-ness.
4. We would be on somebody else' schedule. This is probably the single biggest downside to dependent travel. You don't just stop the bus when you see a caracara munching on semi-fresh jack rabbit or if you want to climb up to and experience the condor's lookout.
5. We can spread out. Our rental car has the water bottles where we need them. It has the camera kit bag & tripod & binoculars & rain jackets all close at hand. It also has a case of beer in the trunk for emergencies.
6. We can hang out. We take our meals and visit with the staff at our leisure or decide to get up super-early to catch an awesome sunrise or take a late afternoon nap.
7. You can add or change a side trip. We are going to stop at a Magellanic penguin colony on our trip back from Patagonia to Punta Arenas. It is only 15 k out of our way, but will be our first chance to see a rookerie.
8. Planning and adjusting plans is fun - at least for Mom and I. Seeing the plans unfold with the surgical precision is sweet. After umteen hours in planes, walking out of the Santiago airport at 9pm to see the Airport hotel right there, across the street, waiting with our reservation and a hot shower caused me to jump up and down on the bed with delight.
To be fair, there are some pretty significant benefits to being in a tour group traveling the Patagonian outback.
1. You leave the driving to someone else. This is not insignificant when all the roads you are traveling on are narrow, gravel, and nearly 100 kilometers from the nearest gas station or emergency service. We had to carefully plan each day to conserve fuel and our last two days are being spent doing on-the-ground birding and a fishing trip just so we can leave with an extra ration of gas to get to the closest town to refuel.
2. You can enjoy the view. As the designated driver in the conditions described above, I am 110% focussed on the road. My hands are at 2 and 10 and the binoculars are on the rear seat. I'm worried about slipping into the loose shoulder, vehicles approaching from ahead or behind, and the weather - including the notorious winds in this region. And everywhere is 40+kilometers from everywhere else so you do this for an hour and a half at a time.
3. You probably learn a bit more. During our drives we've thought of many questions - when was the park founded; what happened in the last flood or fire; are there fish in the glacial lakes and how did they get there.
4. It might be cheaper. I doubt this would be the case, but would not be surprised - especially if we had a mechanical problem.
Of course, money can be used to join the best of both plans. We saw plenty of small commercial vans with a guide/driver and a couple. That may be the best solution for the traveler with more resources that what we have.
I've put independent vs. dependent planning considerations in the very tight context of Patagonia. Of course traveling to Umbria, Italy or Disneyland will have similar considerations, but their weight will be different. An all-inclusive package to Disneyland might be the smartest move because they bundle the package and you only deal with other travelers for the time from the hotel to the Magic Kingdom. In Umbria, who would want to stay at the local Holiday Inn?
I'm sure there are other planning elements that shape the independent travel experience. Send me your thoughts about what I've missed. Mom will probably also have a few.
Love you,
Dad
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