Howlanders Reviews 266

Oh, the marvels of modern tour companies, those wily conjurers of disappointment! It seems I stumbled upon the grand spectacle orchestrated by the maestros of mismanagement, a troupe so adept at turning dreams into nightmares that even Macbeth would blush at their audacity.

In the grand theater of my Peruvian escapade, I unwittingly cast myself as the tragic lead, guided by the inept directors of this Machu Picchu calamity. Behold the exquisite choreography of their incompetence – a week after the initial flourish of booking, they unveiled the pièce de résistance: a sudden shortage of availability, a twist worthy of Shakespearean tragedy.

Had their revelation been as swift as a well-aimed dagger, I could have pirouetted towards greener pastures. Alas, the fates conspired to delay this revelation until it was as useful as a lute in a gunfight. And so, I was coerced into a shorter tour, a dance macabre of disappointment.

But fear not, dear reader, for the performance was far from over. Another act unfurled as they, with a flourish, demanded an extra tribute for an additional guide. A toll for the privilege of not being completely abandoned on the Andean slopes. Bravo! The crescendo approached as they played their final hand – a one-day tour, a symphony of inadequacy. Refund? Oh, the sweet naiveté! They clung to my funds like barnacles to a sunken ship.

Behold the pièce de résistance – a bill of over $600 for an experience more akin to a back-alley magic show. The transportation, a chariot of despair, seemed more apt for delivering the damned to Hades than ferrying tourists to Machu Picchu. I felt akin to Prometheus, not for bringing fire to humanity, but for having my liver pecked at by the vultures of touristic treachery.

And then, the pièce de résistance – a late call, a nocturnal intrusion. Confirming my address at such an ungodly hour! For a 4 AM rendezvous the next day no less, left me with only two hours of sleep. It was difficult to enjoy the tour when I could barely keep my eyes open.

In conclusion, dear readers, avoid this theatrical catastrophe masquerading as a tour agency. To entrust them with your dreams is to invite Shakespearean tragedy into your life – a comedy of errors, where you pay dearly for the privilege of participating in their farcical production. Exit, pursued by regret.

The track "torres del paine" was wonderful and the organisation great!

Our trip to Machu Picchu was very well organised. First, we had a meeting the night before with Karina who gave us the tickets and explained everything in a lot of detail. She was also happy to share with us some tips and recommendations in Cusco which was great. Unfortunately, our experience in Machu Picchu wasn’t the best because of our tour guide, who instead of giving us facts took us on a strange conspiracy-theorist journey citing everything from flat earth to leprechauns. He was very friendly, however we wanted to actually learn about the historic place, and instead he babbled on about aliens and other mad theories. He even had a folder full of printouts he had prepared to prove his nonsense. I was conflicted about writing this review, however I believe that when you spend so much money and you travel so far to visit a literal wonder of the world, it is a shame to have the whole thing spoiled because of the tour guide.

We contacted Howlanders for the O circuit hike in Torres del Paine. We were late to book the hike and there was no availability online for the campsites. Howlanders were very quick to respond to our questions, the team were extremely helpful, and organised the hike through a local agent without any issues. We are very happy with our experience with Howlanders and the local agent.

Everything was perfectly arranged! I liked the route and campsite choices!! What a wonderful experience. Thank you

We booked our self-guided tour for the W-Trek pretty last minute and everything was great! Very well organized with all necessary information provided with lots of time to look it over and ask questions. All reservations were organized and all check in processes were smooth - no complaints! We camped and the accommodation was great, the food was pretty good (lots of it!) and the welcome drinks were tasty. Would recommend Howlanders if you don't want the hassle of having to book everything yourself, everything was taken care of and we didn't run into any problems.

The tour was amazing but extremely tiring. My wife and I are both in our 70s and do not speak Spanish. We thoroughly enjoyed it however this was significantly enhanced by travelling with another English couple and a Brazilian couple who could help translate what the guided said. We had tried to find an English speaking tour but that was only available as a private tour which we didn't want. We therefore took a risk which did pay off. The travel distances were long and tiring and we had some altitude problems but overall the local tour operator was excellent. Very good coordination of travel and quality of food. Overall we would definitely do this trip but do your research and try and find out if there any other English speaking travellers with you.

We Had a Great Trip - nice Guide Shows us the Most important spots

German and Leandro were super knowledgeable and very engaged guides. German was really funny and also gave us some interesting facts about the glacier. His English is really good and he’s an expert in this. Leandro gave us tips on what hikes to do in El Chalten and thought us a couple of Spanish word’s while making sure we are safe. Love the small details such as a surprise at the end. Very well organized tour and everything went smoothly. We had a great day.

Fantastic tour! Nico and his colleagues were absolutely wonderful! They answered all questions and gave a great overview of Patagonia. I highly recommend this tour!

Torres del Paine is absolutely incredible! No matter how you arrange to experience the trip you will enjoy. But Howlanders made the complete pre coordination easy for me to enjoy even more. I spent time with trekkers who coordinated and did much by themselves.
They worried and still took time on the trail to organize. I enjoyed Howlanders coordination of permits, great food, sleeping accommodations, and support.
I slept well, ate well, and enjoyed all the trails. While others worried, lost sleep, prepared food, set and dismantled tent, became tiered, under nourished, needed rest and held back from trekking I enjoyed every bit of it. Not to mention the time I had making international friendships.
Thank you everyone at Howlanders who assisted me.
I just completed the O trek. Yippee!
It was the best vacation I have ever had. And my new friends from the trek agree with me.
Great memories forever 🏔️.
Sincerely,
Dan B

So many great activities and awesome guide

Wow, what an amazing experience! I'm usually not one to sign-up for tours but I knew Machu Picchu is strictly timed, so I thought why not try a guided tour? Howlanders exceeded all my expectations. They met with us the day before to go over the itinerary and gave us all our tickets. Each handover between drivers and hotels was super organized and seamless. Everyone was so friendly, helpful, and informative. Since we didn't have to worry about the logistics, we got to enjoy the experience to the fullest. Highly recommend adding the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu - you'll get to visit less busy sites that give you a fuller picture of Incan culture. Plus the train to Machu Picchu is unforgettable.

This was an AMAZING experience! If ever you have the opportunity to trek a glacier, I mean, you HAVE to do it! The guides were knowledgeable, attentive and fun

The tours, Glaciers and Torres Del Paine were fantastic, the guides and personnel were attentive and knowledgeable! Best tours we have been on, in Chile!

I had heard wonderful things booked a tour and when I sadly had to cut my trip short got my refund back promptly.

NEVER EVER GIVE THIS COMPANY ANY OF YOUR MONEY!!

They promise a certain deal on their website but when I received the reservation it was completely different.

To start, I did the Torres Del Paine 5 day W trek from 19th Feb to 24th Feb. I made the reservation on 5th November.

I only received any information about my booking 3 days before the actual trip started. It had to look at the information sent in detail to find out that the reservation made was not consistent with that advertised on their website. The advertisement is for two nights in Central and one day in Cuernos. But the reservation was made for two nights in Chileno and one night in Francis.

It is technically not even allowed to hike to Refugio Chileno from the Welcome center after 15:00. With the reservations made by Howlander, I only got to the Welcome Center at 17:30. I still made a desperate run to the Refugio only to find that I was too late for dinner.

Later Howlanders mentioned that they were not able to reserve for the refugios promised but I do not believe this explanation. I met many people along the way and in hostels which were able to reserve even much later than I booked. I think Howlanders just tries to get you into the cheaper refugios. I see someone else here has had a similar experience.

To this day, I have not received a number for the local agency that actually works and where you can talk to someone. I received some number on the day of the trip but was only able to reach voicemail. The responses I received from the Howlanders team was cryptic and lacking detail information.

Howlanders provides no special service. All they do is make bookings via some local agency. They literally have only one job and are pretty bad at it.

Nobody even checks if the reservations are done correctly and if there are issues (as I can understand sometimes there can be), nobody proactively communicates with you about the changes.

My recommendation, definitely go to Patagonia. But never trust Howlanders. Take the time and do your own booking. This service is not reliable.

Wasn’t able to go on my trek to Machu Picchu due to protests in Peru but Howlanders have been extremely helpful and cooperative providing ongoing updates on the country and providing a full refund. Will definitely be looking to use them when I can eventually get to Peru in the future. Very pleasant to deal with

It's definitelt worth booking the all-inclusive W Trek tour!

We booked Howlanders' all-inclusive tour to do the W Trek with an extra night in the Grey sector and it is definitely worth it. Their tour includes accommodation, transfers, and food and you don't have to worry about anything. Also by including an extra night in Grey we were able to enjoy the last stage quietly and even kayak on the Grey Glacier! I definitely recommend paying this extra, what a fantastic experience.

Great trip with fascinating view at the end, very kind, helpful staff, full with positive energy.
Thank you!