Chile to Rio: Jason's Story

We caught up with one of the members of our trade sales team, Jason, to find out more about his first time travelling solo with Just You.

This was a holiday of firsts, as well as being my first time visiting this trio of South American countries, it was also to be my first time travelling with Just You.

After checking in at Heathrow, I met the group, including our Holiday Director Leigh, in the airport lounge. This was worth its weight in gold as it took away those initial anxieties of meeting everyone, and you’ve got to the airport and checked in, and you can just relax then.

Plus, when you’re about to board a long flight, and everyone can be dotted around the plane depending on the airline you travel with, it’s just a really nice ice breaker. It’s natural to have a few mixed feelings about long flights but I must say the food and service onboard was great, the connecting flight went smoothly too.

Sensational Santiago

There were 15 of us travelling, which was a good size group, and we soon found our little tribes for getting out and exploring.

Santiago is a lovely city, and I was so glad we had a full day there with a city tour in the morning to see the municipal buildings and architecture, and then the funicular ride to view Santiago from above was fantastic.

In the afternoon, five of us went for lunch in a lovely restaurant, then took a stroll for an ice cream – an essential – you are on holiday after all! It may have been the ice cream talking but we were all feeling a little adventurous, so we decided to take the underground back to the hotel.

Our hotel was in the leafy suburbs and from the underground, it was a 30-minute walk. As it was quite the adventure with my Spanish coming in handy a few times, we decided to title our afternoon “Race across Santiago”..!

If the idea of freestyling it so soon into the trip isn’t for you, there’s the option to book a wine tasting experience for the afternoon. And I think it was safe to say that there’s no such thing as a bad wine in Chile.

Regardless, I think that’s just one, of many things, that Just You gets right in the sense that you have the freedom to choose. Dip in or dip out, throw yourself in wholeheartedly – as long as you just keep your Holiday Director informed, there is that flexibility there, the itinerary isn’t entirely rigid.

And, of course, it’s important to mention that you need to be safe and sensible, be aware of your surroundings and perhaps think twice before wearing anything flashy or waving your mobile phone around in areas like La Boca. It’s common sense – you wouldn’t really do it in the centre of a UK city, so the same applies wherever you are in the world.

Our six-hour drive through the Andes was stunning, and we lucked out with nice sunny views. The mighty scenes of the mountain range were jaw-dropping – it doesn’t get much better than that on a coach drive!

We were staying in Mendoza for two nights, and for me, it was the best hotel of the whole tour. The Diplomatic Hotel is modern and stylish, rooms had nice views of the city and hills beyond, and the beds were extremely comfortable. I think that’s the beauty of having it all organised for you, in the sense that after a six-hour coach journey, you just want somewhere really nice and comfortable to rest your head, and the Diplomatic was certainly that.

Argentina - food for the soul

We were in Argentina, so it would have been remiss of us not to head out in search of a good steakhouse. Just a word of warning, when you get back home, no steak meal will ever compare to your dining encounters in Argentina – sad, but true in my humble opinion. That said if anyone has any good recommendations of decent steakhouses in the UK, I’m all ears!

Fabian was our local guide for our tour of Mendoza the following day. It’s quite a charming place, and we were fortunate to experience a carnival and market that were taking place at the time. Mendoza felt a bit more relaxed compared to the other cities, so it was nice to have that contrast, especially after our coach journey, it was well timed to slow the pace down a little.

We spent three days in Buenos Aires; it’s certainly a city of contrasts as we discovered on our city tour which helped to give us our bearings and to pinpoint places to come back at leisure.

I went back to La Boca, the streets and atmosphere was brilliant, you can head to a bar for a delicious empanada and catch a tango show, and it’s great for souvenir shopping too. I have to say there is nowhere else quite like La Boca, and I found the people to be so friendly.

Three of us took the hop on, hop off bus tour which was great to cover more ground. The hotel was quite central which made it a bit easier to explore during our free time. One afternoon a group of us decided to head to a riverside Churrascaria lunch - it was fantastic meal and a bargain too at around $39 for a buffet of salads and as much meat as you can handle.

If you’re debating whether to book onto The Argentine Experience, it is worth every penny. You’ll watch and learn how to make empanadas, sit down to a tango show and I wined and dined on the most divine steak and wine of the whole trip - yes there is a theme of steak emerging here!

Falling for Iguazu

Buenos Aires and Rio were the main reasons I chose this tour, and they both exceeded my expectations, but I was quite blown away by Iguazu Falls which I was quite surprised by. We all saw the Falls from both sides, and if you have a late flight to Rio, I recommend booking the Brazil one just for both perspectives.

We did a boat cruise under the falls too, which was worth a little soaking to relieve ourselves from the humidity. I also booked the helicopter ride over the falls, I’m so glad I did it as it’s equally as impressive overhead. I think I can certainly give myself the stamp of approval that I’ve seen the Falls in every possible way!

We were also able to enjoy being in three places at once too. During some free time when we arrived in Iguazu, we walked up to a viewing point for the meeting of three borders, Paraguay Brazil and Argentina. It’s a half hour walk from the hotel, so nice to stretch your legs and see a few more sights to make the most of your trip.

When in Rio…

What can I say about Rio? It was incredible, and I think it was the perfect place to finish. Some tour operators out there start in Rio, but I think it’s better to save it until the end, and I wish I had booked the two-night add on as you could easily spend some extra time here.

We arrived late on a Friday evening and literally dropped our bags before some of us headed straight out as we were not prepared to waste any time here. We found ourselves at a charming little bar on Copacabana Beach and we got to enjoy samba dancing over a few drinks.

The next day we hit the ground running with a city tour including Christ the Redeemer. You don’t realise just how high up you are, you’re literally above the clouds. And to see the joins of the structure up close and to consider how on earth it was constructed, it’s simply mind-blowing.

As we had a late flight out of Rio the next day, the early bird catches the worm, so I was up at 7am strolling down Copacabana Beach with a coffee in hand and taking in the atmosphere. There were crowds of locals already playing volleyball and football, with breakfasts being barbecued on the beach – what a way to start a Sunday, it was amazing to see it all, including the local market.

Final thoughts

To sum this tour up in one word would be ‘epic’. If I had my time to go back again, I’d head straight for Rio to soak up much more of the atmosphere that must be seen to be believed. I’m still unpacking my holiday memories now, and I was so pleased to have the chance to enjoy it all with a group who all had the same sentiment, to make the most of every minute – you only live once!

If I had any top tips for you, it would be that you need Brazilian and Chilean dollars with you, in addition to US dollars. When you arrive in Argentina, your Holiday Director can arrange to change US or pounds sterling to Argentinian dollars as it’s a closed currency.

Leigh and our local guides were all so knowledgeable – second to none – and it was so good to have them all there to help us get our bearings and see all the incredible sights before you set off and explore on your own steam. As I mentioned earlier just keep your wits about you and be sensible as you would be anywhere else in the world. That said it feels like there’s nowhere else quite like these trio of treasures – you’ll be completely captivated!