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esbates09
We paid for the Catamaran experience, though I would rather we had gone on a smaller, less expensive boat. The glacier is really gorgeous, but crumbling quickly with a calving once every five minutes or so. They can show you the marks from where it receded since 1999, 2005 etc. Would be great as a trip to inspire kids into going into environmental science or engineering to figure out ways to save natural features like this.
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Chalha123
It is indeed a long and expensive trip to get to see the glacier; 6 hours on the boat from Puerto Chacabuco and 180,000 CLP being the cheapest we could find. The boat ride is beautiful though, and the glacier breathtaking. You can go up close on smaller boats as pieces of the glacier fall crash into the sea.. Amazing. HOWEVER - if you are planning on going to Torres Del Paine as part of your trip, I would say don't bother with San Rafael. I thought Grey Glacier in Torres Del Paine was much more impressive; it's absolutely beautiful, you can go a lot closer, it's more accessible and of course cheaper too. You will definitely get your glacier fix if you see just that!
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CoyhaiqueWoodnut
I think the most breathtaking place I have ever seen. I have returned numerous times. The fastest, easiest way to see and enjoy San Rafael safely is by Catamaran out of Chacabuco. This is arranged through travel agents or the Loberia hotel. On arrival a closer experience can be had for the brave, entering the zodiac speed boats and navigating through the ice.
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grivola
We had almost a full day at the glacier arriving during breakfast while the crew gathered up two open steel boats to take us out to the face of the glacier. Ice flows, seals and falling ice off the glacier kept everyone upbeat and excited. Nobody else out there. We took this trip last year with the Skorpio small ship cruise line out of Puerto Montt. It was fantastic. About 80 passengers on board with a very friendly crew. It felt a bit like travelling in an earlier time but the coastal views of mountains, rain forest, water falls and finally the San Rafael glacier was exceptional. If you like the wild outdoors, that end of the earth feeling and standing on a deck leaning into wind, sun or drizzle then you'll like this one. The food on board was generally good with the odd spike of excellence and then somewhat ho-hum but you eat four times a day. The Chileans still do English style high tea at 4 and supper at 8. Wonderful !
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Frenchilean
Since I live in Chile and work in the tourism industry, I did extensive research before deciding how and when to go to Laguna San Rafael and its glaciar. Instead of taking the expensive Skorpios cruise or other companies like Navimag that start in Puerto Chacabuco, we decided to take the new, shorter route from Bahia Exploradores. It is much cheaper (about USD300 per person, including transportation from your hotel in Puerto Rio Tranquilo) and allows you to get to the glaciar in 3 hours only, so if you are short of time, you can do the excursion in just one day instead of 2 days minimum with the others (although taking a two-day tour and sleeping in the forest near the glaciar allows to see more things). It is worth it.As of now, there are only two companies offering excursions from there: Emtrex and Destino Patagonia. All the others sites you will find offering excursions from Bahia Exploradores go through them -and can be more expensive. We went with Destino Patagonia, as they were the first ones to answer my emails (quick email response is important to me) and were friendly and helpful in their reply.Enough of introduction, let's go to the thick of it. Destino Patagonia's driver picks us up at our hotel at Puerto Rio Tranquilo (the closest town from Bahia Exploradores) at 7am, then drives us to Valley Exploradores with his SUV. The road is quite bumpy and I'm glad I'm not driving, so that I can enjoy the stunning landscape around us, with lakes, numerous waterfalls, impressive mountains and glaciars. At 9am, we cross the Exploradores river in a boat (they still need to build a bridge there) and we continue on another van for a minutes on the other side. We finally make it to the pier and get into a tiny boat, where only 6 clients + 2 pilots and our guide can fit in the small cabin. Don't expect comfort: as I wrote before, this is a more adventurous route, and it's better to have waterproof clothes and shoes on.There starts the route to the lagoon San Rafael, which takes about 3 hours. Unfortunately the weather is bad so we cannot get out of the cabin much. It also gets very bumpy at some point because of the waves and strong winds (this is definitely NOT recommended for people with neck or back problems). This is also something worth knowing beforehand: since we are on a tiny boat, there is the possibility that the weather is too bad and we have to return -and you cannot really know it until the boat reaches the fjords (we start from a river). In such cases, 90% of the excursion is refunded.The weather is very cloudy and it rains sporadically, so we cannot really appreciate the beauty of the fjord around us, but once we reach the laguna with all the blue icebergs and the big glaciar, it is spectacular, even with the rain. Because of the bad weather, we cannot picnic on the piece of land next to the glaciar and have to eat inside the boat. The food, however, is unexpectedly good. Then we get close to the big wall of ice and spend about an hour observing it. Amazing beauty, and quite impressive when big pieces of ice dramatically fall on the water.There is a bit of frustration though: first, the guide's English is just ok, and he doesn't give many explanations about the glaciar's formation, the colors, etc. Second, we cannot get as close as the zodiacs coming from Skorpio's and Navimag's boats. These get really to the foot of the glaciar, while our tiny boat cannot. But it is still a great experience. And instead of having the classic drink in a glass with a piece of ice from the glaciar, our guide does something more creative: he picks a big piece of ice, carves a hole in it with his knife, and pours directly the whisky in it. Great idea! As we return, the weather clears up and we can appreciate better the beauty of the area, with the fjords and cascades, and see a couple of penguins and sea lions on the way.Conclusion: This is still a very new route, so there are a few flaws that can be corrected with time and experience (the level of English, the lack of explanations, maybe a better boat that could get close to the glaciar...). But the fast is friendly, it is by far the fastest and cheapest option, and you get actually two excursions in one, as the 2-hour road trip from the village of Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Bahia Exploradores features stunning landscapes, with lakes, numerous waterfalls, impressive mountains and glaciars. Simply one of the most beautiful landscapes in Chile -and I've seen many!
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976patrickv
We were at San Rafael for a 2 day trip with Destino Patagonia, sailing with a small boat from Bahia Exploradores in 2 hrs to the laguna. First afternoon we walked to the look out points over the glaciar. We had blue skies and nice temperature, which meant we could sit and watch for a few hours. Absolutely stunning to see the glaciar calving; pieces of the ice wall broke off every few minutes, with at the certain time a whole section disintegrating. The icebergs popping up from ice falling into lagoon and from ice breaking off underwater is such a weird thing to see, it all seems to happen in slow motion in front of your eyes. Next day we went kayaking on the lagoon, great to see these wonderful shapes and colours of icebergs from closeby. Unfortunately it was raining and cold, which made it less fun.
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KimberleyH425
Stayed two nights in Hotel Loberias del Sur Chacabuco, comfortable accommodation good restaurant. Place to launch from for boat tour of San Rafael Glacier. Catamaraes Del Sur is a full day tour leaving 7am in the morning, returning by 9pm. Breakfast, lunch and snacks provided. If your not a Salmon lover take a few snacks no facilities to buy anything on board. Plenty of food great staff and most amazing natural wonder to visit. Well worth the time. At the site of the glacier you travel on small zodiac boats closer to the glacier. Totally awe inspiring adventure, the sounds and sights are a must. Long day for younger kids. Take warm clothes, beanie scarf. Water proof ponchos are provided on zodiacs. Good camera is a must?
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G7196JHjohnw
In 2012 my wife and I took Scorpios III (the newest ship in the Scorpios Cruises fleet) and cruised to the San Raphael glacier in the company of Scorpios II, the first time the two ships had sailed together. We were the only English speakers on the ship but that made no difference. The crew, the service and the meals were first class. The all day open bar was a treat. But all this paled into insignificance once we reached the glacier. The bay leading to the glacier was full of icebergs of all sizes floating in crystal clear water ranging from white to green and magnificent blues. Colours you will never see anywhere else. We spent a few hours bashing our way through the ice in a small reinforced boat stopping to get 20,000 year old ice (it is like dark blue glass to look at) and drinking it with 12 year old Scotch. Yes it is expensive but an absolute candidate for anyone's bucket list. DO IT you won't regret it.
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Marla_Kay_99999
Hands down the most spectacular, awesome, impressive thing I have ever seen. Must be experienced in real life; videos don't even start to convey the majesty and power of it all. We saw some people's necks risked while we were there when the Glacier calves. I was so glad to be on the Skorpios Cruise. The owner brings absolute safety and beauty to you, with great food and a lovely trip there and back. I am not adventuresome, so that was important to me. Amazingly beautiful Glacier - completely worth the trip.
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60726Nicky_11
Unforgettable watching a calving glacier for a couple hours. This is a very expensive trip though. Had been a decade ago on a 75% off (last minute, $3,200 for two) 8-day trip to Antarctica (saw lots but no calving glaciers that I remember) on a ship that had it all: a brand new Norwegian ice breaker; great, varied buffet meals; lectures by historians and scientists all day long for all of our non-landing days in Antarctia. So we frankly expected more of the Skorpios II. First of all, the crew was fantastic and did everything to make passengers (just over 100) very comfortable. But we expected ample buffets and food instead rather indifferent "served" food. We were surprised that there were very few "foreign" travelers, almost everybody were Chilenos or Argentinians, obviously of some resources. It would really help if the Skoprios had some informed lectures about flora and fauna and history. Second, if they once had buffet meals, they should reinstate them. Obviously I would have been much happier had this journey cost $2,000 or 3,000 for two, instead of more than $4,000. There are other ways -- cheaper but perhaps more adventurous to get to see this glacier. Look at three or more guide books and study (harder than I did) before you get on the airplane for Chile.
