Explora en Atacama - All Inclusive

LOVED our five-day stay at Explora Atacama! Highlights were our excellent private guide, the phenomenal food, and AMAZING choice of daily activities. We loved having our own private pool at Puritama Hot Springs, the 5-mile hike near El Tatio Geysers, and our evening hike in the Rainbow Valley. Explora does an exceptional job keeping you away from the over-touristed sites, and they excel at taking good care of their guests.

In many ways our trip to Atacama was magical. We loved the different areas of the desert and it was great to be somewhere all inclusive where everything was taken care of so you could focus on the most important item, the excursions. Explora misses out on 5 bubbles from us because it wasn't perfect but it was very good. On arrival from Calama we were collected from the airport with some other guests and arrived at Explora mid-afternoon. We were keen to maximise our stay and wanted to do a half-day excursion shortly after arrival. To their credit the staff at Explora, after greeting us with a Pisco sour, were also keen to arrange an excursion. Before that first excursion they wanted us to sit down with a staff member and set out our excursions over the duration of our stay. One improvement I would suggest would be that once the activities are agreed, a summary should be provided to guests confirming the excursions, also with details of what clothing and equipment is necessary. It was only by chance when we were talking to a guide one evening that we realised the staff member who arranged our excursions had made an error and booked us onto the wrong one the following day. Fortunately we were able to correct the error. The guides were generally very good, although if you couldn't keep up at the front, you were likely to miss out on conversation and information as you hiked along. The transportation was at times difficult in terms of terrain and suspension, perhaps the transport requires some upgrading. We thought the accommodation was disappointing, especially in the context of the cost of our stay. It's great that the accommodation is simple and traditional but it was tired, dark and not as clean as it could be. The ceiling fan needed to be on during the night, but this was right above the bed and essentially blowing in your face all night! The biggest disappointment was the star gazing activity, the event we were looking forward to the most. Sadly for us it was a little cloudy, clearly not in the control of the staff, but the group was far too big which meant you were standing around in the observatory doing nothing as people took their turns. They need to have a rethink about this activity because it doesn't compare well to the various excursions that take place during the day. Food was generally good and always available. And the staff were friendly and helpful. They were also able to arrange return transport in line with our flight time. All in all, although not perfect, we would consider using Explora again for further South American exploration.

Lugar fantastico. O hotel extremamente confortavel e perfeitamente adequado para o local. Serviço de primeira, alimentaçao primorosa e as expediçoes impecaveis. Guias qualificados e de extrema gentileza. Experiencia alem da expectativa.

Website should be proactive and notify weekly about weather conditions. It is important to advise what clothing to pack for different explorations. When exploration is at 5K altitude in spring, there could be very low temperature, which requires winter clothes. At the same date bike exploration at the hotel altitude requires light clothes as it is extremely hot.

Obwohl wir sehr viel reisen, schreibe ich selten Bewertungen. Jeder sieht es anders, das ist auch gut so. Da wir gerade jetzt im Explora sind, sah ich die Bewertung eine Woche vorher, die ich so unter keinen Umständen stehen lassen möchte. Einig sind wir uns über die Lage und die herzliche Freundlichkeit des Personals. Klar, die Zimmer sind einfach, aber sauber. Gerochen hat bei uns nichts. Absolut nicht okay ist die Bewertung des Essens. Wir fanden es spannend diverse Gerichte auszuprobieren. Die waren weder ölig noch gleichgeschmacklich. Die Portionen sind vernünftig gross, zudem kann man ja als grosser Esser auch nachbestellen. Summa summarum ein gelungenes Erlebnis mit tollen Touren und sehr umsorgenden Guides. Wir fanden es toll, was hier in der Wüste geleistet wurde. Das muss man so wertschätzen.

The people are really great. The food is 'okay'- they try too hard to create usual tastes... need some simple options too. The rooms need a major renovation. The common areas look like they were renovated but in more of a low budget way. The van's are okay but need to upgrade to sprinter van.