TRAVEL GUIDE: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR TRIP

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1 TRAVEL GUIDE: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR TRIP EMERGENCY CONTACT If family, friends or work colleagues need to get in touch with you during your trip they should contact the emergency number detailed in your Final Trip Confirmation (which you will receive a few weeks prior to travel). In the event of an urgent call or while you are out of phone contact, we will attempt to relay a message to you by radio or phone. Calls should be limited to emergencies as even radio contact can be sketchy in certain areas. VISAS AND PASSPORTS Please make sure your passport is up to date and valid for at least 6 months beyond your date of return travel. The name on your airline tickets needs to match the name on your passport. Please carefully check entry requirements at the Chilean consulate in your own country prior to travel to allow for time preparing documents and getting any required documents organized. Chile Visas Visitors from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay need only national identity cards. Most western Europeans, Canadians, Americans, New Zealanders and Australians can travel to Chile visa free for up to 90 days. Canadians visiting for the first time will have to pay a one off reciprocity fee of US$165, which is valid for the life of their passport. Similarly, Australians pay US$95 and Mexicans US$25. You will need to pay this when crossing the border into Chile. Make sure and carry cash for this (US dollars fine). NOTE: with effect from February 2014, Chile no longer levies the reciprocity fee for US citizens. The Chilean government levies the fee in response to a similar fee levied by the US and Canada for processing visas for Chilean nationals. Please check the up to date situation with your embassy in your country of residence prior to travel. For further advice relating to Chile you should check your country s own embassy guidelines. Alternatively, click on the State Department (US) guidelines as follows: VACCINATIONS No mandatory vaccinations are required to enter Chile. However, we recommend that routine immunizations such as Tetanus and diphtheria are up to date. Polio is recommended if you have never had it. Hepatitis A is also strongly recommended. There is no malaria in Chile. Please visit your physician or health specialist prior to travel to check on the up to date situation regarding vaccinations.

2 SAFETY AND SECURITY IN CHILE In general, Santiago is a safe city but as with all major cities we urge you to exercise common sense and caution at all times. We encourage you to travel in groups, avoid unknown areas after dark and take extra precaution when crossing roads. We urge you to use only registered taxis, especially at the airport. We recommend that you do not take any unnecessary valuable items on vacation with you and that you safely store those valuables that you do take. Always keep a copy of your passport, flight details and credit card numbers separate from where you keep the originals. Southern Argentina and Chile are very safe, especially Patagonia. You will however be travelling in remote areas and in a fairly unpredictable climate. Please make sure to pack accordingly. NOTES ON ARRIVAL INTO SANTIAGO The international and domestic terminals are next door to each other but even with this close proximity we strongly advise you to allow at least 2 hours to connect from international to domestic departures owing to delays collecting luggage and with immigration. You will normally have to clear customs and immigration and collect your luggage for scanning (agricultural policy) before being allowed to enter the departures hall (or transit to your domestic flight). This can take some time depending on how busy the airport is so make sure you have enough time between flights. NOTE: It is prohibited by law to bring in fruit, meat products, nuts and other fresh food stuffs into the country. If you are in any doubt, check with your airline before disembarking your flight and leave doubtful items behind. Sniffer dogs patrol the luggage area and if they decide to search your luggage this can cause unnecessary delays. There are ATM machines in the airport and it is probably a good idea to take out some local currency (if you have not already done so). Alternatively US dollars are a good currency to carry as these can easily be changed into Chilean or Argentine pesos either at the airport or in town through a casa de cambio. NOTES ON ARRIVAL INTO DOMESTIC AIRPORTS SUCH AS EL CALAFATE OR PUNTA ARENAS The airports in the south of both countries are small and easy to navigate. Simply go through to the baggage claim area and collect your luggage before walking through to the main arrivals hall. If you are arriving independently or making your own way to your hotel you can take a taxi into town. For Punta Arenas expect to pay about US $25 for a private taxi. For el Calafate, a little more. If you are due to be met by a BlueGreen transfer, look out for a driver carrying your name and/or that of BlueGreen Adventures.

3 If you are unavoidably delayed or are unable to arrive at the specified meeting point please make sure and contact the appropriate number provided on your Final Trip Confirmation. If on arrival you are unable to find your driver, please contact the emergency number you have been given. TRAVEL INSURANCE It is a condition of booking that you take out appropriate travel insurance for your trip and that this includes cover for personal injuries, medical expenses (including repatriation in the event of an accident or illness) and delay or cancellation of the trip. You should check that your chosen activity is not under the list of exclusions for the policy. We also strongly advise that you take out cover for any loss or damage to baggage and personal effects. If you are over 70 years of age, we will ask you to sign a waiver and medical declaration prior to travel. If you are pregnant, we will ask you to sign a waiver and medical declaration prior to travel. ITINERARIES AND GUIDED TRIPS Our guides reserve the right to cancel or amend any part of your itinerary if according to their judgement and experience, continuing with the scheduled itinerary would compromise your safety, the safety of other guests or our own staff or service providers. These changes would only be made in the event there was no safe or viable alternative and could be due to weather or local conditions, civil disturbance, sickness, natural event and so on. DRINKING WATER Please bring a water bottle to fill for your personal drinking water during your trip. Tap water is safe to drink in large towns and cities throughout Chile and Argentina. Bottled water is probably safer in rural areas and also in the Atacama Desert. During camping trips and long hikes we use local water supplies from rivers, streams and lakes. This water is clean and pure and is about as close to the source as is possible. We have never had any problems with any client drinking this water (there are no communities in the park to contaminate the water and there are no tropical water borne diseases such as guiardia). If however you do not feel confident drinking this water, we would recommend you bring iodine drops (and the taste inhibitors that are sold with them) for your personal supplies. It is impossible to carry any alternative source of water on point to point trips when pack horses or porters carry the luggage. TIME ZONE The local time in Chile is GMT minus five in winter and GMT minus three in summer. Daylight saving begins the second Saturday of March and ends the second Saturday of October. OPENING TIMES Banks: Monday to Friday 9am to 2pm. Shops: Usually from 10am to 1pm and from 4pm to 7pm (later in larger towns).

4 ADVICE ON TIPPING Airport taxis and taxis you take in cities, towns etc. It is not necessary to tip taxi drivers and most do not expect a tip. However, if you like you can round up the fare so if it is 4,500 pesos pay 5,000 etc. Private Transfers that have been booked for you, e.g. airport transfers For short drives, most drivers would be very happy with small tips of 1,000 pesos split between a group or couple. Trips: e.g. Torres del Paine or Los Glaciares National Park It is customary to tip the guide in these cases and/or cook, driver and other support staff travelling with you. On a longer trip we recommend tips of US$40 $60 and on a shorter 4 day trip we recommend about US$25 $30 (approximately 12,500 15,000 Chilean pesos) per member of the group to be given to the staff that join you during the trip. Again, this is up to you individually to decide what you would like to give. Restaurants 10% is customary. Hotel porters Small tips are a nice gesture for porters but staff in Chile are pretty gracious about tipping and do not stand to attention expecting it! We normally recommend having some change ready carrying 1,000 pesos and 2,000 pesos notes that are very useful for the purpose (US$2 and $4 respectively). PHONES To dial into Chile from outside the country, dial +56 (country code) then the area code (61 2 for Punta Arenas/Puerto Natales and 2 for Santiago). When dialing from within Chile, use the area code preceded by a 0 and the number only. For local calls, only the number is necessary. Phone kiosks (CTC or Entel) exist in airports and most towns throughout Chile. Simply go in and request your service (international or local) and they will direct you to a numbered kiosk or phone where you make your call. The call is metered and payment is made before you leave. Mobile phone users Unless you have a special agreement with your phone operator, we strongly advise you to switch off mobile browsing on arrival into Chile or Argentina as this can prove very expensive. Switching off your data browsing should not affect your ability to make and receive calls. Otherwise you can purchase a SIM card locally.

5 Mobile phone coverage/internet Please note that other than a sketchy service at one or two of the hotels in Torres del Paine, there is no internet available in the majority of Patagonian national parks. The last point for checking e mails for most clients will be Puerto Natales or el Calafate respectively. The same goes for mobile phones there is currently no signal in Torres del Paine or Los Glaciares National Parks. Landline phones are available at most of the large hotels and there is a phone kiosk at the Park Admin centers. All other contact is via radio or satellite phone if you happen to have one. Please ensure family members and work contacts are made aware of this. PLUGS, VOLTAGE AND CHARGING OF DEVICES AND CAMERA BATTERIES Voltage is 220 volts in Chile and volts in Argentina. Chile uses a plug with two or three in line round pins, otherwise known as European 2 pin plugs types L and C. Argentina uses either type C plugs (older buildings and hotels) or the type I socket. For laptops, tablets, camera, phone chargers etc., these usually support dual voltages but you need to check this before plugging them in. For these, you should only need a suitable plug adaptor. For other appliances such as hair dryers do not take these unless they will run on 220 volts and 50 hz. Appliances designed for 110 volts will fry and burn out if plugged in. During your trip through Patagonia you should be able to charge your camera and phone charger during your stay in hotels and lodges. In Torres del Paine most refugios, estancias and hotels are generatordriven and the generator generally gets switched off at night between the hours of midnight and 7 a.m. You should therefore bear this in mind when charging devices. ALTITUDE There is no significant altitude gain when hiking in Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks. The maximum altitude encountered on the usual hikes is 500 meters. There is therefore no need for acclimatization on arrival. There are however high altitude excursions and hikes in the Atacama Desert in the far north of Chile so if your trip includes a visit to this area, check with us for more information. CURRENCY RESTRICTION The import and export of local and foreign currencies is unlimited, however amounts exceeding the equivalent of US$10,000 must be declared. CURRENCY EXCHANGE The government does not regulate the market of foreign currency in Chile, making it possible to exchange money and traveler's checks at any casa de cambio at market driven exchange rates.

6 Exchange transactions can be conducted through commercial banks, casas de cambio, or authorized shops, restaurants, hotels and clubs. Casas de cambio are open daily (Mon Sat) and (Sun). CHILE DUTY FREE The following goods may be imported into Chile without incurring customs duty: Items bought duty free to the value of US$ cigarettes and 500g of tobacco and 50 cigars. 2.5L of alcohol. A reasonable quantity of perfume for personal use. CREDIT CARDS Visa and MasterCard are commonly accepted although Diners Club and American Express slightly less so in towns and cities, where ATMs are also largely available. Outside of the larger, more touristcentered towns, currency exchange can be tricky.