Falco is the site and app of Rugg Travel, the travel advisory of Kevin Rugg, an independent travel advisor with Fora Travel based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kevin takes on a few trips at a time and likes the complicated ones best: multi-city, multi-country, or the trip you've been talking about for years.

How does working with Kevin work?

You decide how much you want to do. Research destinations yourself or ask Kevin to. Compare hotels on your own or get a shortlist. The handoff point is wherever you want it, and it can change booking by booking. You see every option Kevin is weighing, with prices and trade-offs.

What does it cost to work with Kevin?

Research is a flat fee per trip: $150 for a simple trip, covering up to 3 hours, and $300 for a bigger trip, covering up to 6 hours. Anything bigger, whether that's many stops and border crossings or a destination that's still undecided, is quoted individually with the hours agreed up front, and extra hours are $50 each. If you book enough of the trip through Kevin, the bookings cover his time and he waives the fee: roughly $1,500 in bookings for a simple trip and $3,000 for a bigger one. For trips quoted before December 31, 2026, the fee is waived for everyone. When you book through him, the hotel or travel provider pays a standard commission. That's the same arrangement that gets you preferred-partner rates and perks, and most clients pay the same or less than booking on their own. Commissions vary a lot by booking, and Kevin doesn't let that steer his recommendations: the best fit is often a rail pass, a rental apartment, or booking direct, which pay him little or nothing.

What do you get by booking through a travel advisor?

Preferred-partner hotel programs like Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred and Rosewood Elite, which usually mean breakfast, a resort credit, late checkout, and an upgrade when one is available. Also access to destination management companies: the local operators arranging private guides, drivers and on-the-ground help, who in many destinations only take bookings through advisors.

Why does Kevin only take a few trips at a time?

So nothing gets rushed. If he's full, he'll tell you.

Is there anything Kevin will tell me to book somewhere else?

Yes. If you can do better booking somewhere else, he'll say so. Rental cars are the usual example: Costco Travel or Expedia is often cheaper.

What do clients get besides the planning?

A private trip page where the plan takes shape: options, the day-by-day draft, open decisions, and bookings. Once you're traveling it's your itinerary on your phone, with today's plan, confirmation numbers and weather. Travel companions can follow along with a shared link, no account needed.

How much should we fit into 14 days? · Patagonia

Road Flight

How it was planned

I've never been a big fan of travel advisors. I have fun planning trips, and I like to be in control and know all the details. But Patagonia was my first big trip after retiring, and it was high on my bucket list. I didn't want to overlook anything, so I talked to a couple of travel agencies and ended up planning and booking it with one of them.

The advisor we worked with was good. We got options, and the plan changed based on our feedback. We paid one fixed price that covered the hotels, the flights and other connections within Argentina and Chile, and the excursions.

As good as the trip was, I missed the visibility and control. I couldn't see all the options that were considered, or what each part of the trip cost. Some people like paying a total price without knowing how each choice moved it. For me it took away from the experience. Every surprise perk left me wondering how much I'd paid for it.

I don't mind spending money on a good experience, but I want as much value for it as I can get.

More than anything, this trip shaped how I work with my own clients: full transparency, and bringing them into the planning as much as they want.

Buenos Aires

From San Francisco, getting to Patagonia means connecting through Buenos Aires or Santiago. We added a few nights at both ends and turned the connections into stopovers.

Two nights in Buenos Aires made a good start to the trip. We took a tour of the city (the Recoleta Cemetery was very interesting), ate well, and saw a tango show that was a bit touristy but still good. Parrilla Peña had excellent steak and was full of locals.

Bookshelves filling the floor and balconies of a restored theater, with the stage at the back — El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a bookstore in an old theater

Life-size statues of two men in racing overalls outside Café La Biela — Outside Café La Biela in Recoleta

A singer and tango dancers on a stage lit red and purple — The tango show

El Chaltén

Getting here takes a while: a 3.5-hour flight from Buenos Aires to the small town of El Calafate, a 3-hour drive to the smaller town of El Chaltén, then another half hour past town to Explora. By the time you arrive, you feel like you're in remote Patagonia.

The lodge doesn't disappoint: great views and food, and small-group excursions. We stayed three nights and did lots of hiking.

The Fitz Roy range above El Chaltén on a clear day — Fitz Roy above El Chaltén

A wood-paneled dining room with big windows looking out on a green valley and mountains — The dining room at Explora

A turquoise lake between forested mountains under big clouds — On a hike near El Chaltén

El Calafate

Back to El Calafate for two nights. A 4x4 tour up to the high country and Estancia 25 de Mayo, then a day at the Perito Moreno glacier.

In hindsight, this is one of two stops I'd plan differently. Here's why.

The Perito Moreno glacier across the lake, with an iceberg in the foreground — The Perito Moreno glacier

A gloved hand holding a glass of whisky over glacier ice — Whisky with glacier ice

A small group of hikers on the blue ice of the Perito Moreno glacier — On the ice hike

Torres del Paine

The bus ride across the border into Chile was long, but the crossing was easy.

Three nights at Tierra Patagonia made a good comparison with Explora, and I can't say which I preferred. Both are in excellent locations, with great food and guides.

Turquoise Lago Pehoé below the Cuernos del Paine — Lago Pehoé and the Cuernos del Paine

The Salto Grande waterfall with the Cuernos del Paine behind — Salto Grande

Red firebush flowers in front of the snow-capped Paine massif — Firebush below the Paine massif

The Cuernos del Paine above the shore of Lago Pehoé — The Cuernos from the shore trail

Wildlife

Along the way we saw guanacos, rheas, grey foxes, upland geese, flamingos, condors and a pair of owls.

Two large horned owls with yellow eyes perched in a tree — A pair of owls

Two grey foxes in dry grass — Grey foxes

Four guanacos grazing on a grassy slope — Guanacos

An upland goose on a pebble beach with fluffy goslings — An upland goose with goslings

Two rheas, large flightless birds, in golden grassland — Rheas

Pink flamingos wading in shallow water, one with its wings spread — Flamingos

Puerto Varas

A short flight north to Puerto Varas and three nights at Hotel AWA on Lake Llanquihue, another all-inclusive with great food and guides.

Along with the hiking excursions, we tried the hot springs and kayaking. Both were a nice change after all the hiking.

A colorful plated dish of vegetables and flowers at Hotel AWA — A meal at AWA

Osorno volcano across Lake Llanquihue in evening light — Osorno volcano across Lake Llanquihue

Red kayaks on a lakeshore beach with sun on the water — Kayaks near Puerto Varas

Hotel AWA, a modern glass and wood building, lit up at dusk — Hotel AWA at dusk

Valparaíso

Another short flight, to Santiago, then a drive to Valparaíso on the coast. A half-day walking tour and a half-day wine tour.

Then most of us flew home on a late-night flight. One of us stayed another night and flew to Easter Island the next day for a few more days.

This is the other stop I'd plan differently. Here's why.

A steep outdoor stairway covered in graffiti and painted designs — Painted stairs in Valparaíso

Two old TV sets used as planters, painted with the words Apaga la tele and Enciende tu vida — "Turn off the TV, turn on your life"

A mural of a dachshund carrying a hillside town on its back — Street art in Valparaíso

A mural with a portrait and physics formulas painted across a house front — More street art

Rows of grapevines on the wine tour — On the wine tour

Decisions

What we had to decide, and what I'd do now.

How much should we fit into 14 days?

Six stops in 14 nights was a lot, even for a group that likes full days. Two stops felt rushed.

We did two nights in Buenos Aires, three in El Chaltén, two in El Calafate, three in Torres del Paine, three in Puerto Varas, and one in Valparaíso.

That's more than most people will want. Our group leans toward packing the days with experiences rather than sleeping in or lingering over a meal.

The mix of cities and remote hiking was the best part of the plan.

The two rushed stops were El Calafate, where I'd skip the 4x4 tour and leave time to hang out in town, and Valparaíso, where we tried to see the whole city in half a day.

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Argentina, Chile, or both?

Both. Torres del Paine and El Calafate are a bit alike, but different enough that I'm glad we did both.

When we started planning, we debated whether Torres del Paine would be too similar to El Calafate to be worth the bus ride and the extra days. The alternative was one of the two plus the Lakes District.

I liked the Lakes District too. But if I had to pick only two of the three, I'd pick El Chaltén and Torres del Paine over Puerto Varas.

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One splurge lodge or three?

Three made it a trip of a lifetime. One would probably have been almost as good.

We splurged at Explora in El Chaltén, Tierra Patagonia in Torres del Paine, and Hotel AWA in Puerto Varas. All three were good, so I can't say which one to drop.

I'm putting that to use on a trip to the Atacama Desert I'm planning now. We liked Explora enough to book with them again. This time we'll spend two nights at a cheaper hotel in San Pedro de Atacama to acclimatize, then four nights at Explora for their all-inclusive excursions.

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Ice hike or boat at the Perito Moreno glacier?

Both are good. The ice hike is hard on the knees; the boat makes for a more casual day.

Our group split: some of us did the ice hike, and some took the sightseeing boat. The hike wasn't too strenuous for a mostly in-shape 55-year-old, but it was a real hike.

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Add Easter Island?

Worth it for the one of us who went. The rest of us had some FOMO, but not much regret.

Easter Island is a bucket-list trip for many people, and the only way to get there is from Santiago, where our trip ended. One of us added three nights there; the rest of us headed home after a whirlwind 14 days.

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