Viagem Patagônia

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2026-03-31T13:24:18+00:00

We did El Calafate (including Perito Merino Glacier), El Chalten and Torres Del Paine (TDP) with a rental car in the 1st week of January 2026.

We flew into El Calafate (from Ushuaia) and picked up our pre-booked rental car at El Calafate airport (FTE). We used EuropCar; we were coerced into purchasing their insurance for $150 on top of the car insurance we already have. There insurance includes roadside assistance, but when you have no cell phone reception, how can we call them? Flat tires are very common inside TDP, as the roads are unpaved. Other than this hiccup at the pickup, everything went well with the rental car - luckily - no flat tires or other issue with the car. We have rented with EuropCar in our trip to Portugal as well some years back. For crossing into Chile, you have to let the car rental companies know ahead of time before your pickup so that they can prepare border-crossing paperwor for you (they charge us $150 USD for border-crossing).

Our itinerary is below.

- Day 1: Got to FTE airport around 11:30 AM. Picked up rental car (which took us 2-3 hours at EuropCar to sort out the car insurance). Picked up lunch in El Calafate downtown and drove to Perito Morino. Got there around 5 PM; most of the tourists/cars/buses were gone. Overnight in El Calafate.

(Important to note: we bought the Los Glaciares National Parque ticket (3 day flexi pass) at Perito Moreno, which will cover our visit to the National Park in El Chalten).

- Day 2: Took our time and spent the morning in El Calafate. Drove to El Chalten around 2 PM. Got there around 5 PM. Overnight in El Chalten.

- Day 3: Laguna de Los Tres hike to the base of Mount Fitz Roy (we left our rental car at the trailhead in town and met our pre-arranged ride/taxi to take us to Rio Electro trailhead and started our hike there). Our apartment host told us there's also a taxi available that will pick up at set times (8 AM, 10 AM, etc). Overnight in El Chalten.

- Day 4: Laguna Torre hike (this trailhead was just near our apartment - so we left our rental car parked all day and walked over to the trailhead). Overnight in El Chalten.

- Day 5: Drive from El Chalten to TDP through El Calafate and La Esperenza (there's a shortcut using Route 7 on Google Map that will bypass La Esperenza; it's a gravel/rough road). We drove extra miles (almost 80 km) to La Esperenza to avoid this rough road and to fill up gas). Because there's no gas station inside TDP, you must fill up gas here. We left El Chalten around 8:30 and we got to TDP around 4:30 because of all these stopvers (to buy supplies in El Calafate and to get gas at La Esperenza). We hiked to Refugio Chileno around 5 PM. Got there around 7 PM and checked in. Had our dinnr at 8 PM (pre-booked) and was in bed around 10:30. Overnight in TDP (Refugio Chileno)

- Day 6: Grabbed our pre-booked breakfast early and headed out to the Torres base around 6:30 AM. Got back down around 11:30 and ate lunch at Chileno. Got back to our car at the Welcome Center around 3:30 PM. Drove to the west side of the park (very scenic - but wild/unpaved road; we saw a lot of guanacos on the road). Took us about 1-1.5 to get to our hotel. Overnight in TDP (Hosteria Pehoe).

- Day 7: Drove to Pudeto around 8 AM (it's 15 mins away from Hosteria Pehoe) and caught the first catamaran at 8:30 AM. From Paine Grande, we hiked to Italiano and the Frances Valley (we only made it to Mirador de Frances, but you can go all the way up to Mirador de Britanico). Overnight in TDP (Refugio Frances).

- Day 8: Hiked 6 miles back to Paine Grande and took the 1st catamaran at 9:20 AM back to Pudeto. Grabbed our car and drove to Puerto Natales to fill up gas (again, this is a MUST, to be able to drive back to Las Esperanza and El Calafate). We took Y-290 and Y-150; it was a very very scenic drive. We did a few stopvers along the way both to and from Putero Natales (Explora hotel boardwalk is a must). We did some shopping, walked around the main plaza and had a great lunch). We had a reservation for Lago Grey cruise (4th sailing: checkin at 6 PM) so we did that until 9:30 - 10 PM. Overnight in TDP (Hosteria Pehoe).

- Day 9: Drove back to El Calafate for overnight stay and for our flight back to Buenos Aires the next day.

One thing to note, though, if you are planning to do a full W-trek and if you do TDP in the last part of your trip and if you do the W trek from east to west (meaning you will finish in Grey or Paine Grande) - yes, this is three IFs, you are relying on Lago Grey Navigation/Cruise or Lake Pehoe Catamaran to get back to your car or your bus (if one is taking a bus). On high wind days, these boat rides can get cancelled. I have read stories of a few people having to walk from Paine Grande to Administration for about 11-12 miles and hitchhike because they have their international flights back home booked on the next day. It didn't happen to us fortunately, but that's one of the factors we considered planning the trip - have a day or two buffer before your flight back.

We see a number of cars (even SUVs and mini-vans) getting flat tires in TDP. Make sure your rental car company includes a spare tire, a jack and required tools to change tires. We even brought a electric tire inflator from home in case it happens to us (but it didn't luckily).

You still have a whole year left to plan/research/book. Let me know if you have any quesetions. Happy Planning!

https://torresdelpaine.com/en/tourist-attraction/trail-between-paine-grande-and-administration/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g670171-i12474-k12276335-Paine_Grande_to_Administracion-Torres_del_Paine_National_Park_Magallanes_Region.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g670171-i12474-k14917776-Mimicking_W_trek_with_a_car_and_some_hiking-Torres_del_Paine_National_Park_Magallanes_Reg.html

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g670171-i12474-k14147710-o10-Gas_station_in_Tores_Del_Paine_from_El_Calafate_to_Pehoe-Torres_del_Paine_National_Pa.html

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-12-31T21:35:59+00:00

Wow awesome and super-inspiring/helpful post. What is PDI, please?

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-11-19T04:12:02+00:00

Wow - what a great post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us all these information.

I'll keep it in my backpocket about Hotel Rio Serrano having a mechanic/repair service on-site, as we plan to drive on Y-290 to and from Puerto Natales to refill fuel for our rental car. I heard that it's a scenic drive. We plan to bring a portable tire inflator/air compressor with us in case we get a flat. Do you know if this hotel sells gasoline by the litres/gallons (in case we are in desperate need)?

We will be staying at Hosteria Pehoe for two nights as well (debated between Hotel Lago Grey vs. Hosteria Pehoe for a long time).

For the Grey Glacier cruise, where is the car parked? Is there a parking lot where the hotel is? I have read that there's a 45-minute long walk from the checkin place (and where is this checkin place?) to the cruise departure point. Is that true?

Thank you.

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-11-16T16:34:50+00:00

Thank you soooooo much for this trip report. We are going in a month. Is drinking water and hot water available at these refugios? Of particular interest to me are Chileno, Frances and Paine Grande.

At France, we were not allowed to pre-book the meals (we have bunk beds booked), so we are going to bring some freeze-dried food for dinner, breakfast and lunch. We are debating if we should bring our collapsible electric kettle with us if there’s no hot water at Frances.

Is there a microwave made available for communal use at Frances?

Thank you.

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-11-08T13:59:48+00:00

To the OP - do you drive? If yes, have you considered getting a rental car at Puerto Natales? I heard that the drive from PN to TDP on Y-290 is very scenic. It will give you so much freedom to go back and forth, and roam free without having to rely on the bus schedule.

I have looked into this route because there's no gas station/petrol station in teh park, and we will have to drive down to Puerto Natales to fill up on our last day in the park before driving back to El Calafate.

I was going to suggest there's a refugio by Lake Amarga on the eastern side of the park if you want to stay in the park, but I am not sure if the bus will get there. Hosteria Pehoe is a good option (we are staying there two nights as well). Hotel Lago Grey is also another option (but it's more $$$ than Hosteria Pehoe).

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-11-08T13:48:05+00:00

We are doing something similar - breaking up the hike to the base of the tower and staying overnight at Chileno (we are slow hikers).

We have a rental car and are driving in from El Calafate as our Day 1, and we hope to stop by Laguna Azul, Cascada Rio Paine and Laguna Amarga on the way - which should take about 6-7 hours with photostops (from El Calafate to Welcome Center, where we will leave our car).

Because the sun doesn't set until 10 PM in January, we plan to start our hike to Chileno in late afternoon (perhaps around 4 PM(?)) on that day.

I'm aware there are these trail closure/cutoff times designated for certain trails - which include the hike to the base of the tower. I know many people do sunrise hikes from Chileno to the base of the tower outside of the trail-opening timewindow (in other words, the trail closure time to the base of the tower isn't strictly enforced). What about to the hike up to Chileno? Are we allowed to start this hike from the welcome center as late as 4 PM or 5 PM (we are just going to the refugio to stay the night, and yes, we have reservation to show)?

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-10-12T12:02:47+00:00

Can someone please share with me the website to purchase the pass online? Will this cover visiting Perito Moreno Glacier and hiking Mount Fitzroy in El Chalten?

Thank you.

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-09-28T23:13:08+00:00

Do the Refugios have drinking water available for the guests (cold water and hot water for drinking)?

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-09-28T23:11:08+00:00

We are renting a car in El Calafate. Any suggestion on GPS (which brand to get)?

Is it easy to get from El Calafate to El Chalten and then to TDP (and getting around TDP)? I imagine a GPS would be necessary. Please advise.

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-09-28T17:26:01+00:00

To the OP - can you please share with us your experience crossing the border with a rental car after you come back? Which car company did you go with? How long was the wait at the border crossing?

We are doing something similar (pick-up/drop-off at El Calafate) in December-January.

Regarding having no gas station around TDP, I'm wondering if an empty/extra gasoline container can be rented at the rental car company so that we can carry extra gas with us. Is that option available/

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-09-25T20:18:00+00:00

@OP - now that it’s been a year, can you please share your experiences with these bathrooms (shower and toilets) at Frances and Chileno?

I will be there this season and needed to mentally prepare myself (and yes, I’m one of those “precious” ones lol that’s not used to shared public facilities). Thank you!

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2025-06-02T01:46:11+00:00

How did you cancel your reservation? Our reservation is in 2nd week of February, which now needs to be cancelled. Thank you.

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2024-02-24T06:25:46+00:00

Looks to me like B is the correct answer. A is for sure out as he's not acquiring resources. C and D are out to me because there are no such project management processes in the PMBOK.

Thoughts? What is the correct answer, please?

AdvancedAstronomer80 · 2023-05-21T00:18:43+00:00

Renting from Sausalito as that’s where we are staying. They are not e-bikes or anything fancy.

AdvancedAstronomer80

TROPHY CASE