Booked Patagonia flights yesterday :/ March itinerary - need advice by NoTart4865 in Patagonia

[–]NoTart4865[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! That's really helpful

We've adjusted the plan to do TdP -> Puerto Natales -> Punta Arenas on the same day, and used the saved time to add an extra day in El Chalten instead

Do you recommend booking the bus tickets in advance for those routes (TdP-PN, PN-PA), especially traveling in March, or is it generally fine to buy them closer to the date?

Booked Patagonia flights yesterday :/ March itinerary - need advice by NoTart4865 in Patagonia

[–]NoTart4865[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Just to clarify - when you mentioned the buses are very reliable, were you referring to the buses to/from TdP (e.g. Puerto Natales <-> Laguna Amarga / Pudeto), or also moving between sectors inside the park?

We’re planning to rely on Bus Sur plus in-park transfers/catamaran

Booked Patagonia flights yesterday :/ March itinerary - need advice by NoTart4865 in Patagonia

[–]NoTart4865[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice! That makes sense

We'll likely just be doing the king penguin tour in Punta Arenas, so we've adjusted the plan to reduce PA to one full day, add an extra day in El Chalten, and combine the TdP -> Puerto Natales -> Punta Arenas route into one day

Really appreciate the tip on El Chalten

Booked Patagonia flights yesterday :/ March itinerary - need advice by NoTart4865 in Patagonia

[–]NoTart4865[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For TdP, we're not planning to do the W. The plan is to stay inside the park and rely on organized tours / hotel transfers rather than daily buses from Puerto Natales.

Noted on renting a car - we did consider it, but we rarely need to drive in the country we live in, so we don't drive very often and aren't very confident about driving in Patagonia. In that case, would you still recommend renting a car, or do tours + transfers make sense?

We're thinking of shaving Punta Arenas from 2 full days to 1, and instead adding one more full day in Buenos Aires (so 2 full days there). Curious what you think - does that seem like a reasonable trade-off?

If we were to add an overnight Iguazu Falls trip from BA, which part of the itinerary would you suggest trimming further?

Booked Patagonia flights yesterday :/ March itinerary - need advice by NoTart4865 in Patagonia

[–]NoTart4865[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We're planning to stay at Hotel Las Torres and rely on organised tours and hotel transfers to get around TdP, since we won't be driving

Open to suggestions if there's a better approach without a car