A trip to Patagonia is a trip of a lifetime. But it’s not an easy trip – there’s lots to plan, the weather is changeable, everything gets booked up quickly… so it’s best to be prepared.
Here are 10 things I wish I had known before travelling to Patagonia.
1. Patagonia is massive
Patagonia is truly massive. The whole region stretches from San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina and Pucón in Chile, down to Ushuaia, the planet’s southernmost city. That’s about 2,500kms from north to south. Even from El Chaltén, Argentina’s Patagonian hiking hotspot, it’s another 1,000kms down to Ushuaia. The distances in Patagonia are wild.
In this article I’ll be focusing on southern Patagonia but I’ll post separately about lovely Bariloche soon.
2. Patagonia’s main towns
Patagonia’s main towns are, from north to south:
- El Chaltén, Argentina
El Chaltén is the gateway to many of Argentinian Patagonia’s best hikes. It’s a nice colourful little town with lots of places to eat.
- El Calafate, Argentina
This is the location of the main airport in Argentinian Patagonia so you’ll probably start here. El Calafate is also home to the amazing Perito Moreno glacier.
- Puerto Natales, Chile
Puerto Natales is the nearest town to Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia’s main hiking hotspot.
- Punta Arenas, Chile
Punta Arenas is the world’s southernmost continental city, best known for its access to two penguin colonies.
- Ushuaia, Argentina
Ushuaia is the world’s southernmost city altogether (it’s on the island of Tierra del Fuego).
3. How to get to Patagonia
You can get to Patagonia by bus, car or plane.
- Bus
If you’re travelling to Patagonia by bus, be prepared for at least a 24-hour journey wherever you’re coming from. As mentioned above, the distances are massive!
On the Argentinian side, you can get direct buses from Bariloche into El Chaltén and El Calafate.
On the Chilean side, there are no direct buses from Pucón or Puerto Montt into Puerto Natales so if you’re going there by bus then you’ll have to go via El Calafate.
- Car
Similarly if you’re travelling to Patagonia by car, you might want to spread the journey over multiple days. Route 40 down to Patagonia is said to be one of the best road trips in the world, although extremely long!
- Plane
An easier way to get to Patagonia is to fly. Your cheaper options on this front are internal flights.
On the Argentinian side, you can fly into El Calafate or Ushuaia.
There are frequent flights to El Calafate from Buenos Aires and Bariloche and occasional flights from Córdoba and Trelew. You can also fly to El Calafate from Santiago but that will be more expensive than an internal flight from somewhere in Argentina.
There are frequent flights to Ushuaia from Buenos Aires and El Calafate, and a few from Trelew.
On the Chilean side, you can fly into Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas. There are frequent flights to both from Santiago and Puerto Montt.
4. How to get around Patagonia
The easiest way to get between Patagonia’s main towns is by bus. Buses in Patagonia are very frequent. To give you an idea of distances:
- El Chaltén to El Calafate is about 2-3 hours
- El Calafate to Puerto Natales is about 6-7 hours including the border crossing
- Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas is about 3 hours
- Punta Arenas to Ushuaia is about 11 hours including the border crossing
Alternatively, you can hire a car. It’s usually considerably cheaper to drop your car off in the same location you hired it so bear this in mind when working out your Patagonia itinerary.
It’s also possible to hire a car in, say, Puerto Natales, drive into Argentina and then drop it back off at Puerto Natales at the end of your trip. I believe the car hire company will issue your international permit when you collect the car.
5. How to choose hikes in Patagonia
The most popular hike in Argentinian Patagonia is Laguna de los Tres. This is an out-and-back trek of around 22kms, fairly difficult but so rewarding and absolutely iconic. The peaks you see from the top are the ones on the Patagonia brand logo.
Another good day hike from El Chaltén is Laguna Torre. This one is also long at around 20kms but long stretches of it are fairly flat so it’s less difficult than Laguna de los Tres.
There are also shorter hikes you can do from El Chaltén, including Chorillo del Salto (an easy 7km hike to a lovely waterfall) and Los Condores (a short hike up a hill where you can spot condors).
On the Chilean side, the most popular day hike is the Base of the Towers, also around 22kms and difficult but, again, so worth the incredible view of the Towers at the top. There are also two popular multi-day treks in Chilean Patagonia: the W Trek (usually 4-5 days) and the O Trek (7-8 days).
For any day hikes, you’ll need to bring food as there are no cafés or restaurants on the routes.
6. Parks passes
Both Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina require you to buy a parks pass before entry.
You can buy your pass for Torres del Paine here. It costs 31,200 Chilean pesos (roughly £25 or USD31). You will have to specify your entry point to the park when you buy your parks pass but in my experience it doesn’t really matter if you enter at a different point.
On the Argentinian side, the parks pass has been a controversial subject recently. In November 2024, the Argentinian government increased the cost of the parks pass for Argentinian national parks to 45,000 Argentinian pesos (roughly £35 or USD44), representing a 50% increase to the previous price. This is largely a result of the hyperinflation in Argentina in recent years but many people, including Argentinians living in Patagonia, think it’s too much.
You can buy your parks pass for Los Glaciares here but I suggest waiting until you’re there to buy it in case you can figure out a way to sneak into the park without anyone checking it…
If you are visiting the Perito Moreno glacier (you should!), you will be unable to enter without a parks pass.
7. Puerto Natales is not near Torres del Paine
Although Puerto Natales is the nearest town to Torres del Paine, it’s still a two-hour drive away.
You can stay in Torres del Paine but it’s a pricey option.
If you are staying in Puerto Natales, and you don’t have a car, you can get to Torres del Paine by bus to Amarga and then pick up a shuttle from there. This is doable if you want to do a long hike, as the first bus of the day departs Puerto Natales at 6:45am, but the return bus you could realistically catch post-hike is later on in the evening so it’ll be a long day.
An alternative option is to sign up for a hiking tour, which is what we did. The bus collects you from your accommodation and takes you straight to the start of the hike. We had a guide but, as our pace was slightly faster than she was taking the group, she was content to meet us at the end of the hike. This made it feel more independent and less guided, which was nice.
If you don’t have a car, you can also do a Torres del Paine highlights tour. Guided tours are not my favourite format but I think there is a time and a place for them if they’re going to save you a lot of hassle and/or admin doing it independently. I’d say Torres del Paine fits that bill.
8. Book everything early
Patagonia is a popular destination, especially during the peak season of December to February, so I advise planning early. I went to Patagonia in mid-November and lots of accommodation was already booked up.
If you are doing the W Trek or O Trek in Chile then you will need to book several months in advance. The W Trek is THE multi-day trek to do in Chilean Patagonia – space is limited and it gets booked up fast.
If you are planning to do day tours, you don’t need to book these quite as early as accommodation. But don’t leave them right to the last minute as they do sell out.
9. Patagonia is expensive
I’ve mentioned the park fees above but that’s not the only expensive thing. Patagonia is a double whammy of being a popular tourist destination and being so remote that almost everything needs to be imported. Both of these things drive up the price, especially on the Argentinian side.
I would say prices in Patagonian supermarkets and restaurants are on a park with New York prices. In other words, pretty pricey!
10. Be prepared for changeable Patagonian weather
In Patagonia they say you can experience four seasons within an hour. In other words, the weather there is extremely variable. As an example, on my hike to the Base of the Towers in Torres del Paine, it was pouring with rain and very windy on the way up, but cloudless and hot on the way down.
Given the variability, my advice is:
- Be prepared for cold/windy/wet weather no matter the season. Bring a hat and gloves, thermals, a waterproof/windproof jacket, and waterproof walking boots.
- Wear layers. This means you can stay warm when the icy wind is out, and de-layer when it warms up. And bring your sunglasses as the sun is very bright on the snow!
Enjoy Patagonia!
Patagonia is one of the most stunning places on the planet in my opinion. It’s a trip of a lifetime and I hope these tips will help you to make the most of your experience!
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