Angelus123

Hi All

I am going to South America in April and I would like to go down to Patagonia. Unfortunately due to time restrictions and logistics, I am only going to be able to go to either the Argentinian or Chilean side.

My question is whether you feel the Argentinian or Chilean side is better for a trip with limited time (say a week including flights in and out)? I hear that Torres del Paine is incredible but that El Chalten is also very impressive - perhaps somewhere else is equally amazing!

What are your thoughts?

YVR Cockroach

Depends on what you define by Patagonia. They're both very different (I've been to both but admittedly more on the right side of the divide).

stan1162

How much actual hiking do you do? What do you want to do? We are just in our last week, from Puerto Natales, and Torres del Paine to El Calafate to El Chalten to Bariloche to Mendoza. Ask me anything!

Ted Striker333

Hi Stan. Booked for late May. I like off-season but I’m a bit worried we may be really late. Trying to plan El Calafate, El Chalatn, the Glacier, the Park. Not worried about the weather. More worried about access, hotels being open, things like that. I normally am a big planner but I’m stuck. Any chance you used a local guide? Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.

stan1162

Did you already book lodging??? At least in El Chalten (Estancia Bonanza) they told us they finish up end of March into April. One or two gauchos live on-site thru the winter, but the place is essential closed. The whole town they said pretty much shuts down. Very few year round residents. Everyone we met in-town or on the estancia was from Cordoba, Mendoza, Buenos Aires. El Calafate, not sure, I suspect its about the same. Unless its' a ski destination, like Bariloche, most close. I really think late May is too late. Can you not change your dates??

We loved our trip so much, we plan to come back again next year. Everybody said their favorite time was "autumn" which is Feb into March. Cooler, brisk, trees do change color.

Marambio

You’ll have some things going on in El Calafate in late May although walking over the Perito Moreno is uncertain due to snow/rain. You should also take into account that days will be short – sunrise is around 9am. El Chaltén is more difficult as it’s all about trekking and many paths close in late April due to snow and heavy rain. You may be lucky, though, and get beautiful sunshine, weather is unpredictable in Patagonia. Except for the cold – it will be very cold.

l etoile

Did you travel independently or have a guide? And did you fly between most cities? Pre-book travel or go on the fly?
I’m in the very beginnings of planning a trip for next January/February. Taking a trip to Antarctica that goes out of Ushuaia and want to spend at least 4-6 weeks around that exploring the area. Planning to do plenty of hiking, but not interested in W or O/camping.
Any lodge recommendations you have I’d appreciate. I realize I’m so early into looking at this I’m not certain what to inquire about as yet.

(just read some of your other posts and submitted a request to follow on ig)

stan1162

1. Accepted your request. Because it's private, I often wonder who the random people are who find us on Insta-jam!
2. We didn't do the W or any camping. Even though we are "young" 60 & 61, makes my back hurt just thinking about sleeping on a mat. We'll leave it for the kids to enjoy.
3. I've always been a planner, now that we are full-time nomads is harder to plan far out, but I say it's never too early if you can.
4. We did Antarctica on Silversea in November 2021, the second ship to go there after ships were allowed. Fantastic.
5. I would plan our route differently next time. I would also try my darnedest to rent a car, and go from bottom to top. We met a German couple who couldn't get out to Antarctica ( they had a fly over to Kings Island that never had a window). I think they said they picked up a car in Punta Arenas, and drove all the way to El Chalten to where we met them at the estancia.

So, you need route planning help, lodging help. We took buses and flights. Because El Chalten is hard to get to, you have to backtrack. If you have your own car, you can head northward. We loved Mendoza too. If you are a wine drinker, a do-not-miss. We ended in Mendoza, and took the bus through the Andes to fly out of Santiago. The bus ride was truly amazing!! We did it because Santiago is so much cheaper. A flight home from SCL was 1/3 of what it was from Buenos Aires.

So, I can give you how we did it using flights and busses, and thoughts doing it if I had a car, and how we plan on doing it next year ( again). Spoiler Alert.... We are DEF going back to Estancia Bonanza in El Chalten.

neurotraveler

In general El Chalten has more day trips. Most people stay in the town and hike out for the day. Thus accommodations are easier to get. Torres del Paiine has mostly multi-day hikes for which you need reservations so those are more difficult to get at the last minute. Not to say that there are no day hikes in TdP, but they are less common than in El Chalten.