Patagonia: Doing It Right

[Iwaslukky]

No tours necessary in Chaltén, unless you're utterly helpless away from any city street. All the trailheads are easily walking distance from town. Do you mean the town of Perito Moreno, Parque Nacional Perito Moreno, or Glaciar Perito Moreno?

Thanks for the reply! I was thinking about the glacier. From what i understand the easiest/and cheapest way to get there is by bus from the station. I suppose this is to simply not go with a tour company which is fine. And then you just enter the viewing spots freely? For activities around the glacier i was thinking about either boat closing up to the actual glacier or an ice walking tour. This is if they are worth it. I have heard they can be costly.

 

[lucha54]

Thanks for the reply! I was thinking about the glacier. From what i understand the easiest/and cheapest way to get there is by bus from the station. I suppose this is to simply not go with a tour company which is fine. And then you just enter the viewing spots freely? For activities around the glacier i was thinking about either boat closing up to the actual glacier or an ice walking tour. This is if they are worth it. I have heard they can be costly.

I did a tour where we left Calafate for a short 2 km hike with a great view a fair distance from the glacier. Then we got to go to the boardwalks directly in front of the glacier (pack your own lunch is advised). Then some of us paid a bit more to take the boat that goes right up to it. All was great. I think walking on the glacier is a separate tour that is more costly. I remember mine being relatively cheap and felt much easier than doing it on my own.

 

[irina]

Me and my friends did the Big Ice trekking tour on the glacier, I think it was TOTALLY worth it. I think it's about 6 hours and it's very tiring but to me it was SO worth it. We had brought picnic lunches and ate on the glacier. I really loved it, it was the highlight of the trip for me. They also have a shorter one that my friend did with his mom that if you don't want to do as much trekking it's a good option. They gave us a whiskey served with glacial ice on the boat trip back which helped my aching legs. haha

 

[trennod]

Of what I have done, these are a must:
- El Calafate & Glacier Perito Moreno
- El Chaltén & hikes of Cerro Torre & Fitzroy (no tour guides required, plenty of signs and you cant get lost, I would say 95% do without, plus better as you can go at your own pace). You can do one cerro each day (2 days in total)
- Bariloche (circuito chico plus plenty of other tours in and around including boat rides of which the scenary is amazinig)
- Camino de los 7 lagos (7 lakes tour) from Bariloche to San Martin de los andes and through Villa La Angostura). I would recommend hiring a car and perhaps spending atleast a night in San Martin.

It really is quite beautiful down there you will love it! Have fun!!