Highlights
- 4-day tour of Chile's Patagonia region
- Cruise Ultima Esperanza Fjord to Balmaceda
- Take an easy hike to Serrano Glacier
- Enjoy a scenic drive through Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park
- See herds of guanacos grazing
- Learn about Patagonia’s history and stunning geology from your knowledgeable guide
- Choice of three four-star hotels
Useful Information
Guanacos in Torres del Paine
Itinerary:
Day 1: Punta Arenas -- Puerto Natales
After being met at Punta Arenas airport, catch the bus to Puerto Natales bus station, from where you’ll be transferred to your evening’s accommodation at your selected hotel. The rest of the day and night are yours to explore on your own.
Accommodation: Saltos del Paine Hotel (four-star, choice of twin or single room), Costraustralis Hotel (four-star, with ocean view and choice of twin or single room) or Indigo Hotel (four-star, choice of twin with ocean view or single room) in Puerto Natales
Day 2: Puerto Natales -- Balmaceda and Serrano -- Puerto Natales (B, L)
After breakfast at your hotel, a full-day trip starts with an early morning cruise from Puerto Natales to Ultima Esperanza Fjord. The three-hour cruise takes you through stunning Patagonian scenery to the 1,000-year-old Balmaceda glacier, home to cormorants and sea lions. At the head of the fjord, disembark to take a short 20-minute walk through forest to the foot of the Serrano Glacier, surrounded by snow-capped peaks and walls of ice. Stop for lunch at Estancia Perales, a traditional cattle ranch, on the return trip to Puerto Natales, where the rest of the afternoon and evening are yours to explore on your own.
Accommodation: your same hotel
Day 3: Puerto Natales – Torres del Paine -- Puerto Natales (B, L)
An early start after breakfast takes you on a full-day excursion to Torres del Paine National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage biosphere. Traveling through Patagonia’s rugged steppe country, an important habitat for many endangered species. See herds of sheep and native guanacos (animals that look like a cross between a llama and a camel) and notice the rugged snow-capped Torres del Paine mountains towering in the background. Visit Salto Grande waterfall on the Pehoe River and Patagonia’s lovely lakes Pehoe and Grey, overlooked by the snowy white peaks of Grey Glacier. The excursion returns to Puerto Natales in the evening.
Accommodation: your same hotel
Day 4: Puerto Natales – Punta Arenas (B)
After breakfast, a transfer takes you to Puerto Natales bus station to catch an onward bus to Punta Arenas airport.
Reviewed by Benoit G, February 2013
We expected something a little more private. This tour has large groups and our party was unable to sit together. It caters primarly to the local tourists.
Reviewed by Dennis R Clarks C, December 2012
The hotel shower in the bathroom leaked all over the floor, I reported it to the office, they cam up and did something but it continued to leak the next day.
I was not provided a consistent schedule of what time and where I would be picked up each day, the hotel clerk had the info but not myself.
