One Week in Patagonia: Chile And Argentina, South America- A 1 week (5,6,7 to 10 days) in the Patagonia region of South America. This list included what to do in Torres Del Paine, Puerto Natales, Calafete and El Chalten. My itinerary includes spending 4 nights and 5 days on the W Trek, but has other days trips if not wanting to complete the hike. This schedule is best for their summer months, November, December, January and February (Fall in March, April and May would be beautiful as well). I included the best places to stay, east drinks and my favorite hikes. This is a self driving route and one for the moderate hiker.

This itinerary is best for the traveler that likes short and long hikes. My 1 week schedule is jammed packed with hiking, scenic views, great food stops and the best places to stay in Patagonia, Chile and Argentina. It is definitely for the fast pace traveler as we were constantly on the go. But we never felt over traveled, it was still so enjoyable. This schedule lets you see and experience the incredible areas of Chile and Argentina. On this schedule you will be on a few different flights and will need to rent a car for certain areas (although it can be done on public transportation).

Overview

1 Week Itinerary Summary

When To Go

What To Bring

Where To Stay

Detailed 1 Week Itinerary

Tips For Traveling in Chile and Argentina

1 Week Itinerary Summary

Arrive in Puerto Natales (Day 1)
Perito Moreno Glacier (Day 2)
Mount Fitz Roy Hike (Day 3)
Puerto Natales (Day 4)
W Trek in Patagonia or Day Trips Near Torres Del Paine (Days 5-9)
Leave Puerto Natales (Day 10)

When To Go

We went on this trip during the winter holidays, overlapping with Christmas and New Years to use those extra vacation days. December to March is the prime season to go to Patagonia especially for the warmest weather. But with that great weather is crazy winds, so be prepared for any type of weather wherever you go. December and January may be the most crowded months as many people have time off for the holidays, and it is considered Patagonia’s summer months. We went in December and never felt like it was overly crowded. April will be fall, and might make a spectacular view with warm colors as that is the peak of their fall season.

What To Bring

If going in the peak season of December and January as I did, prepare for all types of weather. It will be their summer season, but also think of layers. They have very intense wind there and also being near glaciers can make it a lot more chilly. There were times I wore t-shirt and thin leggings and some days I had a beanie, gloves and a jacket on.

Check out my What to Pack for Patagonia list for more details.

Where To Stay

Since we jumped around the Patagonia area we changed locations a few times. Here is where we stayed in each location. I also listed them in the itinerary by night.

El Calafete: Folk Suites

El Chalten: Rancho Grande

Puerto Natales (before and after W Trek): Hotel Vendaval

We really loved the accommodations, food, drinks and location of our El Chalten stay (Rancho Grande) and our second location in Puerto Natales (Hotel Vendaval -definitely eat at their adjoined restaurant, we went there twice it was so good).

Booking.com

1 Week Itinerary

Here is our detailed itinerary for our time in Patagonia by day. This included what we did, drive times, where we ate and stayed. Check here for more details on our W Trek Itinerary.

Day 1: Arrive in Puetro Natales

Flight to Puerto Natales

To get to Puerto Natales we flew from Santiago on a budget flight with Sky Airline from Santiago, Chile to Puerto Natales, Chile. This is a 3.5 hour flight to a tiny airport for only $50 each way. I would suggest flying into Puerto Natales instead of Punta Arenas. This will put you a little closer to the Patagonia region. The budget airline we used did only fly on certain days, so you would have to plan this perfectly with your schedule before and after.

Drive to El Calafete

Once we arrived in Puerto Natales we rented a car with Rent a Car Newen. They met us at the Teniente Julio Gallardo airport and we immediately drove to El Calafete to stay the night. You will need to cross the Chile-Argentina border on this route, make sure the rental car company knows this as you will need to proper paperwork.

Tip for driving across the border:

Let the rental car company know so they can give you proper paperwork, it may require a small fee.
Check border crossing hours. We went across the Paso Río Don Guillermo border crossing, their summer hours were 8:00am to 10:00pm.
Make sure you have a full tank of gas, very few towns and gas stations in between Puerto Natales and El Calafete, and again later when we went from El Calafete to El Chalten.
Be sure you that you do not have any food (fruits and vegetables) as these are not allowed in your car while crossing the border

We Stayed At: Folk Suites (they have private rooms and shared hostel rooms as well)

Day 2: Glacier

Perito Moreno Glacier

The El Calafete Glacier is popular to visit, not only for its up close and personal views, but its size, its vibrant blue layers, having a chance to walk on it, and it’s massive sheer drop offs. This Perito Moreno Glacier article will cover, where to stay, when to go, price/cost, tours, how to get there and more. I highly suggest a trip here, we only viewed the glacier from the platforms but you can also spend a full day here seeing the glacier from kayak, boat or hike on the glacier.

Drive to El Chalten

After spending many hours walking around the platforms to see all angles of the glacier we drove back through El Calafete, getting gas and lunch, before heading to the small hiking town of El Chalten. On Google Maps El Calafete to El Chalten said 3 hours and 45 minutes, but with new road construction it took us an even shorter time. We arrived in El Chalten just in time to check in, visit the La Zorra brewery and Rancho brewery before heading into bed.

We Stayed At: Rancho Grande (they have private rooms and shared hostel, as well as a restaurant and a brewery attached).

Day 3: Fitz Roy

Mount Fitz Roy Hike

The Fitz Roy Hike to Laguna de los Tres is one of the most popular hikes in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Mt. Fitz Roy is in the Andes mountains, and was made famous as it is the mountain logo for the Patagonia clothing brand. Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia clothing brand’s owner, climbed it in 1968. Here in this article on Hiking Mt. Fitz Roy will fill you in on all you need to know for the hike, how hard is the hike, where to go, how long is it, what to bring, where to stay, how to get there and more. I highly suggest this hike.

Drive to El Calafete

After the hike we then drove back to El Calafete to stay the night. It seemed like a lot of driving, but well worth it to fit in the Fitz Roy Hike, and get us a little closer to Pueto Natales for the next night.

We Stayed At: Folk Suites (same place as before).

Day 4: Drive Back to Puerto Natales

Drive Back to Puerto Natales

After topping off our gas tank again we drove back to Puerto Natales to prepare for the highlight of our South America trip, the W Trek. After arriving in Puetro Natales we checked into Factoria Patagonia to stay the night and dropped our car off at the rental office in town.

W Trek Briefing and Dinner

We booked our W Trek through a company called Chile Nativo. They requested we attend a briefing the evening before our trek. Here they quickly went through our tickets, the routes and tips along the trail. We ate dinner and went to bed early for the next big day.

We Stayed At: Hostal Boutique Factoria Patagonia

Days 5-9: Torres De Paine

W Trek or Day Trips in Patagonia

W Trek Itinerary Route

The next 5 Days are on the W Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park. This trail was one the main reasons we went to Chile and Argentina. We built our entire schedule around this hike and it’s availability. This hike to consider a through hike, there are a ton of different options on how you can complete this hike. You can choose if you want to bring your own food to cook, or have your meals made by staff along the trail at refugios (kind of like hostels). You can also choose how you stay along the trail, bring a tent, rent a tent, stay in bunkrooms or stay in some private rooms along the route.

It really isn’t a super difficult hike and would highly suggest it to any type of hiker. Find all you need to know about this hike and our route in my article of FAQs About the W Trek and also 5 Days and 4 Nights Itinerary for the W Trek.

At the end of this hike we stayed back in Puerto Natales at Hotel Vendaval. This was good as the bus station dropped us off here and also we were tired, ready to eat dinner and rest our feet before our next leg. I wouldn’t try to travel this evening, you would have had a long day.

Day Trip Activities in This Area

If not hiking the W Trek you can still have plenty to do in this area within 4 days, you can even hike part of the W Trek as day hikes as well! If I did not do the W Trek this is what I would have choose to do by day:

1:Day Hike To Three Towers- this can be done on your own with a rental car.

2: Kayak, Hike or Boat to Glacier Grey

3: Horseback Ride in Torres Del Paine

4: Explore Puerto Natales- so many great restaurants, cafes and bars to check out. I would recommend (Guayoy Cafe & Bistro, Bahía Mansa, Last Hope Distillery)

We Stayed At: Hotel Vendaval (they own the great restaurant next door, Bahía Mansa)

Day 10: Leave Puerto Natales

We had a few hours to kill in Puerto Natales before our next flight. We spent time exploring the town, buying souvenirs, trying some breweries and local restaurants.

Flight to Santiago

Our next area in South America to explore was Mendoza, Argentina. To get here we had an overnight layover in Santiago, Chile. We thought about staying downtown in downtown Santiago but felt like it would be too rushed, so we just stayed in the Hotel Airport Holiday Inn. From there the next morning wie flew to Mendoza to start our 4 Day Stay in the Wine Regions.

Visiting South America is worth the time and cost. Such a gorgeous country, rich with culture and amazing food and drinks. Make sure you leave time to enjoy their food, wine and pisco sours!

Tips For Traveling in Chile and Argentina

Border Crossing

Make sure that you check the hours for crossing the border between Puerto Natales and El Calafete. They are not a 24 hour service. We went across the Paso Río Don Guillermo border crossing, their summer hours were 8:00am to 10:00pm.

Driving

Driving in Chile and Argentina was pretty easy, we downloaded Google Maps before our trip to make sure we had them, we did not get a cell phone package.

Some of the roads are rough and might take longer than expected. Some were newly paved and took a shorter amount of time than said on our map.

There are not a lot of gas stations (or any) in between some towns, especially the long drive between El Calafete, El Chalten and Peurto Natales. Make sure you have a full tank before heading out to the next location.

Money/Cash

Most places accept credit cards, we only ran into one instance on our layover in Santiago where we needed cash at a small empanada stand. It is good to always have at least a small bit of cash on you. You can always start to spend it towards the end of your trip to use it up.

Food

They have plenty of great meals to be enjoyed in this region. But if you plan on long hikes you might want to pack your favorite granola bars or jerky. They do not hike a lot of ‘hiking snacks’ to choose from in stores.