Patagonia on tour, from Buenos Aires to the end of the road
Prices here are from-prices in US dollars per person sharing, before international flights, from the operators’ own pages unless we label a reseller listing. This is one real route, end to end.
- Buenos Aires2 nightsThe tour opens in Argentina’s capital, with a day of city sightseeing.
- Ushuaia2 nightsA flight south, then Tierra del Fuego National Park on the way into town.
- El Calafate2 nightsA full-day excursion into Los Glaciares National Park, home of Perito Moreno.
- Puerto Natales4 nightsAcross the border into Chile: a day in Torres del Paine, a Be My Guest visit and a boat up the Río Serrano.
- Punta ArenastransferThe road to the airport for the flight north.
- Santiagotour endsTrafalgar includes the Punta Arenas–Santiago flight.
From $6,650 per person (early-booking offer); 2027 dates we saw ran $7,597 to $7,677, and four January–March dates were already sold out. Trafalgar says the tour becomes Small Group from 2027, averaging 16 guests. Stops and nights from Trafalgar’s itinerary page.
Viewpoints or trailheads: two very different Patagonia trips
Patagonia’s best views sit at the end of long trails. Some tours bring you to the trailhead and turn around; others keep walking.
You’re choosing how close to get to the granite. Sightseeing tours put you in front of the views; hiking trips walk you to the ones you can’t drive to.
The trade is days and sleep. Intrepid’s Classic Hikes of Patagonia camps three nights inside Torres del Paine in shared two-person tents, and G Adventures asks you to bring or rent a cold-weather sleeping bag from January 2027.
The hiking trips are cheaper per day, not easier. G Adventures rates End of the Earth 4 out of 5, demanding.
Pick your legs first. Everything else on this page follows from it.
Torres del Paine: four nights in Puerto Natales or three in a tent
If you only picture one place in Patagonia, it’s probably here. Decide how you want to meet it.
Torres del Paine is the Chilean half of almost every tour. Puerto Natales is the town sightseeing tours sleep in: Tauck spends four nights at The Singular Patagonia there, and Trafalgar gives it four as well.
Trafalgar’s park day is a sightseeing drive with Laguna Amarga. Two days later its group takes a boat up the Río Serrano toward the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers.
The hiking trips stay inside the park. G Adventures sleeps two nights in Torres del Paine and sells no single room for those nights; Intrepid camps three, with basic shared facilities.
Ask whether the park entry fee is in your fare. None of the tour pages we read printed the amount.
Up toward Refugio Chileno
Day 8 of Intrepid’s Classic Hikes of Patagonia: the trail to Base Las Torres climbs past Windy Pass and Refugio Chileno.
The three towers
The route ends at a lagoon with the three granite towers straight above it.
Back down the same valley
About 22 km round trip, with roughly 1,026 m of climbing and 1,000 m of descent.
Camp in the park
The second of three nights in shared two-person tents. Bring a sleeping bag or hire one locally.
Weather rule
Intrepid says temperatures can run from 0 to 30°C in a single day and that the order of hikes may change with the weather. Pack for rain, wind and cold on every Patagonia tour, even in January.
El Calafate, Perito Moreno and the Fitz Roy trail
The Argentine side is ice and spires. One town is for looking at glaciers; the other is for walking.
El Calafate and Perito Moreno
El Calafate is the Argentine base for Los Glaciares National Park. Trafalgar spends two nights and a full-day excursion there; Tauck gives it three nights; Globus includes Perito Moreno on its 13-day tour.
Intrepid includes the Los Glaciares park tickets on its hiking trip. On other tours, ask whether the entry is in the fare.
El Chaltén and Fitz Roy
El Chaltén is the hiking town under Mount Fitz Roy. Only the hiking trips we read sleep there: G Adventures for two nights, Intrepid for three.
Intrepid’s day to Laguna de los Tres is about 24 km and 8 to 10 hours, with 854 m of climbing. It calls the paths well marked and says wind and rain may be the main challenge.
Ushuaia: the southern end, and the door to Antarctica
Most people come to Ushuaia once. Decide whether it’s the end of the tour or the start of a voyage.
Ushuaia is where the road runs out. Trafalgar flies there from Buenos Aires for two nights, with Tierra del Fuego National Park on arrival; G Adventures and Intrepid each give it three nights at the end of their hikes.
Globus includes a Beagle Channel cruise and a Magellanic penguin colony. Tauck skips Ushuaia, flying between Santiago, Patagonia and Buenos Aires instead.
Sailing from here?
Ushuaia is the main departure port for Antarctica. Our Ushuaia cruise port guide covers the pier and the town, Ushuaia hotels ranks the beds for the night before, and Ushuaia shore excursions prices the Beagle Channel and the national park.
For the voyage itself, start with Antarctica cruises.
When to go: spring winds, summer light, autumn color
Seasons run backward down here. Your July is their midwinter, and the tours go home.
Spring: the first departures
Tour calendars restart in October. Intrepid says October, November and March are wetter than midsummer, so pack for rain.
- Trafalgar lists October 2, 2027 at $7,597 and October 9 at $7,677
- Tauck has five departures from October 7 to November 18, 2027
- Trafalgar’s 2026 season opens October 31 at $7,850
Summer: the busiest months
December to February is high season on the calendars we read, and it fills first: Trafalgar’s January 2027 dates were already sold out in October 2026. Intrepid says December is the wettest month.
- Trafalgar’s February 13, 2027 date was $7,677
- Tauck departs January 28 and December 23, 2027
- G Adventures’ sleeping-bag rule starts with January 2027 departures
Autumn: late-season dates
Departures continue into April. G Adventures discounted its January to April 2027 dates by 20% when we checked.
- G Adventures’ End of the Earth was $4,719 on March 2, 2027
- Globus departs March 9, 2027 at $8,714
- Trafalgar’s March 27 date was $7,677; its March 13 date was sold out
Winter: tours mostly stop
None of the 2027 calendars we read runs a Patagonia tour between May and September. Plan for the southern summer instead.
- Trafalgar’s 2027 dates jump from April to October
- Tauck runs January to March and October to December
- Intrepid’s hiking trip runs only in the warmer months
We don’t quote average temperatures or crowd counts; the operators don’t publish them for these routes. The tabs use the operators’ 2027 departure calendars and Intrepid’s weather notes.
How many days Patagonia takes
You’re fitting the far south into your vacation days. Flights are what make the short versions possible.
Lengths from the operators’ listings. Days include arrival and departure days.
Our rule of thumb
Eleven days for the sightseeing circuit, two weeks if you want to hike to the towers and to Fitz Roy. Patagonia’s distances eat days; a trip shorter than 9 days covers one side of the border, not both.
Who runs Patagonia, with real 2027 tours
Eight operators, two kinds of trip. Every tour below is a real one, cheapest per day first.
| Operator & tour | Days | From | Per day | Type | Route | Group | Price source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G Adventures End of the Earth | 14 | $4,719 | ~$337 | Hiking | Buenos Aires, El Chaltén, El Calafate, Torres del Paine, Ushuaia | max 16, avg 12; 12+ | gadventures.com, Mar 2 2027 (20% off $5,899) |
| Intrepid Classic Hikes of Patagonia | 15 | $6,656 | ~$444 | Hiking | El Chaltén, El Calafate, Torres del Paine (camping), Ushuaia | max 12; 15+ | intrepidtravel.com (date not shown) |
| Trafalgar Wonders of Patagonia | 11 | $6,650 | ~$605 | Sightseeing | Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, El Calafate, Puerto Natales, Santiago | avg 16 from 2027 | trafalgar.com offer; 2027 dates $7,597–$7,677 |
| O.A.T. Journey Through Chile | 13 | $8,499 | ~$654 | Small ship + land | Chile, with the 90-passenger Skorpios III | max 16 | O.A.T. release, 2027; includes air |
| Globus Patagonia: Journey to the End of the World | 13 | $8,714 | ~$670 | Sightseeing | Santiago, Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno, Beagle Channel, Buenos Aires | Small Group Discovery, max 18 | globusjourneys.com, Mar 9 2027 |
| Tauck Patagonia | 11 | $10,490 | ~$954 | Sightseeing | Santiago, Puerto Natales (4 nights), El Calafate (3), Buenos Aires | Tauck | reseller (Frosch), 2027 dates |
From-prices in USD per person sharing, before international flights, except O.A.T., whose price includes air. G Adventures’ fare is a 20%-off sale price that moves. Tauck’s comes from a reseller listing, and Intrepid’s page didn’t tie its fare to a date. Collette’s 14-day Patagonia: Edge of the World, Contiki’s 9-day Active Patagonia (ages 18 to 35) and Intrepid’s Premium Patagonia aren’t in the table because we couldn’t read a US fare; ask us for them.
Sightseeing: Trafalgar, Globus, Tauck
All three fly you between the far ends. Tauck is the one that skips Ushuaia, and it spends four nights in Puerto Natales; Trafalgar and Globus both reach the Beagle Channel end.
O.A.T.
Its new Journey Through Chile pairs land days with the small ship Skorpios III. The price includes air, which matters on a trip this far south.
Hiking: G Adventures, Intrepid
The two trips that sleep in El Chaltén and inside Torres del Paine. G Adventures takes ages 12 and up; Intrepid, 15 and up.
Ship and shore: Collette, Scenic
Collette sells a version of Edge of the World with a four-night Patagonia cruise, and Scenic pairs Patagonia with Antarctica in 20 days.
What Patagonia costs per day, and all-in
Patagonia runs from about $337 to more than $950 a day. The cheap end camps in the park; the top end sleeps at The Singular.
Our arithmetic on the from-prices above. Inclusions differ: O.A.T. includes international air; every tour here includes its flights inside Patagonia.
Read the cheap end carefully. G Adventures’ $337 a day is a sale fare on a demanding hiking trip with two nights in the park and most dinners on you.
For hotels every night and someone else carrying the bags, the floor is about $605 a day on Trafalgar’s offer fare, and closer to $700 on its listed 2027 dates.
All-in math
What a Patagonia tour costs once you land
We filled in Trafalgar’s Wonders of Patagonia at its February 13, 2027 fare, with the midpoints of Trafalgar’s tip guidance. The meals figure is our starting estimate; change it, and swap in your own quote.
Wonders of Patagonia includes 10 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 4 dinners, so about 13 lunches and dinners are yours. On G Adventures’ End of the Earth, use its own list instead: about $80 in guide, porter and camp-staff tips plus roughly $10 a day for the leader; leave the driver box at zero. On Intrepid, budget the $120 kitty and $4 to $7 a day for the leader. Add your flight to Buenos Aires or Santiago.
Find your Patagonia tour
Be honest about the 20 km days. That answer moves the results more than budget does.
Matcher
Match a real Patagonia tour to how you travel
Five taps: budget, legs, beds, group size and length. It suggests tours from the table above.
Crossing between Argentina and Chile
Patagonia ignores the border; the paperwork doesn’t. Expect a passport check every time you cross.
| Leg | How tours do it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| El Calafate to Puerto Natales | By road on Trafalgar; Intrepid takes an early bus to Cerro Castillo in Chile, then a transfer | A long travel day; Intrepid’s runs about 6.5 hours to the park |
| Torres del Paine back to Argentina | Intrepid returns by bus with a ferry crossing | Intrepid warns ferry and border times can run late |
| Punta Arenas to Santiago | Trafalgar’s included flight home | Chile’s southern airport; our Punta Arenas guide covers the town |
| Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and El Calafate | Included flights on Trafalgar, G Adventures and Intrepid | About three hours to Ushuaia; one checked bag of 15 kg |
Keep the immigration slip you get at each border. Intrepid says it may be asked for at the point of exit.
Two countries means two currencies. Carry some Argentine pesos and some Chilean pesos, or US dollars, for the days on each side.
Tipping, pesos and the costs that surprise people
Tips depend on who you book. Cash depends on which side of the border you’re on.
| Who | Guidance | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trafalgar Travel Director and driver | $5–$7 and $3–$5 per person per day | Trafalgar tipping guide |
| G Adventures guides (End of the Earth) | $10 Laguna de los Tres guide, $10 Perito Moreno guide, $40 Torres del Paine trekking guides, $15 porters, $5 camp staff | Trip page |
| G Adventures leader | About $10 per person per day | Trip page |
| Intrepid group kitty and leader | $120 kitty; $4–$7 a day for the leader | Trip notes |
| Tauck | Director gratuity not included on land journeys | Tauck FAQ |
Cash and cards
Intrepid says ATMs are limited in parts of Patagonia, so get Argentine pesos in Buenos Aires. Cards work in tourist shops and some restaurants; smaller places take cash only.
US dollars are the easiest cash to change, it says, in large bills from the 2013 series or newer and in good condition. It also suggests an emergency fund of about $500.
Park tickets and extras
Ask which park entries your fare covers: Torres del Paine, Los Glaciares, Tierra del Fuego. Intrepid includes Los Glaciares; the other pages we read didn’t say.
On a hiking trip, budget for sleeping-bag hire if you don’t bring one; Intrepid quotes about $25 locally. Overweight bags on Argentine domestic flights cost extra.
Passports, flights to Buenos Aires and Santiago, and the clock
Patagonia is easy on a US passport. The tricky part is that tours start and end in different countries.
Book the right ticket shape. Trafalgar starts in Buenos Aires and ends in Santiago, so book an open-jaw flight; Globus runs the other way. G Adventures and Intrepid start and end in Buenos Aires.
Fly in a day early. Domestic flights south leave early in the tour, and a missed connection costs you Ushuaia.
The State Department’s Chile advisory warns that strikes can cause long delays in remote places, Punta Arenas among them. Leave slack in your last day.
Our Buenos Aires airports guide covers Ezeiza, Aeroparque and the ride into town.
Solo, families and slower travelers in Patagonia
Twin-share pricing is built for couples. These are better starting points for everyone else.
| If you are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Traveling solo, and fit | G Adventures End of the Earth | A ready-made group of 16 at most; My Own Room is sold, except for the two park nights |
| Traveling solo by coach | Trafalgar Wonders of Patagonia | Trafalgar matches you with a same-sex roommate at the twin-share price where room share is offered |
| A family with kids 12 and up | G Adventures End of the Earth | Minimum age 12; under-18s travel with an adult. Rated demanding |
| A family with teens 15 and up | Intrepid Classic Hikes of Patagonia | Minimum age 15, 12 travelers at most, three nights camping |
| 18 to 35 | Contiki Active Patagonia | Nine days for that age group; ask us for the US fare |
| Older, or slower on your feet | Tauck Patagonia | One to four nights a stop, walking 2 to 3.5 miles on most days; pace rated 4 of 5 for early starts |
| After the most comfort | Tauck Patagonia | The Singular in Puerto Natales, Xelena in El Calafate, Sofitel Recoleta in Buenos Aires |
Mobility limits change the choice. Tauck warns of frequent stairs, cobblestones and standing for 90 minutes or more, and the hiking trips camp with basic shared facilities.
If long days are hard, a private tour lets you set the hours, which matters here: the drives between towns are long.
Antarctica, Easter Island and the nights either side
Few people fly this far for 11 days and go straight home. Plan the edges when you book the middle.
Adding Antarctica
Most Antarctica expedition voyages sail from Ushuaia, so a Patagonia tour that ends there is a natural first leg. Scenic sells the two together as a 20-day Wonders of Patagonia & Antarctica.
Read South America & Antarctica cruises, Antarctica landing sites and our cruise and land tour combos guide before you book either.
Longer versions
Globus stretches its tour to 18 days with Easter Island, or 23 with Iguassu Falls and Rio. Already sailing around Cape Horn? Our Buenos Aires and Valparaíso port guides cover the cruise ends.
How far ahead to book
Patagonia’s season is short and the small groups fill early. Trafalgar had four January to March 2027 dates sold out by late October 2026, so for peak months we’d book about a year ahead; our booking-window guide compares deadlines.
Deposits and insurance
Trafalgar’s deposit starts at $200; Tauck’s is $600, with final payment 90 days out on land trips. Some insurance benefits depend on buying soon after your deposit; read our purchase-window guide first.
Need a hotel before the tour? See Buenos Aires hotels.
Before you book a Patagonia tour
These are the lines that change the price or the trip. Tick them off as you go.
Your Patagonia checklist
Ticks aren’t saved. Deposits and cancellation terms are on each operator’s guide below.
Who should tour Patagonia, and who should go alone
Book a tour if
- You want both sides of the border in one trip, with the flights and the crossing handled
- You want to hike to the towers and Fitz Roy without planning camps and buses
- You’re pairing Patagonia with an Antarctica voyage from Ushuaia
- You’re traveling solo and want a ready-made group in a remote place
Look elsewhere if
- You only want Torres del Paine; a lodge stay in Chile does it without the Argentine flights
- You can only travel from May to September; the tours we checked don’t run then
- You need a big suitcase; the domestic flights cap you at 15 kg
- You dislike long travel days; the drives and flights between towns fill whole days
Our take
For a first trip without long hikes, take Trafalgar’s 11-day Wonders of Patagonia: Ushuaia, Perito Moreno and four nights near Torres del Paine, with every internal flight included, from about $605 a day.
If you can walk 20 km on a windy day, G Adventures’ End of the Earth is the better trip and the cheaper one, at about $337 a day on its March 2027 sale fare. You trade hotels for two nights in the park.
Either way, book the peak months a year out.
Where to go from here: who runs Patagonia
Free · No obligation
Want your Patagonia trip priced against the alternatives?
Tell us your dates and how far you want to walk. We’ll price a sightseeing tour, a hiking trip and an Antarctica add-on side by side, and check the flights and the border days before you commit.
Prefer to book the extras yourself?
Hotels, day trips and flights around the tour
Hotel nights before and after
Arriving a day early gives you a buffer if a flight runs late, and most people add a night when the tour ends.
Getting there and around
Fly into one city and home from another when the tour is one-way.
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Cruise + land, one trip
Add a Cape Horn or Antarctica cruise to your Patagonia trip
Tell us the tour and the sailing you’re weighing. We line up the dates so the tour ends where the ship sails, or starts where it docks, add the hotel night and the transfer in between, and price it all as one trip. Free, and you hear back within one business day.
What Patagonia first-timers ask us
How many days do you need for Patagonia on a tour?
About 11 days covers the sightseeing circuit: Trafalgar’s Wonders of Patagonia and Tauck’s Patagonia both run 11, with internal flights included. Hiking trips run longer, 14 days on G Adventures’ End of the Earth and 15 on Intrepid’s Classic Hikes of Patagonia, because the trails take whole days. Globus adds Easter Island (18 days) or Iguassu and Rio (23 days) to its 13-day tour.
When is the best time to tour Patagonia?
Tours run in the southern spring, summer and autumn. Trafalgar lists 2027 departures from January to April and again from October; Tauck runs January to March and October to December. Intrepid says its hiking trip only runs in the warmer months, that December is the wettest, and that temperatures can swing from 0 to 30°C in a day. Most calendars we checked are empty from May to September.
Do US citizens need a visa for Argentina or Chile?
No, not for tourist visits of 90 days or less, per the State Department. Argentina wants a passport valid on arrival with a blank page; Chile wants it valid for your whole stay, with a blank page for each stamp. Keep the immigration slip you get at the border; Intrepid says it may be asked for when you leave. The State Department rated Argentina Level 1 (July 10, 2026) and Chile Level 2, exercise increased caution (August 19, 2026).
Can I see Torres del Paine without hiking?
Yes. Sightseeing tours drive the park: Trafalgar’s day in Torres del Paine includes a scenic drive and Laguna Amarga, and it adds a boat up the Río Serrano to two glaciers. Tauck spends four nights in Puerto Natales and rates its walking at 2 to 3.5 miles on most days. The famous Base Las Torres viewpoint is a hike of about 22 km, which is what the hiking trips do.
Are internal flights included on Patagonia tours?
On the tours we checked, yes. Trafalgar includes its Buenos Aires–Ushuaia–El Calafate and Punta Arenas–Santiago flights, Globus includes air between destinations, Tauck includes two on-tour flights, and G Adventures and Intrepid include their domestic flights. Watch the bag limit: one checked bag of 15 kg, which Intrepid says Argentina usually enforces.
Can I combine Patagonia with an Antarctica cruise?
Yes. Most Antarctica expedition ships sail from Ushuaia, which several Patagonia tours already visit. Add the tour before the voyage and end in Ushuaia, or book a combined trip such as Scenic’s 20-day Wonders of Patagonia & Antarctica. Book the ship first, then fit the tour around its date.
How much should I tip on a Patagonia tour?
It depends on the operator. Trafalgar suggests $5 to $7 a day for its Travel Director and $3 to $5 for the driver. G Adventures lists cash tips for each guide on End of the Earth, such as $40 for the Torres del Paine trekking guides, plus about $10 a day for its leader. Intrepid suggests a $120 group kitty and $4 to $7 a day for the leader.
Sources · 15 links · checked October 2026
- Trafalgar: Wonders of Patagonia (2026 and 2027 dates, itinerary, intra-air)
- Trafalgar: Tipping on a Trafalgar tour
- Globus: Patagonia, Journey to the End of the World (2027)
- Tauck: Patagonia (itinerary, hotels, activity and pace ratings)
- Frosch Vacations: Tauck Patagonia (US price, 2027 dates)
- G Adventures: End of the Earth
- Intrepid: Classic Hikes of Patagonia
- Intrepid: Classic Hikes of Patagonia trip notes (money, tips, bags, border, hikes)
- AI Journal: O.A.T. introduces Journey Through Chile for 2027
- Global Journeys: Patagonia tours from January 2027 (Collette, Contiki, Intrepid Premium, Scenic, Globus extensions)
- Travel Associates: Collette Patagonia, Edge of the World with a 4-night Patagonia cruise
- US State Department: Chile travel advisory (Level 2, Aug 19, 2026)
- Seabound: Buenos Aires cruise port guide (Argentina entry and advisory, State Department)
- Seabound: Punta Arenas cruise port guide (Chile entry, State Department)
- Seabound: Buenos Aires airports (Ezeiza and Aeroparque distances)