TRIP DETAILS

Trip length (including travel days) - 23 days

Time of year - February

Countries visited - Argentina & Chile

Cities/Locations visited and time in each:

• Buenos Aires (Argentina) - 3 nights

• El Calafate (Argentina) - 2 nights

• Torres Del Paine (Chile) - 5 nights

• El Chalten (Argentina) - 2 nights

• El Calafate (Argentina) - 1 night

• Santiago (Chile) (including Casablanca Valley) - 4 nights

• Atacama Desert (Chile) - 3 nights

• Santiago (Chile) - 1 night

PATH WE TOOK

Fly from Denver to Dallas (missed connection there due to Denver snow-storm, so had to add a stop in Miami the following day)

Fly from Dallas thru Miami to Buenos Aires

Walk and taxi throughout Buenos Aires

Fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate

Rental car in El Calafate - drive to Torres Del Paine in Chile, and back into Argentina to El Chalten, then back to El Calafate

Fly from El Calafate to Santiago (via Buenos Aires…there’s no way to go direct)

Fly from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama (aka Atacama Desert)

Rental car in Atacama

Fly from Atacama to Santiago

Fly from Santiago thru Panama to Denver

HIGHLIGHTS

Our highlights from the trip were completing the famous “W” Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park, kayaking the Perito Moreno Glacier, visiting the Atacama Desert, and staying in El Chalten (a mountain climbing mecca).

We got to visit both Argentina & Chile during this trip. Due to the lengthy travel times required to get all the way down to Patagonia, we knew we didn’t want to leave feeling like we needed another trip just to see the other country!

OUR NOT-SO-FAVORITE THINGS

This was a BUSY trip with 60+ hours of travel time (flights to/from the US, flights between cities within each country, driving times, etc.), and 50 miles of hiking (over 3 days!). We didn’t build in a lot of down-time.

TIPS

If you’re interested in hiking in Torres Del Paine National Park, our best recommendation is to BOOK EARLY (like, 9-12 months early!).

WHY WE PICKED THIS LOCATION

It’s difficult to get to (so we figured let’s do it sooner than later!).

It’s more physically demanding than other destinations (particularly the W Trek portion).

It’s likely to change/become more restricted over the next 5-10 years (particularly the region of Patagonia due to human influence).

We were able to plan far enough ahead to target the EXACT prime time to be there, and to take enough time away from work that this trip made sense.