El Calafate Tours & Patagonia Packages

Two nights is the honest minimum: one full day at the Perito Moreno Glacier and not much else. Three lets you add a half day or an evening excursion. Four is the sweet spot — the glacier, one big day out and something easy. If El Chaltén or Torres del Paine is on your list, add a night for each. More people regret rushing El Calafate than regret an extra night here.

By air. El Calafate international airport (FTE) is about 20 km from town and receives direct flights from Buenos Aires — roughly three hours and a quarter — as well as seasonal connections from Ushuaia, Bariloche, Córdoba and Trelew. Overland from Buenos Aires is more than 2,700 km, so nobody drives it. We book the internal flights as part of the package.

October to April has the long days and the full excursion list. December to February is peak summer: warmest, busiest and the one to book earliest. March and April are our own favourite — autumn colour, fewer people, still everything running. May to September is cold and quiet, some excursions close, and the light is extraordinary. Two specifics: the estancia day runs 15 September to 15 May, and the kayak does not operate in June or July.

It used to be, and it isn't any more. For decades it was famous as one of very few large glaciers roughly in balance. Research published in 2025 in Communications Earth & Environment found thinning at the front accelerated from about 0.34 metres a year (2000–2019) to around 5.5 metres a year (2019–2024), as the ice loses its grip on the underwater ridge that had held it in place. The last confirmed rupture of the ice bridge was in December 2019. It remains one of the great sights on earth — we would simply rather tell you the current science than repeat a line from a brochure.

The front is about 5 km wide and stands roughly 74 metres above Lago Argentino, with around another hundred metres of ice below the surface. The glacier covers some 250 km² and runs about 30 km back into the mountains, fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It sits inside Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. Unusually for a glacier of this size, you can stand directly in front of it — that accessibility is why it is the most visited glacier on the planet.

The boardwalks are included in every glacier day and are where you watch it calve; nobody should skip them. A boat takes you along the face for scale. The minitrekking puts crampons on and takes you onto the ice (medium difficulty, roughly ages 10–65). The kayak puts you at water level among the icebergs (no experience needed, minimum age 12, no upper limit). If you can only add one, we usually suggest the kayak for the sense of scale and the minitrekking if walking on a glacier is on your list.

Both, yes. El Chaltén is a comfortable full day (and worth an overnight if you want to trek properly). Torres del Paine in Chile is a very long day — out around 7 am, back around 11 pm, with a border crossing each way, so bring your passport. If Torres del Paine is a priority rather than a curiosity, we'd suggest an overnight in Puerto Natales instead. Ask us and we'll build it either way.

Patagonian weather changes by the hour in every season, and the wind is the constant, not the temperature. Pack layers, a genuinely windproof and waterproof outer, closed walking shoes, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen — the reflection off ice and water burns even on cloudy days. Bring a warm layer in summer too. Almost everything runs in poor weather; the glacier arguably looks better under cloud.

You can absolutely arrange it yourself, and if your trip is two nights and one glacier day, you probably should. The value we add starts when the pieces have to fit: internal flights that connect, excursions that don't run on the same morning, transfers timed to a departure that changes with the season, and hotels chosen for where you actually need to be. We also tell you what to drop. That is the part a booking platform will never do.

For December to February, as far ahead as you can — internal flights and small-group activities close first. For the rest of the year a few weeks is usually enough. Send us your dates and we reply with a plan and a free quote within 24 hours, with no obligation. Payment is by card or bank transfer once you're happy with the itinerary.