14 Days in Patagonia: Practical W Trek Itinerary

Two full weeks is an excellent length for a first Patagonia trip. It’s enough time to complete the W Trek properly, see the Perito Moreno Glacier, and tackle the headline hikes around El Chaltén, and you’ll come home with the sense that you’ve genuinely experienced the region rather than just glimpsed it. It’s one of the most popular trip lengths for good reason.

In this itinerary we cover the day-by-day flow of the trip, from flying into Puerto Natales and completing the W Trek, through the crossing into Argentina for Perito Moreno and the iconic hikes around Fitz Roy, to the return journey back to Santiago. We focus primarily on logistics, pacing, and the rationale behind each decision rather than re-treading the details of each individual hike — which are covered in our dedicated guides linked throughout.

Note that while 14 days is certainly enough time to experience the highlights of Patagonia, if you’re able to extend the trip to 17 or 18 days, we’d highly recommend it. The extra time gives you a proper rest day between the long hiking sections, the opportunity to see more of what El Chaltén has to offer, and meaningful flexibility for bad weather, bus delays, or simply needing a slower morning. Patagonia rewards patience, and the extra few days can help you feel refreshed and appreciative of each “wow” moment.

It’s also worth highlighting that this itinerary assumes you’re already in South America. If you need an extra day to fly in from elsewhere, you’ll have to cut a day somewhere. More specifically, this version starts and ends in Santiago, which is the most common entry point for international travellers and keeps your flight booking simple as a round trip. However, if Patagonia is part of a wider South America trip and you’re able to fly in to one country and out of the other (Santiago to Buenos Aires, or the reverse), you can recover almost a full day on this itinerary. Flying out of El Calafate to Buenos Aires at the end of the trip removes the long return day back through Chile, giving you more time for hiking rather than transit. This only works if you’re booking an open-jaw international flight, but if your wider travel plans allow it, it’s a meaningful improvement.

We’ll explain the logic at each step so you can adapt it to your own flight schedule, budget, and hiking preferences.

Route Overview and Why It Works

The geography of southern Patagonia dictates the order of this trip more than personal preference does. Torres del Paine sits in Chilean Patagonia, accessed via Puerto Natales. El Calafate and El Chaltén are in Argentine Patagonia, connected by a single paved road. Crossing the border overland between Puerto Natales and El Calafate is straightforward and far cheaper than flying.

The standard routing for a Santiago round trip is: Santiago to Puerto Natales (fly), Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine (bus) and back, then Puerto Natales to El Calafate (bus, border crossing), El Calafate to El Chaltén (bus) and back, then El Calafate or Puerto Natales back to Santiago (fly).

Direct flights from Santiago to Puerto Natales run during the peak summer season (typically November through March), operated by JetSmart and Sky Airline. Outside of peak season, you’ll need to fly to Punta Arenas and bus up.

Day 1: Fly South to Puerto Natales

Day one is your travel day south from Santiago. The direct flight to Puerto Natales takes around three and a half hours and is operated seasonally by JetSmart and Sky Airline. Book this well in advance because seats are limited and prices climb steeply in peak season. You’ll arrive by early afternoon, giving you time to settle into your accommodation and get your first glimpse of the Ultima Esperanza Sound. Use this evening to relax after your flight and enjoy your first Patagonian meal.

Day 2: Gear Setup & Logistics Day

Today is dedicated to “admin and prep” so you aren’t rushing before the trail. Use the morning to visit the rental shops for any last-minute gear (poles, sleeping bags, or stoves) and head to the Unimarc supermarket to stock up on trail snacks and fuel. In the afternoon, attend the daily 3:00 PM “W Trek Briefing” at Erratic Rock to get the latest weather updates and trail conditions. Spend the rest of the day packing your bag, weighing your pack, and ensuring your logistics are watertight.

What to do today:

• Confirm your bus tickets to Torres del Paine for tomorrow morning
• Check refugio or camping bookings (printed confirmations are useful; park Wi-Fi is unreliable)
• Rent trekking poles and any technical gear
• Eat a substantial dinner. Mesita Grande and Cangrejo Rojo are both reliable
• Get to bed early for the morning bus
• Above all, chill out — you have an action packed few days ahead!

Days 3 to 6: The W Trek

The W Trek is the centrepiece of this itinerary. The classic west-to-east direction takes three nights and four days, which is what I’d recommend for most people, though slower walkers or those who want to stay at Grey refugio may prefer five.

Walking west to east is generally preferred because you finish with the Towers viewpoint as the iconic finale. However, east to west also works, and some travellers prefer it because if weather closes in early, you’ve already seen the headline sight.

Day 3 (Trek Day 1): Puerto Natales to Paine Grande, Hike to Grey Glacier Lookout

Take the 6:45 or 7:00 AM bus from Puerto Natales. After two hours you’ll reach Laguna Amarga, pay the park entrance, then connect by shuttle to Pudeto and the catamaran across Lago Pehoé to Paine Grande (catamaran around CLP 28,000, roughly USD 28, one way in 2026). Drop your bag, then hike out toward Grey Glacier. Turn back at the first viewpoint for a shorter day, or continue to the suspension bridges for the full 22 km round trip. Sleep at Paine Grande.

Day 4 (Trek Day 2): Paine Grande to Francés via French Valley

The most demanding day of the trek. Walk to Campamento Italiano, drop your heavy pack, and climb into the French Valley. The upper viewpoint at Mirador Británico is the goal, though the lower Mirador Francés is a reasonable turnaround if weather or legs aren’t cooperating. Continue to Francés or Cuernos for the night. Total distance 18 to 26 km depending on your route.

Day 5 (Trek Day 3): Francés to Chileno or Central

A long but more moderate day along Lago Nordenskjöld. Most people stay at Chileno to set up for sunrise the next morning. Central or Las Torres is a comfortable alternative if you’d prefer better sleep, at the cost of a longer pre-dawn hike. Distance 14 to 18 km.

Day 6 (Trek Day 4): Sunrise at the Towers, Exit to Puerto Natales

Leave Chileno around 4:00 AM for the steep climb to the Torres viewpoint. If the forecast is bad for sunrise, sleep in and hike up later in clearer daytime conditions. Descend, pack up, and walk down to Las Torres. The 14:30 bus back to Puerto Natales is the most reliable.

Day 7: Puerto Natales to El Calafate

This day doubles as your trek recovery. Sitting on a bus after four days of hiking isn’t glamorous, but it combines logistics with rest effectively. If the trek has left you genuinely exhausted, you can split this into a rest day in Puerto Natales followed by the bus the next morning, though it costs you a day in El Chaltén later.

The bus to El Calafate takes five to six hours including the border crossing at Cerro Castillo and Cancha Carrera. The crossing is usually painless but can slow down when multiple buses arrive at once.

You’ll arrive in El Calafate by mid-afternoon. Spend the evening arranging Perito Moreno tours for the next day and eat well. La Tablita and Don Pichón are reliable steakhouses.

Day 8: Perito Moreno Glacier

Perito Moreno is one of the few major glaciers in the world that is not in retreat. The experience of watching house-sized chunks of ice calve into Lago Argentino is worth the trip from town.

Three main options:

• Boardwalk day trip: Around $45 USD park entrance fee. The budget choice but genuinely worth it without any excursions
• Mini Trekking: Short walk on the glacier with crampons. $200 to $250 USD including transport
• Big Ice: Four to five hours on the ice. $300 to $400 USD. Skip this if your legs are still tired from the W Trek

For most travellers the boardwalk option is plenty. You’ll be back in El Calafate by early evening.

Day 9: El Calafate to El Chaltén

The bus from El Calafate to El Chaltén takes around three hours along paved roads. Morning departures (7:30 to 8:30 AM) get you there by lunchtime. El Chaltén is small and walkable, with every major trail starting from the village itself.

Note that Los Glaciares National Park now charges a foreign visitor entrance fee for the El Chaltén sector, currently around $45 USD for a day pass in 2026, though enforcement isn’t always the most stringent.

After checking in, do a short acclimatisation hike. Mirador Los Cóndores and Mirador Las Águilas are both easy two-hour return walks from town with views back over the village.

Days 10 to 12: The Big El Chaltén Hikes

You have three full days in El Chaltén, which is just long enough to do the most iconic treks providing the weather is on your side. The two headline hikes are Laguna de los Tres (Fitz Roy) and Laguna Torre, and they’re best tackled in whatever order the weather dictates.

Check the forecast each evening at your accommodation. Most hostels post the next day’s outlook in the morning. The local advice is reliable: save the best weather day for Laguna de los Tres, because Fitz Roy is famously cloud-bound and a clear view at the laguna is unforgettable. A cloudy view is still impressive but loses much of its magic.

The recommended structure is to do the two big hikes on days one and three, using day two as a rest day in between. Both hikes are long, and back-to-back full days will leave most people genuinely depleted. A rest day in the middle — cafés, a slow walk, a long lunch — makes the difference between enjoying the second hike and gritting your teeth through it.

Laguna de los Tres (Fitz Roy)

A 20 to 25 km day with around 800 m of elevation gain. The first 8 km are gentle, the middle is moderate, and the final kilometre is a brutally steep scramble to the laguna at the base of Fitz Roy. Plan 8 to 11 hours.

Laguna Torre

A more moderate 18 km return hike with limited elevation gain. Plan 6 to 8 hours. Cerro Torre is more often shrouded than Fitz Roy, but the walk itself is beautiful and the lake at the end is worth the effort regardless.

If All Three Days Have Good Weather

If you’re lucky enough to get three clear days, you have the option of fitting in a third trek. The best choice is something shorter and easier on the legs:

• Chorrillo del Salto: A pretty short hike to a waterfall, perfect for a half day
• Mirador de los Cóndores or Mirador Las Águilas: Two-hour return walks from town with good viewpoints

Doing Loma del Pliegue Tumbado as your third hike is technically possible (it’s a 22 km full-day hike with panoramic views of both Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre), but three consecutive long hikes is genuinely tough. Only consider this if you’re an experienced hiker and your legs are holding up well.

What If the Weather Is Bad All Three Days?

Unlikely but possible. If the forecast looks rough across your entire window:

• Do Laguna Torre anyway. It’s lower elevation and the walk through forest is pleasant even in mist
• Do shorter hikes like Chorrillo del Salto or Mirador del Salto, which are pretty regardless of cloud
• Use your buffer. Sometimes the patient choice is to read in a café and hope for clearing the next day. This is why locals say El Chaltén’s best window is often the two hours after a storm clears, when Fitz Roy emerges into fresh light

A Note for Open-Jaw Travellers

If you’re flying out from El Calafate to Buenos Aires rather than returning to Santiago, you’ll skip the long travel day on day 13 and gain an extra day in El Chaltén. That gives you four full days here instead of three, which is genuinely luxurious. You can do both headline hikes, take a proper rest day, and add either Loma del Pliegue Tumbado or a Lago del Desierto day trip without rushing.

Day 13: El Chaltén to El Calafate or Puerto Natales

Your transition day back toward your flight. The routing depends on where you’re flying out from:

• Flying from El Calafate: Morning bus to El Calafate (three hours), relaxed afternoon, sleep there
• Flying from Puerto Natales: Longer day. Bus to El Calafate, then on to Puerto Natales (five to six hours including the border). Plan to arrive Puerto Natales by evening and sleep there before your morning flight

If a long travel day sounds unappealing, you can split this across two days by sleeping in El Calafate on day 13 and finishing the journey to Puerto Natales on day 14, provided your Santiago flight is in the late afternoon or evening.

Day 14: Fly Back to Santiago

Your flight day. From Puerto Natales, direct flights to Santiago take around three and a half hours. From El Calafate, you’ll most likely connect through Buenos Aires, which can mean a full-day journey.

Build in buffer. Patagonian flights are occasionally delayed by weather, and missing your international connection back from Santiago is expensive. A morning departure is safer than an evening one.

Practical Notes and Variations

If You Had a Few More Days

A 17 to 18 day version of this trip is genuinely better than 14, and arguably the perfect length for most travellers. The extra time gives you proper rest days, more buffer for weather, and the chance to either tackle the full O Circuit in Torres del Paine or experience more hikes in El Chaltén.

If You’re On a Tighter Budget

Camping with your own gear inside Torres del Paine and self-catering in El Chaltén can cut daily costs in half. The biggest savings come from skipping the glacier trekking tours and doing Perito Moreno on the boardwalk-only option. Buying trail food at the Unimarc in Puerto Natales is significantly cheaper than the refugio meal packages.

If You’re a Less Confident Hiker

The W Trek can be replaced by a series of day hikes from a base at Hotel Las Torres or the EcoCamp area, doing the Towers viewpoint and parts of the French Valley as day trips rather than carrying overnight gear. You’ll see less of the park but the experience is far more comfortable. In El Chaltén, you can shorten the main trails by turning around at intermediate viewpoints.

If You Want a Recovery Day in Puerto Natales

The version above pushes from the W Trek directly to El Calafate, using the bus as recovery time. If you’d prefer a true rest day in Puerto Natales, you can build one in by cutting a day from El Chaltén. Most travellers find the El Chaltén days more valuable, but it’s a reasonable trade-off if you know you struggle with back-to-back exertion.

If You’re Travelling in Shoulder Season

This itinerary works from late October through mid-April. November and March/April are noticeably less crowded and around 20 to 30% cheaper, but with more variable weather and shorter daylight. By late April, refugios on the W Trek begin closing for the season and the direct Santiago to Puerto Natales flights typically stop running.

If You’re Starting from Buenos Aires Instead

The routing reverses cleanly. Fly Buenos Aires to El Calafate (around three hours twenty minutes), do El Chaltén first, then El Calafate and Perito Moreno, cross overland to Puerto Natales for the W Trek, and fly out from Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas. The advantage is finishing with the W Trek as your big finale.

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