Patagonia Road Trip: from El Calafate to Ushuaia

Private transfer to the airport, and flight to El Calafate. Upon arrival, pick up of the rental vehicle, which can be either an economic car or a 4×4. We suggest, if possible, to hire a 4×4 -even though with a regular car it’s possible to do it as well. Most of the 4×4 vehicles available in Patagonia are a double cabin with an open trunk, which is covered by a canvas cover. There are different kinds of insurances you can get.
Now, the Patagonia road trip begins: drive north to El Chaltén, which is around 3 hours from El Calafate. El Chaltén is the Argentinean Capital for Trekking, but if you don’t like trekking, there are some other things you can do, such as paying a visit to Lago del Desierto.
Overnight in El Chaltén, in the type of accommodation that adapts the most to your preferences.

Take advantage of these days to do the most iconic hikes of the Argentinean Patagonia. These are two full day treks. The first one, it’s part of the Fitz Roy Trek, and leads to a place called “Laguna de los 3”, with beautiful views on the Fitz Roy Mount. It takes around 10 hours return.  The other one, takes a little bit less, and the trail leads to the Torre lagoon, at the feet of the amazing Cerro Torre (the famous needle, which you can see if the sky is not clouded).
Overnight in El Chaltén, in the type of accommodation that adapts the most to your preferences.

Drive back to El Calafate.  Rest of the day at leisure. If you want, you can visit the Estancia (Ranch) Nibepo Aike, where you can see the gauchos life in a rural atmosphere, while you eat a delicious Patagonia lamb.  You can also opt for returning later from El Chaltén, in order to spend more time doing trekking or outdoor activities.
Overnight in El Calafate, in the type of accommodation that adapts the most to your preferences.

We highly recommend you to invest this day for visiting one of the most spectacular Glaciers in the world: the Perito Moreno.  It’s about 75 km from El Calafate, and counts with balconies where you can walk through for over 3 hours. You have also the chance of navigating to the southern wall of the glacier or doing adventure activities, such as kayaking among ice chunks or walking on top of the ice.
Overnight in El Calafate, in the type of accommodation that adapts the most to your preferences.

On this itinerary, we’re inviting you to cross to Chile right away (Puerto Natales), but if you want to stay one more day in El Calafate, you won’t regret it! Why? Because you can enjoy one of the navigation on lake Argentino, to see more glaciers such as the Upsala and the Spegazzini ones.  Also you can do the excursion to Estancia Cristina.
Let’s continue with the itinerary to Chile: drive to Puerto Natales, which is around 4 hours from El Calafate. The idea is to stay 2 or 3 days in order to make base to visit Torres del Paine National Park.  This Park is a huge one, and on this journey we’re dedicating two full days, one for visit the scenic points, and the other one to do one full day hike.
Overnight in Puerto Natales, or in Torres del Paine, in the type of accommodation that adapts the most to your preferences.

Drive around the viewpoints and cascades of the Park. Torres del Paine is about 1.5-2 hours from Puerto Natales, and its roads are rubble (slow drive).  You can invest the day to do a scenic excursion, drive around, do some short hikes, see some wildlife. You can also do, in case you want, a navigation to see the Grey Glacier.
Overnight in Puerto Natales, or in Torres del Paine, in the type of accommodation that adapts the most to your preferences.

Take advantage of this day to the full-day hike to the base of the Towers!
Overnight in Puerto Natales.

We’re using this day as a buffer for the next leg of the trip, which is the Magellan Crossing and the Tierra del Fuego part. Puerto Natales is about 3 hours from Punta Arenas, and there are other 6-7 hours to our suggesting destination inside Tierra del Fuego (called Tolhuin). If you want, you can also skip this day and go all the way. When you contact us we’ll explain all in detail.

Continue driving down south towards the island of Tierra del Fuego.  To reach the island, you need to cross Magellan Strait, which you can do through two different parts (you put the vehicle in a ferry, which is very affordable).  Depending the cross that you take, you can pass by a King penguin colony.  Tierra del Fuego is divided between Argentina and Chile. Once you reach the Argentinean border, continue driving -it’s all flat even from Punta Arenas, until you reach Tolhuin, right before the beginning of the mountains, at the shores of Lake Fagnano.  This day can take you between 6 and 9 hours depending on the way you take.
Accommodation in Tolhuin.

Continue driving south along the National Route 3. You will cross the Andean Cordillera, in the only place where it goes from west to east, passing by beautiful landscapes and panoramic points. The distance is about 2-3 hours, which can be longer depending on the stops you do.
Arrival in Ushuaia and accommodation there.

Take advantage of this day to visit (in a half-day) the National Park Tierra del Fuego, where you can see a milestone showing the last tip of the southern roads. In the afternoon, return the vehicle at the offices in Ushuaia. End of the Patagonia road trip, but not yet the end of the trip in Patagonia.
Accommodation in Ushuaia.

Full day excursion, in which you navigate along the Beagle Channel, visiting the lighthouse and different attractions, until reaching the penguin rookery at Isla Martillo. There you will walk for around 1 hour among penguins (between October and March only). From Isla Martillo you will cross to Estancia Harberton, and go overland back to Ushuaia (this may change).
Accommodation in Ushuaia.

Transfer to the airport, and flight back to Buenos Aires.

If you liked this trip, you might also be interested in our Ruta 40 Argentina road trip.