Signature Patagonia - Santiago to El Calafate

• 9 days

DAY 1: Arrive in Santiago

Arrival day in the Chilean capital of Santiago. You will be collected from the airport and transferred to your hotel by private car transfer. The rest of the day is yours to recover from your flight.

DAY 2: Santigo

Spend your morning getting to know Santiago on a half-day city tour. You will visit the highlights this cosmopolitan city has to offer. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to explore the local area where your hotel is located. Barrio Lastarria is an upmarket, vibrant, and safe neighbourhood, home to some of Santiago’s best cafes, bars and restaurants with lots of boutique retail stores. (B)

DAY 3: Fly Santiago to Puerto Natales

You will be collected from your hotel and transferred by private transfer to Santiago airport to meet your flight to Patagonia. On arrival, a shared transfer will transport you to a hotel located on the shores of Chile’s world-famous fjords. Spend the evening relaxing in your lodge, taking in the water views and enjoying a typical Patagonian dinner. (B)

DAY 4: Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine

Today you begin your journey into one of the world’s most beautiful and pristine national parks, Torres del Paine, where you will spend the next three nights in an all-inclusive lodge. The transfer time will take approximately 2 hours and you will be offered incredible views of the Patagonian landscape as you watch estancias, lakes and snow-capped mountains pass you by. On arrival at your lodge, check in and the rest of the day is free for you to organise the following day’s activities. (B,D)

DAY 5: Torres del Paine

Choose from one of the many activities included in your lodge stay. Activities on offer include hiking one of the many world-class trails or to Las Torres base viewpoint, horseback riding, taking a cruise on a lake to view the Grey glacier, or a cultural visit to an estancia and learn about the gaucho culture that is unique to Patagonia. (B,L,D)

DAY 6: Torres del Paine

With one of the many activities included in your lodge stay, there are plenty of excursions available to suit your tastes to help make your last day in Torres del Paine a memorable one. (B,L,D)

DAY 7: Torres del Paine to El Calafate

Today you say bid farewell to the Chilean Patagonia and say hello to the Argentinian Patagonia. A shared transfer van will help with immigration formalities when crossing from Chile and into Argentina and deliver you safely to El Calafate, Argentina. Transfer time is approx. 6 hours. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to explore the tourist shops, restaurants, and cafes of El Calafate, one of Argentina’s premier tourist destinations. (B,L)

DAY 8: El Calafate and Perito Moreno Glacier

This morning you will be collected from your hotel and transferred via the beautiful Patagonian and into Los Glaciers National Park, home to the world-famous Perito Moreno Glacier. Join a boat cruise on the lake where you will get up close to Mayo, Negro and Perito Moreno Glaciers and bear witness to the 74-meter-high glacier calving right in front of your eyes. Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the only glaciers left in the world that continues to advance forward. On return to El Calafate, enjoy the rest of the afternoon soaking up the atmosphere in this beautiful village. (B,L)

DAY 9: Depart El Calafate

There are no activities planned for today and a private airport transfer will collect you from your hotel and deliver you to El Calafate airport. Continue north to Buenos Aires or southwards to Ushuaia, the world’s most southern city. Ushuaia is also famous as the gateway for tourists travelling to Antarctica. Speak to our reservations staff about linking this itinerary to one of our 26 small ship expeditions to Antarctica from Ushuaia. Alternatively, you can choose to extend your Patagonian stay with a visit to El Chalten. (B)

• Take a direct flight from El Calafate to Ushuaia to create an ultimate, once-in-a-lifetime experience by adding a small-ship expedition cruise to Antarctica. With over 30 ships and dozens of different itineraries to choose from, our Destination Specialist can help you find the expedition of your dreams to visit the most remote and awe-inspiring destination in the world, Antarctica! 

• For the complete Patagonian experience, our 4 day / 3 night El Chalten Extension is a must for hiking enthusiasts or for those wanting to visit one of Patagonia's top-rated National Parks; The Glaciers National Park. Located 200km north of El Calafate, El Chalten offers breathtaking views of Mount Fitz Roy and the challenging 23km hike to to the viewpoint consistently ranks as one of South America's best hikes. 

• Finish your Patagonian experience with our 4 day / 3 night Buenos Aires Extension package. This package combines history, tango, restaurants and stunning architecture to showcase the very best this cosmopolitan city has to offer and is a perfect itinerary to the start or finish of your time in Argentina.  

Being environmentally accountable is a crucial part of our organisation. Chimu is currently striving towards using less paper, taking several initiatives to do so and tracking our progress along the way. Our goal: A paperless organisation. For this reason, all information given to you will be sent electronically. We encourage those who choose to travel with us to support our aspirations and actions and ask that you reconsider printing out documentation. To view these documents, you can download them to your iPad or portable computer before and during your trip.

Chimu is passionate and dedicated to sustainability measures and understands the crucial part sustainability plays within the tourism industry.

We use local guides and office staff to both maximise local employment opportunities and minimise carbon footprint. Local guides also ensure you benefit from the intimate knowledge, passion and culture of the country you’re visiting. Our guides are all highly qualified (most with university degrees) or equip with many years of experience and are paid above the standard wage. Whether it be our knowledgeable local guides, locally produced meals or the transport on tour, we do not use imported goods when local products are available. We aim to minimise our impact on the environment and give as much back as possible to the communities we work in.

During your tour you will stay at Hotel Las Torres. Protecting the wilderness of the Tierra del Fuego National Park is at the heart of Las Torres philosophy. On top of critical conservation activities such as trail maintenance and waste management, Hotel Las Torres also engages in scientific investigation and provides essential educational services in the region. They also work regularly with Chilean schools to improve environmental performance through expeditionary educational programs.While visiting the many national parks, heritage sites, museums and landmarks our travellers are encouraged to explore remain culturally aware and sensitive. We further encourage you to buy appropriate souvenirs and discourage the buying of anything wrongfully made or taken from the environment i.e. shells and endangered species products. Information on how you can be environmentally conscious, and travel responsibly will be made available in our Travellers Guides and provided during your travels by guides and staff

For more information on our sustainability policies, including how we are striving towards being a paperless organisation, click HERE