ken27

My wife and I will be in Chilean Patagonia next month for three days, staying at a hotel in Puerto Natales. One thing we wanted to do in the Torres del Paine Park was see the Grey Glacier by boat. My question has to do with getting from Puerto Natales to the the boat site, which I understand is near the Hotel Lago Grey. I've sent emails to the hotel but they don't respond. Can you take a shuttle bus, taxi or should we rent our own car for the day? The park is quite large and I'm unsure about the logistics for getting around, since we won't be with a tour company. Thanks for any insights you can provide!

odie1

Getting around with your own car would be fine and my preferable mode of transport. It's easily reachable from the Southern entrance.

mlgb

It is quite possible the hotel will NOT respond to you by email. Where are you staying? There are no regular buses that run to the departure point and private transfers are expensive. You could try calling. Or perhaps your best option is to try to work through whichever hotel you're at in Natales. Even if you have a car you have to book onto the cruise and to be sure you can get all the way to the departure point and back on a single tank of gas.

I wound up using the tour offered at Las Torres Hotel which included the glacier, as well as a few other stops. I was staying at their Refugio and if the full board guests didn't fill that excursion they opened it up to others.

mlgb

PS I was there nearly 10 years ago and Lago Grey wouldn't respond to inquiries then either! I think they work for their hotel guests and with other travel agencies. It is definitely a seller's market for transfers down there.

I don't know how long ago Odie1's trip was. The roads are better now so it may be easier.

ekscrunchy

So the cruise to the glacier is something one should do from Natales, before or after a stay in or near the park? Would you consider it a "must do" on a Patagonia trip that would be limited to TdP and Natales?

odie1

The glacier is in TdP so if you are staying in the park then you would plan on taking the boat trip while staying in the park. I have not taken the boat trip, I only walked the trail along the shore and out to the mirador. It was a rainy day when we did it, so it was a bit of a let down plus we had already done the hike on Perito Moreno which was fantastic. I thought there were other more interesting sights to take in but I suppose if you have never been up close to a glacier then it would probably be worth it.

jeep61

Sitting in our hotel in TDP waiting for transfer to Puerto Natales. We went on the Grey Glacier boat ride yesterday and it was terrific! We lucked out with a gloriotus clear day. The cruise was about three hours and well done. The walk on a pebble beach was not fun but it was worth it to see the glacier under blue skies. The people who stayed at the Grey hotel took a small boat to the boarding spot. Cannot help with getting to TDP from P Natales but there are transfer companies in town. This is a beautiful place!

mlgb

Any more details jeep61 on who they used for hotels and transfers?

I checked the mileage the other day and you should be able to do it as a round trip from Natales on a tank of gas if you get a good mileage car.

You could come in from the south and out via the east entrance and do a few other stops along the way. Not sure when sunset is next month but the daylight should be okay.

If you stay at Rio Serrano I think I've read they will sell a little gas if needed.

And I think you can book the glacier tour boat online. I don't know what happens if weather cancels or if March is after the peak season so you can wait til you get there. Again, I'd try to see if you Natales hotel can assist.

yestravel

We drove back and forth to TDP from PN. We were perhaps unnecessarily concerned about gas for getting back to PN. We did a fair amount if driving within TDP. We did buy gas at a premium price.