RT2015

Hi there,

I am visiting El Calafate in November and looking forward to seeing Perito Moreno Glacier, but it seems as though you can't avoid paying $200 or more to hike on the ice. It looks amazing but given we are here in Australia only seeing the image from online I thought it was worth asking the question before we book.

Thanks,
RT

thursdaysd

I chose not to walk on it, and didn't feel I missed out as you can get really close on the balconies. Not sure what you mean by "can't avoid" it. When I went there was no "need" to do so, you could take tours that included it and tours that did not. I booked my tour through my hotel the day I arrived, but I could just as easily have walked down the main street and picked one of the many agencies.

mlgb

Do you have a need to tick a box that says "I walked on a glacier?"

It's hard for anyone else to answer these 'are they worth it' questions. I would look at some videos on youtube (search Perito Moreno Glacier Trekking)

Without trekking you will still get close enough to see the blue ice and should hear some sounds (cracking thunder etc).

Glacier visits do start to get redundant...They have them in NZ also, although how much you'd pay for a trek there I don't know.

odie1

We walked on it the first trip and then returned to the balconies three years later as we didn't have time for them before. We absolutely loved the experience on the glacier. It was magical and gave you a different perspective then you get from the balconies (which we thoroughly enjoyed and were glad we went back to see it from that perspective). If you have never hiked on a glacier before, (which we had not) I would say do it!

RT2015

Thanks all. I have hiked on the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand and enjoyed it but from the pics, the Perito Moreno looks better. We will probably do it but I will decide a little closer, when we book. My main interest in wanting to know what to do is because it will determine whether we have one or two nights in El Calafate, on the way to El Chalten. I want as much time in El Chalten as possible, but will only have three or four full days.

Thanks,
RT

yestravel

We walked on it and enjoyed it, but we have never walked on any other glacier. I think its a very different experience than just looking at it. Plus the guides provided some interesting info as we trekked about. We did it a few years ago and certainly didnt pay $200 a person. That's USD and not ARG?

RT2015

Thanks yestravel. Everything I can find online says only one company does the hike on the ice and it costs at least USD$200, by the time you pay your entry to the park. That's more for me as I am Australian. The Big Ice company's website also says you have to be aged 50 or under, which sounds bizarre. My partner is well into his 50s and does IM triathlon. We will be doing the W Trek right before this which seems a whole lot more strenuous.

RT

yestravel

Hmmm... I wonder if you are doing something different than what we did. We were there ~4-5 years ago. We picked up a tour intown. There were lots of them, but they were all the same price and itn. We paid one amount that included everything. They picked us up early and it was pretty much all day. There was an age limit and I was over it and did fine. Nobody checked or asked anything. It was sort of funny - when we started out I was having a really difficult time walking --each time I took a step my crampon stayed in the ice and I had to really pull to get it out. I remember thinking there might be something to this age limit! At some point one of the guides motioned me over and adjusted my crampons which had not been put on properly by the guide. Whew-what a difference that made.

yestravel

I just looked and your tour is different. We were on the ice maybe 90 minutes or so. Yours is 3 hours.

BTW - where in Australia? We were there this past US winter and really liked it.

thursdaysd

Yes, as I posted a while back there are loads of agencies in El Calafate all selling glacier tours. There is no reason to book ahead unless you are arriving late on day one and leaving on day three. And in that case I would contact my hotel and see what they can book.

RT2015

Thanks yestravel, that is funny about the crampons! Glad you weren't too old though ;-)

We live about 90 minutes south of Melbourne, in a coastal town close to the Great Ocean Road. Where did you visit?

Thanks thursdaysd ... it's just hard to navigate some of the web information (don't even get me started on the challenges I am having working out if it's possible to hire a tent at every stop we want to make on the W Trek in Chile!) and we do indeed arrive on day one and leave on day three, bound for El Chalten and then Bariloche after that. I am half thinking to leave the glacier and head straight to El Chalten as it is taking us another two nights just to see it. But I know it looks worth it!

RT

thursdaysd

The glaciers were amazing! The blue was so intense it looked artificial.

See: https://kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/...Perito-Moreno/

https://kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/...More-Glaciers/

thursdaysd

Forgot to mention that the majority of tourists I encountered in SA were Spanish - or Portuguese - speakers. You might find using google translate and searching for Spanish language outfits got you more options. Might work better for tents than a tour, or you would wind up with a Spanish speaking tour guide.

yestravel

The glacier is amazing.

Loved Melbourne-great city. We went from there to the GOR so probably went by where you lived. Also visited TASMANIA, Sydney, Blue Mts, the Grampians and the Gold Coast. Lovely country will wonderful people.

RT2015

Oh you saw some lovely parts of Australia then yestravel. Our world is a stunning place and we are lucky to explore it but sometimes it's good to remember what we have right here is pretty spectacular too. That being said, I can't wait for our South America trip!

RT2015

Thanks thuradaysd. I will try your suggestion and I think we will end up going there!