Patagonia
 

I am just wondering, is it lot cheaper to get a local travel in Chile then in US? I don't have a problem going by myself in Santiago, but If I am going to Patagonia, I prefer to get a tour guide. Do you guys have any idea, if I want to mimic the following trip: http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/na...ure/08535A.asp , how much do I have to paid if I decided to go with local tour? thanks

Alfren, I think you can get better fares if you do part of the trip by yourself. You can fly into Santiago and then to Punta Arenas.
Check this site, it is a very well known travel agency in Chile:
http://r5.cocha.com/produccion/start.nsf?Open

Also depending on your time, you can move from one place to another and then take a tour. It is not difficult to do it by yourself. You can catch a plane or a bus to get from Santiago to District Lake. To get to Torres del Paine you will have to fly from Santiago to Punta Arenas and then catch a bus to get to Puerto Natales. Once there you have to take another bus to get to Torres del Paine National Park.
There are maps of the park and some of the trails are easy to do by yourself. Lots of people in the park doing the same.

Thanks a lot, Helen, I felt more confidence going by myself now.

No problem! If you need anything else just give us a post!

; )

I forgot to tell you to check these websites:
www.lan.com (check on US and Chile, sometimes there are different fares)
www.skyairline.cl
www.aerolineasdelsur.cl

Happy trails!

Hello, I just posted a question on the same region. I am going to be visiting Buenos Aires, and and wanted to visit Souther Patagonia to see the glaciers. But the domestic flights are outrageous!

Is it feasible for me to have the experience by flying to Punta Arenas instead (which is a much much cheaper flight from BA)? Any advice is appreciated!

From Buenos Aires you can fly to El Calafate and then visit Perito Moreno Glacier.... AWESOME!!

Or you can fly to Santiago (from EZE) and head south to Punta Arenas

Thanks Helen! The flight cost to get to El Calafate is quite expensive. In your opinion, is Punta Arenas a viable alternative? Can you get to the glaciers easily from Punta Arenas?

Hollie,

If you are only interested on seeing glaciers, Perito Moreno Glacier is where you have to go.

If you enjoy outdoors, trekking and camping you have to go to Torres del Paine National Park. There you'll get to see a part of South Ice Field (Campos de Hielo Sur) called Grey Glacier. If you hike the long trail you'll see a beautiful and more complete view of the Ice Field....

Personally I prefer Torres del Paine although Perito Moreno and El Calafate are pretty too... In order to get better fares check the sites I mentioned above.

How long are you staying? What else are you planning to do?