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Can you get from Punta Arenas to El Calafate and other questions

Can you get from Punta Arenas to El Calafate and other questions

Old Jul 9th, 2009, 09:53 PM
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SnR
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Can you get from Punta Arenas to El Calafate and other questions

We are interested in taking the boat from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas--but then where? Friends took the O.A.T. tour that has a bus that goes there, but I couldn't really tell if there were regular buses and if they would take an age to get there. Preferable to fly? Could you see anything of TDP from the bus? By the way, would we freeze to death in Ushuaia and El Calafate in October? If you had to skip one, would you choose Ushuaia or Calafate?

Thanks!!
Sally in Seattle
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Old Jul 10th, 2009, 12:13 AM
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You can take a bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales, and then from Puerto Natales there are full-day minivan tours to TdP which do allow you to see quite a lot of the park including a few short walks if you want. (They all stop at the Milodon Cave also) The minivan tours are better than taking the "bus regular" between Natales and TdP. The tour would leave early in the morning so you would want to spend two nights in Puerto Natales (quite an attractive town on a fiord). In Punta Arenas there is an interesting cemetary (like the one in Buenos Aires) and town square. There are penguins and icebergs in the vicinity but I imagine you won't be needing any of those!
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Old Jul 10th, 2009, 04:32 AM
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There are busses or vans from Puerto Natales to El Calafate, I went as part of a LONG day trip that returned to Natales, but one man in the group, just stayed in Calafate. The day trip was to go see the Perito Moreno Glacier outside of Calafate, well worth the super long (13 hour) day. I booked mine through a tour group.
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Old Jul 10th, 2009, 03:16 PM
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Thanks, mlgb and Moai, good information. What about the choose one--Ushuaia or Calafate question?
Sally
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Old Jul 11th, 2009, 10:43 AM
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I haven't been to either since I went to the Chilean side of Patagonia only. I did do a little research when I was planning my trip and would have chosen Perito Moreno glacier and not Ushuaia. I also didn't answer the October question, but it isn't my first choice to go to the "Deep South", been there done that in New Zealand and spring can be very windy. Not sure about S. America if it is the same.
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Old Jul 14th, 2009, 12:39 PM
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The most awesome (but pricey) way to get from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia is via the Mare Australis or its sister ship www.australis.com We did this last October and will never forget the journey. We were pleasantly surprised by how moderate the weather was in Ushuaia but it can be windy and cool. Both cities were worth a brief stop but the real attraction is the surrounding outdoors. Ushuaia is quite beautiful where the ocean meets the Andes and it is La Fin de la Mundo.
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Old Jul 15th, 2009, 02:21 PM
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Thanks about the info on the cruise ships. Will have to put that into the equation of days and money and see what comes out. We have friends who did that and enjoyed it also.
Sally in Seattle
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