Car Rental. El Calafate to Torres del Paine.
 

Has anyone rented a car for this trip? We are three persons
I would like to go to Torres del Paine from El Calafate. After much research I have found the following
options.

1. Take a bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales. Spend the night and take another bus the next morning to Torres del Paine.
Con: Too much time
Pro: Most economical

2. Private transportation: Private driver is $490 each way
Interhabit.com is $103 per person
Always Glacier is AR 310 (about $75) there and $45 back (different days)
Con: Expensive. For 3 it is $360. Tour starts at 5:30 am
Pro: No getting lost. Can get there in one day.

3. Rent a car. A Volkswagen 5 door car can be rented for 7 days for AR 1,680 (about $400). Plus gas
Pro: Freedom but chance of getting lost.
Con: Where to park . Hassle of driving.

Since the cost is not that different I am wondering if there are advantages to car rental. Or disadvantages.
Does anyone know? Are there great places to stop if you have your own transport?
Is parking a problem?
The car co. indicates crossing the border with the car is fine.
Will border crossing go faster with a car?
I would appreciate any experiences anyone has.

Thanks

Hi there, not sure if you went ahead with the car hire but we are thinking the same thing as you and wanted to know if it was a worthwhile / easy enough way to do torres del paine transfer from calafate...?

Thanks for any help!

This is an old thread, but to take a car across the border you need all sorts of special papers/insurance. We looked into it and it wasn't worth the trouble or expense for us. We took a bus from Puerto Natales to El Calafate - very easy and a pleasant trip.

There are some tours to Torres del Paine from El Calafate. If you don't want to take the bus you could take one of the tours and just not go back to El Calafate.