So.....

Back in July I set up the general " bones" of this trip....and am now ready to do the specifics

15 day Santiago to BA with 2 ports in Uruguay on a cruise ship-with a couple of days in Santiago before we board, and.... upon disembarcation in BA, we will fly to El Calafate where i will pick up a car (will try airmiles) As we arrive on a Sunday, our rental options I think might be limited.

Wherever we rent, they must be able to do the paperwork for Chile (???cost)
I decided that we were not going to do any bus transfers, and as you can not drop off the car in Chile from Argentina, we will return to El Calafate on the day before our morning flight back to BA.

All to say that, we have 11 nights in Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia, and I am very flexible on how to spend the time.....we have some ideas and some hotel bookings in place that can be changed.

I thought that we could drive directly to El Chalton on the day that we arrive, as it would be a good use of the latter part of the day and the days should be long in January

I would love to hear from you and review some itinerary suggestions

Sandy

Hi Sandy,

We spent almost three weeks in Southern Patagonia in December 2013, see my trip report here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...reath-away.cfm

We are returning this December to spend another six nights in El Chalten as well as 4 nights in Northern Patagonia.

Depending on your interests (which would really dictate exactly how many days you need to/should spend in each area), I would think about doing a trip similar to ours.

Day 1-Arrive El Calafate drive to El Chalten
Day 2-El Chalten
Day 3-El Chalten
Day 4-El Chaten
Day 5-El Calafate
Day 6-El Calafate (Perito Moreno trekking)
Day 7-Drive to Torres del Paine
Day 8-Torres del Paine
Day 9-Torres del Paine
Day 10-Torres del Paine
Day 11-El Calafate

Happy to answer any questions you may have!

Hi Odie

Thanks for your reply

That is pretty much how I have it set up-

In El Calafate in the middle of the trip, we are at an estancia on the way to the glacier for three nights-I see you think that it is too long and that the main sites are doable with a 2 night stay-I had considered that and have the option to stay for two nights-I had made an extra night reservation in parque torres del paene

How would you organize the day that you leave El Chalton and the following day? Do we have to book the glacier walk in advance if we decide to do it?

You used Rio de Serrano as your base in Torres de Paene
Is it well located to explore the entire park?
I have the possibility to stay there for all or part and then stay at Lago Grey-what are your thoughts?

Thanks

Sandy: Curious. Which cruise are you doing and what is the date? I have a deposit on Emerald princess Valpo to BA for Feb. 14, 2018. I may also extend the trip by flying back down to Patagonia. or I may cancel the cruise and just do a land based patagonia trip. I haven't decided yet but I have plenty of time to think about it.

I'll be watching here for how your trip planning goes.

Susie

Sandy-

You don't say what time of the year you are going nor do we know what your interests are so the above suggested itinerary is based on what I would do.
Three days in El Calafate is not unreasonable, especially if you will be staying at an estancia (that is an attraction in its own right).

Leaving from El Chalten in the morning would allow you time to look in the shops at El Calafate-there are some nice ones-then head out to Laguna Nimez.
The next day either do the mini hike on Perito Moreno or enjoy the day at your estancia and then the next day vice versa. We booked the walk the day before BUT we lucked out as we booked one of the last openings (again don't know what time of year you will be there).

We really liked the Rio Serrano. We drove out to Glacier Grey and I wouldn't have wanted to stay there as it felt more removed from the central road. If I were to split time I think I would split between Hotel Los Torres and either Rio Serrano or Hotel Lago Grey but not between Rio Serrano and Lago Grey. The Explora had a more central location but it is $$$$.

If you need to remove a night from either El Chalten or Torres del Paine, to make room for the three nights in El Calafate I think I would say take it from El Chalten (even though we obviously loved it). TdP is an immense area and it is slow going to cover it all. The extra day would come in handy there. BUT again, what are you hoping to do/see and what kind of travelers are you?

Hi all
We will be in Pantagonia for the second and third week of January
We are not interested in shopping and spent about five days at an estancia in Salta province a few years ago
We are really going for the nature and day hikes with comfortable accommodations for our older bods!!
We will be on a cruise for just over two weeks at Xmas
We have spent a month in Argentina four years ago and spent a chunk of time in BA, iguassu, and the northwest
Outstanding !!
This is out return trip to southern pantogonia

That is a very busy time of the year.
There are many amazing day hikes in El Chalten and TdP, not so much in El Calafate. Sounds to me like you are doing it right with allowing that much time in Patagonia. The more days you have in each place, the better your chances of are seeing the famed peaks in both. Do remember that you an experience all four seasons in one day, sometimes in a matter of a few hours, so be prepared for that.

I have done both land based an cruise touring on Patagonia.

How much time you stay at Torres del Paine depends on the time you plan to spend hiking vs soft touring. If you aren't going ot hike, you can see it in a full day from a more distant hotel, even from Puerto Natales by driving along he main road on the south side of the park and/or from the catamaran. YOu can also go in a "seat in van" tour from Puerto Na ales and see enough of the park incluing good views of the Cuernos. Views of the Towers ar more distant unless you want to do the full day hike there (from the Las Torres HOtel or Refugio). Hiring a car is also possible..but be aware of the issue with lack of gas stations. Las Torres also offers an assortment of tours from their hotel. They are less expensive and easier to book into than Explora. If you are going to Perito Moreno also I wouldn't include the zodiac to Glacier Grey.

If you are taking the cruise, with good weather you will be seeing Glacier Alley along the Beagle Channel (but not very close up). From Puerto Madryn you can go to the huge penguin colony at Punta Tombo..so don't need to include Isla Magdalena from Punta Arenas. You'll also have a chance to see 'better' penguins if you are able to land in the Falklands. Sometimes the weather conditions make landing there impossible. You'll also have time to visit Tierra del Fuego from Ushuaia. The forest at TdF is similar to what used to exist in Torres del Paine before the fire. I went toward the end of the cruise season and was lucky htat it was turning ot fall colors in TdFuego.

It is difficult and expensive to get to Torres del Paine one a cruise stop at Punta Arenas.