Torres del Paine - Jan 2018

Old Nov 2nd, 2017, 07:26 AM
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Torres del Paine - Jan 2018

My husband and I are going to TdP in Jan 2018 for 4 nights and we are very last minute with our bookings. So we have limited choices and most hotels are only offering all inclusive packages at this time. In dire need of advice from folks who've stayed at one of these hotels or spent time in TdP in general. Here are our options -
- We are getting Patagonia Camp for 2 nights (all inclusive) in their suite yurts at a discounted price (almost that of their usual yurts) for USD 2700.
- We are getting Hotel Rio Serrano for USD 3500 for 4 nights (all inclusive).
- We are getting Hotel del Paine on a B&B basis for 4 nights at USD 200 per night. Transfers to/fro Punta Arenas are USD 250-300 one way for the two of us. F&B is separate of course.

Given everything is super expensive at the time of the year, would you pick -
1. Option 1: 4 nights in a deluxe room (all inclusive package) at Rio Serrano OR
2. Option 2: 2 nights in a luxury suite yurt at Patagonia Camp (all inclusive) and 2 nights at the budget Hotel del Paine (B&B only) OR
3. Option 3: 2 nights in the suite yurt at Patagonia Camp + 2 nights at Rio Serrano (both all inclusive)?

I am checking with Hotel Rio Serrano if they may consider a B&B option - Patagonia Camp has said no. We don't want Hotel del Paine for all 4 nights even though it'll be super cheap as it doesn't have the best reviews.

I am leaning towards the 2nd or 3rd options because the luxury of Patagonia Camp and novelty of the yurts is super alluring but it means moving hotels. We do need to figure out the flow of events from Patagonia Camp to Rio Serrano or Hotel del Paine should we move, i.e. how do we commute, which activity can we still do that day (e.g. a tour in the afternoon might be possible), etc. Any suggestions should we decide to move?

We are not into intense hiking, mainly keen on seeing the glaciers (Grey, Balmaceda and Serrano) and Laguna Azul including other beautiful lakes and locales. Open to short hikes/long walks/boat trips. Not sure if we should rent a car since we have all inclusive stays and can do excursions with the hotels though glaciers are generally not included. Should we rent a car even if we have to go with all inclusive packages? It sounds like having a car is the best way to enjoy idyllic long drives to enjoy the park. What pricing are we looking at for car rentals on average? Do we need a 4x4 or a regular sedan/SUV would do?

The hotel choice was between staying close to the Lago Grey area or to the Laguna Azul area so we picked the former based on hotel availability. Nearly all of these hotels offer a Full Paine excursion that takes you to Laguna Azul so we should be covered there.

On affordability, this is one part of our 5.5 weeks trip where we are open to splurging. Hence why we are even considering Patagonia Camp and Hotel Rio Serrano with their all inclusive options.

Sorry for so many details but I feel like the context might help folks guide me. Thank you so much in advance! Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.
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Old Nov 2nd, 2017, 11:37 AM
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We stayed at Rio Serrano and were very happy with all aspects of it, although we did not have excursions included but all meals were. Patagonia Camp is further outside of the park boundaries and near to Rio Serrano versus the north side of the park. It seems a bit redundant but if moving and doing two nights and two nights saves some money, I think I would.
We had a car (a regular one) and were happy that we did. You have all of your excursions paid for so it might not be worth it except you may save money on the cost of the rental vs a RT to Arenas (if that is what you are doing). "Idyllic long drives" are a bit difficult due to the lack of gas available in or even near the park but if you are doing some excursions with the hotel, then you may not need to drive as much as we dd.
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Old Nov 2nd, 2017, 06:52 PM
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Thank you, Odie1. Your comments on other reads for TdP have been really helpful too.

Can you guide me on what it may cost to rent a car for 4 days from Punta Arenas (return in PA as well)?

Essentially, the reasons we are even considering a car rental are two fold -
1. To commute from Patagonia Camp to the other lodging (Rio Serrano or Hotel del Paine)
2. To drive around the park and enjoy some flexibility for shorter walks after the excursions included in the package

Our transfers from and to PA are also included in the all inclusive packages (not for Hotel del Paine which on a B&B basis only) which makes it feel redundant to hire a car though it'll make life easier within the park for sure (all package excursions include transfers too).

But the other stuff to consider are excursions where we have to pay extra on top of the all inclusive package (e.g Grey glacier navigation or Serrano and Balmaceda glacier navigation). It may help us save money if we book those tours directly and use our car for the transfer or do you suggest that we arrange the transfers with the hotels as these drives may be complex?

Finally, any chance anyone here might have feedback on Hotel del Paine? The TA reviews aren't promising but I was wondering if anyone on this forum might have seen it in person by any chance. The reason I'm considering this option is because it's on B&B basis and significantly cheaper than Rio Serrano if we do 2 nights at Patagonia Camp and 2 nights elsewhere.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2017, 03:46 AM
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I did a quick check for a random four days from PA and was getting under $300 so I think it might be worth checking. We met people in the park that had purchased a gas canister and brought extra gas with them. We would have done the same had we thought about that. Will the hotels not credit you some if you do not use their transportation?

I am surprised that Patagonia Camp will not transport you to Rio Serrano hotel, even if not for a nominal fee. We loved being able to stop and take a few small walks as well. We drove ourselves to Glacier Grey and did the walk out to the viewpoint (we did not do the navigation), the drives are not complex at all. There is pretty much the main road and then a few side roads. Driving is very slow though and time consuming.

If Hotel del Paine is on a B&B basis, where do you plan to eat your other meals? You will have to drive and that takes gas. Or you just pay a la carte to them? I do not remember seeing the place but I know we considered staying there as well however Rio Serrano was not nearly as expensive as you are quoting for it-I am a bit shocked at those prices!

Looking at your options, I think if you did two and two the price with the extra costs is going to be somewhere close to the Hotel Rio Serrano four days. If you stayed all four at Hotel del Paine then the savings might be worth it. I think I would opt for one of the individual cabins though.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2017, 07:00 AM
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Good advice from odie1. We drove and enjoyed the freedom of going where we wanted when we wanted. That said as pointed out gasoline is a fortune. We did buy a small a mount for our return and it was very expensive. Taking up some yourself would be the way to go if you decide to rent a car. Have a great trip - loved TdP.
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Old Nov 4th, 2017, 06:46 PM
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Thank you so much. Odie1 and yestravel, we are sold on hiring a car. Will find the best deal and book in advance for pickup and return in PA.

Quick question about Punta Arenas - is there stuff to see there? Should we plan our return flight for very late on 20th Jan to spend half a day in PA before flying out or maybe we can do the Penguins tour from Isla Magdalena that afternoon? Would you suggest that?

On hotels, Hotel del Paine is out. Reviews are bad, F&B and excursion are not included, etc. We've negotiated the price a bit more on the other two because we are hiring our own car (not a lot - 5% discount) and are considering 2 nights all-inclusive in Patagonia Camp and 2 nights all-inclusive in Rio Serrano. This option is about USD 500 more expensive than all 4 nights all-inclusive in Rio Serrano but the novelty of staying in a suite yurt with a hot jacuzzi on the balcony overlooking the lake is really appealing to us. Again, if someone has stayed at Patagonia Camp and can tell us that it's not worth all that much, we can be convinced otherwise. For now, I am not finding a lot of info from folks who've stayed there besides TA reviews where reviewers rave both about PC and Rio Serrano.
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Old Nov 4th, 2017, 06:50 PM
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I should have mentioned that all transfers were being included if we weren't hiring our own - i.e. PA airport to Patagonia Camp (by PC), Patagonia Camp to Rio Serrano (by RS), and Rio Serrano to PA airport (by RS). We will enjoy a total $300 USD discount for our own car rental which will cost about the same + fuel but will give us the flexibility to make our own transfers and drive around with freedom. Again, we've never done all-inclusive packages so I don't know how much freedom we'll have given the included excursions but it feels worth it to have the option. We should be fine on gas as we won't drive nearly as much given that we'll be doing the included excursions for a large part of our trip. But let me know if I am picturing this wrong. Thanks!
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Old Nov 5th, 2017, 04:32 AM
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We enjoyed Punta Arenas for the architecture around the town green, walking along the Straits of Magellan and really enjoyed the drive out to and the walk around Fort Bulnes. We had wanted to go and see the museum that has the replica ship of Magellan's but we ran out of time. I am not sure about Magdalena as we did the penguins at Otway but I believe that area is closed now.

Again, make sure you stop in Natales for gas before heading into the park or maybe you want to email the hotels and see if there is any place in the park now to get fuel. We were last there four years ago.
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Old Nov 5th, 2017, 08:29 AM
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We were there almost 6 years ago. It's hard to say how much gas you will use --probably also depends upon the car you rent and how good the gas mileage is. We had friends who went after us and took up a gas container, but werent sure they actually needed it. Here is the exceprt from our TR re gas at TdP
"Supposedly, gasoline was available at Posada Serrano on the way back to our hotel. We got there at nightfall – Posada Serrano made Hosteria Lago Tyndall look palatial. We looked around. No pumps. We asked at the Posada. No problem – they had gas. They pumped it from a drum into a five liter plastic jug, then siphoned it in to our car. I bought ten liters – about two and a half gallons – of gasoline. It was the most expensive gasoline I’d ever bought in my life – over $8.00 a gallon..."

I liked Punta Arenas and we walked around, liked the architecture, went to the "famous" cemetry and into a "palace" of some sort.
You can read our TR for more descriptions.
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...-chile-arg.cfm

Don't know about the accommodtions you are considering. I don't even recall reading about Patagonia Camp as it is a place that would have interested me. What I do remember about accommodations is that everything was very expensive. Take food supplies with you because we found the food not good and expensive.
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Old Nov 18th, 2017, 09:25 PM
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Thanks for all help here. We are sorted on Patagonia Camp + Rio Serrano with all inclusive packages at both. Will also hire a car! Thank you.
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