helen63

Last spring, I planned a trip to Patagonia for this November. We booked flights and other things.

At the time of planning, I was in decent physical shape.
Unfortunately, this trip did not happen, because I got very ill. I am recovering now, and planning to move this trip to next November.
However, due to my illness, I don’t think I will ever be in the same physical shape I ever was.
Is there a way for us still seeing Torres del Paine Park? I can walk for miles, but not up to any intense hikes, climbing, etc. Is there a way to still enjoy the park for someone like me?
Is there any way to see the towers without being on a long hiking route?

Thank you so much for your help!

thursdaysd

Sorry to hear about your health situation. I did a day trip by tour bus and had great views of the towers - but I was lucky with the weather. Click on my name for my TR.

You could also arrange transport to one of the hosteria in the park and do day hikes. The tour bus dropped one couple at a hosteria near Glacier Gray, and they would be picked up the next afternoon. If you allow time in Puerto Natales you could arrange something when you get there, unless it's high season.

yestravel

Absolutely -- there are many short hikes that are not horribly demanding. You can do portions of the longer hikes to fit your preference. At Glacier Grey there is a boat that goes up to the glacier that you could also take. The walk around the lake is lovely & quite easy as I recall. Plus, just visiting and seeing it from buses or taking short walks is still worth it. TdP remains one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. We had good weather & views all three days in March last year. It could be windy and a cloud would float by, but mostly sun and blue skies.

Hope u make your trip and enjoy it.

yestravel

You can also read about the hikes we did in our TR
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...-chile-arg.cfm
By the time we reached TdP I was having some knee issues so we adjusted our hikes accordingly.

mlgb

You can take a "seat in van" day tour from Puerto Natales that includes stops along the southern road through the park.

You can take the catamaran Pudeto to Paine Grande

You can take the Glacier Grey boat, as mentioned.

Also the Turismo 21 de May cutter from Puerto Natales up the Ultima Esperanza Sound is a lovely trip.


There are many walks of a few hours that are light to moderate, however you will need transportation to the trail points unless on a tour.

Hotel Las Torres has some hike descriptions on their website, I took their Full Day tour which includes the Glacier Grey excursion.

http://www.lastorres.com/excursion/half-day/
http://www.lastorres.com/excursion/full-day/

helen63

Thursdaysd, Mlgb, Yestravel,

Thank you so much for letting me know all this options! This is very encouraging, so I can book my tickets again.

Yestravel, I actually read your report back in May, when I started planning my original trip. And I enjoyed it a lot! I will need to read it again.

Thursdaysd, I will make sure to read yours.

I really appreaciate your help!!!

mlgb

Trip report now nearly 4 years ago! As you can see I did not rent a car and relied on the available busses and shuttles. To get to Lago Grey, the least expensive option for one person was to take that tour from Hotel Las Torres.

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...-del-paine.cfm

helen63

Mlgb, I think I did not see your trip report until now. I will read it, thank you for sharing.
Seems like we have good options!

teadrinker51

How much walking you do in Torres del Paine is entirely up to you. As others have noted a bus tour around the park will cover the main sights with minimal walking. This is how I had visited the park, I am not fond of hikes so the bus trip was perfect for me. There are many companies that operate day trips to the park from Puerto Natales. I had used, Comapa, take a look at their website (www.comapa.com) for the various tours they offer. Comapa was alright, they did a decent job, my main complaint is that the guide spent more time speaking in Spanish and gave little information in English (I only speak English). If this is important to you, you may want to avoid a bilingual tour if possible.