First, after disembarking from the Silver Sea, a chartered flight will take everyone back to Punta Arenas to check into a hotel in Punta. You need to inform the Silversea staff to cancel the return flight to Santiago. The next day, you can either rent a car and drive or take a Bus-sur bus to Puerto Natales.
🏨 The hotels in Natales are generally average, with those by the seaside being slightly better.
🏔️ Tours do not need to be booked online in advance; you can book them at an agency in town. For those who are lazy or traveling with parents, opt for a Full Day Tour. There’s no need to worry about choosing between the W or O circuits. The tour picks up from the hotel around 8 AM and returns around 7:30 PM.
About 5-6 hours are spent on the bus, with stops for sightseeing and taking photos. The entire trip involves 1-2 hours of hiking. There’s no need to bring food for lunch as there are restaurants available for hot meals, and the service center sells water, coffee, and snacks. It’s not boring at all, and it’s not tiring.
My parents were very satisfied. 😀
🚢 There’s no need to join the glacier cruise tour after returning from Antarctica.
Those with hiking experience can try the Three Towers Hiking Tour (the whole hike takes 8-10 hours).
It is not recommended to self-drive in Torres del Paine due to the lack of mobile phone signal. We saw 2-3 overturned cars during our tour, and many vans stopped by the roadside to change tires.
🎟️
For some reason, Chilean agencies do not sell tickets for Torres del Paine. You need to buy them online in advance, making sure to purchase the ticket category for foreigners. See Figure 5 for the ticket check.
🍽️ Restaurants:
📍Antarctica – The recommended Chinese restaurant is not good, and the owner’s attitude is also poor.
📍EI Asador Patagónico – Specializes in grilled lamb chops and steak. Friends say it’s pretty good.
📍Restaurant La Burbuja – Met some Koreans 🇰🇷 who highly praised this place while hiking in Torres del Paine, so we tried it. The beef soup was excellent, and the soupy dishes suit the taste of people from the Jiangnan region.
This time in Patagonia, I saw 🌈🐆🐮🐑🦙. Very lucky! I will definitely come back if I have the chance.
Lastly, please buy your tickets from Puerto Natales (PNT) to Santiago (SCL) well in advance. The price difference can be significant, and during the peak tourist season, flights are often fully booked.
The best-looking photos are taken by @Paopao’s photographer.
