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Looking for the best tours to Torres del Paine National Park? You’re in the right place!
Sure, you can plan a visit to this stunning national park on your own, but that isn’t always as easy as it sounds. While traveling through South America, we learned that if we have a short timeline, it’s often easier to book a tour. Tours will take care of logistics like driving, where to go, and will help you learn all about this beautiful area.
So we’ve rounded up the 5 best tours to Torres del Paine National Park. Each is a bit different, so no matter where you’re staying, what your timeline is, or what your budget is – we have options!
Quick Pick: Our Favorite Tour
Don’t have time to read the full article?
Our personal FAVORITE tour is this full-day tour from Puerto Natales! Explore lakes, caves, glaciers, and even squeeze in a hike on a day trip. It makes visiting the national park super easy! Check out all the 5-star reviews and book this tour here.
Tip: Reserve this tour now and get FREE cancellation up to 24 hours before you go.
Best Torres del Paine National Park Tours
1. Torres del Paine and Milodon Cave from Puerto Natales
Not every tour to Torres del Paine has to involve multiple days of strenuous hikes. In fact, that’s just why we love this day tour from Puerto Natales! You’ll see a lot on this 12-hour day, and it includes transportation from Puerto Natales, but you will still have to pay the admission fee to get into the park.
This is a smaller group tour, and we found that it was the perfect size for us to meet people but still get to enjoy the experience as our own separate group.
One of my favorite parts of this tour is exploring the Cave of the Milodón. Inside these incredible caves, a German explorer found the remains of a milodon – basically a giant sloth that went extinct thousands of years ago. This was one of my favorite quick stops on the tour!
We also explored the Amarga Lagoon in the national park and saw a lot of scenic viewpoints. Keep an out for wildlife like red foxes and condors! Each of these viewpoints showed us something unique about the park, and I loved seeing how vast and diverse this area was. It made for one heck of a lunch stop!
The amazing sights continue with a short hike to Grey Lake – a stunning glacier-fed lake. Have your camera ready for this one! This is where you can lace up your hiking boots for a short hike with incredible views.
You get a lot of free time at the stops to explore on your own or to stay with the guides and hear about the different areas of the park. This tour really pays for itself when it comes to getting you to the park and allowing you to see so much of Torres del Paine. You really experience a lot just $91 USD!
Check out the dozens of 5-star reviews and book this tour here.
2. Full Day Torres del Paine from Punta Arenas
You can still visit Torres del Paine on a day trip if you’re staying in Punta Arenas! While it’s a bit longer of a day, I think this is a great option if you’re on a time crunch but still want to see the stunning national park. It’s worth it – trust me!
This private tour to Torres del Paine makes your visit seamless. It’s about a 4-hour drive, so snuggle in and relax while the driver does all the work for you. Since it’s a private tour, you can stop for bathroom breaks when you need to and move at your own pace, which I really appreciate on long full-day tours like this one.
Once you reach Torres del Paine, the itinerary will follow a format similar to the previous tour. You’ll stop by Lake Sarmiento Lookout, hike to the Salto Grande waterfall, and see Lake Pehoé. Then you’ll make it to Lake Grey and the iconic Grey Glacier! Here you can cross the suspension bridges and admire the sea of ice – it’s incredible!
The tour guide will then take you to the Mildon Cave for a little exploring.
You must purchase entrance tickets to both Torres del Paine National Park and the Mildon Cave online in advance. They aren’t receiving payments at the park and it’s not included in the tour price!
Otherwise, this tour includes your guide and transportation. Bring some extra money for lunch and I suggest packing snacks! You can book this private tour from Punta Arenas for $150 USD per person.
Book this tour here to get flexible payment and cancellation options!
3. Torres del Paine Mirador Las Torres Hike from Puerto Natales
Looking to knock out a challenging hike in just one day? This is the tour for you!
This advanced hiking day tour takes you to so many beautiful spots around the park, but the hike is certainly more difficult. You’ll be treated to stunning views of lakes, forests, glaciers, and even the Almirante Nieto Mountain as you make your way to the base of Torres del Paine. These panoramic views will take your breath away – or maybe it’s the 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of trekking!
The hike takes about 4 hours up and 4 hours down, starting with an easy elevation gain before hitting switchbacks. Much of this area is relatively laid-back and you’ll get a chance to see lakes, a valley, and really take in all of the sights of Torres del Paine National Park.
Eventually, you will hit ‘the moraine’ where the most challenging ascent takes place, and lasts from 45 minutes to just under an hour and a half, depending on your speed. From here, you’ll have a front-row seat to the showpiece of the park – the three incredible granite ‘towers’ of Torre Sur, Torre Central, and Torre Norte.
Because this is a more challenging hike, I wouldn’t recommend this one for young children or anyone with any health concerns. Make sure you also have valid travel insurance – that’s required for this trek.
If you are up for this hike with its payoff of stellar views, then go for it! This is the tour I would recommend if you only have one day to spend in the park. You do this and you’ll come away feeling like you saw some of the best parts!
It’s also reasonably priced for a full-day excursion with a price tag of $110 USD that includes all your transportation, a professional guide, and hiking poles. You’re set up for success with this one, that’s for sure. You can either pack a lunch or purchase one at the campsite along the route – but bring lots of snacks and water! Also make sure to have cash on hand for the park entrance fee (about $55 USD) which isn’t included.
Reserve this epic tour here and get FREE cancellation 24 hours before departure.
Why We Book Tours with Viator
Viator is a trusted online booking system for tours around the world! We almost always book our tours using Viator for a couple of reasons:
- Free cancellation on most tours – Most of the tours on Viator allow you to cancel and get a full refund up to 24 hours in advance. This is handy in case plans change, or if booking an outdoor activity, the weather forecast is looking grim.
- Reserve now and pay later – You can secure your spot on some of the most popular tours well in advance and not pay until closer to the day of the tour.
- Lowest price guarantee – If you happen to find the same tour at a lower price elsewhere, Viator will refund you the price difference.
- Pay in your chosen currency – Avoid costly international transaction fees by choosing to pay in your home currency.
- Peace of mind – When booking with tour operators you find in person on the street or in small booking offices, you are often promised one thing and given another. This online platform holds tour operators accountable with a written description of inclusions as well as the opportunity for customers to leave reviews.
Check out the Viator website here! Or, for more info, read our detailed review about Viator here.
Related Read: Let us help you plan your entire trip and check out our 2-week Patagonia itinerary for our top travel tips, recommendations, and favorite activities!
4. Torres del Paine W Trek (5-Day Hike)
If the last tour intrigued you, but you’re really more of an avid hiker and want to take on the famed W Trek, I don’t blame you! This 5-day W Trek tour gets you fully immersed in the trail for days at a time.
You’ll get to sleep in a refugio (mountain hostel) at night, as opposed to camping in a tent. Which, after trekking through mountains all day, is a very nice perk! However, if the trail is super busy, you might end up tent camping – just keep that in mind.
The price also covers everything else on the trek, from entry into Torres del Paine National Park to your round-trip bus transfer to and from Puerto Natales. You’ll get a catamaran transfer across Lake Pehoé (a standard part of the W Trek), breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It’s important to note that this is a self-guided hike. While booking this tour won’t include a guide or porter, I think it’s worth the money because it will take care of booking accommodation, all of your meals, and transportation to and from Puerto Natales for $1,912 USD. Which, without this service, would be a lot harder to plan!
Expect to spend hours a day hiking, exploring, and seeing all that ‘The W’ has to offer.
What to expect each day:
- Day 1 – Start out by leaving Puerto Natales and heading over to Torres del Paine National Park. Next, check into the Refugio or campsite that you will sleep in. You will have time for a short hike, but it will be around 6 pm so you may also choose to meet some fellow hikers and rest before you begin your journey. Today is all about getting settled and ready for the rest of the trek!
- Day 2 – After breakfast, you’ll take a day pack, your packed lunch, and set off for your hike of the day. You’ll hike through the Los Cuernos area and pass by the stunning Lake Norsdenkjöld! This is about 5 hours of trekking and you’ll end at the Refugio Los Cuernos.
- Day 3 – Today is an easier day, as you don’t gain a ton of elevation as you cross the French Valley. you will be moving campsites, as you begin crossing over new terrain on the W Trek. This is the least demanding portion of the hike, so take it easy and enjoy the scenery! you’ll end at Refugio Paine Grande
- Day 4 – Your hike will begin to get steeper on the second to last day, but it’s worth it because this is one of the most scenic days! You’ll head toward the Grey Glacier and spend the night at Refugio Grey. I love this day because you can explore the hanging bridges over the glacier once you reach the hut and drop your bag.
- Day 5 – This final day of trekking takes you to heading toward Refugio Paine Grande in the morning. You can then choose to take the catamaran across Lake Pehoe in the morning or late afternoon, depending on what time you want to get back to Puerto Natales. Note: the afternoon boat will get you back to town around 10:30 pm.
Each day of this trek has its own challenges and rewards, but the views and the experience itself are hard to beat!
As great as the day tours are, a multi-day tour is one of those epic adventures that’s hard to beat. Because of the challenging hikes in this one, you’ll want to be a confident hiker for this one. If you can manage it, go for it! The stories you’ll have from this trip will be amazing.
This tour is likely to sell out – reserve your spot and pay later when you book it here.
5. Full-Day Tour from El Calafate
Finally, if you’re doing the whole Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego area, you could be staying in Argentina but wanting to get over to the Chilean side of things for a day. And I highly recommend you do! It’s one of my favorite day trips from El Calafate.
El Calafate in Argentina, is only 3 hours and 25 minutes from the park. It’s located to the north, unlike the other two Chilean towns that are closest to Torres del Paine.
If that sounds like your plans, and you want to come down to Torres del Paine for the day, check out this Full-Day Overland Tour from El Calafate.
This one involves more in the way of travel since it also crosses an international border and takes an unpaved road called ‘The Shortcut’ so it costs a little more at $200 USD for the day. It is worth it for the incredible access to areas that might not otherwise be available to you.
The 4×4 Overland Trucks are used to help go over unpaved roads and will take you around the park in a safe, unique, and fun way. In the same fashion as the other vehicle-based day tours, you’ll see all the park’s natural wonders while getting out and exploring at stops along the way.
The trucks will take you to a certain point and are quite the experience of their own, but you’ll also get to do lots of walking and exploring on foot. This isn’t too difficult or physically demanding, so almost everyone can participate.
Guides will assist travelers in getting across the border, and then you’ll get a chance to see Sarmiento Lake, Laguna Amarga, the Paine waterfall, Nordenskjöld Lake, Salto Grande, and Pehoé Lake. It’s definitely one of the best tours from El Calafate we’ve found!
T stops on this tour are similar to many of the other day tours, and even the longer multi-day treks. That just means that you truly make the most out of this day! You’ll ride in the trucks between different places in the park so that you can avoid day hikes and instead get to experience each location for a longer period of time, all while making it back to your accommodation that night.
You can expect to make it back to El Calafate around 7 or 8 pm, after a jam-packed day of exploring the Chilean side of the region.
Check out all the positive reviews and book this popular tour here, before it sells out.
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Thanks for reading!
If Torres del Paine National Park is in your travel plans, you’re in for quite the incredible experience. While it’s possible to plan a visit on your own, I loved taking a couple of tours here, so all the details were taken care of. I knew I would see the highlights and wouldn’t have to worry about transportation or missing out on something!
If you’re in the midst of planning a trip here, make sure to check out our other blogs about South America. We’ve traveled extensively around here and have discovered some real hidden gems and tips and tricks along the way.
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