We flew to El Calafate for two reasons. First, it is the southern entry point for Parque Nacional Los Glaciers – specifically the Perito Moreno Glacier – and, second, it is the closest airport to El Chaltén.
Our plane landed mid-morning. We arrived with no real concrete plan on how to get to our hotel, Mabra Suites. A private transfer for the 13 mile (21 kilometer) ride into town from the airport cost $40,000 Ar (about $28 USD). Taxis quoted a slightly better price, but then added on 15% if you paid by credit card instead of cash. Uber is not an option. I wish it were, as those prices would probably drop quite a bit with real competition.
For a quick comparison, the 30 mile (49 kilometer) ride to/from Palermo and EZE, the main international airport in Buenos Aires, only cost us about $20 USD with Uber. In Córdoba, the 11 mile (18 kilometer) Uber ride to/from the airport and centro only cost us about $9 USD. Basically the airport taxis and private transfers in El Calafate are making a killing off tourists. I wasn’t sure whether to admire the capitalist spirit or be pissed off.
We ended up buying roundtrip tickets with VES, a shuttle van ride sharing service operating between the airport and anywhere you want to go in town. Roundtrip tickets cost $25,000 Ar per person (about $18 USD). Still steep for a carpool in a van, but a lot less expensive than a taxi.
For the ride into town, we gave VES our drop off location. For the return trip, we provided our pickup location and flight information. Based on the flight, were told a pickup time. It was only a few minutes after buying our tickets that we got an email confirmation for the return. All very well handled by VES.
The potential downside to ride sharing into town is waiting at the airport for the van to fill up, and then hoping you are not the last to be dropped off. We got lucky. We were the last two on the VES van, leaving the airport immediately after we boarded, and the third drop off. It could not have been better.
I mostly got over the aggravation of the cost of transportation during the ride to our hotel. Mostly.
El Calafate is really touristy with prices to match. I could not help but think that its prices are being raised continuously as long as tourists keep coming. We came to El Calafate, and spent two nights at Mabra Suites, for the sole purpose of visiting Perito Moreno Glacier. There is no other reason to stay in El Calafate other than to see the glacier.
Our plan was to spend the first afternoon walking around town and the nature reserve, and going to the glacier the following day. Several bus companies offer round trip rides to/from Perito Moreno Glacier for about $50,000 Ar to $60,000 Ar per person ($35 to $42 USD). We intended to take an afternoon bus in the hopes of seeing icebergs calving from the glacier.
The weather forecast, however, changed our plans. During the van ride to the hotel, we realized that the weather was good today, with rain forecast all day tomorrow. Not knowing the details about the afternoon bus schedules, and not willing to miss this window of great weather, we hastily arranged for a private driver to take us to the park for $160,000 Ar or $120 USD.
Based on conversations with other travelers who had hired private drivers to go to the glacier, we knew we were overpaying by $20,000 to $30,000 Ar, but did not care. A last minute booking to take advantage of perfect weather was worth it. Besides, our driver was happy to take American dollars, which meant we did not have to make numerous ATM withdrawals or pay a 15% credit card fee on top.
Having a private driver, even at a greater cost, came with a few unexpected advantages. First, he offered to take us to a convenience store to get cokes and snacks for the drive, which was good since we hadn’t eaten lunch. Actually I think he wanted food and drinks for the trip, but it was still a nice gesture.
Second, he volunteered to take us to the El Calafate sign on the lake for typical tourist sign pictures. Third, he stopped several times during the drive at scenic spots for photographs of Lago Argentino, and also stopped at an overlook of the glacier inside the park. A bus isn’t stopping for drinks and photographs along the way.
Also, it takes two people no time at all to get through the park ticket office. This was particularly true as we just showed our annual passes (instead of paying the $45,000 Ar per person fee, about $30 USD). I can’t imagine how long it takes a bus full of tourists to buy park passes. Finally, both options – private driver and bus – promise about three hours of exploring time at the glacier. I’m sure we could have paid our driver extra for additional time, but we did not think it would be necessary.
Overall, we were quite pleased with having a private driver even with the additional cost. This was even more true the next day, as it rained almost all day as forecast.
The drive from El Calafate to Perito Moreno Glacier takes 1.5 hours. But the drive is beautiful and does not seem that long. Once at the park you have a couple of options. The walking trails are free. Hiking excursions on the glacier itself or a boat ride on the lake cost extra. We did not feel the need to hike on the glacier itself or get on a boat just to see the glacier closeup. While the boat ride will give you a better perspective on just how massive the glacier is, it really did not interest us. We wanted to admire the wider view.
There are four designated walking trails – raised metal boardwalks – that intersect with each other: green (Wood Trail); red (Low Trail); yellow (Central Trail); and, blue (Coast Trail). The trail colors are well marked and the signs are clear. Everyone pretty much starts on the yellow trail as it is accessed across from the café, gift shop, restrooms, and designated visitor drop off point.
We skipped the green trail, as it is just a shortcut to the far southern end of the red trail. Instead we took the yellow trail directly to the red trail, which overlooks the southern part of the glacier. The red trail is closest to the lake, so be prepared to go down (and then up) a lot of steps. There are designated viewing areas along all trails. None were really crowded during our visit. There are also plenty of places just to stop and look along the boardwalk. Basically that is all you do on the trails – walk, stop, look, repeat.
After going partway down the red trail we reversed course and went back to the viewpoints along the yellow trail, which are at a slightly higher elevation and directly across from the center of the glacier. The yellow trail has the greatest number of viewpoints and benches.
Our driver asked that we finish our visit by walking out the blue trail, as it ends at the parking lot. The blue trail is the longest. It has several overlooks at the northern end of the glacier before turning east and winding along the lake shore. Honestly the blue trail is not that interesting. Had we known this in advance, we’d have made different arrangements with our driver to pick us up at an exact time where we were dropped off by the café.
We spent about two and a half hours on the boardwalks. By the time we met our driver and got back to El Calafate, Stephanie had selected Cervecería Artesanal Chopen El Calafate for dinner. We split two empanadas and a steak with a few beers thrown in. It was pretty good. The perfect way to end our day.
Before I forget to mention, there are a lot of stray dogs in El Calafate. A lot. But they seem happy, are not aggressive, and are definitely well fed.
After a rainy day killing time around town, it was time to catch a Chaltén Travel bus to El Chaltén. Busses pretty much run all day between El Calafate and El Chaltén. We chose Chaltén Travel because the busses looked nice and the schedule was perfect. The only irritation was that we had to purchase our tickets on BusBud because the Chaltén Travel website would not accept our credit card.
Thankfully the cost for our taxi to the El Calafate bus station was quite reasonable. I guess it is only the rides to and from the airport that are massively overpriced.
El Calafate’s bus terminal charges a municipal tax, $4,000 Ar per person (about $2.80 USD), which you have to pay before boarding the bus. The drivers are responsible for collecting the tax receipt before you board. After handing over our receipts, the driver simply checked our names against a passenger manifest. Boarding was pretty quick and easy.
Baggage handlers placed our suitcases in the luggage hold. Apparently they work for tips, as a sign was prominently stuck on the side of the bus advertising this fact. Though I was reluctant to pay a random baggage handler a tip, Stephanie insisted. So we handed over a few small bills totaling less than $1. Most folks did not tip.
The bus was as nice as expected. We bought tickets in the comfortable first class seats on the lower level. The upper level seats definitely have better views, but we preferred the comfort. Surprisingly the bus had really good wi-fi for the entire journey, though we spent most of the trip taking photos out the window rather the scrolling on the internet.
On the way the bus stopped at the El Calafate airport to pick up more passengers. If you are heading straight to El Chaltén, this is the way to do it. Fly to El Calafate in the morning and take an early afternoon bus direct to El Chaltén.
Now it’s finally time to hike.
Garrett and Stephanie
For additional posts about Argentina, or elsewhere in the world, check out our Travel Blog. It contains collected links to all of our travel posts.
Want to subscribe (or unsubscribe) for email notification of new blog posts? It is only two to three emails a month. Send your name and email address to slowtravelchronicles@gmail.com, and note subscribe (or unsubscribe) in the subject line. All email addresses will be kept confidential and not sold to any third-party. You won’t get any marketing junk or sales pitches from us.