Trekking Torres del Paine-Transportation, Admission, and Costs

by Adam Seper on February 10, 2011

This post is part four of a FOUR part series entitled THE Definitive Guide to Hiking Torres del Paine.

Be sure to read Part One-Which Route to Take, Part 2-What to Pack, and Part 3-Where to Sleep.

Stunning views everywhere in Torres del Paine

Getting to and from Torres del Paine (how to do it, costs, etc.)

Bus-Buses run from Puerto Natales to TDP and back and leave from various places around the city. If you go to the meeting at Erratic Rock or rent some gear from there, you can also get picked up from their front doors each morning. You can buy your tickets from the Erratic Rock, and they cost about $33US/person for round trip tickets. Buses arrive at the Erratic Rock at 7:30AM each morning and arrive at Laguna Amarga inside Torres del Paine at about 10am. Buses also leave from various points around the city, so check with your accommodations for more information.

When traveling east to west, the hike ends at the lodge by the Laguna Amarga entrance. A mini shuttle runs back to the original administration center travelers enter the park at (and costs $5US), and from here you can catch the bus back to Puerto Natales.

Admission into Torres del Paine and getting to the trailhead

After arriving at the Administration Center, trekkers purchase their tickets to get into the park (cost ~$33US/person).

If going west to east (the route we took) and beginning your hike at Lodge Paine Grande, get back on the same bus and take that to the catamaran. The catamaran leaves daily at 9am, noon, and 5pm and costs $23/person one way or $38/person round trip. The catamaran will drop you at Lodge Paine Grande, and there are several trailheads there.
If going east to west and beginning your hike at the Laguna Amarga, then hop on a mini-bus from the park entrance which will bring you to Laguna Amarga where you can begin the hike.

Costs

It may be a bit pricey, but views like this more than make up for it

All these costs add up, so let’s break it down (all costs per person in US dollars).

Transport

R/T Bus tickets from Puerto Natales to TDP- $33
Mini shuttle from end of trek to park entrance- $5
Catamaran across Lago Pehoe- $23 one way; $38 r/t (round trip not necessary unless hiking the full circuit and starting/ending at Lodge Paine Grande)

Entrance to the Park: $33

Accommodation/Sleeping

Refugios- Range from $40-$58
Camping- If at a refugio site, $7.25 just for the site/ if at other sites around the park, free.
- Rental gear for refugio camping
  - Tent (for two)- $15
  - Sleeping Pad- $3
  - Sleeping Bag- $9.50

Gear Rental at Erratic Rock Hostel- The Erratic Rock also offers much more as far as gear, from waterproof pants and jackets to crampons to hiking shoes, so be sure to check out their rental page for all they have to offer.

Tent- $5.25US for a 1 person tent; $6.25 for 2, $10.50 for 3
Sleeping bag/pad- $6.25
Stove- $3.25
Mess Kit- $8.50
Hiking Poles- $4.25

Food at Refugios

Breakfast- $11
Lunch- $14
Dinner- $18

What’s Next?

I’m pretty certain I have covered about everything you’d possibly need to know when preparing for a multi-day trek in Torres del Paine National Park. If not and you still have any questions, please comment below.

And stay tuned because tomorrow will have all four posts combined into one for ease of use. Also, we’ll offer more on Torres del Paine, including a recap of our hike, the exact route we took, times it took, and how it impacted us (this was probably the most difficult hike either of us had done to that point). Of course, there will be tons of pictures as well, so don’t forget to check back next week for more on hiking in Torres del Paine!

Share and Enjoy:

http://myexpatgermany.com/ Laurel

Very helpful info. Always interesting to see the costs. All your posts on trekking Torres del Paine will be a wonderful resource for anyone going there.
http://www.ishouldlogoff.com Jillian

Great information once again. Thanks for posting the costs. We were certainly shocked at how expensive things were on the trail, even after being warned. This should help people plan their cash!
Dan

Wow man, those two pictures are awesome. Can't wait to see more. I've got to get down there.

Dan
http://www.hikebiketravel.com Leigh McAdam

Great up to date info. Beats the guide books.
http://www.journeyofatravelwriter.com Adam

Thanks Dan! I appreciate the comment and kind words. It is gorgeous down there. I highly recommend it for any lover of the outdoors. I'll have tons more pictures all next week, too, just to let you know.
http://www.journeyofatravelwriter.com Adam

Thanks Laurel, that really was the plan with these. WE talked about writing one of these right after we hiked it, then we just got too bothered by the whole traveling thing. So now, two years later, here we are.
http://www.journeyofatravelwriter.com Adam

Yeah, we really were too. We luckily were coming from Buenos Aires where we hunkered down for a month, so we really came in under budget planning to spend quite a bit down in Patagonia, TDP in particular. But you're totally right, even though we knew how much it was going to be, it was still shocking compared to how much we had been spending on the rest of the continent.
http://www.journeyofatravelwriter.com Adam

Thanks a bunch, Leigh! I really appreciate it! It certainly took a while to put it all together. Now only if one of those guide books offered me a job….
http://www.ordinarytraveler.com/ Scott @ Ordinary Traveler

This place looks surreal. Thanks for making breaking out everything we would need for a budget! It may be expensive, but it sure looks to be well worth it!
http://inspiringtravellers.com/ Andrea and John

We took the easy road and are doing our trek with Cascada…I didn't realize there are so many facilities for gear hire, etc. So you can do it yourself. This has been a great series…I really can't wait for our trek!
Nnagree

thanks this is great information. I hope to do the hike end of this year; cant wait! Have a question, hoping you could help with – is it possible to take a catty across Lake Gray instead of Lake Pehoe for the west to east circuit?