r/ElChalten

I'd appreciate your thoughts. Family of 5 (50 yr old parents, 17,17, 21 sons) traveling in Jan.

Have the crazy early flight from EZE to FTE landing around 7:30 am. The plan is to rent a car (currently have Renault Duster reserved). and hotel reserved in El Chalten for 4 nights, then 2 nights in El Calafate before flying to Ushuaia.

1 Arrive FTE, drive to El Chalten

2 El Chalten

3 El Chalten

4 El Chalten

5 Check out, drive back to El Calafate

6 El Calafate-- Estancia Cristina with horseback riding

7 Check out, 7:30pm flight to Ushuaia

The problem is this only gives us one completely full day in El Calafate-- One of my boys really wants to do a mini trek Ice Hike. Can you guys see anywhere to put this? Otherwise I think we will just do Safari cruise at Perito Moreno? Is there anything else fun/ more adventurous we should try? I personally just don't see a glacier being particularly interesting...So I think I will get my fill of cold glacier boat ride on the Estancia Cristina day. But I'm trying to make everyone happy!

I understand that the drive between El Chalten and El Calafate is about 3 hrs and the Glacier is on the other side...making the drive even longer. Is it worth really pushing it maybe on Day 1 or 5-- to do it?

Hey everyone! I’m hosting two astrophotography outings tomorrow and Friday night, completely free of charge. I have space for up to 15 people each night.

The plan is to drive out into the estepa, away from the town lights, to photograph the Milky Way. If we’re lucky, we might also capture the aurora australis!

There’s a geomagnetic storm forecast, with Kp 5 activity possible late Thursday night. I’m not sure whether it will continue into Friday night, so we’ll keep an eye on conditions. An aurora would be a bonus!

We’ll arrange a pickup location in El Chaltén and leave at 9:30 p.m., returning around 12:30–3 a.m., depending on conditions. If an aurora is active, we’ll stay until the whole group is happy to head back.

Bring warm layers, your camera and a tripod if you have one.

If you’d like to join, comment or send me a DM with your preferred night and how many people are coming!

Hi, I'm looking to do the O-Circuit at the end of february / beginning of march. Most of the "Campsites on ground" from Las Torres are booked so I have to go with "Semi-equipped", which is $220 per person/ per night (WTH?!). A shared tent would be $240 total (120$ per person). Does anyone want to join and split costs?

Also why is it so extremely expensive? A campsite on ground would be $90 per night at Las Torres. Vertice have them starting from $11

Has anyone recently taken the bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales and paid the $4000ARP bus station tariff by card? The bus company is saying it's cash only but I've seen some people say they were able to pay by card in previous years. I'm trying to determine if I really need to get Argentinian pesos just for that trip. Thanks!

I was hoping for advice on bus timings in conjunction with flights for my upcoming trip to El Chalten via El Calafate this November.

Does anyone have a recommended buffer time between landing in El Calafate and booking a bus to El Chalten. Is 55 minutes enough? Or is it best to allow for a bit more time?

I will also be flying back from El Calafate to Buenos Aires at 19:30 pm and plan to catch the bus from El Chalten earlier that day. How much buffer time is recommended? Would aiming to arrive at the airport 5 hours before be enough? Or are bus delays common?

Thanks!