Best way to experience the Perito Moreno Glacier

After making the most of all the Buenos Aires activities, I decided to take advantage of my parents trip to Argentina and head to El Calafate. Heading to El Calafate from Buenos Aires  is not an easy task, and definitely not cheapest. You're probably asking yourself, so is it worth it? Yes! The Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate is an experience of a lifetime and one of the most amazing activities in Argentina.

[caption id="attachment_8000" align="alignnone" width="640"]/ source / source[/caption]

So how many days should I stay in El Calafate?

You have to take into account that all the activities will go for the whole day.  We were advised to stay 3  nights, since domestic flights to El Calafate are around 3.5 hours each way and with time wasted between hotel and airport transfers, you lose almost the entire day just arriving and getting settled.  As most of the activities in El Calafate are full day tours, you need to count the days you will have available before booking your flights, otherwise you will have to pay for private tours.

[caption id="attachment_7997" align="alignnone" width="640"] The Safari Nautico navigation tour in Los Glaciares National Park is a classic activity in El Calafate to see the Perito Moreno Glacier / source[/caption]

How can I get to El Calafate?

The answer is simple. Take a flight...unless you want to drive the 2.800 kms from Buenos Aires to El Calafate.  My father suggested renting a car and driving along Ruta 40, but the car rental for long distances is super expensive, so we  scratched that idea and started the quest of finding a flight. Soon we will post on how to book a domestic flight in Argentina, but meanwhile, my suggestion is, visit the Aerolineas Argentinas site and book your flight straight from there, don´t forget to place the correct country of origin so you´ll get the correct rate.

What can I do in El Calafate?

We had decided on and El Calafate 5 day itinerary to see the Perito Moreno Glacier and get the best of the Parque Nacional los Glaciares and its surroundings.

Day 1: Flight from Buenos Aires Aeroparque to El Calafate: We took the 11:30am flight and arrived there at 2:50 pm.  After arriving, we got amazed of the view of the Lago Argentino and spend the afternoon wondering around its shore.

Day 2:  Perito Moreno Tour: our first encounter with the glacier. Our transfer arrived to pick us up at our hotel at 7:30am.  After an approximate 1 hour bus ride, we arrived at the park. During the ride, our guide explained the tour itinerary, and gave us some interesting facts about the place, the lifestyle and the ecosystem.  It seemed to me like a tough place to live and I understood why prices were so expensive regarding food and lodging, it sounds impossible to grow a tomato there!

Our first stop in the Parque Nacional was a navigation tour called the Safari Nautico. This boat tour takes you to see the southern face of the Perito Moreno Glacier.  We booked this trip in advance. Since this is a once in a lifetime experience, most of the tours book out quite easily and I wanted to ensure that my parents experience it.

The Perito Moreno Glacier Tour continued by bus to the glacier´s lookout walkways. There we got the view from above. You can also hear the sound of the Perito Moreno Glacier crushing, but make sure you focus and watch carefully, because you might miss where it's coming from.

[caption id="attachment_7998" align="alignnone" width="662"] Perito Moreno Glacier - View from the Parque Los Glaciares lookout walkways[/caption]

Day 3: All Glaciars tour: the glaciers navigation in El Calafate.  We departed very early from our hotel and sailed from Punta Banderas located 45km from El Calafate.  We navigated through Lago Argentino, passing different sized icebergs, visiting 3 different glaciers from different  perspectives. To end the trip, the guides took us to the top of the hill where we got the whole panoramic view of Perito Moreno glacier. WOW what a mind-blowingly awesome view. The glaciers navigation tour is a unique and amazing activity in El Calafate.  The navigation experience is simple: you get to the port, get on board and sail all day long. The boat was comfortable, spacious and the staff was great and helpful.

Quick Tip: bring some food with you since the boast only has a small bar with coffee, tea and sweet pastries (medialunas). We were starving and after a whole day with extreme cold, we would have given anything for some hot soup or something salty. My suggestion is, bring your lunch and a nice hot thermos filled with hot soup. Yum.

Day 4: Perito Moreno Minitrekking: when planning our itinerary in El Calafate, we were contemplating between the Mini trekking tour on the Perito Moreno Glacier or the Estancia Cristina Tour.  Both are amazing activities in El Calafate, but we had to choose one and I was was more excited to actually trek inside a glacier. It was decided then to do the Mini trekking. Definitely the right decision, It was awesome! Firstly i thought to do the Big Ice Glacier Tour though it had an age limit of 45 and since my parents are older, it wasn't possible for us to do that particular tour. However, the Mini trekking tour was not in anyway inferior, au contraire, it was perfect for my parents' capabilities and was still exciting enough for my more adventurous self.

We arrived to the Glaciers National Park early in the morning, put on our crampons and were on our way to the trek Perito Moreno. Trekking through this rugged, untouched terrain, we felt so overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounded us. We trekked our way through the cracks and crevices of the Perito Moreno glacier. It was at times challenging, but the views were definitely worth it, and you always felt at ease and secure with the guides! To our surprise our guides prepared a surprise whiskey party at the end of the tour, in the middle of Perito Moreno Glacier. It was amazing to enjoy whiskey on 400-year-old ice.

Day 5: El Calafate to Torres del Paine: We continued our adventure to Chile passing where Torres del Paine National Park was waiting for us to explore it. As a conclusion I must admit that there four days were incredible  If we had more time we would have stayed at least 2 more days and visited El Chalten. Hence I left with the desire to return, to experience the promising views of Estancia Cristina and the adventurous treks of El Chalten.

If you're traveling to El Calafate, and your objective is like us, to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, I think  these activities in El Calafate will show you the best of the age of ice. El Calafate and its people are amazing, peaceful and warm, you can see they live from the tourism, hence the service and hospitality level is very professional and the city has enough infrastructure to meet all your needs.

Last Tip: book your tours in advance, don't leave the booking until you get to the destination. It's better to be outside doing activities rather than dealing with local tour agents.  Most of the interest spots are only reachable with organised tours. Also, if weather conditions change at the last minute, a responsible operator will be able to switch the activities to still provide you with a  pleasant visit.

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