Best overland tours in Patagonia?
Replies: 3 - Last Post: Sep 21, 2012 1:03 PM Last Post By: beerfree
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Best overland tours in Patagonia?
Hi thereMy boyfriend and I are going to Argentina in October and after a few weeks learning Spanish in Buenos Aires we plan to fly to Ushuaia and then head up to Santiago.
Our initial thinking is to spend a few nights in Ushuaia and then possibly fly to El Calafate for a day or two to see the glacier and then take a bus to El Chalten for some hiking. The next bit is where we are stuck! We'd ideally like to go next to the Lake District and don't fancy a really long bus ride, plus flights are very expensive.
Does anyone know of any overland tours we could take to help us with our itinerary? We're not sure we fancy camping at that time of year (November) but would consider it if it was well organised.
We'd love to know about any other worthwhile overland tours if anyone knows of any or have heard of any. I've heard mixed reviews about Dragoman Tours, has anyone any experience?
Many thanks in advance
Julie
1
Around mid november, Taqsa and El Chalten Travel start a kind of tourbus from El calafate to Bariloche with an overnight stop. It isn´t very cheap either but much cheaper than flying El Calafate - Bariloche. There isn´t an exact date when these services starts as sometimes the Ruta 40 isn´t in good conditions after winter. Any other kind of tour would be very very expensive. Other options are to take normal buses via Rio Gallegos. There are some flights with LADE in this region. Last not least, with enough time you can go along the carretera Austral in Chile which is amazing3
With enough time and a a bit of adventurous spirit, it is always the best option to connect El Chalten with Esquel, El Bolson and Bariloche via the Carretera Austral. Unfortunately it seems that the direct border crossing El Chalten to Villa O Higgins won´t be possible for a time, but you can connect Los Antiguos to Chile Chico and there are regular buses from El Calafate via Rio Gallegos (expensive and dumb place) to Los Antiguos, apart from the direct services running sometimes along Ruta 40. It is also worth to check out LADE airline. They offer sometimes flights from El Calafate to Perito Moreno (the town close to Los Antiguos) and also Ushuaia, Neuquen and Bariloche
