From El Calafate to the ice: how a Perito Moreno trekking day runs
A trek on Perito Moreno Glacier fills most of a day, though the time on the ice is the shorter part of it. The rest goes on the road from El Calafate and the boat, with a stop at the walkways on most tours. This page follows the day from hotel pickup to the drive back, using the times the listings give.
A long day for a short walk
The classic Minitrekking gives about an hour on the ice inside a day of roughly 10 hours with transfers. Big Ice stretches to about 12 hours for about 3 hours on the glacier, and the longer hike sits between them.
Most of the clock goes on getting there and back. The glacier lies about 78 km (48 miles) by road west of El Calafate, and the boats for every ice walk leave from Puerto Bajo de las Sombras, about 70 km from town.
Our guide to Minitrekking or Big Ice compares the time on the ice. This page is about the hours around it.
Pickup windows by tour
| Tour | Pickup in El Calafate | Whole day | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minitrekking (Patagonia Dreams) | 7:30 am to 3:00 pm by option, confirmed the day before | 5–11 hours | ~$424 |
| Big Ice (Hielo y Aventura) | From 6:45 am | 7.5–12 hours | ~$459 |
| Longer hike (Howlanders) | Confirmed after booking | 5–10 hours | ~$370 |
| Blue Safari (Hielo y Aventura) | From 9:00 am | 3–9 hours | ~$117 |
Hielo y Aventura also sells its own Mini-Trek with pickups from 8:30 am. On Big Ice the round of hotels can take up to 45 minutes, so the first guests on the list board earliest.
Pickup runs only from hotels in El Calafate. Guests staying elsewhere go to the nearest meeting point or to the Hielo y Aventura sales office at Av. del Libertador 935.
Howlanders picks up only from places with a reception desk, so check your lodging before you book its longer hike from ~$370. Its departure time arrives only after booking.
The drive and the park gate
From town the van takes about 1.5 hours to reach the park. The national park entrance comes first, and the port at Bajo de las Sombras lies about 24 km inside it, according to the Big Ice listing.
Every visitor pays the national park fee, and it is not part of the tour price. Patagonia Dreams' listing gives two ways to pay, in Argentine pesos at the gate or online ahead of time on the official national parks website.
Carry pesos in cash if you plan to pay at the gate. Buying online the day before means one less thing to handle on an early morning.
The boat and the gear
At the port you board a boat across Brazo Rico, a crossing of about 20 minutes in most listings (Patagonia Dreams says 30). It lands by the refuge, facing the south wall of the glacier.
At the refuge, mountain guides split everyone into smaller groups and fit crampons, and on Big Ice helmets and harnesses come out too. A short talk about the glacier comes before the first step onto the ice.
From there the four tours part ways. Time on or beside the glacier differs a lot.
- Minitrekking, about 1 hour on the ice within roughly 3 hours of walking
- Howlanders longer hike, a 4-hour hike with about 2 hours and 5 km (3 miles) on the ice
- Big Ice, about 3 hours on the ice after a 2-hour approach over the moraine
- Blue Safari, a 1.5 km (about 1 mile) trail to touch the south wall, no crampons
The middle walk, transfers optional
Howlanders' longer hike gives about 2 hours on the ice in small groups, one guide per 10 hikers, and is rated 5.0 from 10 reviews on GetYourGuide. The walkways come only with the transfer option.
Lunch and the boat back
Lunch is yours to bring on all three ice walks. On the Minitrekking you eat at the refuge after the walk back through the Magellanic forest, and on Big Ice you stop for 30 minutes on the ice itself.
The Howlanders hike returns past a small meltwater waterfall and takes the boat back from Puma Bay. The Minitrekking and Big Ice both sail close to the glacier's wall on the way back, where calving is possible but never promised.
For the packed lunch and the layers to bring, see what to wear on the ice.
The walkways, then back to town
Tours with transfers usually stop at the walkways on the Magallanes Peninsula, about 7 km from the port. From the boardwalks you look at the glacier's north and central front, a different view from the one you had on the boat.
Free time there varies by tour. Patagonia Dreams allows about 40 minutes and Big Ice about an hour, while the Blue Safari spends about 2 hours there, the stop falling before the boat on some days and after it on others.
The van then needs another 1.5 hours or so to get back to El Calafate. Expect to reach town in the evening, ready for dinner rather than a bus or a flight.
Driving yourself to the port
With a rental car you can skip the transfer and meet the boat at Puerto Bajo de las Sombras. The Hielo y Aventura Mini-Trek then takes about 4.5 hours, and Big Ice about 7.5 hours.
Leave early enough to pay the park fee at the gate and park before your boat time. The Howlanders hike also has an option without transfer, but its walkways visit comes only with the transfer.
Not on your arrival or departure day
The Patagonia Dreams listing cannot be booked for the day you arrive in El Calafate or the day you fly out. The long hours explain why, since a delayed flight could cost you the trek.
Put the trek early in your stay, with a free day after it. If weather suspends the trip, the listings' promises are in our weather guide, and the price guide adds up the park fee and the other extras.