Patagonia on a Budget: Three Weeks for under $2,200
Patagonia has a worthwhile spot on many adventurer’s bucket lists. Its towering peaks, enormous glaciers, stunningly blue lakes, and exotic wildlife draw people in from all over the globe. But, like most faraway places, expenses can look complicated when you’re sitting at home attempting to plan and budget your once-in-a-lifetime trip with a million tabs open on your browser (believe me, I was there).
I’m going to attempt to de-mystify expenses for you in this post by giving you a complete breakdown of what I spent on my three-week vacation in January - February 2023. Let’s set some “ground rules” so that we’re all on the same page.
First, I was mostly alone and only shared lodging with my traveling partners once, so this is a one-person budget.
Second, everything listed below will be in U.S. Dollars. I pulled almost every expense directly off of my credit card statement. For cash expenses, I used xe.com to estimate the current exchange rate.
Third, I didn’t splurge on this trip but wasn’t pinching pennies either. I’ll give more details under each category.
Disclosure: All opinions expressed here are based on my own experience. This post may contain affiliate links that will earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Currency: Chile vs. Argentina
On my trip, I visited both Chilean and Argentine Patagonia. These two countries have different currencies and economies and practices.
In Chile, I found things were more expensive and my dollar did not go as far. While the current exchange rate of $1 USD = ~800 Chilean Pesos (CLP) sounds like a lot, most drinks started at 2,500 - 6,000+ CLP, and single entrees at restaurants in the area started at 10,000 CLP. This looks like a can of soda for $3.50 or a pizza for $15-20. In Chile, I found that every establishment passed on credit card fees to the consumer.
In Argentina, things were a little different. The economy in Argentina is a little volatile and has been for a few years. As of February 2023, there are two exchange rates in Argentina. The official rate - which is $1 USD = ~200 Argentine Pesos (ARS), and the “blue dollar” rate, which varies, but is around $1 USD = 350 ARS. At the time I was traveling, credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) were giving the blue dollar rate once the charge was officially posted to the account. Many hostels and restaurants posted a cash exchange rate too, which could be up to 370 ARS per dollar. I found most of my meals in Argentina were below $15 all-in. In fact, the fanciest restaurant in El Chaltén (The Asadores, apparently worthy of a Michelin Star) had a prix-fee, 5-course dinner meal of 6,000 ARS (less than $20). I also never had a credit card fee passed on to me in Argentina. Additionally, if you didn’t pre-pay for your lodging in Argentina (i.e. booked a hostel on booking.com), some places would charge you in ARS once you got there, making it even cheaper than you originally budgeted!
All this to say: your dollar goes further in Argentina than in Chile for food and lodging expenses. You can see the cost breakdown separated by country down below.
My Travel Style and Itinerary
I spent three weeks including travel days in Patagonia. The first two weeks in Chile and the last week in Argentina. This was an adventure trip, so most nights were spent camping in a tent vs. indoor accommodations. I also used shuttles and buses for transportation vs. renting a car. I did splurge on a few tours and I usually don’t hold back on dining, choosing to eat out for most meals.
I did not do a ton of back-and-forth travel in the area and only stayed in a small region (relative to the whole of “Patagonia”).
Patagonia itinerary at-a-glance:
Day 1: Arrive in Punta Arenas
Day 2: Tierra del Fuego Tour
Day 3: Travel to Torres del Paine
Days 3 - 12: Torres del Paine - and the O Circuit
Day 13: Travel from Puerto Natales to El Calafate, Argentina
Day 14: Perito Moreno Tour
Day 15: Travel to El Chaltén
Day 15 - 18: El Chaltén backpacking
Day 18 - 19: El Chaltén
Day 20: Travel back to El Calafate
Day 21: Depart El Calafate
Do I Need Cash In Patagonia?
I would recommend getting a small amount of cash. When I landed in Santiago, I exchanged $40 USD, which was a smart move since I did not see an exchange spot in the Punta Arenas arrivals area (but I also landed around 11:00 pm). The taxi to my hostel only took cash, so I was happy to have some on me! I also found it easier to tip in cash at restaurants. My Spanish is no bueno, so I found it easier to leave cash behind than to awkwardly and poorly ask them to add a tip to my bill. I was able to use my credit card everywhere in Torres del Paine.
As I mentioned above, Argentina is a little different when it comes to money. Currently, many hostels and restaurants in both El Calafate and El Chaltén will exchange money for you with the “blue dollar” rate, some even higher than that. But, they want crisp, large bills - either USD or Euro. Some places had a higher exchange rate for $100s and $50s and a lower one for $20s. Some places wouldn’t exchange $20s at all. Even though I had great luck with using my credit card in Argentina, I was happy to have cash for tipping, especially the bus luggage helpers in El Calafate, who basically wouldn’t put your bag on the bus unless you tipped them.
So do you need cash? Yes, I would bring $100 minimum for cash expenses on your trip. I spent a total of $66.76 in cash - but that extra buffer would be more comfortable.
Patagonia Trip Costs: $2,137.26
Chile Cost Breakdown
Food: $142.97
I actually did not eat many meals in Chile. Most of this cost comes from snacks at the refugios on the O Circuit, though I paid for one full breakfast, dinner, and two lunches during my whole time in Chile. Food in Torres del Paine was decently expensive (I paid $30 for a pizza and can of Sprite at Paine Grande), which is to be expected since the park is remote and it takes a lot of work to get food to the refugios on the trail. I stayed at hostels that provided a light breakfast in the mornings, which was great for saving money on breakfast.
Lodging: $400.24
Camping in Torres del Paine National Park for 9 nights cost me a total of $207.52. The rest of my lodging costs came from two nights at a hostel in Punta Arenas and one night at a hostel in Puerto Natales. Both of these were private rooms with private bathrooms, averaging $64.24/ night.
Warning: the O/ W treks are incredibly popular. If you want to do this as cheaply as possible, you’ll want to book camping, and you’ll want to bring your own gear so you don’t need to rent camping gear. I met a lot of people on the trek that said they would have rather camped, but booked too late so they had to stay in the refugio rooms. I booked my campsites at the end of June for a January trip.
Ground Transportation: $111.33
I took four buses in Chile: Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales, Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine and back, and from Puerto Natales to El Calafate. I had a few other paid rides, including a taxi from the airport, and shuttles within Torres del Paine.
Park Fees: $63.83
There are two pricing tiers for Torres del Paine. Since I’d be in the park longer than 3 days, the cost was $49 for entry, which I paid online ahead of time. I also had to pay to enter the penguin park on my tour to Tierra del Fuego.
Tours: $132
This was the cost of the tour I took to Tierra del Fuego to see the King penguins (and more!).
Argentina Cost Breakdown
Food: $118.75
Due to spending more time in town in Argentina vs. Chile, I spent a little more money on food (relative to time spent in the county). But, the food was generally less expensive since the dollar goes further in Argentina. I had to buy myself some breakfast food in El Calafate while I was staying at an AirBnb, but the hostel in El Chaltén had an amazing breakfast!
Lodging: $288.35
While camping in the wilderness was free in the El Chaltén area (three nights), I did stay in hostels/ AirBnbs for five nights in Argentina. All rooms were private with private bath as well. The cost averaged $57.67/ night. El Calafate had many less expensive options, but El Chaltén lodging was much more expensive.
Ground Transportation: $64.73
This is for the round-trip bus from El Calafate to El Chaltén and a taxi from my hostel to the airport in El Calafate.
Park Fees: $16.49
This was the additional fee to enter Los Glaciares National Park on the Perito Moreno glacier tour. Credit card was accepted.
Tours: $289.34
I went on the Big Ice tour to Perito Moreno, which includes a longer trek on the glacier and round-trip transportation to the park. This is the amount that was charged to my credit card at the time of booking, despite the official exchange rate showing a higher value.
The Other Stuff
Backpacking Food: $184.33
I pre-purchased all of my backpacking food for both backpacking trips in the USA. I mainly bought pre-made meals from brands like Peak Refuel and Mountain House, but could have saved more money buying grocery store meals like potatoes. I did not make my usual homemade meals since I was weary of bringing unmarked, open food into Chile. Looking for some good meals? These are my favorite backpacking meals!
Airport: $99.42
Airport food is expensive! I did not have lounge access at airports, and with a couple of very long layovers, and a total of 4 days of full airport travel, I was essentially forced to purchase food at restaurants there. You could mitigate this cost by buying snacks before you get to the airport.
What About Airfare?
Flights can cost over $1,500 round trip from the United States during the high season, not including local flights within Chile and Argentina. You’ll need to run the numbers and see what works for your itinerary and wallet. I decided to book two one-way itineraries from the USA to South America. One from San Francisco to Santiago, and another from Buenos Aires to San Francisco. Then, I booked local flights from Santiago to Punta Arenas and El Calafate to Buenos Aires.
There are multiple other cities in the Patagonia region that you might choose to fly into or out of, including Ushuaia, Bariloche, Puerto Natales, and Puerto Montt. This will mainly depend on your itinerary and what other regions you want to explore.
I don’t have an exact price for you on my airfare, since I booked all of my flights using credit card points. I use a combination of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited to earn points that can be redeemed for travel. In total, the flights cost 96,749 points. When I originally began looking for flights in June for a January-February trip, flights were a little cheaper (money and miles) than when I finally ended up booking the flights in August, so I would start looking for flights as early as you can if you want to save as much as possible. Six - nine months out is the best time.
It can take a while to accumulate this many credit card points, but the good news is most of these travel cards have decent sign-up bonuses, where you receive a large number of points (usually 50k+) when you spend a certain amount of money during a set time frame, usually around $3,000+ in 3-6 months time, depending on the card. Some of the most popular travel cards are the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred and the AMEX Platinum. If you’re looking for a new card, you can use my referral code for the CSP and you’ll earn 60,000 points when you meet the sign-up bonus criteria. In full disclosure, I’ll also receive 15,000 points, so if you choose to use my referral, thanks a bunch!
I like to pair my Chase Sapphire Preferred with the Chase Freedom Unlimited to earn more points. This link gives you a $200 (20k point) bonus (and I can get up to 10k points, so thanks)! Credit cards points can be super complicated, and I won’t get into the nitty-gritty, but I use these two together because the Freedom gives me 5x points on groceries and 1.5x points on everything (while the CSP only gives 1x back on “everything else”). I use the Freedom Unlimited for most purchases, saving the CSP for the highest points in other categories. And then I transfer the points from the Unlimited to my CSP point balance so I can get better point redemption for booking travel in the Chase Rewards platform (1.5x for CSP, 1x for Freedom). And remember to ALWAYS pay off your card in full each month, otherwise, all the points in the world won’t help you out of credit card debt.
Final Thoughts
Patagonia doesn’t have to be crazy expensive! I hope this post gave you an idea of expected costs and how to prepare. My biggest advice is to start preparing six-nine months in advance of your trip for the best deals. If you’re ready for adventure, try camping as much as possible during your trip! It’s a great way to save money and to be in the most beautiful places!
