One Small Step for Man: Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia
I guess this is an ok background for a picture. Photo by: Evan Berman
One of the major reasons I decided to go to South America was to visit Patagonia. Specifically, I wanted to see El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier.
The recap of this incredible experience is part of the larger South American Adventure. For more information on this trip, follow these links:
Flight: CHS-JFK in Delta Comfort+
Flight: JFK-SCL in LATAM Economy+
Osaka Santiago, Chile Restaurant Review
Flight: SCL-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: AEP-FTE in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentine Patagonia (This Article)
36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina
Flight: FTE-USH in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: USH-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
2 Days in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Flight: AEP-SCL in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy
Flight: SCL-MIA in LATAM Business Class
Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation
Flight: FLL-CHS in Silver Airways Economy Class
The Right Perito Moreno:
At 97 mi2, Perito Moreno Glacier is the 3rd largest glacier in the world, behind only Antarctica and Greenland. There can be a tremendous amount of confusion regarding this area as there is a town called Perito Moreno which is roughly 370 miles from the glacier and while I’m sure it is nice, I wasn’t going out of my way to visit!
El Calafate is the most convenient base for visiting Perito Moreno Glacier for 2 reasons: there is an airport with direct flights to Buenos Aires and many tours to the glacier include pickup and dropoff to/from El Calafate.
After deciding on visiting Perito Moreno Glacier, I next needed to choose what I hoped to do there. A boardwalk of nearly 2 miles provides scenic views of the glacier and can be accessed by anyone who pays the entry fee to the national park.
However, if going to one of the most beautiful places in the world, watching from the boardwalk seems akin to asking a world-renowned chef to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yes, it might be enjoyable, but you aren’t getting the full experience.
Options for Visiting:
The options to get closer to the glacier are varied:
- Kayaking on beautiful Lago Argentino or taking a scenic cruise in the same area, seeing the glacier from a shorter distance
- Minitrekking on the glacier. You get to walk on the glacier for roughly 1.5 hours with a guide in groups of 10-18 people.
- Big Ice. This is the most expensive option and includes 3 hours of trekking with a guide going much further than the minitrekking tour.
I opted for option 2. There are 2 main groups that organize tours to the glacier: Hielo y Aventura and Patagonia Dreams. Prices are usually around $300 for transportation to and from the glacier from your hotel, 1.5 hours of guided trekking on the glacier, and a boat trip to and from the glacier and the bus that transports you to El Calafate.
Booking:
Did I pay $300? No, of course not. 🙂 I booked via Viator, which is owned by TripAdvisor. The price was $275.
Card Used:
I used my Citi Custom Cash Card during a time when my 5%/5x category was Travel. Why? At the time, Citi Merchant Offers was offering a 10% statement credit up to $20.
Simply Miles:
What’s more, I have linked my card to Simply Miles, earning AAdvantage Miles on select purchases. Simply Miles at the time was offering 930 AAdvantage miles for purchases of more than $200. It is important to note that Simply Miles does not require you to click through a portal to earn the miles, simply using the linked credit card is enough.
Rakuten:
That is why, I clicked through the Rakuten Shopping portal and earned 4x AmEx Membership Rewards Points (can also be 4% if you prefer) on each dollar spent.
Note: Viator is a 3rd party booking service and you are NOT booking direct. I had no issues whatsoever with communicating with Patagonia Dreams (the operator of the trip) regarding pickup location and time, but some have reported issues. As always, know your risk tolerance and understand what recourse you have if something happens.
Price: $275 ($255 out of pocket, with the $20 statement credit)
Points: 930 AAdvantage Miles (and Loyalty Points towards elite status), 1,100 AmEx Membership Rewards Points, and 1,375 Citi ThankYou points or $13.75 in cashback.
The Experience:
I had been told that the bus would pick me up at my hotel at 7:45am. When I looked for the bus at 7:50am (I am politely described as perpetually tardy 😉 ), it was not there and did not arrive until 8:10am. This was welcome as it allowed an opportunity to eat breakfast. We made one additional stop to pick up an amusing family of 6 from Romania and then it was time to head to the Glacier.
Our tour guide, Natalia, introduced herself and the driver, Henry. Natalia was from Buenos Aires originally (as seems to be a common occurrence in El Calafate) and spoke English quite well. She explained what to expect and gave approximate times for everything.
Entry:
The entry fee to the national park is not included in any tour and is 4,000 Argentine Pesos (unless you have a ticket from either of the past 2 days, in which case the price is halved, 2,000 pesos). You may pay via cash or with credit card, but if paying by card, you will receive the official rate, rather than the Dollar Blue value (at the time of visit, I received 285 pesos per dollar from my hotel and the official rate was 163). That is, the entry fee for me was $14.04 but could be $24.54 paying via card.
The process is the bus stops in a parking space and a national park worker heads onboard. Anyone paying via card is invited to exit the bus and head inside the building to pay at the machines. Then, after those individuals have paid, he returns to the bus and takes the money from the rest of us. Returning a minute later with our tickets (show your ticket either the next day or the day after to receive half off), we are ready to enter the park.
We made our first stop at 9:50am as the glacier made its first appearance. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery, took pictures, got acclimated to the blusterous conditions, and even saw a condor!
Boardwalk:
After a brief stop, it was time to head back onto the bus. We arrived at the boardwalk at 10am and were given until 11am to walk around, take pictures, and if desired, use the bathroom and purchase souvenirs and/or food. I purchased a sandwich, a chocolate, a postcard, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water. The total came to 3,050 pesos or approximately $10.70 (again, use cash and ensure you get the Blue Dollar conversion rate, or you could find yourself paying much more).
The tour guide recommended the yellow trail as it is the easiest. I however, opted for the green and red trails and was rewarded for my decision. The green and red trails are much more tranquil and have better views. The times advised are hilarious (45 minutes and 1 hour 15 minutes, respectively). It took me approximately 40 minutes to complete both trails, allowing for plenty of time to take pictures. While there are plenty of stairs, if you are in moderate shape, I recommend you stray from the large groups and head for the green trail and possibly the red one if you feel up to it.
The Main Attraction:
After returning to the bus, it was time for the main event. We headed to the edge of Lago Argentino to board a boat that would take us across to the glacier. While it is nice to get a window seat, after about 2-3 minutes, you are allowed upstairs to take pictures, so it does not much matter in the end.
Once we arrived at the glacier (12pm), it was time for lunch. We had a half hour to eat and could do so inside 1 of the 2 shelters or outside. I opted for al fresco dining and was glad that I brought my ski jacket. The winds whip through with nothing to stop it! Of course, we also got to take some more beautiful pictures.
You can leave anything you do not wish to take on the ice in the cupboards in the main shelter. I left my backpack (taking out my valuables– and camera, of course!).
After lunch, there was a brief discussion about the history of the glacier and the upcoming trek we were to undertake. I cannot recall much of what was said as it was hard to stop gazing at the grandeur of the glacier.
We got our crampons fit upon our shoes at 1pm. For the uninitiated, crampons are spikes that are fastened to boots or other shoes to allow for better traction. The glacial ice is sharp, and you need to cut it with your shoes lest you slip off. It took approximately 25 minutes for everyone to be fitted with the crampons, then we were on our way!
The Trek:
From 1:30-3pm, we trekked on the glacier. That may be a simple sentence but trust me the experience was incredible! A few highlights included:
- Being on a glacier!
- It seems obvious but it is hard to overstate how incredible that is.
- Drinking whiskey (and water) with glacial ice!
- At the end of the tour, one of the guides uses an ice pick to produce the freshest crushed ice imaginable. The other guide then pours either Sir Edward Blended Scotch or water into your glass and the group does a toast.
- Drinking glacier water
- One of the beauties of a glacier is that the water is fresh and tasty! An interesting point a guide made is that since the water has no minerals, if you were to do a multi-day or overnight tour, the water would be insufficient. You may enjoy the taste but would need to add other liquids to be fulfilled.
- Visiting an ice cave
- No this is not the Ice Bar in El Calafate. The last part of the tour is inside a beautiful cave caused by the wind and melted ice. Take the time to enjoy this as it is the last stop on the tour.
The Return:
After the tour was finished, we took off our crampons and had free time until the boat arrived at 3:45pm. There is a beautiful, wooded path with the mountains and glacier as a backdrop and we returned to the shelters to pick up the bags that were left behind and take a few more photos before heading back on the boat. The roughly 20 minute boat ride was plenty of time to soak admire how giant the glacier truly is. As you head back towards the other side, the glacier gets smaller but remains a constant presence.
Once the boat drops of the passengers, the difference in booking companies becomes obvious. Remember how I said there were two options for booking trips? Well, the Hielo y Aventuras buses were awaiting their passengers in their comfortable Mercedes bus. Meanwhile, our older Patagonia Dreams bus was nowhere to be found.
After waiting for nearly 15 minutes, at 4:20pm, we were pleased to see our bus return. We boarded and headed back to El Calafate after only 3 minutes of boarding. I took this opportunity to take a much-needed nap and awoke to the announcement that we were nearly back in El Calafate. As I had been the second-to-last stop on pick-up, I was the second stop on the return. I was dropped off at 5:45pm.
Tipping:
I opted to tip our two tour guides and the bus guide and driver. I gave each guide 2,000 pesos (roughly $7) and had the bus guide and driver split the 2,000 pesos. My logic was in the US, I would likely tip $10 each but I only had 7,000 pesos remaining and as such could not give 9,000 pesos (~$10.53 each). If I had more pesos, I would have given a larger tip.
Recap:
No trip to Patagonia would be complete without exploring a pristine and beautiful area. I opted for the Minitrekking Perito Moreno Glacier Experience and was not disappointed in the least. It cost me $255 out of pocket and I received 930 AA Miles, 1,100 MR Points, and $13.75 in cashback courtesy of Merchant Offers, Simply Miles, Rakuten, and the earning on my Citi Custom Cash Card.
If you visit, definitely dress appropriately. This trip was in November, so the early spring, and it was 50º F. That might not sound bad, but when you factor the continuous 25-30 mph winds, I was glad to have worn layers! At a minimum, I recommend long underwear, a long sleeve shirt, and a ski jacket. You’ll want to wear wool, not cotton, so as to avoid getting cold if any part of you gets wet.
Stay tuned for El Calafate and make sure to follow me on Instagram so you can see all of the pictures of these and other trips I have taken!
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