I’ve been to many national parks around the world, but Torres Del Paine in Chile truly took my breath away. We debated forever if we should just stick to Northern Chile and do the Southern tip on a different trip since it takes so much effort to get here, but I’m so glad we decided to put in the effort and come all the way down to this side of the world.
Punta Arenas to Torres Del Paine
Getting to Punta Arenas is the first part of the challenge of seeing Torres Del Paine. It was a 3 hour flight from Santiago, an overnight stay in Punta Arenas, and then a 4 hour drive to the entrance of the park. From there, it was another hour or so of driving to whichever lake or hike you wanted to do. Accommodation inside the park itself was north of 1000$/night! Since we don’t like paying in limbs, we opted to stay just outside the park at Rio Serrano for “only” a third of that 🙂
Tip: if you book through the hotel directly, you can save 10%.
Was it worth all the hassle and the ridiculously overpriced stay? Yes. A thousand times yes.
Accommodation in Torres del Paine
We initially booked the cheapest room in Rio Serrano Hotel. A week before we arrived they emailed us to say that we got upgraded to the biggest room they had because “two cribs don’t fit in the room you requested”. Score! We conveniently forgot to mention that we no longer need two cribs because Baby has been sneaking into our bed lately.
This “cheap” hotel was more like the fanciest-hotel-we’ve-ever-stayed-in. Rio Serrano Hotel and Spa is complete with a beautiful pool, spa, indoor playground, games room, airport shuttle (the one that’s 4 hours away!!), buffet breakfast and gorgeous views of Torres del Paine.
So, what did we get to do with our two babies at this end of the world?
Beelined for the mountains of course, to hike Torres Del Paine
One thought on “How to get to Torres Del Paine”
Hello! I left a comment earlier, but I feel it might have been deleted b/c it didn’t show afterwards! Thank you for inspiring us to continue planning our Patagonia trip with our little one who will be 11 mos when we go in February. We found your website b/c we were also staying in Rio Serrano and looking for baby friendly hikes. Some questions for you, if you have the time:
1. Did you rent a car? Which car rental company do you recommend and how was the drive to the hikes/hotel/etc? I hear some folks say 4×4 is necessary?
2. At Rio Serrano, did you do the all inclusive or just the normal bed and breakfast?
3. Is Explora hotel boardwalk/area okay for non-guests to explore? Do we need permission?
4. Do you mind sharing your itinerary on what days you did those 5 hikes at Torres del Paine?
5. What did you pack and have the kids wear during your hikes. The wind and weather is my main concern for her. Did you use a weather app or ask the concierge for weather updates at the hotel?
6. Lastly, any restaurant/food recommendations?
Thank you so much!