Ultimate Patagonia

Argentine cuisine consists mainly of meat. More precisely, beef. Argentina is renowned for the quality of its steak and it is a meat lovers paradise. You will find grilled meats available everywhere including tripe, intestines and even udders. Meat aside, the cuisine is a mix of Spanish, native American and Italian influences so vegetarians can always fall back on dishes like gnocchi, pasta and pizza. In the large towns and cities, you will find all dietary requirements are catered for. You may also have the opportunity to sample “Mate”, a Paraguayan tea made from a variety of holly and typically drank from a “bombilla”.

If you have special dietary requirements please inform us when booking your adventure. We can cater for vegetarian and gluten free diets but choices may be limited and you may want to bring some items of your own to add a bit of variety. Please speak to one of our travel experts if you have concerns about this. Please be aware that while hiking, you will need to carry any special food items yourself.

Boiled and filtered water is available every morning for you to fill your bottles or bladder. We recommend you also bring a water filter or purification system to allow you to refill at refuges or springs. All drinks, including water, are your own responsibility through out the trip. We don’t recommend the use of plastic bottles which will need to be carried out and recycled.

This adventure has been designed with your comfort in mind. On 11 of the nights you will be staying in comfortable 3-star hotels in either a twin or double room with en-suite facilities. The names of your hotels will be updated on your itinerary at 12 weeks before departure.

We will also spend one night in a mountain refuge in Torres del Paine National Park on Day 6. The refuge will be either Refugio Torre Central or Refugio Torre Norte, depending on availability. Accommodation will be in dormitories of between 4 and 8 beds with shared bathroom facilities. Wifi will be available in this refuge on a pre-paid card which can be purchased in the refuge.

On day 11, we will be staying in Estancia Galpon del Glaciar. This former sheep ranch provides double or twin, en-suite rooms with complimentary toiletries, private seating areas and beautiful views.

Bag Weight: 15kg

Your main bag should be a flexible duffel bag or backpack of roughly 100 litres. We request that you do not bring a rigid suitcase as they are more difficult to transport. In addition, you will need a daypack of roughly 40 litres to carry with you each day. This can be used as your hand luggage on international and domestic flights. Whilst trekking we will leave our main bags in secure storage and carry with us only what we need during the trek.

Please be aware that on domestic flights in Argentina and Chile there is a maximum weight of 15kg on all checked luggage. If your main bag weighs more than 15kg you may be asked to pay excess luggage fees which will be your own responsibility.

Your international flight will need to arrive at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport (EZE). From the UK, British Airways have direct flights departing from major airports late evening and arriving in Buenos Aires the next morning. The flight time is 14hrs. Lufthansa fly via Frankfurt and KLM flights have a short stop-over in Amsterdam. Indirect flights have a total travel time of roughly 17 hours.

For travellers from the USA, American Airlines have a direct flight from New York departing late evening and arriving in EZE the next morning. The flight time is 10hrs 45min. American Airlines also offer direct flights from Miami and Dallas at similar times. Indirect flights are available from Los Angeles and San Francisco with Latam, United and American Airlines. As this trip involves a guided tour of Buenos Aires on the first day, please book a flight arriving well before lunch time.

On arrival in Buenos Aires, after clearing immigration and collecting your luggage, please look out for a member of our team in the arrivals area. Airport transfers are included and the journey to our hotel will take around one hour (34km). Depending on the arrival time of the other members of your group you may be required to wait a short period of time before departure. Fights to Buenos Aires from the USA and Europe all tend to arrive between 7am and 9.30am.

If you are changing airlines or re-checking your luggage at an airport on route, please ensure you leave a minimum of 3 hours between flights. This will account for any delays on arrival, travel time across airports (this can take longer than you think) and time taken to re-check baggage.

Travelling Responsibly

Here at Kandoo, we like to support our guests to make their travel more sustainable. As of 2025, we are offsetting the carbon on all of our trips from arrival in destination to dropping you back off at the airport. As we don't include flight travel in our trips these aren't included in our offsetting calculations, so we are providing you with the calculator below for you to do this yourselves.

eC02 Flights Calculator

It is a requirement of joining any of our trips that you attend a pre-trek briefing. This gives our guide the opportunity to review the plans for the trip with you, make sure you have all the right gear and answer any questions you may have.

On our Ultimate Patagonia trip, local guides will be with you during your time in Argentina. Once you have arrived in El Calafate, you will meet the guide who will be with you for the remainder of your trip. They will meet you on your arrival in El Calafate on Day 4 and deliver a pre-trek briefing at 6pm.

In Chile the currency is the Chilean Peso (CLP). In Argentina the currency is the Argentine Peso (ARS). For the latest exchange rates please visit www.xe.com

We do not recommend the use of traveller’s cheques as they are often impractical. Bank cards are widely used for most things but please note that American Express is not commonly accepted. Your guide will show you the best places to change currency at the best rate. The official exchange rate offered by banks and ATMs is not good as these are controlled by the government and reflect the poor rate of the Argentinian peso. You will therefore find that it is best to take Euros or Dollars with you and exchange locally with "arbolitos" or use specific banks that offer 'Blue Dollar' exchange. See our Argentina Travel Guide for more information on this.

Please note that if you plan to change money on your arrival, currency exchange offices in Puerto Natales can open at irregular hours or not at all on weekends. If you are travelling through Santiago Airport, you may prefer to exchange money there. Alternatively, the Chilean Peso is not a closed currency and can be purchased before your trip.

In Buenos Aires, an average meal for 2 will be around $30 in a mid range restaurant or $7 in a fast food restaurant. A 15 minute taxi ride will cost around $24. If you want to spend less and travel by public transport then this costs roughly $0.35 per journey, however cash isn't accepted on buses or trains so you will need to buy a SUBE card and top it up with money. SUBE cards are available from the metro station, kiosko or train station and cost $1.60.

In Puerto Natales, an average meal for 2 will be around $50 and a 5km taxi ride around $8. Taxis are plentiful and most drivers should have a meter, however if they don't, always remember to settle on a price before leaving. If you prefer to do it a bit cheaper then take to the streets, pretty much everywhere in Puerto Natales is less than a 20 minute walk from the town centre.

In Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego, an average meal for 2 will cost around $13.

In El Calafate and El Chalten, an average meal for 2 will cost around $80.

Expected budget for meals out on your trip (per person): $250

Our recommended guidance for spending budget per person in Patagonia would be between $300-350 on top of your tips. This will give you ample souvenir spending money.

You should budget for tips for your lead guide and any assistant guides. Tipping is common in Chile and Argentina but not mandatory and should be based on the level of service you feel you have received, but 50,000 Chilean Pesos (equivalent to £50 - $60) should provide enough for tips for each week on your trip.

The amounts below will give you an indication of how much to tip. Please note that these amounts are for the entire group, not per person, therefore you should divide them by the total number of people in your party.

Lead Guide: 20,000 - 25,000 Pesos ($20-25 / £16-20 per day)

Assistant guide: 7,000 - 8,000 Pesos ($7-8 / £5-6 per day)

As an example: a lead guide may receive $20 per day x 8 days = $160. Divided by 10 people in the group = $16 per person.

If your assistant guide will be leaving you before the end of your trip, they should be tipped after your trek. Your lead guide can be tipped when you return to the hotel.

Tips can be paid in either US$ or local currency.

As soon as possible after booking your tour, please provide Kandoo Adventures with your passport details (first name, last name, date of birth, passport number, issue date, expiry date) along with a photocopy of the photo page. We need this information in order to book your domestic flights (where applicable) and hotels.

Your passport must be valid for 6 months after your departure date.

United States and UK passport holders do not require a visa to enter Argentina. On arrival you will be granted a maximum 90 day stay in the country. The same applies in Chile.

This information may be subject to change, without notice, by the local authorities. It is your responsibility to check the latest travel requirements and information before departure.

The World Health Organisation recommend the following vaccinations for travel to Argentina:

Tetanus

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Diphtheria

Typhoid

Yellow Fever

It is your responsibility to check the latest health information before travelling.

Before you can join any Kandoo Adventures trek, you will need to insure yourself against accident, injury, and illness.

Your insurance must cover the cost of helicopter evacuation and repatriation if necessary. Make sure your insurer knows of your travel plans, and verify that your policy fully covers your trek, climb, and any other activities you will participate in. Specifically, for all our adventures in Patagonia, you need to be covered for trekking above 2000m. If you are climbing Aconcagua, you need to be covered for climbing up to 7000m. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully and adequately insured for the duration of your trip. Please ensure that all activities, excursions and destinations in your itinerary are included in your travel insurance policy, in addition to your regular cover for cancellation and medical expenses.

We ask that you keep a copy of your policy summary (containing policy number and the emergency contact number for your insurer) in your day sack at all times, so that we can access this information should we need to contact the insurer on your behalf. You will also need to bring details of your insurance cover to the pre-trek briefing.

Make sure to choose the correct policy for the altitude you are trekking to. Be sure to read the small print carefully for any policy you are considering - different policies provide different levels of cover, so make sure you understand what is and isn't included in your policy.

Altitude Sickness

Altitude sickness, also known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or hypobaropathy, is an illness caused by exposure to low air pressure, especially low partial pressure of oxygen, which many climbers experience at high altitudes. AMS is caused by exerting yourself at high altitudes, especially if you have not been properly acclimatised. It is most common at altitudes above 2400m. Our routes have been designed to aid your acclimatisation wherever possible, but the following will also help your body adjust:

Slow and steady. You need to keep your respiration rate low enough to maintain a normal conversation. If you are panting or breathing hard, you must slow down. There is no pressure on you to keep up with other members of your group.

Drink much more water than you think you need. Proper hydration helps acclimatisation dramatically. You need to drink at least three litres each day.

Diamox

There has been a lot of research on Diamox that shows is that it has been reasonably well proven to be helpful in avoiding AMS by speeding up the acclimatisation process. In the UK it is a prescription drug which must be prescribed by a doctor, but some doctors are reluctant to prescribe it. The concern is that by taking Diamox, people believe that they are immune from AMS and can ignore the symptoms. In reality, although Diamox can help prevent the symptoms, should symptoms still develop it means that you are not acclimatising and you have to take notice. Diamox is taken before you start the trek to prevent altitude sickness, not once symptoms have developed.

Malaria

There is no risk of malaria in any of the regions of Argentina we operate in. However, malaria is present in some parts of Argentina so if you intend to go travelling before or after your tour, please check the specific health risks for the areas you will be visiting.

Dehydration

You can easily become dehydrated at high altitudes. The lower air pressure forces you to breathe more quickly and deeply, and you lose a lot of water through your lungs. You will also be exerting yourself, and sweating, and may even suffer from diarrhoea. As a result, you will have to drink much more water than you normally would and you should drink at least 3 litres of fluids every day while trekking. Even when you do not feel thirsty you have to drink this amount as a minimum, preferably more. Stay on the look-out for signs of dehydration in yourself and your fellow trekkers. The most common symptoms include thirst, dry lips, nose or mouth, headache and feeling fatigued or lethargic.

Your guide carries a first aid kit at all times. However, we recommend bringing any medicine you feel you may need. This could include: painkillers, anti-diarrhoea tablets, high factor sunscreen for lips and skin, moisturising cream (for sunburn), elastic bandage, regular bandages and blister bandages, sanitary products, water purifying tablets or filters and mosquito repellent.

On our Patagonia trips there is a minimum age limit of 15 years old on private trips and 16 years old on open groups. All minors must also be accompanied by a responsible adult. This is a safety requirement put in place by the Torres del Paine National Park.

Warm hat and gloves

Buff / gaiter

Sunglasses

T-shirts (short and long sleeve)

Thermal long sleeve shirt

Thermal leggings in case of cold nights

2 sweaters - 1 light/1 warm

Soft shell or fleece jacket

Waterproof and windproof hard shell jacket

Waterproof and windproof hard shell trousers

Breathable fast drying underwear

Comfortable long trousers (fast drying)

Shorts for trekking in warm weather if desired

Comfy trainers/shoes for evenings

Wool and cotton socks

Hiking boots (with ankle support and a slightly ridged sole)

2 water bottles (minimum 1 litre or a water bladder)

Walking poles (recommended)

1 head torch with spare batteries and bulb

1 duffel bag - 80 to 100 litres (flexible and water resistant)

1 daypack - 30 to 40 liters to carry with you each day

Water purification system (charcoal filter, chlorine tablets or similar)

Quick drying towel

Dry bags – for packing your kit into if your bag is not waterproof

Toiletries (including wet wipes)