Torres del Paine tickets

What you can book

A trip to Torres del Paine can involve three separate purchases. The first is the park pass from CONAF, the Chilean park authority, sold online at pasesparques.cl. The second is a way to get around: a guided day tour from Puerto Natales, a seat on a regular bus, or your own car. The third applies only to the multi-day W and O trails: a bed or campsite for every night, bought from the companies that run the huts. A day visit needs the first two. A trek needs all three.

The CONAF park pass

Everyone entering the park needs a pass. You buy it online at pasesparques.cl, the official sales portal, one date at a time. You choose the date, then the number of people in each category. The categories split Chilean visitors from foreign visitors and run by age. The park prices the pass by length of stay, either a daily pass or a multi-day pass, so read its current tariff page rather than an old blog. The park asks you to buy at least 24 hours before you enter. If your group mixes Chilean and foreign visitors, add both to the same cart before paying.

Does your tour include the pass?

It depends on the tour, so read the inclusions list before you buy anything else. Some day-tour listings include the park entrance, and the pass is then part of the booking. Others leave it out and expect you to arrange it yourself. If the list is unclear, ask the operator through the booking page before you buy a pass of your own. Do not assume. Park rules list entering without having paid the entry fee as prohibited, so a missing pass can end your day at the gate.

Which day tour to book

The Puerto Natales listings for the park fall into four types. Prices, start times and group sizes differ by operator, so treat this as a map of the options, not a ranking. Pick the type by what you want to do with your one day, then compare operators within that type on duration, what is included and the cancellation terms.

• Full-day viewpoints tour: a guided drive with hotel pickup in Puerto Natales, stops at lakes and viewpoints, and short walks. Listed durations run from roughly eight to twelve hours.
• Base Torres day hike: a small-group walk to the viewpoint over the three towers. Listings ask for moderate fitness and supply equipment in winter.
• Grey Glacier boat trip: pickup in Puerto Natales, a walk along the lake shore, then a boat to the glacier front.
• Grey Glacier ice hike: walking on the ice itself. The listing ties the start to an overnight stay at Grey, so it is not a simple day trip from town.

Choosing between them

If you want the widest view of the park for the least effort, the full-day viewpoints tour is the usual answer. If the three towers are the reason you came, the Base Torres hike is the one that gets you to them, but the park itself lists that walk at about eight hours round trip and rates it medium to high difficulty. Choose the glacier trips if ice matters more to you than granite. No tour can promise a clear sky: the park warns that Patagonian weather changes quickly, so build in a second day if you can.

Read next: Torres del Paine day tours from Puerto Natales

Going without a tour

For a day on your own, CONAF lists regular bus companies running from Puerto Natales into the park, plus catamarans on Lago Grey and Lago Pehoé. The park road has viewpoints with information boards and is open to all vehicle types. There is no fuel for sale in or near the park, so fill up before you arrive. Mobile signal exists only at Villa Monzino, so do not count on live maps inside. You still need the pass, and trails may only be walked in daylight.

Booking the W Trek

The W Trek works differently. The park says you cannot enter its mountain area without confirmed reservations in the refugios and campsites inside the park. Two companies run them, Las Torres Patagonia and Vértice Patagonia. You can book directly with each, or through accredited tour operators that sell the nights as a package; the park points to the Sernatur register for accredited operators. The park estimates three to five days for the W. The rule does not apply to day walks such as Base Torres, or to the roadside campsites at Serrano and Pehoé.

Read next: How to book the W Trek — the refugio reality

Winter rules and guides

Winter changes what you can do without a guide. In winter conditions CONAF has required an accredited guide on parts of the W and on the Base Torres trail, and has lifted that requirement once winter conditions ease. Even then, the park can keep microspikes and trekking poles compulsory while snow and ice remain. The park posts these notices on its homepage and publishes a daily trail report. Read both before you commit to a self-guided day. Some Base Torres tours list winter equipment as supplied.

Cancellations and changing plans

Many Puerto Natales tours booked through Viator list free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, but the terms belong to each listing, so read the ones on the tour you pick. The park pass is a separate purchase from a separate seller, with its own terms, so check them at checkout before you pay for both. If you are choosing between two dates because of the forecast, settle the tour first, then the pass. Hut reservations for the W Trek are bought from the huts' operators under their own conditions.

Who this isn't for

If you want to walk the W with no advance planning, this is the wrong trip: without reservations the park will not let you into the mountain area. If you travel with children under 12, CONAF advises against taking them on the W and other trails, and says minors must stay with a parent or guardian. Two of the park tour listings we checked state that they are not wheelchair accessible. And if you want a guaranteed clear view of the towers, no ticket gives you that.