The Ultimate 5-Day Self-Drive Guide to Torres del Paine (Chilean Patagonia)

Max here… welcome to PT2 of my South American adventure with Isaac (sorry Mia!).

Having loved our time in Chile’s capital, Santiago, (read about that here!) we quickly realised that our intial plan of visiting Easter Island was not going to happen. So, we looked for alternatives.

One plan was to head to Argentine Patagonia – basing ourselves in El Calafate and El Chaltén to tackle the famous Fitz Roy hikes directly from town. But, for various reasons, we decided we ought to stay in Chile and head south to Torres del Paine instead.

It turned out to be a marvellous decision.

The Journey South

Plan in hand, and having booked some cheap last-minute flights, we found ourselves at Santiago Airport (SCL) at 02:00 AM, for our 04:00 AM flight to Punta Arenas, Chile’s southernmost city.

On our approach into Punta Arenas, it was clear this was going to be epic. We saw beautiful mountains followed by a massive expanse of nothingness – perfect for a roadtrip.

The Logistics: How to Rent a Truck Last Minute In Punta Arenas

Isaac and I, in the true spirit of Sloths With Latitude, don’t do expensive organised tours if we can help it. We wanted freedom.

Given our plan change, we decided that rather than taking the bus from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales and joining expensive tours each day to the National Park, we should just rent a car. However, because it was extremely last minute (same day!), we didn’t have any luck finding a vehicle available for 5 days straight away.

That is, until I got a reply from Marina at Rent a Car Dachelet.

Having negotiated a good price for what we thought was the only available car in the city, she picked us up from the airport and drove us to her shop. We were greeted by a brand new Nissan X-Trail. It looked great, but I was slightly concerned about the lack of 4×4…

And that is when we saw it. A 5-metre long Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck, complete with reflective tape along the sides.

After some negotiations and a phone call to Marina’s husband, we agreed on a new price and climbed into our new beast.

Sloth Suggest Day 1: The Drive to Puerto Natales

First challenge: negotiating the streets of Punta Arenas (on the wrong side of the road) with a 5-metre long truck. We drove straight to the famous Punta Arenas sign, parked up, took some photos, and headed to a cafe to refuel ourselves (the truck was already full).

Then, we hit the road: a 4-hour journey through beautiful emptiness to the city of Puerto Natales.

Sloth Suggest Day 1 Continued: Puerto Natales

On arrival, we headed to our wonderful hostel: Hostal Kuntur.

Cost: Around £40 for a private room.
The Verdict: My word were those beds comfy – especially after hiking!

⚠️ Sloth Warning: Hostal Kuntur was Cash Only, so we went on an expedition across town to find an ATM. We failed at a few before finally finding one that worked. Make sure you have cash!

The Food: "Lomo a lo pobre"

After paying for our 3-night stay, we headed to a nearby shop to get food for a packed lunch for the next day. Then, for dinner, we settled on a place with the aptly descriptive name: “Patagonia Food”.

It was excellent. So excellent, in fact, that we actually ate here two nights in a row (and had leftovers on the final night).

Highlight of the menu? First of all, the local Torres del Paine beer. Secondly, a beast of a dish called Lomo a lo pobre. It’s a mountain of steak, chorizo, pork, chips, and fried eggs. Perfect as a pre-hike load and a post-hike recovery!

Having eaten masses, we walked back to our hostel (we felt safe here, just keep your wits about you).

Essential Tip: Make sure you buy your Torres del Paine (TDP) park pass online for the number of days you need. The 3-day pass cost us around £25 and is well worth it.

Suggesed Sloth Itinerary - Day 2: Base Hike

Day 1: The Big One (Mirador Base Hike)

Today we decided to do the trek that draws most to this part of Chile – the Mirador Base Hike.

After a great night’s sleep, we grabbed some fuel (best to have more than less!) and hit the road in the dark. Two hours later, we were at the park entrance getting our passes checked.

The drive involves about 3/4 good roads, but then you hit the track. I was very glad we had the 4×4 for this part!

The Hike: This is Chilean Patagonia’s most famous hike. We hiked up through the valley, passing the windy sections and the forest. The weather on the way up was “average”, a bit of drizzle and grey skies. But when we got to the top? The sun came out and shone for the rest of the day! (after the photo taken below lol).

We had a full hour at the top to take photos, eat lunch, and just relax in front of that iconic view. And the best news was that the way down was much faster.

We drove back to Puerto Natales, made some more sandwiches, and headed back to our fave restaurant, Patagonia Food. This time, we ordered the same Lomo a lo pobre – but for 4 people.

This meant we had enough for dinner that night and leftovers for tomorrow! And then back to our extremely comfy burrows…

Suggested Sloth Itinerary - Day 3: My New Favourite Spot

Another early start! This time, we decided to recreate one of the most popular tour routes in TDP ourselves – a collection of small hikes to beautiful vistas.

The drive in was perfect and so was the weather… until it got cloudy. Praying for it to clear, we parked up and made our way along the path to Mirador Cuernos (Horn Viewpoint) and Mirador Salto Grande.

We walked for about an hour. It looked as if the cloud was setting in, but just as we reached the viewpoint… the clouds opened up. It revealed the best views ever. We spent an hour here just enjoying the beauty and listening to the crack of avalanches in the distance.

Mirador Condor:

After walking back to the car, we drove to the base of our next stop: Mirador Condor. This is my new favourite place on earth. No joke.

First of all, it’s a decent 30-minute hike up to the top. But wow, are the views awesome. You get a panoramic 360-degree view of the most beautiful place on earth. And to top it all off, multiple Condors (the world’s largest bird) flew right over us. Just awesome.

As we spent so much time up there, we had to make our way back down and head home. However, having left the park, we found a lake and flew the mini drone with the Torres del Paine mountains in the background (remember: no drones allowed inside the park!).

That evening, we relaxed at the hostel and devoured our leftovers from the night before.

Suggested Sloth Itinerary - Day 4: Glacier Grey & The Long Road Back

For our final day in TDP, we left Puerto Natales early with everything in the car and drove to the Lake Grey sector.

This is a great way to spend a half-day. We went to the hotel and walked down to the lake. In the distance, you can see the massive Grey Glacier, but when you get to the shoreline, you will see blue glacier pieces (icebergs) floating right by you. We recommend following the path up to the viewpoint, too.

Then, we made our way back to the car, had some sandwiches, and prepared ourselves for the long drive back to Punta Arenas. It was a bit of a schwack, but totally doable.

The Final Night

Back in Punta Arenas, we headed to our recommended hostel: Hostal Host Patagonia. Owned by the nicest old man. Seriously good value, massive private room, and a great shower.

After dropping off the car, the owner kindly dropped us off at a local restaurant. Isaac and I shared a bottle of wine and had a delicious Crab Pie (Pastel de Jaiba).

We got back to the hostel for a good night’s rest, because tomorrow is a very early start… we are taking the 06:00 AM bus to Ushuaia; the world’s southernmost city.