New Year's Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén

El Chaltén, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

RT
Runcation Travel
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33 reviews
Dec 29, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020
Group size: 6 - 12
New Year's Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén
El Chaltén, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

Runcation Travel
  • Email address verified
  • Facebook verified
33 reviews

Dec 29, 2019 - Jan 5, 2020
Group size: 6 - 12

About this trip

If you've dreamt of exploring Patagonia by trail running while staying at a combination of comfortable and scenic hotels and unique Argentinian refugios, or mountain lodges, this is the trip for you. Throughout the trip, we'll leave tour buses and crowds behind in order to facilitate pristine Patagonian trail running adventures on this running retreat. 


Our guided trail running trip will start in El Calafate, where we will begin our adventure with a visit Patagonia’s most famous glacier and one of the world's only advancing glaciers. We’ll get up close and personal to El Perito Moreño with some ice trekking on the glacier! We'll then explore further south to the Refugio Circuit outside of the legendary town of El Chaltén, home to Monte Fitzroy, Cerro Torre, craft breweries, pristine lakes, glaciers, rivers, grasslands, and some of the world's most spectacular mountain vistas. Our curated hotels offer the comforts of spa services, organic farm-to-table dinners, and breathtaking lake and mountain views. In between we'll trail run through Los Glaciares National Park and visit unique Argentinian mountain lodges and private nature reserves. We'll trail run from these base camps, where where vistas of mountain spires, glaciers, and remote lakes are enjoyed with mate, homemade pizza, typical Argentinian parrillas of roasted meat, ample Malbec, and artisanal beer brewed with special character and history unique to each location. Possible wildlife sightings range from Huemul (patagonian deer) to Condors and Pumas. 


This running retreat is the perfect mixture of comfort and exploring the uncrowded, off-the-beaten path trails of some of Patagonia's most spectacular sites. On this guided trail running tour with all logistics, lodging, and transport taken care of, enjoy a break from winter and enjoy a Patagonian summer on our New Year's running retreat.


This running retreat adventure is open to ages 15 and up of any pace or level of runner. Must be able to complete 7-15 miles/day of hiking/running, including 1,000-3,500 feet of elevation gain per day. Optional 12-week training package available from an experienced running coach to ensure you're trained and ready to go for this adventure of a lifetime! 



***We are also offering this trip March 2-9, 2020. Please visit the retreat host's profile on WeTravel to see more offerings!***

https://www.wetravel.com/profiles/liz-gill

www.Runcation.org

This trip requires a minimum of 6 to run. Please do not purchase flights until confirming with retreat organizer. 

What’s included

Roundtrip transportation from the airport in El Calafate, Argentina (at specific transfer time)

Entrance Fees to National Parks

Perito Moreño Glacier Tour, including gear, guide, entrance fee, and transport costs 

Transport between the different runs and lodging throughout the trip

Baggage Transport during our runs to mountain lodges

Trip logistics of route planning, lodging, and transportation reservations
Breakfasts included 

Dinners included during two nights in mountain lodge

Knowledgable guide and running coach along the entire route

A 8:1 ratio of guide to participants

Special bonus adventures optional including an estancia tour, wine tasting, and traditional tango shows given by local artists.

Not included

International airfare

Alcoholic beverages and lunch/snacks during the day

Travel Insurance

Dinners (other than evenings spent in mountain lodge)


Before You Go

Trip Minimum:

This trip requires a minimum of 6 participants to run. In case of trip cancellation, a full refund is issued to all participants. After booking, please contact the trip organizer before booking your flights and other travel plans. 


Passport:

Must have a valid passport valid through 6 months upon date of travel.


Travel Insurance:

Must have travel insurance prior to start of trip. 


Room info at the Refugios/Eco Lodge:

This is high season in Patagonia. Rooms are FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. If you are inclined to participate, book or contact the organizer ASAP as rooms will book up in advance by other vacationers.

Fitness/Pacing:

While there are guides to accommodate every pace of attending runner, this trip requires participants to be able to run/hike for 7-15 miles on trails at a time in mountainous climates with an elevation gain of 1,000-3,500 feet per day. Training for this trip is essential in order to be able to complete and enjoy the trip. It is highly recommended that you participate in the 12-week group training program designed specifically for this trip as a package add-on to ensure you're able to tackle the trails and get maximum enjoyment of this running retreat!

Weather:

Although this time of year is summer/fall in Patagonia, weather in the mountains, in Patagonia in particular, is variable and trail conditions are subject to change on an hourly basis! Patagonia is renown for its wind and changing weather in particular. Routes and itinerary subjective to change based on the safety of conditions and climate of the trail at the time of the trip. Please pack layers and options for multiple climates accordingly (a detailed packing list will be sent upon registration).

Visa Requirements:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Argentina.html


Current CDC Recommendations:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/argentina

Available Packages

Trip Price
$1,899
Deposit: $750

Available options

Itinerary

Welcome to Patagonia!
Day 1

Day 1: Our trip will start midday with a meet-and-greet and orientation meeting to meet the guides and go over the logistics and itinerary of the upcoming week! After meeting at the airport at the scheduled departure time, we'll catch transport to our comfortable hotel in a lakeside town with a view of Argentina's largest freshwater lake, Lago Argentina. That afternoon, we’ll enjoy dinner and refreshments to go over the week ahead. 

Your Organizer


RT
Runcation Travel
33 reviews
Runcation Travel creates international running adventures for runners. Instead of having to squeeze in a run on vacation, your run becomes the vehicle to explore and learn different cultures, countries, and landscapes. Our current runcations and trail running trips include hut-to-hut running adventures, retreats, training camps, and guided trail tours of the best trail running in the Italian Dolomites, Chamonix Mont Blanc, and Argentinian Patagonia, and more in group and custom itineraries. Our Runcations are for every level of runner.

Reviews

This was an awesome trip, and a wonderful experience! The trip was well planned out with great runs, but also plenty of downtime. Each of the runs were incredible and always ended up in beautiful scenery and sites. With a wonderful group of people that I met and have to say this was one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken!!
By Bethany L for Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén March 2024 on Mar 09, 2024
SL
Wow. The Patagonia Runcation was absolute perfection. We explored the Perito Moreno glacier together before heading up to El Chaltén for arguably some of the most beautiful running scenery in the world. Every day was designed to challenge us on the trails but each run was accompanied by rewarding views that seemed almost too beautiful for reality. I particularly appreciated the balance of trail running with other non-running activities, including the glacier viewing and the Estancia lunch and activities. The entire trip was expertly designed and organized and I would do this Runcation again in a heartbeat. To top it all off, everyone in the group bonded quickly over our love of running and adventure and we now have 13 new friends from around the world!
By Shelby L for Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén March 2024 on Mar 07, 2024
This was the trip of a lifetime for me. Exceptional views, great company and well organized. It was not “easy” and you should be in good shape and able to handle the climbs if you want to enjoy it, but if you’re up for it , you will not be disappointed. Patagonia is incredible and well worth the effort to get there. Runcation travel did a great job.
By Christine D for Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén March 2024 on Mar 05, 2024
The Runcation team put our dream TMB trek together for us. We utilized the custom trip option and are so excited for our trip this summer! They took all the hassle and anxiety out of planning a trip this big, so all we have to do is enjoy it!
By Taylor C for Custom Trip Deposit 2024 on Jan 18, 2024
This trip exceeded our expectations on every level. All of the accommodations booked by Runcation were great. We had a good mix of hotel and refuge/hut stays, and they were all very comfortable. Some were quirkier than others, but it was all part of the charm. They were all clean and had warm showers, so it beat camping by a long shot. We were also very grateful for the luggage transfers, which all worked flawlessly. It was SO NICE to only carry a daypack each day. We did a self-guided trip, which meant that Runcation provided us with a brief description of each day's trek along with the GAIX track for each day. It was perfect for the style of trek/travel that we like to do. When paired with a book about the Tour du Mont Blanc, we had all the info we needed. Runcation did the heavy lifting on the logistics which meant that we could just enjoy the trails, scenery, and food :-) We would definitely book with Runcation again.
By Erin G for Erin + Friends Custom Self-Guided TMB Sept 9-18, 2023 on Sep 29, 2023
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References

My husband and I went on the Hut to Hut run in the Dolomites, July 2022. What a luxury to have all accommodations booked and luggage transport taken care of, for us! The scenery was unimaginable, and you just can't imagine the beauty-you have to be there! We had 8-15 miles runs each day and felt challenged by the ascents and terrain, but not defeated. (We are from Ohio, NO moutains.) The runcation organizer, Liz and guide, Dario took care of all of the logistics and it was amazing to just have to cover ground an eat a bunch of great food! Thanks for a fantastic experience.
By Amanda F on 21 Jul, 2022
The tldr: Do it! This was an amazingly well planned trip (thoughtful planning, clearly),, the runs and views were unforgettable, and I'm already looking at the next one I can go on. The longer version: Runcation in Patagonia was amazing. Every thing was well-planned, the views were unforgettable, the crew was the best you could ask for, we stayed at nice spots with great staff...I could go on and on. Also, as someone who is super type-A, I really appreciate all of the early communication of expectations, what to pack, itineraries, and super quick responses from Liz.
By Marne P on 05 Jan, 2020