Name: W TREK ALTERNATIVE
Location: Torres del Paine, Torres de Paine, Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena, Chile

ChileTour Patagonia

Email address verified

58 reviews

Duration: 5 days

Group size: 1 - 8

W TREK ALTERNATIVE

Torres del Paine, Torres de Paine, Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena, Chile

Select

Download Brochure

ChileTour Patagonia

Email address verified

58 reviews

Duration: 5 days

Group size: 1 - 8

The 'W' trek is the name given to the W-shaped beaten track that interlinks the 3 Granite Paine Towers, the French Valley, and the Grey Glacier. The trek is approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) in total distance and is one of the most scenic treks in the world.

The W Alternative program is a popular option for those who want to have a more relaxed and less demanding adventure program. This is ideal for those on honeymoon, a family vacation, or those that want to have a less demanding nature adventure, and yet you will still be able to see the main highlights of the W trail, mainly, the Base of the tower, French Valley and the Grey Glacier. And during this challenging time, we value highly your privacy, and personal safety and we want to make sure that your adventure is smooth and hassle-free. For this program, we offer a premium version where all your trek will be private with the same guide/driver accompanying you and your meals can be served directly to your Dome or Cabin when in Puerto Natales and we can set up a table for private dining when you are staying at our Tiny House. This ability to give you a more private, intimate, and safer atmosphere is what makes our program unique and ideal for today's vacation trend.

Our reservation team will initially assist you in understanding your program and will guide you in your plans. We will then be advising you in your logistical and physical preparations. And when you finally arrive here, in Puerto Natales, our Garden Domes hotel team will host you and provide trek briefings. The next day, our Chiletour team of guides and drivers will be assisting you on your first day as you get to know Torres del Paine for the first time.

Our many years of accumulated experience, wisdom, and energy, our local team's knowledge of the land, and our nature-inspired boutique hotel facility, are just some of the reasons why it is worth while doing this most famous trek and adventure of a lifetime with us!

Two (2) nights stay in Puerto Natales at Garden Domes in either the Dome or Cabin accommodation (based on double occupancy)
Three (3) days tour and two (2) nights in a hotel at Torres del Paine National Park:

The base of the Tower Trek or a light trekking equivalent (group tour). A trekking guide for the first day of the trek to the base of the towers
Fullday Paine Day Tour (private day tour). With a guide and private transfer
Grey Glacier Boat Tour
- With a private transfer

Trek briefing with welcome dinner and drinks
Pizza night, on your last night with us at Garden Domes
Breakfast (American), boxed lunch, and dinner (3 courses) each day during your stay with us.
Chiletour private van transfer into the park and ferry ticket
Day pack and trekking poles for the first day of trekking and free luggage storage at Garden Domes in Puerto Natales
Regular bus connections from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas

Day 1
Day 1
Arrival
Garden Domes

Fly into either Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, or El Calafate (arrival at Calafate should be at least a day earlier). Bus Transfer to Puerto Natales. Welcome dinner & drinks followed by a W Trek briefing. Stay at Garden Domes. You either stay in a Cabin room accommodation (double/twin room) or in one of our luxury domes (depending on availability).
Read more
Day 2
Day 2
Base of the Towers Trek
Private transfer to Torres del Paine National Park. Trek to Base Torres (18km, 7-8 hours trekking) with our tour guide and small group. After the hike, you will be staying in either The Laguna Amarga Cabin fronting the base of the Towers or Hosteria Pehoe.
Read more
Day 3
Day 3
Full day Paine tour
On this day you will visit the popular viewpoints of the park, mainly the lake viewpoints and the wildlife viewpoints. The latter consists of Laguna Amarga lagoon which is home to a small group of Chilean Flamingos and where you can view the Paine towers. You will be visiting Rio Paine waterfalls and the area surrounding it is home to thousands of Guanacos and their predator, the Puma. If time allows, you can visit, as well, the Laguna Azul area where you might possibly see foxes, condors, rheas, armadillos, eagles, carancho, etc. The former, lake viewpoints that you will be visiting are Nordenskjold Lake lookout, Salto Grande Waterfalls, and the Salto Chico and the boardwalk viewpoint of hotel Explora. Stop at Hosteria Pehoé of the lake's turquoise-colored waters, and then head to the Pehoe campsite for lunch.

Furthermore, short walks or longer hikes can be combined with this day tour but it all depends on the weather condition and your physical stamina and interest this day.

You will either stay in Hosteria Pehoe or Hotel Lago Grey or Pampa Lodge or equivalent. We will be confirming with as soon as you confirm your final dates for reservation.
Read more
Day 4
Day 4
Grey Glacier Boat Tour
This 3 hours boat journey highlights the Grey Glacier area landscapes and the imposing Olguin mountain. This relaxing tour allows everyone to enjoy a unique mix of floral landscape, lush greenery and imposing mountains, the glacier blue ice wall and icebergs. This night you either stay in a Cabin room accomodation (double/twin room) or in one of our luxury domes (depending on availability).
Read more
Day 5
Day 5
Departure Day
Regular bus transfer to Punta Arenas Airport.
Read more

Day 1

Arrival

Garden Domes

Fly into either Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, or El Calafate (arrival at Calafate should be at least a day earlier). Bus Transfer to Puerto Natales. Welcome dinner & drinks followed by a W Trek briefing. Stay at Garden Domes. You either stay in a Cabin room accommodation (double/twin room) or in one of our luxury domes (depending on availability).

ChileTour Patagonia

58 reviews

Experience Patagonia with us... Because we care. From the time you arrive to the time you depart our local team of receptionists, guides and drivers will make sure that you have a smooth experience. Garden Domes and the Tiny House will be your home in Patagonia. It is always our desire to provide an unforgetable service and experience. And in this unique time in our world, your privacy, safety and convenience will be our primary concern by providing you a clean, quite and isolated place to stay.

We had a wonderful time. Given the age (minimum close to 50, and max is over 70) and hiking experience in our group, Ricci go way beyond what I expected a tour company would do to take care of their client. Due to the size of our group, there was a small hick ups prior to the trip. Ricci not only solve the problem, but made the trip even better than I was expected. The food prepared by Ricci's restaurant is fantastic!! W-Trek is a life time experience for us, and I definitely will recommend Ricci to our family and friends who want to hike in the beautiful Patagonia!

By Qin P for W TREK CLASSIC 7 Days & 6 Nights (Eileen Yan´s Group) on Apr 06, 2024

Had a great trek. Unexpected extras such as first day guide, parkside private cabins and final day pizza party really added value to our experience! I completely endorse and recommend this trek to anyone looking for a fantastic W trek experience.!

By David B for W TREK CLASSIC 7 Days & 6 Nights on Mar 26, 2024

We had a fantastic trip! We were a little nervous as we were not entirely sure what we were doing, and communication had slowed down after booking, but all that stress was for nothing! They really under sell themselves. The food was amazing and all the accommodation was awesome. We did the w-trek alternative, staying in a cabin at the garden domes, a private cabin the first night in the park, and a fricken amazing hotel the 2nd night in the park (hotel lago grey). We had amazing guides and drivers. Also, as we were catching a bus to El Calafate at 7am, the owner Ritchie found out we had no plans, and hooked us up with an awesome guide, who met us at the Calafate station. If anything let's this company down, it's some communication issues (very much a south America thing) and not letting you know how awesome they are.

By Georgia W for W TREK ALTERNATIVE on Mar 25, 2024

We had a fantastic trip that was well organized by the company. It was nice to go at our own pace on the trail while also having a group to meet for dinner at the end of a long day. There was a lot of high quality food for every meal. I highly recommend this company if you aren't interested in doing a full group tour, but want to simplify the booking process of accommodation/travel/food.

By Matthew M for W TREK EXPRESS on Mar 23, 2024

Chile Tour Patagonia take all the stress of organising the tour away. The price for the Active package was near the price if we’d booked everything ourselves so definitely worth it. The Garden Domes accommodation is fantastic. The breakfast served is brilliant. The guide on the first day is great as he gives you an indication of the pace you need to maintain. We did have a few problems which should be noted: Our first nights accommodation on the trek was awful as we were bitten alive by mosquitoes. They left the door open and lit the fire before we arrived which allowed them to enter. We had issues on our second night; the hostel said sleeping bags and mats were not booked for us and the following day’s lunch was also not included (These were included in the package we bought). The hostel said it happens consistently so i think Chile Tour try to save some money. Obtaining a refund for these took quite a few emails between different personnel (I think they hope you’ll forget but you just need to persist and keep the receipts). The welcome back meal is way to late (22:30-24:00), everyone just wants to get to bed so they should organise pizza to be eaten at the Garden Domes. Finally, they booked a taxi for us to the airport which, we thought was paid for, turned out we had to pay in cash - we didn’t have any Chilean Peso so had to pay in $ once dropped off, it was very awkward. Overall, I would recommend them.

By Nicholas W for W TREK ACTIVE 6 Days & 5 Nights on Mar 14, 2024

Show More Reviews

We traveled in January 2024 with ChileTour Patagonia on the W Trek Classic, we highly recommend them! From Eason's introductory email and checklist, to Gonzalo's attention to detail in making our trek arrangements easy, and Ricci's hospitality with our welcome and farewell dinners, everything was handled so you can concentrate on the trek. All the lodges were good, we especially loved our cabin after the first day of hiking, as our party had it all to ourselves! For what you pay, ChileTour Patagonia was a great value, and we would recommend any travelers to the Torres del Paine National Park make ChileTour Patagonia your first stop!

By Eric and Michael A on 23 Jan, 2024

We had such a wonderful time hiking the W, but that will happen regardless of how you book this trek. What Ricci and his crew do is; bend over backwards to make one feel welcome and at home. We were greeted with smiles off our bus from El Calafate, taken to awe inspiring views and a cup of tea at the garden domes and then gathered together to make a new little trekking family through a delicious meal at their restaurant Le Brisket. Coming off the trail was just as relaxing and refreshing, but most importantly filled with pizza! I would 100% work with this crew again and recommend them to all my friends and family. Not always prompt, but if you contact them through Whatsapp they will get back to you! There are a lot of moving pieces that the ChileTour crew is always juggling because they fits their service to the groups coming in; and all the problems that can arise from different people coming from different directions. However, I always trusted and they always provided everything we needed. Just reach out to them!

By Emily C on 24 Nov, 2023

More Photos