Torres del Paine tours: all six, sorted by a local guide

In short: most first-timers should take the full-day tour from Puerto Natales — hotel pickup, park entrance handled, and the icons seen from the vehicle and short walks rather than a trek. Fit walkers with a single day can earn the towers on the Base of the Towers hike. People with five days and trained legs can do the W Trek. I’ve worked all of these routes over twelve seasons; below is how I’d choose between them.

Tours listed6

Day tours4 · 12–16 h

Day hike22 km · 15 h

Glacier cruise3 h on the water

W Trek5 days

Main basePuerto Natales

The ladder: match the tour to your legs and your calendar

I sort every visitor onto one of four rungs. Three hours gets you the Grey Glacier boat, a catamaran to the glacier wall from inside the park. One easy day gets you the full-day tour from Puerto Natales, the Milodón Cave combo, or the version from Punta Arenas — all with the entrance fee in the price. One hard day gets you the Base of the Towers hike, 22 km on foot. Five days gets you the W Trek Express. Each rung asks more of your budget and your legs, and the towers at the Laguna Amarga viewpoint look much the same from a van window as they do after a long walk. Pick the rung your knees and your flight schedule allow, not the one the internet says you should want.

One day, no serious hiking

Four options here, and the full day tours page compares them stop by stop. The short version: the full-day tour from Puerto Natales is the one I recommend to most people. The combo adds a guided hour in the Milodón Cave and more time at each viewpoint. The Punta Arenas departure is a 16-hour day for people who cannot base themselves in Puerto Natales. The boat is the odd one out: it starts inside the park, so it needs its own transport plan.

BestsellerEntry fee included

On foot: one hard day, or five

The Base of the Towers day hike is 22 km round trip inside a 15-hour door-to-door day — a real walk, not a stroll with a long name. The W Trek Express packages the classic five-day W with beds, most meals and transfers, and its refugio beds sell out months ahead for December to February. Effort details and who should skip them are on the hiking tours page; the trek gets its own W Trek deep-dive.

Iconic hikeEntry fee included

Puerto Natales: Base of the Towers Day Hike

Torres del Paine: W Trek Express

★ 4.7 · 114 reviews

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Three tours, side by side

The bottom rung, the middle rung and the top rung, side by side.

	Torres del Paine: 3-Hour Scenic Boat Tour to Grey Glacier	Top pickPuerto Natales: Torres del Paine Full Day Tour	Torres del Paine: W Trek Express
Departs from	Inside the park	Puerto Natales	Puerto Natales
Time	3 h on the water	12 h door to door	5 days
Walking	~3 km beach approach	Short optional walks	~70–80 km total
Entrance fee	Included	Included	Not included
Best for	Glacier close-up	Most first-timers	Committed trekkers
	View →	Book this →	View →

Check dates for the tour most people book

The full-day tour runs year-round with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, so booking early costs you nothing but locks in your date.

Check dates & book the full-day tour

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

Insider tip

Every tour on this page except the W Trek includes the park entrance fee. That matters more than it sounds: CONAF sells tickets in advance online, not at the gate, and the fee is a serious chunk of a day-tour price. The arithmetic is on the cost page.

Read the write-ups before you book

I’ve written each tour up separately — what the day actually looks like, what reviewers praise and what they complain about. Start with the review hub, which ranks all six.

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Frequently asked questions

Which Torres del Paine tour is best for most people?

The full-day tour from Puerto Natales. It covers the towers viewpoint at Laguna Amarga, Salto Grande, Lago Pehoé and the Grey Lake beach in one 12-hour day, with hotel pickup and the entrance fee included. My full verdicts by traveller type are on the best tour page.

Do these tours include the park entrance fee?

The five day options do — every one of them. The W Trek Express does not; you buy the CLP 48,500 multi-day pass separately. Either way the ticket must be bought in advance online through CONAF, not at the gate. Details on the entrance fee page.

Do I have to hike to see the towers?

No. The granite towers are visible from the Laguna Amarga viewpoint, which every full-day tour reaches by vehicle. The 22 km hike gets you to the lagoon at their base, which is a different and harder thing. I wrote a whole page on seeing the park without hiking.

Can I decide at the last minute?

For the day tours, usually yes — all six tours carry free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and reserve-now-pay-later applies to most departures, so the sane move is to book early and cancel if plans change. The exception is the W Trek, where beds sell out months ahead in high season.