Taking a bus through Southern Patagonia may seem daunting, especially with the border crossings. However, it is the most economical way to travel through this region. We’ve broken down the travel into three sections.
From Ushuaia, Argentina to Puerto Natales, Chile
You can read about what to do in Ushuaia here.
You can read about what to do in Torres del Paine (the main reason to go to Puerto Natales) here.
Ushuaia is the southernmost town in Argentina and the nearest town to Tierra del Fuego National Park and cruises to Antarctica. Puerto Natales is a town in Chile and is the access point to Torres del Paine National Park. Both of these towns are hub access points to some of the most popular activities in the Patagonia region. While taking a bus through Patagonia to visit both of them may seem daunting due to having to cross a border and take a ferry, there is a simple bus solution that can help you get between the two destinations in one or two days.
Booking Your Bus Ticket
Bus Sur is the only bus company to do this trip and they will help you through the border and ferry crossings. Their website is in both Spanish and English. To get between these two locations, you will need to book two separate buses, one between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas and one between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales.
You will want to purchase the ticket between Punta Arenas and Ushuaia first. This bus runs every other day and changes depending on the summer or winter seasons.
If you are coming from Puerto Natales, you will need to book the bus from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas the prior day. If you are coming from Ushuaia, you may be able to do the whole trip in one day if you book the last bus leaving Punta Arenas for Puerto Natales. You will need to look at the expected arrival and departure times of the buses as this may be different in summer versus winter.
The Journey Between Ushuaia and Puerto Natales
We took the bus from Ushuaia to Puerto Natales and will be describing the journey in that direction. If you are looking to go in the other direction, the experience should be similar, just in the reverse direction.
We started our trip early in the morning at the main Ushuaia bus station in the center of town. Here, we checked in and the bus driver helped us fill out our Chilean customs form. If you don’t have service, you can fill out this form prior to getting to the bus. This form is only for those traveling from Argentina to Chile. You do not need to fill this out if you are traveling in the other direction. We put our suitcases under the bus and brought our personal belongings on the bus with us.
A few hours into the trip, we stopped at the Argentine border and got off the bus and were processed to leave the country. Then we got off on the Chilean side where we once again were processed. Here, we had to take all our personal belongings (not our suitcases) to get them scanned. Chile is very strict about bringing in farm and animal products into the country. The bus drivers will guide you through each border crossing and tell you what to do. There were mostly tourists on our particular bus and there were always people who spoke both English and Spanish to help those who didn’t understand. (If you are going in the other direction, you will not have to remove your personal belongings to go through customs.)
After these stops, we were given ham and cheese sandwiches and a bottle of water for lunch. We also chose to bring some snacks to hold us over for the ride. After a few more hours, we arrived at the ferry crossing.
At this crossing, you do not get out of the bus. The entire bus, with passengers, drives onto the flatbed of the ferry. We were packed in there with other trucks and cars. We could feel the waves as we rode across the water and some people on the bus opted to take motion-sickness medication. Eventually we made it across where we were back on dry land to finish the journey to Punta Arenas. The whole bus ride takes 11 hours.
While we opted to stay overnight in Punta Arenas, some people went directly to their next bus to Puerto Natales. The bus between these two towns is very straightforward and only takes 3 hours.
From Puerto Natales, Chile to El Calafate and El Chalten, Argentina
You can read about what to do in Torres del Paine (the main reason to go to Puerto Natales) here.
You can read about what to do in El Calafate here.
You can read about what to do in El Chalten here.
Puerto Natales, El Calafate, and El Chalten are three major hubs for hiking in the Patagonia region. These three towns give access to incredible landscapes that attract people from all around the world. Getting between them can be done by bus, even with a border crossing between Chile and Argentina.
The trip between Puerto Natales and El Calafate has a border crossing between Chile and Argentina. From El Calafate, you can easily get to El Chalten by bus so we will focus on Puerto Natales and El Calafate first.
Booking Your Bus Ticket
There are three bus companies that do the trip between Puerto Natales and El Calafate: Bus Sur, Marga Taqsa, and Turismo Zaahj. The overall bus trip takes at least 5 hours, including the border crossing.
You can book these tickets online or at the bus station but we recommend reserving in advance because there are a lot of people traveling between these two destinations, especially in the peak season of January.
The Journey between Puerto Natales to El Calafate and El Chalten
When going from Chile to Argentina, the bus driver will guide you through the crossing, including customs at both the Chile and Argentina borders. After the border crossing, we stopped at a gas station to stretch our legs and had the opportunity to purchase snacks. We got to El Calafate 2 hours late so if you are going straight to El Chalten, make sure to have ample time between your two buses.
If you are going the opposite direction, from Argentina to Chile, you will have a more challenging customs crossing at the Chile border. Here, you will have to remove your personal belongings from the bus and fill out Chilean customs form. If you don’t have service, you can fill out this form prior to getting to the bus. Chile is very strict about bringing in farm and animal products into the country. Make sure you declare food products on your form and they will determine what you can and cannot bring. The bus drivers will guide you through each border crossing and tell you what to do.
Now for the bus between El Calafate and El Chalten, there are three companies that do the trip: Marga Taqsa, Chalten Travel, and Cal Tur. This bus will take 3 hours.
From El Calafate to Bariloche in Argentina
You can read about what to do in El Calafate here.
You can read about what to do in El Chalten here.
You can read about where to go between El Calafate and Bariloche here
While El Calafate and El Chalten are hubs for hiking in Southern Patagonia, Bariloche is an access point for adventure activities in Patagonia, with biking, kayaking, rafting, and lake adventures readily accessible.
If you are going between Bariloche and El Chalten or El Calafate, be prepared for a long bus ride. There is one company that does the whole journey, Marga Taqsa. The entire journey between Bariloche and El Chalten or El Calafate lasts at least 27 hours. There are flights between these two locations but the bus may be less expensive.
The journey between El Calafate and Bariloche
If you are looking for a nice place to stop in between these two destinations, you can read about our trip to Esquel here, which is where we chose to stay between the El Calafate and Bariloche areas.
The seats on this bus are considered “cama ejecutivo”, or seats that recline to 160 degrees. These seats recline much more than the typical “semi-cama” seats on most buses.
The bus itself is fairly standard. It does not have USB ports to charge any devices to make sure to bring a portable charger. While they do provide a small sandwich and water, there is not much else that is provided. We bought empanadas from a bakery before leaving. The bus makes two stops (Gobernador Gregores and Gobernador Costa) that are designated a breaks where we were able to get up and stretch our legs and purchase snacks or drinks from the gas station convenience store.
Ultimately, we were able to get more than a few hours of sleep on the bus (more than we thought!) and we woke up ready to tackle this next part of Patagonia.