How We Travelled Patagonia on $15 a Day

Jul 24

Written By Josie

Time and again as we made our way southbound through South America we got asked the same question: will you be going to Patagonia?

We always dismissed this question – “it’s expensive,” we’d say, “so it depends whether we have any money left.” Surprise, surprise, as we crossed the salt flats into Northern Chile, we had to make a decision. Could we come this far and not go to Patagonia? It all fell into place when we saw bargain flights from Santiago to Puerto Natales on for $79.00. We booked them and vowed to do Patagonia as cheaply as possible.

And cheaply we did! We only spent £15.00 per person per day over 37 days and managed to hit all the ‘musts dos’, including the hiking the world famous ‘W’ trek and day hikes around El Chalten, as well as some ‘off the beaten track’ adventures such as hitchhiking northbound on the Carretera Austral and glacier trekking.

We loved Patagonia; it was absolutely one of the highlights of South America and not going would have been a huge mistake. See how we managed to do it on our tiny budget:

What we spent in Patagonia

Exchange rates (Oct 2017)

ARS $1=GBP£0.043=USD$0.058

CLP $1=GBP £0.0012=USD $0.0016

Accommodation

A concerned campsite owner gave us a tarp to protect us from the cold!

We did a combination of camping (we already had a tent) and cheap hostels and guesthouses. Camping really did save us a huge amount of money, but we were in Patagonia in late March/early April and although we were heading north the temperature was dropping quickly. So, after several nights of waking up with a frost covered tent, we would periodically treat ourselves to a night in a hostel to save our sanity (and our toes!).

Camping

Argentina: 8 nights, ARS$1925.00, GBP£82.78

Chile: 11 nights, CLP$102000.00, GBP£122.40

Hostels/Guesthouses

Argentina: 7 nights, ARS$1848.00, GBP£79.46

Chile: 8 nights, CLP$101000.00, GBP£121.20

Transport

There are worse views to be trying to hitch a lift in front of…

IMAGE

Patagonia is a big place and getting around is an expensive business. We got a fair few buses, but inspired by the amazing Kristin from Be My Travel Muse (she has lots of useful information about Patagonia) we decided to try our hand (or thumb) at hitch-hiking. We weren’t sure what to expect, but our first experience getting picked up by a Spanish couple in a retro camper convinced us that it was the way to go. As we were heading the same direction as the couple, we ended up spending 4 days in their camper, setting up our tent at night and contributing a little to their petrol. It was a win win situation; an amazing experience and still much cheaper than the bus!

Argentina: ARS$2730.00, GBP£117.39

Chile: CLP$101000.00, GBP£121.20

IMAGE - The Carretera Austral

Food and Drink (cooking and snacks)

Due to our budget the vast majority of our meals were cooked either on a camping stove or in hostel kitchens. And we are ashamed to admit quite how many biscuits were consumed (all in the name of convenience, of course). Thankfully, delicious Chilean and Argentinian wine is divine and cheap and we had many cosy nights in with new friends playing cards over a bottle or two of red!

Argentina: ARS$930.00, GBP£39.99

Chile: CLP$48269.00, GBP£57.92

Food and Drink (eating out)

Spending most of the month eating powdered soup cooked on a camping stove, we treated ourselves to eating out only twice. After 5 days of hiking on the ‘W’ trek, we rewarded our bellies with well-deserved burgers at Grey Dog in Puerto Natales. Then, at the tail end of our Patagonian adventure, we tried the famous Patagonia Lamb at Alto el Fuego in Bariloche, which was an indulgence, but 100% worth it! We also had a few nights out drinking and the occasional empanada or pastry for lunch.

Argentina: ARS$1900.00, GBP£81.70

Chile: CLP$22000.00, GBP£26.40

Sightseeing and Tours

IMAGE: Sunrise at Torres del Paine

Although accommodation and eating out in Patagonia can be very expensive, many of the wonderful things to do are either free or cheap. Our main sightseeing costs were entry to the Torres del Paine park, which is CLP$21,000 pp, and glacier trekking on Exploradores, which was CLP$60,000 pp. Both were well worth the cost!

Argentina: We didn’t spend anything on sightseeing in Argentina. This was mostly down to the fact that all the magnificent day hikes from El Chalten are completely free!

Chile: CLP$172000.00, GBP£206.40

Miscellaneous

This includes spending that did not fit into the other categories – mostly fuel for our stove (though we picked up quite a few free canisters from hostels) and a few toiletries we needed to stock up on. However, we wanted to include everything we spent.

Argentina: We didn’t have any miscellaneous costs in Argentina, as we found that Chile was generally cheaper, so we waited until we got there to stock up!

Chile: CLP$10995.00, GBP£13.19

Total spend in Patagonia

So, there you go. That’s EVERYTHING we spent during 37 days in Patagonia.

Total spend: £1041.24

Daily spend: £1041.24/37 = £28.14 per day

Meaning we spent a grand total of £14.07 per person per day on average! Who said this incredible place wasn’t do-able on a budget? We’re glad we didn’t listen to the naysayers and went for it anyway…

If you would like to read more about our Patagonia adventure, including more money-saving tips, see our five-week Patagonia South to North itinerary.

Josie