How much a trip to the Strait of Magellan costs

Three budgets

Three days, economy, Punta Arenas only

Two nights in a city of about 140,000 people, one short boat trip and one walk through the centre. Measured tours: US$ 131 for the Fort Bulnes trip and the city walking tour together, or US$ 246 if you replace the fort trip with the six-hour boat trip to Magdalena Island. Not measured on this site: lodging at roughly US$ 60 to US$ 90 a night, food at roughly US$ 25 to US$ 40 a day, and getting around town. Call it roughly US$ 330 to US$ 550 for the whole trip.

Five days, with the full-day navigation

The shape most people end up with: two bases, one big boat day and the Torres del Paine trek. Measured tours: US$ 420, which is the US$ 365 full-day navigation plus the US$ 55 fort trip. Not measured on this site: four nights of lodging at roughly US$ 60 to US$ 90 a night, five days of food at roughly US$ 25 to US$ 40 a day, and the bus between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales. Call it roughly US$ 785 to US$ 980, and note that the single US$ 365 trip is about half of the lower end.

Torres del Paine, three days from Puerto Natales

Measured tours: US$ 235 for the Base Torres trek and the Balmaceda and Serrano glacier navigation, or US$ 364 if you take the eight-hour Grey Glacier cruise instead of the six-hour glacier trip, or US$ 75 if you want the park in one long day and no trek. Not measured on this site: the camping and refugio beds inside the park, which are booked through CONAF on a separate system and go earlier than the tours; the lodging in Puerto Natales; and the food.

The tour spend, day by day

Prices measured in the GetYourGuide catalog on 2026-10-28. Lodging, food, fuel and the bus between the two cities are not measured on this site: check them before you book.

The rule of thumb

Spend your money on the boat days, not on the meals. In this region the food line is a rounding error next to the tour line: a day of eating at roughly US$ 25 to US$ 40 buys less than a single afternoon on the water, and it is the afternoon you will remember. The 12 trips in this catalogue have a median of US$ 125, and the US$ 365 full-day navigation is roughly half of what a five-day trip costs in total.

The second rule follows from the first: the trip you want and the trip you can afford are usually the same trip, because what you are paying for is time on the water. If the budget is tight, shorten the trip rather than economising on the excursions, and spend the money you saved on one good boat day rather than on three cheap ones.