Torres del Paine is arguably one of the most beautiful national parks in Patagonia. You can visit the park as a day trip or do one of the famous trails that the park is famous for. Booking accommodation at Torres del Paine can be a little daunting as it requires research and advanced planning. That’s where this guide comes in as it covers all you need to know about where to stay in Torres del Paine and how to book accommodation in the park.
Where to stay in Torres del Paine really depends on what you are doing in the park and for how long you are visiting.
The biggest tip on reserving stays in Torres del Paine is to book your accommodation as soon as you figure out what you are going to do in Torres del Paine. I have a post dedicated to planning a trip to Patagonia with lots of details. You can read it HERE or below! Accommodation fills out fast in Torres del Paine, especially during peak season.
Accommodating Options Based on Activities
Day Trips
If you are visiting Torres del Paine as a day trip, you probably don’t need to stay in the park. Most day trippers and one day tours all start and end in Puerto Natales, which is the closest major town to Torres del Paine National Park.
Multi-Day Visits
If you are hoping to visit Torres del Paine for more than a day, then staying the night in the park or just outside the park makes the most sense. Puerto Natales is about 1 hour from Torres del Paine and is not worth the daily drive in my opinion.
You have 4 options for accommodation if you are not doing the full O circuit or the W Trek. These options are also valid if you are doing the W as day trips instead of staying overnight along the trail.
- Hotels
- Guest Houses/ B&Bs
- Cabins
- Camp sites
Use booking.com to see your options for the 1st 3 on this list. Remember to search for Torres del Paine specifically and not Patagonia broadly.
You may find some hotels that are just outside the park in a village called Serrano. This is actually a great spot. This village has a wide range of accommodation options from camping to cabins to B&Bs and even a 4-star hotel. However, despite being just outside the park, even these fill up fast.
There are a few camp sites outside the 2 main trails, these are Camp Pehoe which is right inside the park and Serrano campsite which is just outside the bounds of the park.
Some of the hotels inside the park, like Hotel las Torres, Hotel Explora are expensive. Hosteria Pehoe which is close to Camp Pehoe right inside the park may be a slightly cheaper alternative. Hotel Lago Grey, also inside the park is probably in the middle price range of these options.
Additionally, there are more hotels outside the boundaries of the park but most of these are expensive as well (i.e., Pampa Lodge, Rio Serrano, Tierra Patagonia). Hotel del Paine inside the Serrano village is a little more reasonable.
O Circuit and W Trek
I talk a little more about what exactly the O circuit and W trek are in the previous post HERE
You are limited to 2 options if you are doing either the full O circuit or W Trek. This is also true if you are doing 2 out of the 3 hikes on the W with 1 overnight stay (i.e., Grey and the French valley with an overnight in Paine Grande)
- Camping
- Refugios
There is actually a 3rd option – cabanas and domes. However, there are only 3 instance of these.
- Las Cabañas Cuernos
- Domes in the French camp
- EcoCamp Patagonia – not exactly on the W/O but close
There is also 1 hotel – Hotel Las Torres. However, this is an expensive option!
You can only hike the O circuit anti-clockwise, so remember this as you book accommodation. The W can he hiked east to west or west to east.
Camping and Refugios in the O and W
Before talking about camping and Refugios, I think it’s important to take a look at a map of the the O circuit and W trek with the accommodation options.
You will need to consider the number of days you are hoping to spend with the location of the camp sites and refugios. You need to really consider the distances you think you can hike per day. As mentioned, camp sites and refugios fill out fast and it will be very difficult to change your mind or adjust later.
Camping
There are a total of 11 campsites inside Torres del Paine National Park. They are run by 3 companies, 2 of which are private and the 3rd is government run.
- Vertice Patagonia – Dickson, Los Perros, Grey, and Paine Grande
- Las Torres Patagonia (Formerly Fantastico Sur) – Central, Serón, Francés, Los Cuernos, and Chileno
- CONAF – El Paso and Italiano – Government run with free camping but currently closed. The facilities are basic (toilets only). You need to bring everything. There is no update on when they will open again but you can check this site just in case
Notes About Camping
- If you draw a line diagonally from the top right of the “O” to the bottom left, Vertice more or less runs the top half and Las Torres runs the bottom half. Regardless of whether you are doing only the W or the complete O, you will have to book from both companies.
- This site TORRES HIKE actually consolidates both websites. It is down at the moment but keep checking as it can save you time. Another website that does the same job is Booking Patagonia. Even if you do not use these to book, they both do a good job of carving out itineraries for each trail based on the number of days you have to spend. For example, if you have 5 days for the W trek, it will tell you which camp site to stay on each day verses if you have 4 days. These 2 sites in my opinion are two of the best resources out there for itinerary planning.
- You have to book camping in advance and use designated camp sites. Wild camping is not allowed and you will be fined if caught.
- Each of the main camping grounds in Torres del Paine rents out tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping mats at a cost.
Campsites owned by Las Torres has 3 tiers of camping
- Premium – Tent will be clear of the ground, on a strong frame and completely set up with a sleeping bag, liner and mat. CLP $60,000 per person
- Fully Equipped – Tent will be set up on a wooden platform, completely set up with a sleeping bag, liner and mat. CLP $42,000 per person
- Ground Site Camping – A camping space on the ground or on a wooden platform, depending on the sector. Space for a 2 person tent. You can add gear as an add-on. Around CLP $13,000 per person
Refugios
Pronounced Reh-foo-hee-oh, refugios are shelters with dorm-style sleeping arrangements. These usually have 4-8 bunk beds in a single room. Within the O and W, these are run by the exact same 2 private companies that run the camp sites.
- Vertice Patagonia – Dickson, Grey, and Paine Grande
- Las Torres Patagonia (Formerly Fantastico Sur) – Central, North, Francés, Los Cuernos, and Chileno
Serón and Perros do not have refugios (They only have camping)
Notes About Refugios
- It’s cheaper if you bring your own sleeping bag and you will have access to hot showers and toilets (in some cases separate from those used by the campers).
- Power outlets are almost always in common areas (Refugios Paine Grande, Dickson and Grey have outlets in the room)
- Rooms are not heated and you need to either hire bedding or bring a sleeping bag (Central has central heating)
- All beds are provided with a mattress cover, pillow and pillow case but you can rent out sheets and bedding or a sleeping bag
- Power is usually out from around mid-night to early morning
- Lockers are available but you need to bring your own lock
- You can cook your own food (except at Chileno)
Food on the O and W
You have a few options that I will breakdown below below.
Self-catering
Whether you are camping or staying in a refugio, you can easily self-cater if you wish to. All accommodation options have facilities for you to do this (except Chileno). While self-catering is definitely the cheapest option, it is also the heaviest. If you are doing the O circuit, you need to bring food for 8-10 days, which will add to the weight you will need to carry with you.
Meal Plans
All of the camp sites and refugio offer meals and meal plans. These include
- Full board – (breakfast, lunch or boxed lunch, dinner) – CLP $51,000 – CLP $45,000 (varies by location)
- Half board (Las Torres only) – (breakfast and dinner) – CLP $35,000
- Individual meals – you can also purchase individual meals
Note – some places offer an option for a boxed lunch, while others offer an option for both a lunch and a boxed lunch.
Combination
It is certainly possible to mix and match between full board, half board and self-catering at the different sites. You will need to pick your meal plan at the time of making a reservation for your accommodation. Some let you decide later and some have cafe’s where you can buy food like sandwiches without advanced ordering. It is best to check the requirements of each location before you book your accommodation.
Incidentally, the meal plan is one of the most expensive parts of doing the O or W. The prices above increase if you are there on Christmas day or New Years.
Summary of Facilities at Each Location
Vertice
Las Torres
- Outlets are in the common areas
- Central Refugio has central heating. The rest has heating in common areas
- French has domes and Cuernos has cabanas in addition to camping and refugios
Sample Cost Breakdown
This is a sample cost breakdown for Paine Grande. Note that costs at each location varies.
All costs are per person. Sigle supplement costs more
- Camping with own equipment: CLP $8,500
- Camping with rented equipment: CLP $54,500
- Tent: CLP $23,000
- Sleeping bag: CLP $17,000
- Mattress: $6,000
- Bed in refugio: CLP $43,000
- Assembled bed in refugio: CLP $68,000
- Full board: $CLP $45,000
- Dinner: CLP $23,000
- Lunch: CLP $14,000
- Breakfast: CLP $14,000
- All out option (assembled bed in refugio with full board): CLP $113,000
What to Do if You Only Find Accommodation for Some Nights but Not Others?
As the W trek is the shorter trail, the campsites and refugios on the W gets filled up the fastest. The O circuit is less traveled and as long as you book in advance you generally should be ok. If you can’t find accommodation on some of the W campsites and refugios, you can also do the W as day hikes (see the section multi-day hikes above for accommodation options).
Where to Eat in Torres del Paine (If not doing the O or W)
It is worth it to make a reservation ahead of time for the restuarants on this list.
Inside the Park
- Parrilla Pehoé – Camping Pehoé
- The restaurant in Hostería Pehoé
- The restaurant in Hotel Lago Grey
- Río Pingo Cafeteria (close to hotel Lago Grey)
- Restaurant at Hotel las Torres
- Pudeto Catamaran Dock And Cafeteria
Villa Serrano
- Morrena Lodge – +56 9 7587 8527
- Hotel del Paine
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