Looking for an itinerary and car rental in Chilean Patagonia

Hello,

For our trip in September 2025 from mid-September to early October (3 weeks), we’ve planned 8 days in San Pedro, then a transit night in Santiago, 8 days in Chilean Patagonia, and 3 days for Santiago/Valparaíso before heading back. Is it possible to easily explore with a rental car from a lodge based in Puerto Natales, including visiting Torres del Paine National Park? Or does that mean too much driving in a day, or would it be better to plan an overnight stay in the park or nearby?

We applied for our international driver’s permit in January 2025 for September, hoping to get it in time—I checked the forum about this. Regarding the car rental, do we really need a credit card (not debit) in the main driver’s name for the deposit?

How far in advance should we book entry tickets to the national parks for this period?

Best regards,

Odile

Good evening, 8 days in San Pedro seems like a lot, but if you include a tour to the Salar de Uyuni, it makes sense. For Puerto Natales, be aware that some treks can only be done with a guide in winter (from May to September). If you're only doing day hikes, you can make round trips by car from Puerto Natales—it’ll add about 3 hours total, but it’ll save you from paying a lot for accommodation. If you can spend at least one night inside the park, it’s worth it, if only to see the sunrise and sunset. Are you planning to cross into Argentina to see Perito Moreno and maybe El Chaltén? You can do that by booking one or more accommodations on-site, since El Calafate is about 5 or 6 hours away by road, plus another 1.5 hours to the glacier. For now, you don’t need to book entries to the National Parks more than a few days in advance, or even the same day. However, you *do* need to book accommodations if you’re planning to do the W trek, for example. If you have your international driver’s permit, that’s great, but Chileans aren’t too strict about it. On the other hand, a credit card is a must—it’s hard to get by without one. Make sure it’s written on it.

Good evening, Thanks for all this information and advice. Actually, we’re spending 5 full days in San Pedro. We haven’t planned to go to Argentina for now, but we’d love to visit the Strait of Magellan, spend a night in Torres del Paine Park, and see the Grey Glacier. Best regards, Odile

Hi,

I completely agree with @Sheepie’s comments.

Torres del Paine National Park is stunning, but the prices charged by hotels there are prohibitive—or nearly so.

Regarding the international driver’s permit, in theory, it should be mandatory, but in practice, if there’s a check, it all depends on the driver’s nationality.

Have a great trip!

Thierry

Thanks, we’ll refine our search and keep planning our trip. What do you think about visiting Bernardo O’Higgins Park at the end of September, since we probably won’t be spending 48 hours in Torres del Paine after all? Odile