- Three shapesFull W, 5 days, four nights in the park (Tangol Classic, Bamba) · W Express, 4 days, three nights (Say Hueque, Ecotours, Tangol Express) · star-shaped with a guide from a fixed camp on Lago Pehoé, 2–3 days (Howlanders, W Circuit Patagonia) · plus the O loop in 8 days (Tangol) or 10 days with a guide (Tusker)
- List pricesSelf-guided W packages USD 1,730 (Ecotours camping) to 3,330 (Tangol refugio) · guided: USD 565 for two days, 1,567 for three · O loop 4,287 to 8,600
- No guideSix packages explicitly exclude the guide – you walk alone with a map and are expected in the evening. Two have a guide for day hikes, Tusker names one only in the itinerary
- What is almost never includedPark entrance (CLP 48,500, online only) missing in seven of nine · catamaran definitely in four · tent and sleeping bag provided in three camping options, unclear at Tangol
- BedsA package is above all a reserved place to sleep: refugio dorm or tent, high season December to February, booked months ahead. Non-refundable in eight of nine
- CancellationEight packages “all sales final” · only W Circuit Patagonia (6 days) and Tusker (24 hours) refund
Who a W package suits – and who it does not
The W Trek in Torres del Paine National Park is a hiking trail with infrastructure: wide, marked paths, a refugio every three to five hours with beds, showers, dinner and box lunch, rangers at the junctions, a catamaran across Lago Pehoé. Altitude plays no role – the highest point is below 900 m. What makes the trek hard is the wind, weather that turns from sun to sleet in an hour, and the long days: Base Torres 20 km, the French Valley to Británico 20, the Grey day on the express packages 19. If you do hut-to-hut walks in the Alps, you can do this without a guide.
An organised package solves the problem you cannot solve from home: the order of the nights. The refugios and campsites belong to two concessionaires – Las Torres on the eastern side, Vértice on the western – and are booked separately; if you want to go in December, by July you often find only gaps. The packages here bundle four nights, full board and the bus into one price and take the coordination off your hands. What they mostly do not bundle is the park entrance, sometimes the catamaran, almost never a porter. If you would rather have someone along who knows the trail and keeps the group together, there are three guided versions – two of them star-shaped from a fixed camp, without carrying your pack.
Not on this page: the many Torres del Paine packages on Viator that combine hotel nights in Puerto Natales with a day trip into the park. They are not treks; we read 13 of them and left them out.
The five questions that decide a W package
With or without a guide? Six packages are self-guided and say so clearly: “guide excluded”, “this is an independent trek”. Howlanders and W Circuit Patagonia have a guide, Tusker describes one but does not list it. Four or five days? Five days means four nights in the park and every section at an easy pace. Four days means either two nights in the Francés sector and a 19-km final day (Say Hueque, Ecotours) or the western loop by catamaran with the French Valley as a day walk (Tangol Express). Refugio or tent? The surcharge for a bed is between USD 200 (Tangol Express) and 584 (Tangol Classic); at Ecotours the dorm is priced only for exactly two people. Three camping options provide tent, sleeping bag and mat (Bamba, Say Hueque, Ecotours); Tangol says nothing about it. What about entrance and catamaran? Only Say Hueque and Ecotours list the park entrance; Tangol writes “pay at the gate”, the others are silent. The catamaran is included in four packages, an “option” at Tangol Classic, only in the title at Bamba. Alone? Tangol and Howlanders charge the same price from one person; Bamba and Say Hueque charge USD 600 to 1,300 more for solo camping; Ecotours prices the refugio for two only.
What is never included: insurance, drinks, tips, the hotel nights in Puerto Natales before and after the trek, the bus from Punta Arenas. The sum is on the cost page.
Three recommendations for three travel situations
Nine products from eight operators. Prices per person, for two where tiered; season October to April.
Ecotours Chile – 4 days in a tent, entrance and catamaran included
USD 1,730 for three nights with tent, sleeping bag and mat provided, all meals in the park, public bus, catamaran and the park entrance that almost nobody else includes. Self-guided, no reviews, with a long fourth day. For those who want the W and not the refugio.
Main limitation: Self-guided. Same itinerary as Say Hueque (Francés two nights, long Grey day). Option says “pickup included”, exclusions “transfer to the bus terminal not included” – contradiction. Breakfast day 1 and dinner day 4 not included. Non-refundable, no reviews, “high level of fitness” required.
Check on Viator →Tangol – 5 days, four refugios from Torre Central to Grey
USD 3,330 in the refugio, 2,746 in a tent: the classic order Base Torres, Cuernos, Francés, Grey, catamaran, every night in a different hut with dinner. Self-guided, no entrance, non-refundable. For those who have five days and want every section on its own.
Main limitation: Self-guided: no guide, only accommodation, meals and bus are organised. Non-refundable; confirmation instant, then manual. Park entrance is paid at the Laguna Amarga gate yourself. Whether the camping option provides a tent is not in the data.
Check on Viator →Howlanders – 3 day hikes from Pehoé camp
USD 1,567 with pickup, guide, full board, catamaran and two nights in a fixed tent by the lake: Base Torres, French Valley, Grey lookout – back to the same camp every evening. Not a hut-to-hut trek, but a group and a guide. For those who want to see the three valleys and not walk alone.
Main limitation: Not a hut-to-hut trek: the group drives to the trailhead every morning. Park entrance excluded. Non-refundable, confirmation instant, then manual. Departures November to April.
Check on Viator →Affiliate links to Viator: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Converted at Viator's rate on 23 September 2026; Viator converts at the day's rate at checkout.
