After my trip to Patagonia, I got a lot of questions from people asking if I recommended using a guide or not. Truth be told, I was also questioning this during the trip planning process myself–while it is so much easier to just pay someone to plan everything for you and guide you along through your experience, I would 100% recommend NOT doing this for a few reasons.

1. You save way more money by planning yourself–think upwards of a $1,000+ which isn’t anything to scoff at if you ask me; that could go into funding my next trip!

2. You can be more flexible whether it’s with your overall trip dates, your day-to-day itinerary and even your hiking speed- I don’t know about you, but I much prefer to hike at my own pace and not feel rushed or spend all day waiting on others. This is my time and I want to go my pace!

3. You get to enjoy being outdoors and the solitude that ultimately goes along with the many reasons people go hiking/backpacking in the first place. I mean, who wants to be in a group of 20+ people when you’re trying to get in touch with nature?!

So, for all the reasons I just stated, I decided to dive headfirst into the planning process. While there was definitely a learning curve involved in this, I hope that my guidance will help you understand that you can most definitely plan this trip on your own AND be successful doing it!

Torres del Paine National Park is probably the most popular national park in Patagonia and is an incredible place for trekking with breathtaking scenery and diverse wildlife. Here you will find some of the best hikes in Patagonia, but make no mistake, planning a backpacking trip to Torres del Paine can indeed be overwhelming- especially the process of booking campsites along the route of your choosing. Several questions that usually arise during the planning process are: How do you find the right campsites? How do you book them? Are there facilities? to name a few. In this post, I will try to give as much detailed information as possible and you can even use this guide to help plan your trek and to choose your campsites.

Disclaimer: If there is anything that you take away from this post, it’s that I HIGHLY recommend booking your campsites first and foremost. These typically book up quickly and have the ability to alter your overall trip dates (read why below).

Entrance to Torres del Paine

It is highly recommended that you book entrance tickets to Torres del Paine online at least 24 hours before your planned visit.

Campsites in the park

There are 11 campsites inside the Torres del Paine National Park and they are all run by 3 different companies: CONAF (El Paso and Italiano campsites), the government organization, and two private companies: Vertice Patagonia (Dickson, Los Perros, Grey, and Paine Grande campsites), and Las Torres Patagonia, formerly Fantastico Sur, (Central, Serón, Francés, Los Cuernos, and Chileno campsites).

CONAF campsites are free of charge but have very basic facilities. The campsites were closed during (2022/2023) for repairs, but if they re-open for the 2023/2024 season, you should be able to make reservations here.

Private campsites (Vertice Patagonia and Las Torres Patagonia) have facilities that exceeded my expectations and offer fully equipped tents for rent as well as some indoor accommodation options. They also offer hot showers and a small store (snacks and drinks only); some even have a full-fledged restaurant where you can either preorder meals or grab them to go such as: burgers, pizza, beer and wine! the beverage options really made me a happy camper– pun intended!

How to book the campsites?

Book individually through the companies I listed above, or you can use Booking Patagonia or Torres Hike which are relatively new websites to help smooth out the process of booking since you only need to use one website to book and plan your trip. Although, I didn’t use either of these when planning my own trip, Booking Patagonia is recommended on the CONAF website.

Note: For the O-trek, you cannot book a separate campsite with Vertice Patagonia. Bookings can only be made for 3 or 4 campsites together. You can either book Dickson, Los Perros, and Grey, or Dickson, Los Perros, Grey, and Paine Grande. For example, these were the campsites I chose and booked, in this exact order:

• Seron
• Dickson
  • Note: I skipped this campsite for a longer day hike/shorter trip overall, but still had to book it online
• Los Perros
• Grey
• Frances
• Chileno

The Vertice Patagonia campsites (Grey and Paine Grande) for the W trek, can be booked separately.

How long in advance should I book?

If you are able, book as far in advance as you can especially if you want to visit during peak season, December – February. For reference, I planned my trip 4 months in advance to begin in March as fall is my favorite season and I was hoping for less crowds, but I still had to move my original dates by a week or two due to campsite availabilities (or lack thereof). Bear in mind, as this area gains popularity, planning may need to begin even earlier.

Torres del Paine Map + Campsites

Distances on the O-trek

• Day 1. Puerto Natales – Central campsite, Torres del Paine (bus). Central campsite – Serón campsite 13 km/ 8 mi.
• Day 2. Serón campsite – Dickson campsite, 18 km/ 11 mi
• Day 3. Dickson campsite – Los Perros campsite, 12 km/ 7.5 mi
• Day 4. Los Perros campsite – Grey campsite, 15 km/ 9 mi
• Day 5. Grey campsite – Francés campsite, 20 km/ 12.5 mi
• Day 6. Francés campsite – Chileno campsite, 20 km/ 12.5 mi
• Day 7. Chileno campsite – Mirador Las Torres – Central campsite, 14 km/ 8.5 mi – Central campsite – Puerto Natales (bus)

Distances on the W-trek

• Day 1. Puerto Natales – Paine Grande campsite, Torres del Paine (bus + ferry). Paine Grande – Grey campsite – Paine Grande, 22 km/ 13.5 mi
• Day 2. Paine Grande – Francés campsite – Mirador Francés – Mirador Británico – Francés campsite, 22 km/ 13.5 mi
• Day 3. Francés campsite – Chileno campsite, 20 km/ 12.5 mi
• Day 4. Chileno campsite – Mirador Las Torres – Central campsite, 14 km/8.5 mi- Central campsite – Puerto Natales (bus).

How to book refugios?

If you end up booking last minute and find that there are no available campsites for your dates or you just don’t enjoy the idea of camping, you may also have the option to stay indoors depending on what trek you decide to do.

Vertica Patagonia and Las Torres Patagonia both have indoor accommodation options– think hostel/dorm room, hotel, or some even offer a private cabin.

What can I expect overall?

Interestingly enough, you can really choose your own adventure with this one. Want to hike ultra-ultra light and fast or you decide to venture to Patagonia last minute? Booking indoor accommodations and paying for the pre-made meals are probably your best options and if you find yourself wanting to backpack the entire trek like I did, don’t worry about bringing propane (can’t fly with it anyways) or if you forget other hiking items (also like I did) you can buy almost anything you may need at most of the campsites or in town upon arrival. In general, just expect to have tons of fun and a trip of a lifetime!

Happy Backpacking!