El Calafate to Puerto Natales by Bus: Crossing Into Chile (and Why It Took Two Hours Longer)
I'll be honest, I didn't give the bus to Chile much thought before we got on it. We'd already done two buses in Patagonia and both were easy, so I assumed this one would be the same, just a bit longer. Our ticket said we'd be in Puerto Natales by 5:30pm. At 7:27pm I was filming us five minutes out of town, and most of the difference had been spent sitting at two borders!
We took this bus on Saturday 24 January 2026, the last leg of our Patagonia trip without camping, from El Calafate in Argentina to Puerto Natales, the Chilean town you sleep in for Torres del Paine. In this guide I'll go through how we bought the tickets, the form and the little tax you need to sort before you board, how long each border took, the halfway food stop, and what it was like arriving on the other side.
El Calafate to Puerto Natales by Bus, My Quick Answer
Short answer is that it's an easy bus but a long day. It's sold as about five hours, it took us seven hours twenty, and almost all of the extra time was the two border crossings. Leave the evening free, fill in the Chile declaration form online before you go, and pay the boarding tax at the El Calafate terminal before you get on.
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| What we found | |
|---|---|
| Departure | The 11:50am bus, which actually left at 12:05pm |
| Journey time | About 5 hours 15 minutes on paper, 7 hours 20 minutes for us |
| Arrival | The ticket said 5:30pm, we pulled in at about 7:30pm |
| Price | 50,000 Argentine pesos, about A$51 each, January 2026 |
| Extra to pay | The boarding tax at information box 9, about A$4 |
| Before you board | The online declaration form for Chile, then check in at the bus company desk |
| Border time | About an hour at the Argentine post, 30 to 40 minutes at the Chilean one |
| Cash discount | 15% off in US dollars, 10% off in pesos, paying cash at the terminal |
| Food | One stop about halfway |
Buying the Bus Ticket (and the Cash Discount)
Daniel bought our tickets to Chile at the El Calafate bus terminal the afternoon before, straight after we'd come back on the bus from El Chaltén. By then we'd learned the hack the hard way, because we'd booked our first bus online at full price before someone told us you can get cheaper tickets at the terminal itself!
Buy at the terminal and pay cash. You skip the online booking fees, and if you pay in US dollars cash you get 15% off, or 10% off in Argentine pesos. Our ticket worked out at 50,000 pesos, about A$51 each, in January 2026.
Or book ahead. If you're travelling in January or February and need a seat on a particular day, you can check El Calafate to Puerto Natales buses here and pick your own date. You'll pay a bit more than cash at the counter, but you won't be relying on a seat being free on the day.
We used the same bus company for all three of our buses in Patagonia, and this was the third, so by now we knew exactly what we were getting! As I said that morning, "The buses are so comfortable. The seats are really big. Toilets are good." There are other companies on this route too, and I'd just compare the departure times and prices and pick whichever suits you.
One more tip from us: stay near the terminal the night before. Our second Airbnb in El Calafate was right by the bus station, purely so we could walk to the Chile bus in the morning, and it was still only about a 15 minute walk into town for dinner. If you'd rather a hostel, Folk Hostel is about 400 metres from the terminal (it's on the cards below).
Before You Board: Declaration Form, Check-In and Boarding Tax
There are three little jobs on the morning, and none of them take long.
1. The declaration form for Chile. You fill in a declaration online before you cross. "It's super easy." It's your passport details and a few questions. My phone wasn't working that morning, so we did both of ours on Daniel's.
2. Check in at the bus company desk. This one surprised us, because for our buses inside Argentina we'd just turned up and got on! For a border crossing you have to physically check in at the company's desk in the terminal before you board, so build in a few minutes for it.
3. Pay the boarding tax. Just like on the El Chaltén bus, there's a terminal boarding tax that isn't included in your ticket. You pay it at information box number 9 inside the El Calafate terminal, and ours was 4,000 pesos, about A$4 each. "Bizarre, I know." The staff will tell you if you haven't done it, but it's easier to go there first. (The whole El Chaltén leg, with the same tax, is in my El Calafate to El Chaltén bus guide.)
The Border Crossings, and Why It Took Two Hours Longer
Our bus was the 11:50am, and we pulled out at 12:05pm. I thought the trip was about 5 hours and 15 minutes, and our ticket told us we'd arrive at 5:30pm.
What actually happened is that you cross two borders, one after the other, with a stretch of road in between that belongs to neither country. First you stop at the Argentine post to leave Argentina, then you drive on to the Chilean post to enter Chile. We sat at the Argentine border for probably about an hour. The Chilean one was faster, more like 30 to 40 minutes. Add the halfway stop, and our "five hour" bus left at 12:05pm and was still five minutes outside Puerto Natales at 7:27pm.
So my honest advice is to treat this as a full travel day. Don't book a tour for that evening, don't plan a dinner reservation for 6pm, and if you're doing Torres del Paine the next morning, sort it out before you leave El Calafate or straight after you arrive. We sorted ours out that night, in the hostel, which I'll get to!
The whole crossing, from the declaration form at the terminal to pulling into Puerto Natales, is in part two of our vlog from 15:52.
The Halfway Stop
About halfway through the drive, the bus stopped for a short break, and we got choripán. If you haven't had one, it's chorizo sausage in a bread roll, and ours came with tomato, mayo and ketchup (Daniel added lettuce to his). Two of them and a drink came to about A$20 for the both of us, so about A$10 each, and honestly it was exactly what we needed on a long bus day!
It's the only proper food stop we had, so bring snacks and water. There's a toilet on board, and the seats are big and comfortable for the long stretches in between.
Arriving in Puerto Natales
We got into Puerto Natales just before 7:30pm and took an Uber from the bus to our hostel, which was 2,000 Chilean pesos, about A$3.35 each.
The first thing I noticed was the cold! "It is significantly colder here than Argentina, guys. I'm almost as cold as I was going up the hike." I mean the Fitz Roy hike, which started at 1:45 in the morning, so keep a warm layer out of your big bag for the arrival.
The second thing was the forecast. It was meant to be "really, really average pretty much for the next week", and we were supposed to be hiking in Torres del Paine the next day! We're very last minute, nothing was booked, and that night we swapped the hike for a full-day bus tour, which I still rated 10 out of 10 despite the weather. That whole story is in our Torres del Paine day tour without the W Trek.
Before any of that, we headed out for dinner at a busy brewpub the hostel recommended, and finished the night with a free hot chocolate from the hostel kitchen. Where we stayed, where we ate and what I'd do with a spare day are in my Puerto Natales guide.
Where to Stay at Each End
For the night before, stay close to the El Calafate terminal so you can walk to the bus. In Puerto Natales we had a private room at El Patagónico Hostel for two nights, and Asói Hostal is the one I'd look at first next time!
Folk Hostel
Rated 9.1 from 1,298 reviews on Booking when I checked, and about 400 metres from the terminal, so you can walk to the Chile bus.
El Patagónico Hostel
Two nights in a private room with a super comfy bed, free hot chocolate and a brilliant shared kitchen. A$52.50 each a night in January.
Asói Hostal
Rated 9.5 from 338 reviews on Booking when I checked, with private bathrooms and a short walk from the bus terminal.
Every place we slept on this trip is on our Chile stays page, and the whole region is in where to stay in Patagonia.
Going the Other Way: Puerto Natales to El Calafate
We didn't do the return, because we flew out of Puerto Natales to Santiago and carried on north to the Atacama Desert (that part of the trip is in my San Pedro de Atacama itinerary). But plenty of people do the loop the other way round, starting in Chile and finishing in Argentina.
If that's you, you'll pass the same two border posts, so give it the same full day, and you can check Puerto Natales to El Calafate buses here. For what all three towns cost us, including all three buses, read is Patagonia expensive.
Still planning? Here is our complete Patagonia planning guide and what to do in Puerto Natales.
FAQs About the El Calafate to Puerto Natales Bus
How long is the bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales?
It's sold as about five hours, but ours took seven hours twenty in January 2026. We left at 12:05pm and arrived at about 7:30pm, because of an hour at the Argentine border and 30 to 40 minutes at the Chilean one.
How much is the bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales?
We paid 50,000 Argentine pesos, about A$51 each, in January 2026, plus a terminal boarding tax of about A$4. Buying at the terminal in cash gets you 15% off in US dollars or 10% off in pesos.
Do you need to fill in a form to cross into Chile by bus?
Yes. Fill in the Chile declaration form online before you travel. It's quick, with your passport details and a few questions. You also need to check in at the bus company desk in El Calafate before boarding.
Where do you pay the boarding tax in El Calafate?
At information box number 9 inside the El Calafate bus terminal. It isn't included in your ticket, and it was about A$4 when we went.
Is there a food stop on the bus to Puerto Natales?
We had one stop about halfway, where we bought choripán. Two and a drink cost about A$20 for both of us. Bring snacks and water for the rest of the day.
Can you go from Puerto Natales to El Calafate by bus?
Yes, the same route runs the other way, through the same two border posts. We flew out of Puerto Natales instead, so we didn't do it ourselves.
Final Thoughts: Is the Bus From El Calafate to Puerto Natales Easy?
Yes, as long as you treat it as a whole day and not a five hour hop. Do the form the night before, check in at the desk, pay the tax at box 9, bring cash if you're buying at the terminal, and don't plan anything for the evening. Then sit back, because it's a comfortable bus, and Torres del Paine is waiting on the other side!
