Hello eager Patagonia travelers!
We’re full steam ahead for BOTH of our Patagonia trips for 2021:
Update Oct 2021: Read Here
Route of the Parks: November 15 – 24, 2021
Torres del Paine: November 29 – December 9, 2021
Chile Set to Open Borders September 30
Chile has over 85% of its adult population fully vaccinated and is making moves to open to certain tourism markets (including vaccinated travelers from the US) on September 30. The good news is that Magallanes (the southern-most region in Chile) has already opened its borders to transit passengers going straight to Antarctica. Progress is progress!
You can find everything you need to know about traveling to Chile on their official tourism website. Keep in mind – Chile’s borders are still closed at the moment, and the posted regulations won’t change until September 30th. What’s in place now will not be the same once borders open, and we must wait to see what the official regulations will be at that time.
The general feeling/expectation (word on the street) from the Chilean travel industry (and my tour partners in Patagonia) is that Chile will have a tourism season this year, starting in October, and that there won’t be a quarantine requirement for vaccinated travelers from specific travel markets. Again, we must wait and see what the official regulations will be, but positivity and optimism are coursing through the industry. As our trips are slated for November, we are in good shape to stay optimistic and await further news out of Chile.
Patagonia 2021 Trip Updates
All registered participants will be notified of important trip-related updates via email.
Best case scenario: Chile opens and we GO! Final trip balance will be due October 1 – after Chile has opened its borders and we can say for sure we are going.
Worst case scenario: If we cannot travel to Chile this November due to border restrictions, we will select new dates for the trip, at which time you may roll your registration over to the new dates. If you are registered and cannot make the new dates happen, we will give you an option to cancel with all monies refunded (see our Booking Terms & Conditions).
Flights: If you are registered for the trip, I recommend getting your international flight squared away (round-trip to and from Santiago with your travel credit card or CFAR travel insurance coverage). Be sure to check airline regulations and be aware of their policies for changing or cancelling tickets. Once borders open, we will select in-country flights to our starting and ending points that align with group transfers on the first and last days and let all registered participants know when those can be booked (better to wait until we know for sure).
Travel insurance: We highly recommend purchasing CFAR (cancel for any reason) travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage when you book a trip. This must be done within 1-2 weeks of your initial trip booking.
Argentina: While the Chile border situation is looking good, we unfortunately can’t say the same at this time for Argentina, and it is most likely the best advice to keep your travel plans to just Chile until further notice. That being said, we will not be able to offer the Argentina extension for the Torres del Paine trip this year.
Questions about our trips? Feel free to leave a comment here, I’ll do my best to find answers for you AND keep this post updated with any new info!
Last updated 9/10/21
