Name: Torres del Paine W Trek Patagonia Tour
Brand: Howlanders
Rating: 4.5 (116 reviews)

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Torres del Paine Tours

W Trek

El Calafate

Boat Tours in El Calafate

Uyuni Salt Flats tours

Machu Picchu Tours

Salkantay Treks to Machu Picchu

Torres del Paine Fullday tours

Galapagos Islands Full Day Tours

Lost City Colombia - Ciudad Perdida

Iquitos Amazon Tours

Puerto Maldonado Amazon Tours

Cusco

Puerto Natales

San Pedro de Atacama

Riviera Maya

Uyuni

Ushuaia

Punta Arenas

Rovaniemi

Hike the 8-day O trek in Torres del Paine and discover Patagonia at its wildest

O Circuit Patagonia Trek

Tour with all services included and an additional night of lodging in the Grey Sector.

Torres del Paine W Trek 6-Day Tour (extra day in Grey)

Book Torres del Paine W Trek tour with all services included, the most iconic hike in Patagonia

Torres del Paine W Trek Patagonia Tour

Ice Hike on the Perito Moreno Glacier and boat tour. Transfers from El Calafate available.

Minitrekking Perito Moreno

Boat tour from El Calafate to see main glaciers, with optional stop at Perito Moreno walkways

Glaciares Gourmet boat tour

Explore Lake Argentino by boat, with a stop at Spegazzini Base and transfers from El Calafate.

Todo Glaciares Boat Tour

The complete 3-day excursion to the Uyuni Salt Flats

Uyuni Salt Flats Tour

Shared tour departing from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) and ending in Uyuni (Bolivia)

Uyuni Salt Flats Tour from San Pedro de Atacama – 3 Days

Shared tour to the Uyuni Salt Flats with departure and return to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile)

Uyuni Salt Flats 4 days Tour from San Pedro de Atacama

Boat tour to Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers from Puerto Natales

Balmaceda and Serrano boat tour

In a one-day trek, see the most spectacular views of Torres del Paine in Puerto Natales

Trekking Base Torres Viewpoint

Guided shuttle bus tour to Torres del Paine departing from Puerto Natales

Torres del Paine and Milodon Cave tour

Guided tour to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Machu Picchu with transportation by train

Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley 2-Day Tour

4-Day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu – All-Inclusive with Optional Entrance Ticket

Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

Discover the Peruvian Amazon with a native community

3-Day Iquitos Jungle Tour

3 days in the Tambopata National Reserve with transfers, lodging, and meals included

Puerto Maldonado Jungle Tour

The Torres del Paine W Trek Tour in Patagonia is a 5-day self-guided adventure. We offer everything you need to fully enjoy this incredible experience.

Book the Classic Torres del Paine W Trek Patagonia Tour

Circuito W

Walk alongside penguins on Magdalena Island and check out the wildlife on Marta Island

Magdalena Island Penguin Boat Tour + Marta Island

We had a fantastic time on the W Trek, we loved it.

However, our experience with Howlanders and the service providers on the trail was mixed.

The tents were generally comfortable and we were warm enough. The charging points in the tents in Frances were definitely a bonus! The extra liner provided by Howlanders was also handy.

Overall the bookings were fine and we didn't have any logistical problems after we arrived. I'd asked for vegetarian meals for one of us, but this hadn't come through properly on the booking, so I had to make sure to add it to every place that we checked in to. The people that we spoke to on all the sites were very accommodating of this.

Generally the food was not sufficient standard. There seemed to be a focus on fine dining / service, rather than ensuring that there was enough food available. This was particularly an issue at the Las Torres sites (Central and Frances). While the quality of the food was good, there just wasn't enough to support people hiking 20km. Although a 3 course dinner was advertised, the starter was a cup of soup and the dessert was also small, usually a small cup of pudding or similar. The main courses were always nice but again, on the small side. They were also inconsistent across plates, so some had much more than others. There was always a bowl of cold salad, but this wasn't enough as it was split across 8-10 people per table. Similarly, breakfast was one or two slices of bread, with a small cup of eggs, with cereal also available.

It was so a little frustrating to have set dinner times and then be kicked out of the dining area. Particularly at Frances where there was no indoor common space to relax.

The lunch bags were generally ok and enough to keep you going for a long hike. These have to be asked for at each site in advance, which is fine but I had to ask multiple people at our first site (Central) as no one seemed to know if it was possible. There was also much confusion about whether it would be possible to have breakfast early, to go. We managed it, but had to go through several people first!

Lastly, the vegetarian options were generally pretty good and had a good amount of protein, rather than substituting meat for veggies. We were pleasantly surprised at the decent veggie options.

The welcome drinks were always good with enough variety in options. Also, the food at our final camp - Paine Grande, was much better and we managed to refuel on the food we'd missed at the other camp sites.

Lastly, the welcome packs were ok. We've kept the water bottles and the sleeping bag liners, but my dry bag wore through on its first use so can't function as a dry bag.

Otherwise, the trail itself was spectacular. We really appreciated having the weather forecast at each hostel as it helped us plan. We managed to hike from Central to Torres for sunrise, which was worth the early start. I'd highly recommend the tour, but would advise booking separately or self catering.

The whole experience went according to plan. Everything was well organised. No issues with connections or arrangements. Booking was easy and would recommend others to use Howlanders. 
Not Howlanders fault but food at Grey and Paine Grande was terrible. 
Would also be good to advertise that there is an option to finish the walk at Grey and get a boat out rather than the walk back.

Great experience from start to finish and absolutely seamless with all the booking vouchers etc. 

The trek was challenging but that was part of the fun, with comfortable accommodation and great food considering you’re in the middle of nowhere. Really recommend getting up early to seethe sunrise at Base de Torres - the refugio can arrange breakfast and your lunch to pick up the night before if you ask!

It was just amazing! Everything was organised very well and uncomplicated. I could really enjoy doing the W-Trek.
I can 100% recommend booking with Howlanders.

We had an awesome experience! 
Starting from the Transport to TdP til the drop-off-back in Puerto Natales everything went smoothly.

Great trip but a couple of difficulty to get my bus and catamaran vouchers in the same time of the rest of documents.

Howlanders took care of everything so that I could focus on getting fit and hiking the trail. I know they can't control the weather, but I even got some lucky breaks there. I would recommend using Howlanders to get connected to the right operators and transport. Considering that I planned the hike only four weeks out (!) and still was able to get accommodations (tent) pleasantly surprises me.

The howlanders team was really responsive which helped and eased a lot of questions ahead of time, the experience was pretty smooth and almost seamless to make a great trip. 
We ran into an issue we didn’t know was going to be one with the PDI (immigration ticket) where it is not stated enough how MUCH you need this ticket or else there is a fee. I think howlanders NEEDS to make this much clearer in the email process and the guides/helpful documents as this was NOT mentioned to us. And also had to pay for pillows at the last sector. 
Other than these two misses, the staff was good, and Accomodation nice. Appreciate the help!

Es war ein unvergessliches Erlebnis! Danke Howlanders für die perfekte Organisation unseres W-Treks!!

The W Trek was an amazing experience. The detail itinerary and support provided by Howlanders was excellent and provided great information on what the trek would entail and everything that was required for it.
The trek itself was amazing, from the scenery to the accomodation provided and the friendly staff in all refugios, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. 
One word of advise though, do your training before this as it's not easy!
Photos and videos available on Instagram and Tiktok on "gonehikeabout" account.

Overall a great experience! Communication from Howlanders throughout was great and made the whole (unfortunately complicated experience if you do it yourself) so easy. However I do think it's expensive for what it is. Some things are in Howlanders control, others not. 
Under howlanders control is the number of nights, we could have easily done one less night, as the first day we arrived around 4pm, had dinner and went to bed, no walking. The next day was our first walking day, which we could have easily completed if we arrived early in the morning. This pro9would have saved minimum $150-$200 per person (one night, one dinner).
Out of Howlanders control are the cost of the meals anyway, however the non-pre booked meals look much nicer and are cheaper, so I feel a half board option should be booked too.
If you're looking to take all the stress out of this, I'd recommend Howlanders. However if you only have a mid range budget, I'd probably persist with booking yourself and buying some meals there, and bringing some food (but not ALL your food).

We had a fantastic experience with Howlanders. Booked online from the UK. Everything was organised and clear.

Absolutely loved the W trek. I would really recommend this Howlanders trip. It was really well organised - we had the freedom to hike without a group, but also without any hassle of coordinating access/accommodation/food/buses etc.. The Torres del Paine websites are notorious for making it hard to organise! Thank you!

The trek was beautiful and the accommodation and food was great .
The initial organization from howlanders was great and the information pack sent very useful. However closer to the trek I wasn’t able to be get a timely response from the team. There was supposed to be a number to dial for a info session the days prior to the trip and I attended the call but there but no one showed up to answer questions which was really disappointing

Fantastic service with everything on the itinerary going to plan. We were also lucky with the weather, which is of course not up to Howlanders, but made a good experience amazing

The trek was wonderful and the hostels well organized. Unfortunately, Howlanders did not connect our reservation with the group we were traveling with (and a part of), and did not share hostel rooms at either location. The hostels themselves are unable to assist, but the reservation should have been connected. Additionally, the final bus leg to return back to PNT had our names on it multiple times but was missing rest of the group, and was short a ticket. We had a challenging conversation with the bus driver (luckily we have a fluent Spanish speaker with us) and were lucky there was an extra seat in the front of the bus next to the driver.

Alles war sehr gut organisiert, alle Mitarbeiter waren sehr freundlich!
Das vegane und vegetarische Essen war am besten im Refugio Central, im Refugio Paine Grande könnte an dieser Auswahl gearbeitet werden.

Fui capable y feliz a andar todo el Circuito (incluso acceso al Mirador Britannico y Mirador Glaciar Grey). Pero al secundo dia fui regresando como planeado del Refugio Chileno al Refugio Central y despues al tercer dia saldaba pour ir al Refugio Frances. Hay un camino mas derecho del Paso de los Vientos al Lago Norgenskjold y au que la distancia al secundo dia seria un poco mas larga, mi parece que una ruta en cuatros dias seria possible : primer dia Mirador Torres y Refugio Chileno, secundo dia al Refugio Cuernos, tercer dia Valle Del Frances al Refugio Paine Grande, cuatro Dia al Mirador Glaciar Grey y regreso a Puerto Natales. Un dia menos en un Refugio deberia reducir le precio de Howlanders de 250 euros.

Decidi el ano pasado a hacer la reserva con ustedes porque fue mas facil. Es claro que he pagado un precio al menos 50% y tal vez 70% mas largo que si he reservado directamente con las provedores locales. Entiendo que hay un precio para sus servicios, pero la diferencia esta demasiado larga...

Howlanders organized the W-trek for us i.e., booking of transportation and accommodation and everything went smoothly, no hiccup, no delay, no error, no bad surprise… even sun & blue sky were part of the package!!!

The trek is not difficult for experienced hikers. The refuges at Central and Paine grande are great, the premium camping is very comfortable. The organization of the meals at the refuge at Frances is very disappointing because the space is far too small for the high number of guests. Though the view is great, be prepared to eat a take away in your tent and look forward the following night at Paine Grande!
Showers were hot, not always very clean ( e.g., Frances, Paine Grande). Overall, we were very satisfied with the services provided by Howlanders!

Excellent accommodation and food throughout. Welcome kit was really handy and the online guide was super useful

Die Organisation war perfekt, es hat alles super funktioniert. Wir finden jedoch den Preis deutlich zu hoch für die erhaltenen Leistungen (wenn man alles selbst bucht kommt man fast halb so teuer). Zudem war der Camping Grande sehr enttäuschend. Die sanitären Anlagen waren sehr alt und ungepflegt, das Essen war schlecht und das Personal nicht hilfsbereit. Die anderen beiden Campings waren hervorragend.

Superbe circuit W météo acceptable
Tarif excessif dans l’ensemble
Très bon accueil et bonne bienveillance par le personnel chiliens 
Très bonne rencontre avec les autres trekkeurs nationaux et internationaux

This was a wonderful adventure for us and we appreciated our accommodations, food, and logistics being done by Howlanders.  My only criticism is that I asked Howlander to link the 4 itineraries of us travelling together and while you said that was done, it was not done when it mattered.  I contacted your local operator to make sure all 4 of us would be put in a room together at the Refugio’s and they said we had to ask each Refugio when we arrived.  This was very annoying and stressful as we could have been split.  Howlander should have ensured when providing our 4 names for Refugio booking that we were in the same room - we paid a lot of money to you and when people are travelling together they certainly do not want to be split up for sleeping accommodations.
Just as an FYI, and I know this isnt in your control, but the Paine Grande Refugio was the worst regarding food quality, room size, and overall organization.  Glad we were there only one night. 
We all loved Patagonia and the trek!

Fabulous. Las Torres sites had better facilities and food, but overall, we couldn't fault our experience.

The experience was great from start to finish. Other than a few days of clouds and rain while in Torres Del Paine, there was no other things I would have changed about the trip.

Great W Trek tour from Howlanders. Option to self guide was absolutely what we wanted and accommodation was great. Good welcome pack received. So actual experience was great.
Booking was a nightmare. I wanted to make my own way to the park and it took over a month and about 20 emails to confirm this. It turned out to be so simple. I couldn’t talk to anyone at Howlanders, chat was pointless as the sales team couldn’t help and each email response started as a new thread, so difficult to track responses. If I had been able to speak to the local team this could have been sorted in 5 minutes.
So I would use Howlanders again, but only if no tweaks were needed to the package.

Generally good but didn’t feel like there was much instruction when we arrived. 

Also the last campsite we had didn’t provide pillows. Considering the cost we paid I thought we could have at least been provided a pillow

Everything worked very smoothly and on schedule.  Would use Howlanders again

We were happy with the facility, service personals.  They were pretty professional.  However, we experienced no electric plugs in the Refugio rooms in the Central sector, which brought a lot of inconvience.

I loved this trip.  Howlander took care of all of my travel details including bus, park pass, and refugio bookings.  

One tip if coming from US, try to go straight to Santiago then catch the 5:30 from Santiago to Puerto Natales.  You can get off the plane in Puerto Natales around 9 am and into the park in one day if desired.  This will save you a down day.

Los tragos de bienvenida apenas incluyen bebidas que no sean alcohólicas, en Paine Grande de hecho solo me ofrecían un café, nada de refrescos ni jugos. En sector central y francés me ofrecían un jugo al menos. La disponibilidad de más fruta sería de agradecer en todos los refugios y lunch box. En Paine grande los baños estaban un poco sucios. En todos en general el hecho de que las personas de recepción acompañen a la habitación retrasa el tiempo de check in y otras cuestiones de recepción. Sector Central y francés muy bien organizados. En todos ellos el personal muy amable. Por lo demás todo muy bien, instrucciones claras y fáciles de seguir, documentación recibida unos días antes y sin percances.

Scenery and trekking was amazing 
Camping was comfortable 
Transfers a little chaotic as there was no rep available everyone was unsure which bus to get on when we arrived at the park 
Extremely overpriced for 4 days camping 
Food was very poor quality and insufficient for an adult who has been trekking all day .Resorted to buying pizza or burgers which were far superior to what was offered

Superbe randonnée! Organisation très efficace et impeccable sur le circuit.
Un bémol: panne électrique à mon hôtel la veille de mon départ à Puerto Natales; je marche vers l’agence locale pour obtenir des infos. Je cherche le 83 Bulnes, face à l’hôtel Lago Sarmiento. Ne trouve pas cette adresse. Demande l’aide du proprio d’un hôtel voisin qui marche la rue avec moi. On ne trouve pas. On s’informe pour l’hôtel Lago Sarmiento…que personne connaît !Le monsieur téléphone au premier numéro suggéré…qui n’est pas en service ! Il rejoint quelqu’un au 2e numéro qui confirme mon inscription. Finalement, on trouve le Bulnes 83, dont la façade est perpendiculaire à la rue: maison en retrait, abandonnée sans aucun meuble à l’intérieur, face à l’hôtel… Darwin. Donc, veuillez mettre à jour les coordonnées de l’agence locale!

everything went very smooth and the vouchers and explanations you get before the trek are very clear. only thing I‘d like to bring on is that the day to day section should be even more detailled. for example putting the amount of time you will need for each distance everywhere, not only on some parts. also the amount of kilometers and other helpful tips. anyway, I would definitely book through Howlanders again.

This was a wonderful experience. The itinerary for the self guided tour was excellent. The refugios on the W Trek were clean, the service was excellent and the food was very good. Howlanders was very responsive through the whole process, start to finish. I would definitely use them again for another trip to Patagonia.

Well organised, made the whole thing very easy.

Alles war gut organisiert. Schnelle Antworten von Howlanders bei Buchungsfragen. Reibungsloser Ablauf vor Ort.
Wir hatten ein tolles Erlebnis (und Muskelkater inklusive 😀).

Alle Fahrten, Übernachtungen und Verpflegung waren super organisiert und wir waren überall schon eingebucht.
Gerne hätten wir noch bessere Information zu den Busfahrten gehabt, aber in Summe eine super Organisation.

The W trek was incredible and it was very nice to not need to plan food and lodging along the way. Dinner was fantastic, lunch was too much food, breakfast was a small amount of food. Overall the process was great. We loved our raised tents, the camaraderie with other travelers doing the same route and schedule was fun. 

The main negative was that our last night, we arrived to Paine Grande, they looked for our reservation and informed us that our agency hadn’t booked anything. They said it wasn’t the first time that had happened that day. They allowed us to stay and didn’t charge extra, but it was disconcerting after a long day of hiking, with no energy to hiking to another Refugio.

Howlanders did a great job setting up our trip on the W trek, made it easy to just go on the trip and not worry about packing camp gear as that was all included as well as not having to worry about meals. Very easy travel experience. Thank you!

The W-Trek is great. I can totally recommend doing it. We started the tour on 30th December an were really lucky with the weather. The problem with that is, that the sleeping bags have a comfort zone of -3 degrees Celsius. The temperature at night was maybe around 8 - 10 degrees Celsius and I was sweating my a** off. Without the sleeping bag it was too cold but with it it was just too warm. Besides that I cannot nag about anything. 

The tents, especially at torres Central and at Frances, have been super nice. The food and the lunchboxes were really good. We brought some snacks on our own which was totally unnecessary. The lunchboxes contained enough snacks. The showers, except at the Paine Grande have been really good and warm.

Overall it was a really nice experience and really comfortable way of a multiple day hike, because you don't have to carry food, tents, etc...

I had an amazing experience doing the W trek with Howlanders. Everything was well planned and laid out for me on arrival. I was given clear instructions and at any point that I had questions they were very responsive. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

I booked a 5 day W circuit camping trek along with one friend through Howlanders, and we had an amazing experience. It can be confusing and unwieldy to book everything correctly on your own to do this trek, especially if you are coming without a sleeping bag or tent as we were. Howlanders took all of the stress out of booking for us, and every step was covered and clearly explained from the moment we left Puerto Natales until our return. It really allowed us to just enjoy the natural beauty of Patagonia without the stress of wondering if we remembered to book the laundry list of amenities we needed at each stop (tent, sleeping bags, pillows, breakfast, lunch, dinner, entrance ticket, transportation). I would recommend using Howlander to anyone who is looking to do the W circuit with as light a bag as possible.

Trekking in the National Park of Torres del Paine has been a dream come true. We had a great experience with Howlanders organizing and taking care of the reservations for the W-circuit, the service provided by this agency has been excellent. Their team quickly answered our questions and supported us with all the preparation and provided very detailed and useful information about the trek, the accomodations, food and trip itself. It was also done in a very kind manner and all I can say is that we received a high-level and professional service from Howlanders. I can highly recommend this agency for anyone who would need support with the W-circuit prep in Chile. Thank you so much, Howlanders, you made our W-circuit an amazing experience!!

No fue una buena experiencia ya que me ofrecieron camping premium pero la tienda de campaña era la básica cobrándome la premium 

Booking with Howlanders made our travel plan quite easy! They took care of all the reservations and sent us information very timely.  I'd definitely recommend them and use them for future travels. 

 The only thing we missed and would have appreciated a much advanced info is Briefing time and location. Since the trail is well marked and we did our research well, we were okay on self guided trekking without briefing.

You could provide much more information ahead of time. Some information was provided only when I was already travelling and I could not prepare ahead. Information was confusion, for example you said I needed a towel, I went and bought one, but then one was provided ... so I spent money for nothing.
When we got to Paine Grande after walking 7 hours on the rain, we were given no conditions to be able to warm up and dry our clothes. We gave up one day earlier because we were cold and wet and got no way to warm up. Paine Grande was the area with most conditions but where we were given the least conditions!

En general todo bien. Sólo algunos detalles.
En el refugio Francés cuando llegamos nos dijeron que teníamos que acomodarnos en el domo 2 en las camas que estuvieran disponibles y a una pareja de ingleses le dijeron lo mismo. En el domo en cuestión de veían todas las camas ocupadas con cosas y estuvimos bastante rato esperando para saber cuáles eran nuestras camas. Finalmente a los ingleses los acomodaron en otro domo y en el domo 2 habían 2 literas disponibles que estaban con cosas de otros viajeros. No costaría nada numerar las literas y que uno las tenga asignadas desde antes y no que se ocupen por orden de llegada. Así uno sabría inmediatamente cuál es la litera que le corresponde y además se evitaría que viajeros que vienen juntos queden en lugares separados.
Por lo demás bien, sólo pequeños detalles como que la colación del primer día en el hotel pedimos sandwich de salmón y nos dieron de carne.
El parque maravilloso.

Howlanders put us in refugios and booked our ferrys and bus. Honestly they make a killing but the websites to book the refugios are so confusing it is kind of worth it. If I had more time I would have liked to figure it out on my own but I'm happy we just booked it through them this time. The girl who runs orientation in Puerto Natales makes you feel like you made the wrong decision not only booking through Howlanders but also flying 15 hours to Patagonia in general. I feel bad for her and hope she can find a job that she likes more. It does make you bond with the people around you though because she is so unfriendly and sets up the tone of the tour in a very oddly negative way.

Todo muy bien coordinado y de acuerdo al programa contratado.
Las instalaciones en los camping podrían ser mejores para una estadía de varios días, especialmente en Paine Grande donde no había agua caliente


Everything has been well organized, we felt comfortable in the  Premium Campsites, the food was pretty good, the Welcome Drinks created a homecoming atmosphere.

I am specifically sharing a review of the companies involved in this experience, as opposed to one of the park or the trek. I booked this trip through Howlanders in peak season, with only two weeks notice. I thought that I was not going to be able to book space to do the W Trek. Howlanders took one day to find an itinerary that worked, and to book camping, camping equipment, and meals for each location. All of the equipment was almost new, was clean, and was very good. I have a slight preference for the tents in the Fantastico Sur sites (larger, better ventilation) and for the Vertice sleeping bag (larger, not a mummy bag), but it was all great, through conditions ranging from very cold to very hot. All of the sites had unexpectedly great food (be prepared for a week of scrambled eggs, sigh). I found the bag-lunch sandwiches to be heavy on the bread and never ate them after day 1, but the protein bars, chocolate, and trail mix was more than enough. Great dinners! Almost everyplace also had cafes, including pizza. Bathrooms were not super clean, in part excusable by the volume of people coming through (and our stinky condition). Could have used a very-early morning clean and restock--Central, for example, was out of t.p. in all but one stall at 6 am. Grande, one bathroom of two was being CLEANED at peak morning hour of 7:30 am (??). Do bring flip flops for shower, as suggested. You'll want to get those hike boots off anyway! I added it up---if I had rented the camping equip each night (so not to carry it) and bought meal plans each night, plus park entry, transfers, ferry, etc, I'd have paid a bit less than half what it cost to go through Howlanders. Honestly, for the organization, the hours of advance planning I skipped, the usefulness of the orientation the night before (and, because I was solo, the chance to meet a few people I would later recognize during our days on trail), on top of the fact that they were able to set me up at short notice, when everyone was saying it was impossible---it was well worth it to me, money well spent. Everyone everywhere was professional, friendly, and helpful (OK, there was ONE girl at Central who perhaps has had enough tourists for summer of 2023, and I dunno who was playing foosball til midnight at Cuernos, but I curse them...). Anyway, very very happy with the experience. (The Trek itself was good, too---but nature doesn't care about reviews.)

Absolutely incredible. Very clear marked paths that made the self guided route very easy to follow. Also made some wonderful friends on this trek, everyone was very friendly and the Refugios give you an opportunity to get to know one another. 11/10 would more than strongly recommend.

La coordinación resultó muy bien en todos los refugios. El tamaño de las carpas es muy pequeña e incomodas. En algunos camping el aseo de baños era muy deficiente. Las comidas y desayunos buena. 

The transportation was organized and explained well. The refugios were really good with excellent food, decent bathrooms and helpful and friendly staff. The biggest issue at W trek is that all the mileages are wrong: it seems like the shortest distance between points is indicated everywhere instead of the hiking mileage. Also, there are very few signs along the trail and the ones there are often with wrong mileage or confusing. Also, 2-3 time there were problems with unclear ways to follow and people got "lost".  The "Orientation lady" at Puerto Natales was really abrupt and she needs to improve her patience and politeness with customers.

As far as I can tell Howlanders just passes you through to Las Torres Patagonia (another travel agent - local).  The trip is AWESOME, but tough (we did the W) and I highly recommend training for the hikes before you get there.  Would also recommend wearing your stiffest soled boots you have as the trails are very rocky and our feet took a beating.  We brought a water filter because we always use one and used it often on the hikes in streams.  More than 10 people in our group drank directly from the streams and many had stomach issues (not positive it was the water but we all ate the same things ….so?)  The scenery is gorgeous and the air so clean and having a free beer at the end of each day way great!  
A few things to note:  Most of what they tell you at the “briefing” is wrong.  You do need the QR code they send you to get into the park - but not for anything else.  An attachment they send called “itinerary” is crucial to download as it has booking numbers on it for each Refugio.  One such Refugio did not have our names (reservation) and without the booking number (on the itinerary) I’m not sure what would have happened.  Your bus ticket they issue is actually a “get there ticket” and a get back ticket - so don’t lose it after they tear off one ticket (as I did).  Also you need the ferry ticket when you get on the ferry AND when you get OFF at the other end?!?  The “easy” day should NOT be called easy - just “less difficult” than the other days :)  and if you doing the W clockwise the “beaches” they talk about are the NEXT day (on the trial) not getting to Cuernos.  The gift pack they give you - towel, water bottle and liner is SUPER and has those things most people don’t normally have. The food was really great, however we found the sandwiches in the box lunch from Central - inedible.   HAVE A GREAT TRIP!

El paisaje muy bonito y los refugios normales. El problema y fue por lo que no pude disfrutar el tour y nisiquiera completarlo (no pude ir al Francés) fue porque el segundo día en el refugio Central nos intoxicamos, alrededor de 15-20 personas, por algo que nos dieron al desayuno. Desde ahí hasta ahora que yo sigo con diarrea líquida, dolor de estómago, estuve con fiebre y gripe. Lamentablemente, en ninguno de los refugios existía la posibilidad de poder comer algo para gente enferma del estómago, así que no pude comer casi nada durante los últimos tres días. Es lamentable ya que el circuito requiere un estado físico al 100% y con diarrea era imposible. Espero tomen cartas en este tipo de asunto higiénico y de cadenas de frío ya que el tour no es barato como para además enfermarse por la comida que nos dan. Estamos barajando con mi señora y algunos de los otros enfermos si procedemos a realizar algún tipo de acción legal contra ustedes por daños, ya que inclusive tuve que ir al hospital en Natales para colocarme suero y adicionalmente, es posible que deba cancelar varios tours que tenía programados debido a que aún persiste mi diarrea fulminante.

The service was very bad, staff was mostly unfriendly and showers as toilets were very dirty. Las torres has a monopoly on the trecking and it looks like they just don't give a fuck. Very bad;

Hele mooie w trek gedaan. Wij hadden geluk met het weer, ik denk als je elke dag regen krijgt het minder leuk is.

Als je vragen hebt reageert Howlanders snel, dat is prettig. 

Wat wij niet wisten is dat het een tussen organisatie was, een andere organisatie regelt uiteindelijk de echte trekking.

Eten prima, maar grote eters hebben onvoldoende bij avond eten en lunch op 2 van de 3 plekken dus neem dan extra snacks mee. Je krijgt een portie voorgeschoteld en ondanks het enorme bedrag wat je betaald scheppen ze niet nogmaals op.

The hike itself was incredible, could not recommend enough. The service and facilities were amazing, however at the briefing before we began we found the person giving the briefing to be a bit rude and almost appeared annoyed to be answering questions. Other than that well organised

The park itself was amazing and well-organized, especially with all the tickets in one envelope. However, several issues could've been improved, mainly around communication:
0- Booking process was slow, took 2-3 days to confirm. Which meant we were blocked and couldn't make any plans or alternate bookings during that time, until we get a confirmation. 2-3 days is too long.
1-the downgrade to the tent for the last night was not great, tent was not great, and no pillows.
2- we could not attend the briefing the day before and asked for a separate briefing or an explanation of the important stuff, but didn't hear back. So we went to the tour pretty confused. (which stand at the bus station? were there other people in our group? were there guides? and other similar questions that kept us confused throughout with no one to ask.)
3- We were told we would get a refund for the downgrade to a tent on the last night. However, we still haven't heard back on when and how that would happen.

Hope this feedback is useful.

I did the 6 days W Trek Self Guided Tour in January 2023. All accommodations I booked through Howlanders were perfect. First two nights at Hotel Las Torres and the Refugios at Cuernos, Paine Grande and Grey. Anyone who has time I would totally recommend the 6 days plan because you will get an extra night at the Grey Refugio with no rush to hurry back to catch the ferry back (that would be another 22km walk day). The nature, the forest and all sceneries were beautiful and beyond imagination. So take you time to enjoy it without rush :)

One comment I would like to make is that Calorina (the lady with local operator) who gave us first briefing in Puerto Natales was “rude”. I am sure that it was not language barrier. The whole briefing on what we have to do for our 5 or 6 days trekking was finished in less than 10 minutes. And yes we did have a lot of questions, we did some researches, and I believe it was the first time for everyone to do this trek, so we were a bit worried and want to know more in details. The whole time she kept asking is there anymore question (more than ten times) with the manner that looked like she wanted to leave already. And this was bad for the person who gave briefing. I would say please find a person who is more considerate, and also please take into account that most of the groups who will be there flew across the countries, if not continents just to get to experience this wonderful trip.

Muy buena, todo resultó de acuerdo a lo esperado

Fue una experiencia maravillosa, pero hay que mejorar algunas cosas como por ejemplo en el Refugio torres central me dieron agua turbia para tomar, en el Frances a pesar de ser pequeño la atencion excelente y en Paine grande me hicieron esperar 45 minutos para el check in y los baños y las duchas estaban muy sucios. Lo que si debo reconocer es que los desayunos y cenas fueron las mejores en Paine Grande

It was a great trek, easy to check into all of the refugios and everything was taken care of for us! The info session before the hike was helpful, would have liked to have received the email info earlier so I could have used it while packing. 

Súper bien organizado! Increíble el lugar ❤️

The trek itself was beautiful and ever-changing scenery. 
In terms of booking through Howlanders, the initial briefing was really disappointing. The lady holding the meeting, Carolina, was rude and unhelpful. She knew very little about the trek itself and treated the group like school children. We felt like we knew no more after the briefing and it made us more apprehensive for the trek which made our trip worse than it should have been. 

All of the trip is well organised once you can figure everything out for yourself but don't expect too much information prior to your arrival in the park. 

The trail markings tend to underestimate the distance you will walk each day.

The campsites were good but some of the toilet and shower blocks are quite tired particularly at Central. The food was average for the cost of it. 

We would definitely recommend trekking poles for either of the treks you do. 

Also be aware that there is no luggage storage with the company and they also don't hire out equipment. 

Our W-trek camping trip was an incredible experience. Some things could be improved such as the shower facilities in central sector (esp. given how amazing they are in e.g. sector frances), the eating arrangement at paine grande (over 1 h wait, after an exhausting day) and maybe there could be a wifi deal for people paying already a lot of money to do the trek (maybe a small discount, or pay in advance so that you don't need to do the paypal process everytime).
All this is minimal, as the adventure itself was amazing and thank you very much for all your help.

Thank you!
Elli

El viaje es increíble y todo salió perfecto. Muy recomendado para todos/as! 

It was a great tour, everything was well organised at the refugio's and campsites. It was all clear, also with transportation. I was a bit disappointed that the first day was really only the transport to the park. Therefore I would call it a 4D/4N trek :)

Everything was good organized, Food was good, the Tents and sleeping bags worked out good! 

Hi
The trek was really nice. We slept in tents and it was all fine, except in Campo Frances.
The tents are small, the “restaurant”, if We can call it like this, is quite shit, there is no other word. It s also a so called “mini market”, but it s not even a market. It s completely down the hill. Like the rest room. After a full day of walk, it s too much. 
They kick you out to prepare the tables for the dinner. No other choice than being outside, whatever the weather is. And the day We stayed there, it was raining.
You have to go up all the way to get to your tent after your meal. You can not stay longer. They kick you out again to prepare the tables for the dinner after yours.
All the other sites were good, but campo francés is really shitty.

It was AMAZING!  Accommodations were well organized and convenient.  Meals were plentiful and appropriate. Staff were friendly and helpful. Would definitely recommend. 

Experience was great. Highlight was the night at Frances where the level of care from the staff went way beyond expectations. Lowlight was the night at Paine Grande where the staff were arrogant, slow, slovenly and generally unhelpful. The Refugio appeared to have no methods and procedures and everything took a long time - 35 minutes to check in, 15 minutes queuing at the bar with one staff member in attendance, long delay getting in to the breakfast room..  Still waiting for an apology regarding dispute over whether we qualified for meals or not.. 
But generally well done. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We had a wonderful experience ! Everything went well. No problem with the transports , hotel and Refugio. We were able to live a lamb experience at the hotel and we had a private bedroom on the last Refugio (which was amazing). And the fact that everything was included was really appreciable (especially the welcome drink). 

Howlanders did a great job in arranging our trip so everything was seamless : the transportation was easy, the lodges all had our reservations, and we had everything we needed (vouchers, meal tickets, etc) to do the hike. Great job and would work with this company again!

The marketed highlight is the hike to the Torres del Paine, which are indeed worthy of the long (and, at times, steep and crowded) hike, but they are not the real highlight of the trek. A stay at Los Cuernos campsite is not to be missed - particularly if you can stay in one of the beautiful and comfortable cabins - followed by the hike down the French Valley to the Mirador Frances lookout and then a return hike to Paine Grande campsite. This entire hiking day is glorious, with smaller crowds than Torres, greater lushness at the beginning and a beautiful forest/burn-zone hike at the end.

The 5 day hike allows for a 13 mile day one (Torres), a recovery eight mile day two (to Los Cuernos campsite), a 12 mile day three (French Valley), a recovery eight mile hike to Refugio Grey (with afternoon kayaking or ice hiking) and a relaxing last day for some more kayaking/ice hiking or a short hike to the hanging bridges (go to the second one and then five minutes past to the glacier overlook).

The food at the refugios was much above any typical camping experience, with Paine Grande (decent quality and a smallish buffet of choices as compared to the fixed menu at most locations) and Refugio Grey (best quality/presentation) being the best of our four. Eating at the refugios also provides an opportunity to talk to fellow hikers at the communal tables - we talked with a Scottish flight attendant, a Baxkroads tour guide on her break week and a very interesting middle-ages couple from Seville. There are also stocked bars at all the sites for those who are interested, as well as small shops for basic necessities and junk food.

Our weather was postcard perfect, so that likely influenced our enjoyment greatly. Were there rain combined with the howling wind we experienced on two days, then this trip could really be disastrous, particularly for tent campers like us. If that is a concern, then book a shared room in a refugio and (as we did) definitely one night in a two person cabin at Los Cuernos. At least sleeping out of the wind and rain would steel you for the next day.

A highlight of the W trail is the walk to the Torres Mirador. well worth the uphill climb. The scenery is breathtaking. We self-guided and completed the W trail staying at refugios and camping. The key is to getting the accommodation booked. It gets booked out once the season opens up on May 1st. The trails are easy to follow.

Had a great time on this trip, the guide explained it very well, the food and accommodation was excellent and it was very easy to navigate by ourselves. Such an amazing time

We did not have a guide. Everything was really easy to walk by yourself. We have met really nice people and the nature was awesome. Meals were good tents were ok but they did not provide you with a pillow. This should have been said before but after all it was an amazing experience and we liked it a lot!!

Fab 5 day w trek; did the camping option self guided. No need for a guide, just follow the trails. Amazing landscape, ahh Patagonia 💛

Wir hatten eine fantastische Reise von 4 Tagen zu den Torres del Paine. Over het algemeen suergoed verzorgd. Tenten stonden klaar, eten prima. 3 van de 4 refugios waren prima. Goed verzorgd, gastvrij en vriendelijke mensen. Die Übernachtung in Frances war weniger schön. Das Restaurant ist nicht weit vom Campingplatz entfernt, das Personal ist sehr freundlich und zuvorkommend. Minimaal diner.

Refugio chileno was really nice. Refugio francés was small, unkind staff and when It rains no place to go when you stay at the campsite. Furthermore, it was easily to arrange the trip this way, it is expensive though but totally worth it!

Der Trek war fantastisch, sicher auch deswegen, weil ich alle Tage Glück mit dem Wetter hatte. Aber auch die Organsation via Howlanders verdient alle Sterne, alles war bestens organisiert und hat vor Ort wunderbar geklappt. Wer keine Lust hat,sich im Dschungel der Onlinebuchungen hier im NP durchzuarbeiten, der muss halt noch tiefer in den Geldbeutel greifen. Teuer ist hier sowieso alles! Die Highlights sind wunderbar und dieser Trek wird bei meiner Südamerikareise sicher ein "best of" werden. Dass hier alles, also wirklich alles, sehr teuer, und sicher sehr überteuert ist, nun das kann man akzeptieren oder auch nicht. Sich zu überlegen, ob man die Tour geguided macht, ist meiner Meinung nach überflüssig. Die Wegführung ist sowas von eindeutig, auch bergsteigerisch ist der Weg nicht anspruchsvoll, es sind halt lange Strecken und man braucht ein wenig Ausdauer, aber schwierig ist da nichts! Ein Must have done in Patagonien!

Everithing was fantastic but, I think that the meal in the refugios and the lunch box could be better

Just got back from the W Trek (Camping) and absolutely loved my experience. Given the lack of reviews on Howlanders' website, I was a bit hesitant to book the trip, but the trip far exceeded my expectations. I was clueless as to how to reserve the campsites, coordinate logistics, buy necessary tickets, etc., and the W Trek package was the perfect simplified and organized bundle. Upon arriving, we were handed a packet that contained all of our lodging reservations, meal tickets, bus/catamaran tickets, and were given a simple briefing of how to navigate our way through the week. The staff was extremely responsive and helpful both leading up to, and during the trip. The campsites were all clean and well organized, food was far better than expected, and the logistics were flawless. HIGHLY recommend Howlanders and the W Trek - such an amazing life experience. 
PS - Based on the conversations I had with folks we met on the trek, I think Howlanders was the best value for the $

Torres del Paine W Trek Patagonia Tour tour reviews with Howlanders

All our reviews have been submitted by customers who have taken the tour

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