Sendero al catamaran hielos Patagonia

Slow, very unreliable and far too expensive. The ferry runs every hour to hour and a half and is far too small for the demand. People are constantly left behind and can end up waiting in the queue for almost two hours.

We took this boat from Pudeto to Paine Grande to hike the French Valley. This boat is the only realistic way to get to the trailheads for Glacier Grey and French Valley / British Lookout.

The boat itself is fine, albeit slightly delayed both ways we took it and quite overpriced. It’s a monopoly - which is a brilliant business model for them - so we didn’t expect a whole lot. Seating isn’t guaranteed and you pay at a station in the boat once you first board. The crew is solid and the views from the boat during the ~30 minute trip are nice. They let you on the top deck as well.

I’m posting the latest timetable and prices (cash only in CLP or USD) in hopes of helping demystifying this process for future travelers!

Hatten eine Tour über mehrere Stunden inkl. anfahren von Gletscherabbrüchen (Eisberge), eine kleine , geführte Landwanderung (ein Finne war der letzte Bewohner, dieser Landschaft) und Anfahrt an den Gletscher Perito-Moreno und vielen Panoramen.
Leichte Verpflegung gab es an Bord, als "Highlight" wurden die drinks mit Eisbergeus gekühlt...und wer sich fotografieren lassen wollte konnte das, gegen Entgelt auch...

Of course it’s nice to ship on boat in Torres el Paine, the meaning of the assessment is to evaluate the boatdrive not the lake, the view, the weather, or how exiting it was to start the tour. For approx 25k (one way) I expect something else.

Both times they had a delay of around 30minutes and I can explain why.
This delay has influence on the schedule and plans of hikers and also (on the way back) on the buses which bring you back to Puerto Natales. So everything afterwards also gets delayed just because the staff does not know or does not want to work in an efficient way.
The payment of every single passenger causes the delay because they do it at the entrance of the boat with one person.
On every other boat or ferry I know, the payment takes place during the drive. There would be plenty of time to do that and there is plenty of staff as well. They would not even have to increase staff, they just need to change the process.
But like this customers stand outside around 30min waiting and freezing.

Furthermore for these 25k there is no seating guaranteed, so it could happen that you are standing 30 in the queue outside and afterwards additional 40min in the ferry boat.

In numbers …if you do a daily tour (not 0 or W) you spend 50k for this 1,5 hour transport.

1 star more because they brought me from A to B safely.

Great spot to stop, have a break, and enjoy life!

It's an excellent service that runs on time. Seats for everyone inside and space enough for hikers to put their bulky bags. Smooth ride all the way. The only point for improvement is perhaps that it would be more convenient if there was a ticketing system - unfortunately, there are tickets but it's still first come first serve. So even after you've purchased your tickets , you have to wait in line at the dock. If there aren't enough seats, you then get pushed to the next ferry an hour later. It was high season when we went so we got to the front of the line a half hour before the boat arrived. Bring your warm clothes and windbreaker! It's cold on that dock!

Amazed at how many people can fit on the catamaran. Purchase tickets on board and there's overnight parking available (limited) with bano/wc.