I mostly write this post for someone planning a trip to Patagonia, so they get a sense of what logistics will make an enjoyable trip. For us, I didn't guess 100% correct, but after making some changes to our schedule, I am happy about the way we spent our time. (Of course, I'd be a lot happier if the rain hadn't screwed with our daily plans.)

Originally, I had planned for about 10 days in Patagonia—2 nights in El Calafate, 2 nights in El Chalten, 2 in Puerto Natales, and then 4 in Puerto Madryn.

After leaving El Calafate for El Chalten, I started realizing we would need to rethink this itinerary.

On a map, and from what I had read, I thought it would be 2-4 hours on a bus to get to the close destinations, and about 10 hours to Puerto Madryn. But in reality, the bus ride from El Calafate to El Chalten (which looks really close on a map!) takes anywhere from 3-4 hours, depending on weather conditions.

And to get to Puerto Natales, Chile, we would need to go back through El Calafate, and then spend an additional 3-4 hours on a bus to get to Chile. That's a lot of travel for 4 days.

Finally, Puerto Madryn, which we assumed was a simple overnight bus, was 24 hours with a couple stopovers. Because of this, we booked a last minute flight. I want to get the "travel by bus" experience, but I have my limits. And, I think 10 hours on a bus is about my limit.

The most important thing to note, is that travel is much more difficult here, in the sense that you can’t just “up and go.” And, travel days tend to be just that—full days. Not only because the distances are large, but because there are frequent delays, and plans change.

So, for us, that meant it was too aggressive to include Puerto Natales into our itinerary, so we decided to split the difference between El Calfate and El Chalten.