23-DAY PATAGONIA EXPRESS MOTORCYCLE TOUR – Chile and Argentina

There are motorcycle destinations, and then there is Patagonia. On our routes through southern Chile and Argentina we ride past the 70-metre ice wall of the Perito Moreno Glacier as it creaks, groans, and calves house-sized icebergs into turquoise Lago Argentino. We ride beneath the jagged granite spires of Torres del Paine, stabbing 2,800 m into cobalt skies above golden pampas grass, guanacos, and condor-patrolled thermals. And we cross the mythic Strait of Magellan onto Tierra del Fuego — the "Land of Fire" — where endless ribbon-roads slice through amber steppe toward Ushuaia, the planet's southernmost city.

But you don't have to take our word for it. Phil Hacker from the UK rode down through Chile and Argentina with us on our Top 2 Bottom expedition in 2025. Here is how he described it, on camera, at the end of the ride:

"The highlight has been the off-roading portions and when you see the scenery, the mountains and the lakes, you can only view that from those off-road positions... that's the most stunning and the sheer vastness of this country. It's like endless. Absolutely endless, and you wouldn't get that perspective anywhere I've ever been to. Peru and Colombia was fantastic, but Chile and Argentina... is just amazing. It's endless. I loved it."

— Phil Hacker, UK, Top 2 Bottom 2025

His riding partner Tez Almond, also from the UK, put it even more simply: "Every day was a highlight. It's just been the best thing I've ever done." That is what Patagonia does to riders. The scale of the place — the vastness Phil talks about — is something no photo prepares you for. It is why we finish our biggest South American expeditions here, and why we built a dedicated 23-day expedition that does nothing but Patagonia.

Our 23-day Patagonia Express covers roughly 4,600 km and stitches together Chile's fertile Central Valley, the emerald Lake District, Argentina's Ruta 40 badlands, and Patagonia's glaciated south. These are the roads and places that define the ride:

Ruta 5 and the Chilean heartland. We roll out of Santiago — markets and a snow-capped skyline — on Chile's pristine Ruta 5, south through the Curicó and Maule wine routes to the waterfalls at Salto de Laja, gateway to the lake district.

The Lake District and the Seven Lakes Road. From Villarrica, under its volcano in the Araucanía lakes region, we cross the Andes into Argentina to San Martín, with a full free day to explore the famous Seven Lakes Route. A short scenic leg then carries us to Bariloche — the "Switzerland of Argentina" — for a rest day on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi in Nahuel Huapi National Park.

The Carretera Austral. Crossing back into Chile at Futaleufú, the white-water rafting capital, we ride deep into the heart of the Carretera Austral to Coyhaique, then along the turquoise water of General Carrera Lake to Puerto Guadal — where we take a day to visit the famous Marble Caves.

Ruta 40 across the steppe. Then comes the day every Patagonia rider talks about afterwards: 544 km of long, windy riding across the pampas on Argentina's legendary Route 40 to Gobernador Gregores — the stretch where the fuel stops are wind-blown outposts and guanacos outnumber humans. Ruta 40 carries us on to El Chaltén, the hiking capital at the foot of Mount Fitz Roy, and to El Calafate, gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier, where we spend a full day witnessing the thunderous ice.

Torres del Paine and the far south. Back in Chile, we get a full day inside Torres del Paine National Park — riding the sinuous gravel scenic loop between viewpoints, with an optional short hike to the Salto Grande waterfall. From there the route runs past the Puerto Natales fjords and south to Cerro Sombrero and the Strait of Magellan crossing.

Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia. Across the strait, wide-open roads carry us the length of Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia — the World's End City. We ride out to Lapataia Bay in Tierra del Fuego National Park, stamp passports, take the photo at the Fin del Mundo sign, and celebrate over king-crab stew in a harbour tavern while sailboats in the marina plot courses for Antarctica. Then we ride back north across the island to Punta Arenas and fly home from the bottom of the world.

Along the way we cross the Chile–Argentina frontier five times. Our tour leaders handle every border, and the ferries too — you just ride.

We publish our terrain and difficulty numbers for every tour, so you can match the route to your experience before you book. Here is the honest picture for Patagonia:

• Terrain: road surfaces are 80% paved — including Chile's Ruta 5 and Argentina's scenic RN 40 — and 20% good gravel or well-compacted ripio, notably inside Torres del Paine and on sections of Tierra del Fuego. On our tour rating scale that works out to 15% off-road, 75% comfort, and 100% fun.
• Distances: daily legs average 220–340 km, with generous daylight in the austral summer. The longest day is the 544 km Ruta 40 crossing to Gobernador Gregores; the shortest riding days are 40–70 km exploration loops in Torres del Paine and around Ushuaia.
• Recovery built in: two full non-riding days (Bariloche and Ushuaia) plus shorter exploration legs in San Martín, Puerto Guadal, El Calafate and Torres del Paine keep fatigue at bay and maximise the photo opportunities.
• Weather: expect mood-swings — from –2 °C dawns near Torres del Paine to 25 °C sunny afternoons around Talca's vineyards. Patagonia is famous for four seasons in one day, which is why layered riding gear and waterproof boots are mandatory on this expedition.
• Who it suits: if you are a confident street rider, this route is within reach. Riders must be 20 or older with at least one year of experience on a 500cc-or-bigger machine, and our certified tour leaders brief the group every morning.

Included riders also get up to 25% off riding gear and accessories from our partners Klim, Giant Loop and Mosko Moto before departure — useful when you are assembling a layering system for a region that can serve you frost and sunshine in the same day.

Plenty of riders dream of doing Patagonia solo, and we respect that. But compare like with like. Before you turn a wheel on your own, you have to solve renting or shipping a bike abroad, temporary import paperwork for two countries, five border crossings, ferries, fuel planning across steppe where stations are scarce, and dozens of nights of accommodation in high-demand towns. Those costs — in money and in weeks of planning — stack up quickly.

Here is what riding with us actually covers on the Patagonia Express:

• The rental motorcycle and all costs involved, including authorisation to cross borders with it and all shipping of the bike back to Santiago at the end — because the route is one-way, Santiago to Punta Arenas.
• Fuel and road tolls, plus mandatory third-party liability insurance.
• A professional multilingual tour leader and a support team with vehicle. Our 4×4 support truck carries the luggage, spare parts — and thermos flasks of maté.
• 22 nights of accommodation in a shared room (single-room upgrade available), ranging from boutique wine-country hotels to cosy alpine chalets and remote estancias, with all breakfasts.
• Group activities and entry fees, including the Perito Moreno Glacier day trip and the End of the World excursion in Ushuaia.
• Airport transfers in Santiago (SCL) and Punta Arenas (PUQ) on official arrival and departure days, a pre-tour preparation guide and briefing, and all taxes.

We keep groups small — minimum 6, maximum 12 riders — and every departure is led by certified, multilingual tour leaders with expert local knowledge, on latest-model motorcycles from BMW, Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Triumph, KTM and CFMoto. Everything we do is based on safety first: destinations, routes, bikes and partners are all chosen on that principle. We were the first operator in Colombia, with 17+ years of service to over 5,000 happy customers, and we back every booking with our price match and departure guarantees. You can pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, bank transfer or Bitcoin — and split the balance into monthly payments with no interest. Book as a group and when 5 riders pay, rider number 6 travels free.

What is not included is just as clearly listed on this page: airfare, lunches, dinners and drinks, the mandatory motorcycle damage and theft liability-reduction insurance, personal paperwork and visas, tips, and travel and evacuation insurance with cancellation coverage — which we recommend arranging through Global Rescue before any remote-region expedition.

We run two expeditions that ride Patagonia. The right one depends on how much time you have — and how much of South America you want.

The 23-DAY PATAGONIA EXPRESS ($11,999) is the concentrated version: Chile and Argentina only, Santiago to Punta Arenas, roughly 4,600 km in 23 days. The price covers a rider on a Honda NX500 in a shared room, with upgrades to the Honda XL750 (+$999) or Honda Africa Twin CRF1100 (+$1,499), a single room (+$1,599), and a pillion passenger option (+$5,999). Every headline of the far south is in it: the Lake District, the Carretera Austral, Ruta 40, Perito Moreno, Torres del Paine, the Strait of Magellan, and Ushuaia. Upcoming departures: January 8–30, 2027 (3 spots left at the time of writing) and February 15 – March 8, 2028 — the November 2026 departure is already sold out.

The SOUTH AMERICA TOP 2 BOTTOM EXPEDITION ($23,999) is the full continent: Cartagena, Colombia to Ushuaia, Argentina through six countries — Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Base price is for a rider on their own bike in a shared room; rental options run from the Honda NX500 (+$5,999) to the XL750 (+$6,999) and CRF1100 (+$7,999), with a single-room upgrade (+$4,499) and pillion option (+$11,999). Before Patagonia even begins you have already ridden Machu Picchu country, Lake Titicaca, the Salar de Uyuni salt flats, the Atacama Desert and Mendoza. The Patagonian finale runs from Bariloche through Esquel, Perito Moreno, El Calafate, Torres del Paine, Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas to Rio Grande and Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego, before flying out of Punta Arenas. This is the expedition Phil and Tez rode. Next departures: October 15 – December 15, 2026 (1 spot left) and October 15 – December 15, 2028.

Both expeditions share our formula: small groups of 6–12 riders, a professional multilingual tour leader, support team and vehicle, shared-room accommodation with all breakfasts, group activities and entry fees, airport transfers on official days, and our price match and departure guarantees. Both carry the same ratings — 15% off-road, 75% comfort, 100% fun.

Choose the 23-day if Patagonia itself is the dream and three weeks is your window. Choose the 62-day if you want the whole continent, top to bottom, in one unbroken ride — the trip Tez called "the best thing I've ever done." Either way, the road ends at the same place: the Fin del Mundo sign in Ushuaia, with the Strait of Magellan behind you and Antarctica somewhere over the horizon.

Private groups of 6 or more riders can also choose their own dates for either expedition — ask us and we will build it around your calendar.