A Full Day on the Lake or the One-Hour Boat?

For a first visit, the one-hour boat added to a day at the Perito Moreno walkways is enough for most people: an hour on the water in front of the glacier, hours on the balconies, and back in El Calafate by the afternoon. A full day on the lake earns its 10 to 12 hours when the lake itself is the point: the Spegazzini channel, the icebergs of the Upsala channel and, on Cruceros Marpatag’s route, the Perito Moreno’s north face at the end. Patagonia Dreams’ Perito Moreno Glacier & Optional Boat Cruise sells the short version, from US$80 without the boat (checked November 2026); the option with the boat cost US$156 to US$173 on the dates we read.

Choose a “with Boat Safari” option on your date for the hour on the water. Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before.

The two days side by side

GetYourGuide prices, checked November 2026; the from-prices of both full days leave out the hotel transfer. Times from the operators’ own pages and the listings.

What the full day adds

The lake’s northern arms. Both full days sail through the narrows the operators call the Boca del Diablo and into the Upsala channel, where icebergs from the Upsala Glacier float, some of them enormous. Both also take the Spegazzini channel past the hanging Seco and Heim glaciers to the Spegazzini Glacier.

The landings differ. Cruceros Marpatag stops at Puesto Las Vacas for a short guided walk; Solo Patagonia SA lands at the Spegazzini base, with a refuge and a 350 m walkway to the Mirador de Agostini, a viewpoint over the glacier. Only Cruceros Marpatag's day then sails the Canal de los Tempanos to the Perito Moreno’s north face, in the afternoon.

What neither does is take you up to the Upsala’s front: on Cruceros Marpatag's day the Upsala and Bertacchi glaciers are a panoramic view and visiting them up close is not permitted, and Solo Patagonia SA sets no fixed distance to any front.

What it costs in hours

Cruceros Marpatag boards at 8:30 at its La Soledad port, sails at 9:00 and is back at 17:00. With its bus, hotel pickups start at 7:15 AM and can run up to 45 minutes late, and the bus is back in El Calafate from 6:00 PM, about 11 hours in all. Solo Patagonia SA sails from 9:00 to 16:00 from September to March, about 10 hours with its transfer.

Cruceros Marpatag sells a way to have both glaciers: a drop-off at the Perito Moreno walkways in the afternoon, about two hours there, then the bus back to town from about 19:00. On GetYourGuide that is the classic option with transfers and the walkways, US$335 on the dates we read. On a park day you are back in El Calafate in the afternoon, or at about 8:00 PM on Patagonia Dreams’ afternoon departure.

What reviewers say

On the short day, one reviewer of Patagonia Dreams’ tour in March 2026 found the boat unnecessary because the view from the last walkway stop was as good. Of the reviews of Southern Spirit Lago Argentino's one-hour boat we read, February to November 2026, only one is low: a cold, rainy day in April 2026 on which the reviewer found the boat unsuited to the weather.

On the long days, the complaints are about length, crowds and the Upsala. Of the 350 most recent reviews of Cruceros Marpatag's day, dated January 2020 to November 2026, 13 give three stars or fewer. A reviewer in November 2024 who had seen the Perito Moreno the day before called 10 hours on a boat to see “the same” not worth it, and at least four call the lunch a sandwich.

Solo Patagonia SA's cruise has 327 reviews, February 2020 to November 2026, and 32 give three stars or fewer: at least six say it is expensive for what it is, at least six describe a crowded boat, and at least four, in 2024, saw the Upsala only from far away or found its channel closed.

Which to book

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.