What’s included & what to pack for Patagonia

• Your professional guides are always available
  • Maximum 4:1 guest to guide ratio. Your guides are what make this trip possible. They’re knowledgeable, experienced, organized, and friendly.
• All ground transportation: we’ll be waiting for you to pick you up at the airport in Bariloche, Argentina (BRC) on day 1, and we’ll bring you back there on day 8. All transport throughout the trip is included.
• 2 nights (first and last) at a hotel in Bariloche, double occupancy*

* If you are travelling alone, we’ll pair you with another traveler of the same gender. If you would prefer your own room, the single supplement is $220 total (for the 2 hotel nights)

• 5 nights guided expedition camping
• All group camping gear, safety equipment, (first aid kits, sat phone, inReach device) and repair kits
• All amazing meals and snacks are included from day-2 breakfast through day-8 breakfast
  • Breakfasts day 2 and 8: full spreads at the hotel in Bariloche
  • Dinner day 7: great restaurant in Bariloche for our farewell dinner
  • All expedition meals and snacks throughout the trip: you’ll eat well!
  • On 2 or 3 of the expedition days, we’ll camp riverside on land belonging to local paisano families. They’ll host us and welcome us for amazing homemade meals.
  • On days when we’re doing self-supported packrafting, you’ll take part in the cooking and we’ll show you how to pack and plan for expedition meals.
  • Alcohol: for our group dinner in Bariloche (night 7), we provide enough wine and beer for two drinks per person per meal. For expedition nights, weight is an issue, mind you, your local guides are pretty resourceful at finding just the right beverage to compliment an asado—and as the old Chilean saying goes: “you don’t need much pisco after a long day in the mountains when you’re gathered around the fire for an asado”. Ok, that may or may not be a saying, but you won’t disagree.

We’ll ask you to let us know about your food preferences and needs on your pre-trip questionnaire.

• Travel between your home and Bariloche, Argentina
• Personal clothing and some camping gear. See ‘packing list’ below for what you need to bring
• Travel Medical insurance and Trip Cancellation insurance
• Any costs associated with your emergency evacuation from the trip
• Day 1 dinner in town: decisions, decisions…your guides will recommend their favourites but ultimately it’s up to you to make the tough choices: from steak (yup, it’s better than you can imagine) to fine French to vegan options to fast food—and everything in between—you’ll find all of these within walking distance of the hotel.
• Optional: Fishing license
• Optional: Guide gratuities – we recommend $12 to $24 USD per day that can be split amongst the guide team.

If you have any of these items and prefer to bring your own, you can do that. Just let us know and we will make sure it is right for this trip. Remember, everything needs to be expedition-worthy and lightweight.

• Expedition packraft and break-down paddle
• Whitewater helmet and flotation device
• Wetsuit
• 50L Drybag for you to line your backpack with
• Tarp for your sleeping shelter (no bugs in Patagonia—so we’ll provide you with this tarp and show you how to make a solid sleeping shelter
• All group camping equipment such as cooking and eating utensils, dishes, group shelters, repair kits, maps, etc.
• All group safety equipment including first aid kits, satellite phone, and InReach device

What to pack

You’ll be able to leave luggage that you don’t need for the expedition in secure storage during the trip.

NOTE: A packing list is included with your Trip InfoPack (emailed to you when you book)

The daytime temperature in northern Patagonia is generally warm during the summer (December – March) but all sorts of weather can come in.

Synthetic materials such as polyester, polypro, and nylon are great as they dry quickly. Merino wool is a natural fibre that dries quickly and works well too. Avoid cotton—once it gets wet it won’t dry and it doesn’t insulate.

Bring two sets of clothes and footwear: one for on the water and hiking, the other for evenings at camp.

For hiking and paddling:

• Sunscreen and lip protection
• Water bottle, 1 litre
• Sunglasses with strap
• Prescription glasses with strap or contacts (bring an extra pair of glasses & a copy of your eyeglass prescription)
• A suspension backpack like this one. We recommend 100L or even more, so you can fit all your camping gear, food, and packrafting gear. Rent from us for $115.
• Several small stuff sacs, mesh bags, or lightweight drybags to organize your gear inside your backpack
• Small (10L or less) drybag to have accessible in your packraft—so you can have quick access to items while paddling (like snacks, which we’ll provide). Something like this or this or if you want to get fancy and have something totally dry, most of our guides have something like this
• Nice to have: 3 or 4 locking carabiners like these to clip things into your packraft or onto your backpack—carabiners with locking gates are much safer for using in and around whitewater.
• Optional: insulated drink bottle like this one for keeping your coffee or tea with you on the river or trail. Must have 100% leakproof screw-on lid if you want this to work for you on the river 🙂

For camp:

• An inflatable sleeping pad – high quality and lightweight like this. Rent for $35.
• A 3-season sleeping bag rated to -5°C-/ 23°F like this or this—with a compression sac. Make sure it weighs under 1.5kg and is highly compressible. You can rent one from us for $115
• 1 pair of shoes (old running shoes or closed toe clogs—something to keep your feet safe and dry.)
• 2 or 3 pairs of thermal socks (1 or 2 different weights is a good idea)
• Undergarments (synthetic or Merino wool)
• Lightweight t-shirt
• Lightweight long-sleeve shirt
• Lightweight ‘quick dry’ long pants
• Thick fleece, wool, or synthetic-filled sweater
• Thick fleece pants
• Top and bottom medium-weight synthetic or wool long underwear
• Rain gear top and bottom
• Toque (wool or fleece winter hat)
• Sun hat
• Small quick-dry towel
• Headlamp with extra batteries
• Toiletry kit with biodegradable soap and shampoo as well as personal medications
• Optional: reading material, journal, binoculars, camera (waterproof or with waterproof case)

For the river

• 1 pair of closed-toe shoes for the river. The ideal river shoe is lightweight and draining yet supportive enough for walking on portages, hiking on trails in the jungle, and scouting rapids, with a grippy sole. These can be lightweight running shoes or trail running shoes. There are some special models out there made for water use that drain well and dry quickly, just make sure they have a supportive and grippy sole.

Should you bring hiking boots? We will be hiking with heavy packs so some people prefer to bring hiking boots. Hiking boots are too heavy and clunky to wear in the river, so you’ll have to find a way to fit them in your backpack while paddling. Most of the guides for this trip find that hiking in the forest (on trails) with their closed-toe river shoes, rather than boots, works really well—but they are used to it.

Before the trip, you should try out hiking with a heavy pack with shoes and see how you feel about it. If you decide not to bring hiking boots, please train to strengthen your ankles and get used to walking technical terrain in shoes.

• 2 pairs of thermal socks for the river: wool, fleece, or synthetic.
• Bathing suit / surf shorts—this goes over top of your wetsuit and helps protect the wetsuits when you’re sitting.
• Lightweight synthetic t-shirt
• Top and bottom medium-weight synthetic or wool long underwear
• Long-sleeved neoprene ‘surf’ top or long-sleeved medium-weight fleece top
• Thick fleece or wool sweater
• Thick fleece pants

General packing

• Clothes for the trip home
• Travel documents (passport) and medical insurance cards or policies.