An Hour on the Perito Moreno Boat, Step by Step
What happens on a Perito Moreno glacier boat ride: boarding, the sail along the ice, how close each boat stops, the ice brought on board, the cold, and the Blue Safari's longer version.
The hour on a Perito Moreno boat goes like this: you board at the port, the boat sails out to the ice wall and runs along it, stops for photos, and comes back. On Hielo y Aventura S.A’s Nautical Safari, from US$67 (checked November 2026), the boat works the south face on the Rico arm, stops about 400 metres from the wall, and a crew member lifts small pieces of iceberg from the lake for you to hold. Dress for cold and wind on deck.
Pick a date to see the times on sale. Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before.
Boarding
The south-face boats leave from Bajo de las Sombras, a landing on Ruta Provincial 11 about 7 km short of the walkways. The north-wall boats leave from Puerto F. P. Moreno, at the foot of the walkways on the Canal de los Tempanos. You reach either one by your own means unless a day tour drops you there. On Bross Travel’s boat, check-in closes 20 minutes before departure, and a boat that has left does not come back for latecomers.
Out to the wall and along it
| Nautical Safari (Hielo y Aventura S.A) | El Calafate: Perito Moreno Glacier Boat Tour with Guide (Southern Spirit Lago Argentino) | Perito Moreno Glacier 1-Hour Boat Tour from Glaciers National Park (Bross Travel) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | The Rico arm | The Canal de los Tempanos side | Either, by option |
| Side | South face | North wall | North face or south face |
| The stop | About 400 metres from the southern wall | No distance given | No distance given; the north option runs the full width of the north face |
| Guide | Commentary in English and Spanish | Spanish and English | English and Spanish |
| On board | Small pieces of iceberg to touch | Commentary on how the glacier forms and moves | The guide’s commentary |
| Not for | Nothing listed; no particular fitness needed | Mobility impairments, wheelchair users, motion sickness | Wheelchair users |
From the GetYourGuide pages of the three boats, checked November 2026.
The distances differ by boat and by seller. The Nautical Safari stops about 400 metres from the southern wall. Two day-tour sellers put their boat 150 metres from the south face, in their own words: Signaturetours on GetYourGuide and Tours Buenos Aires on Viator. No figure is published for Southern Spirit Lago Argentino’s north-wall boat.
The ice in your hands
On the Nautical Safari, a crew member collects small pieces of iceberg floating in the lake and passes them round so you can feel the cold and the texture. The glacier also drops ice into the water: whether a piece falls from the wall during your hour is luck, and none of the boats here promises it.
Cold, wind and rain on the water
The few unhappy reviews of these boats are about the weather. Of the Nautical Safari’s 13 reviews, the one that gives three stars or fewer, from October 2025, found the windows fogged and had to wait in the rain before boarding. Southern Spirit Lago Argentino’s boat has 30 reviews; its one low review, from April 2026, found the boat unsuited to a cold, rainy day. Rain does not cancel either: the Nautical Safari sails in the rain, and Southern Spirit Lago Argentino’s sailings are suspended only for strong wind or large icebergs blocking its port. Bring a warm layer, gloves and something waterproof.
Check dates for the Nautical Safari
The longer version: three hours with a walk
Hielo y Aventura S.A’s Blue Safari crosses the same Rico arm from Bajo de las Sombras, lands you for an easy 1.5 km trail along the shore to the glacier’s south side, where you can touch the ice, then sails very close to the south face and ends with a toast. It takes 3 hours from the port, from US$117 (checked November 2026), and it is not a walk on the glacier. It is not for children under 6, people over 70 or anyone prone to motion sickness. If an hour on the water is what you are after, the one-hour boats do that for less.
More from El Calafate
Perito Moreno Tours with Open Dates
Boats, glacier days and walks from El Calafate with live availability. What is included, pickup and the cancellation terms show before you book.
An Hour at the South Face
Hielo y Aventura S.A's Nautical Safari: the Rico arm along the glacier's south face, a stop about 400 metres from the wall, and pieces of iceberg brought on board. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Check boat dates