Guide · Tickets

Perito Moreno glacier entrance fee, explained simply

Every visitor to the glacier needs a Los Glaciares National Park ticket, and no tour includes it. Here is what it costs, who enters free, how the second day works and where to buy it.

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Editorial team, perito-moreno-glacier-tours.comUpdated October 16, 2026Read time: 7 min11 sources

The tour for this guide El Calafate: Perito Moreno glacier day trip with optional boat 4.7 (2,735 reviews) 8 hoursBilingual guideOptional boat ride from$69per person Check availabilityFree to cancel until one day before

Quick answer

01General rate: The daily pass costs 50,000 Argentine pesos at the general rate.¹
02Free: Children aged 0 to 6 enter free.²
03Second day: A second day costs 50% less, within 72 hours of the first entry.³
04In tours: The park ticket is not included in any excursion.⁴
05Valid from: These fees apply from 1 June 2026.⁵

What the entrance fee pays for

The Perito Moreno glacier entrance fee is the access charge for Los Glaciares National Park, the protected area that contains the glacier and much more. The park covers 726,927 hectares, a vast territory of ice fields, forest, lakes and steppe in the province of Santa Cruz.⁶ It is the largest of all Argentina's national parks, and the glacier walkways are only one small corner of it, even if they are the corner that draws the crowds.⁷

The park has a long history as a protected landscape. Argentina set it aside in 1937, and UNESCO added it to the World Heritage list in 1981.⁸ The fee you pay at the gate helps maintain the walkways, the trails and the ranger service that keep the area safe for visitors and protected for the future. It is the same kind of access charge you find in national parks around the world, set by the national parks administration rather than by tour operators.

The most important thing to know is simple: the park ticket is separate from everything else. The El Calafate tourism office states clearly that the ticket is not included in any excursion.⁴ Whether you join a day trip, take the bus, drive your own car or book a boat or a trek, you buy the park ticket yourself. Plan for it in your budget from the start rather than discovering it at the gate.

Step by step

From ticket to walkways

Before the day

Buy online

Choose the Los Glaciares option on the official portal.
On the road

The park gate

Fees are collected at the gate on RP 11.⁹
At the gate

Show documents

Passport or ID sets your visitor category.
At the glacier

Keep the ticket

Rangers may check it on the walkways.
Within 72 hours

Come back for less

A second day costs 50% of the fee.³

Daily pass rates for Los Glaciares

The national parks administration publishes the rates for every park. For Los Glaciares, the daily pass costs 50,000 Argentine pesos at the general rate, 25,000 for Argentine nationals, 8,000 for residents of the province and 15,000 for students.¹ Foreign visitors normally pay the general rate. The fee is charged in pesos, the currency of the park, and the amount you pay in your own money depends on the exchange rate on the day.

These rates have an official start date. The fees and promotions currently in force apply from 1 June 2026.⁵ Fees in Argentina are reviewed from time to time, and a new table can replace the current one with little notice. Check the official national parks page shortly before your visit, especially if you are planning many months ahead, and treat any figure you read elsewhere as a guide rather than a guarantee.

Be careful not to confuse similar names. Los Glaciares is the park that contains the Perito Moreno glacier. There is also a separate Perito Moreno National Park much further north in Santa Cruz, with its own rate. When you buy online, choose the Los Glaciares option for the glacier sector. Tour operators usually remind their guests of the right option, but if you buy on your own, double-check the park name before paying.

Rates compared

What each visitor category pays per day

pesos

Daily pass for Los Glaciares National Park in Argentine pesos, from the official fee table.¹

Official rates

Los Glaciares daily pass by visitor category

Category	Daily pass	Who
General	50,000 pesos	Foreign visitors and everyone else
National	25,000 pesos	Argentine nationals
Provincial residents	8,000 pesos	Residents of the province
Students	15,000 pesos	Students with proof
Free	No charge	Children aged 0 to 6, Argentine retirees

Rates in Argentine pesos from the national parks administration, valid from 1 June 2026.¹ ⁵ ²

Who pays what

Find your ticket category

General rate

Foreign visitor

General rate

Daily pass: 50,000 pesos
Proof: Passport
Second day: 50% off

Plan your visit

With proof

Student

Reduced rate

Daily pass: 15,000 pesos
Proof: Valid student card
Second day: 50% off

Plan your visit

Aged 0 to 6

Small child

Free entry

Daily pass: Free
Proof: Document with date of birth
Ticket: Not needed

Plan your visit

Decision helper

How to save on the park ticket

A few choices change what you pay.

Use the second-day discount

50% off within 72 hours of the first entry.³

They enter free

Children aged 0 to 6 pay nothing.²

Bring proof

The student rate is 15,000 pesos with a valid card.¹

Still buy the ticket

No excursion includes the park ticket.⁴

Same price, shorter hours

Winter entry runs 9 am to 4 pm.¹⁰

In all National Parks with access fees, a 50% discount on the fee will apply for the second day of visit, valid for 72 hours from the first entry.

Administración de Parques Nacionalesrendered from Spanish · Source 3

Who enters free, and who pays less

Some visitors do not pay the access fee at all. The exemptions include Argentine retirees and pensioners with an Argentine identity document, and children aged 0 to 6 inclusive.² For a family with small children, that makes a real difference to the cost of the day. Keep a document with the child's date of birth at hand, as the staff at the gate may ask to see it when you arrive.

Other visitors pay reduced rates. Argentine nationals, residents of the province and students all have their own lower categories in the official table.¹ To use a reduced rate you need to prove your category with a document at the ticket office or the gate. If you are a student from abroad, check before you travel whether your student card is accepted for the student rate; do not assume it is.

For foreign travelers the general rate normally applies, and it is wise to budget for it from the start. Combined with the price of a day trip or a bus fare, the park ticket is a meaningful part of the cost of seeing the glacier. Knowing the amount in advance avoids an unpleasant surprise when the coach stops at the gate or when you look at the receipt back in El Calafate. A small line in your budget now saves stress later.

At the gate

Have these ready

Documents

Your park ticket, saved offline
Passport or Argentine ID
Proof of student or resident status if used

Good to know

Fees are set in Argentine pesos
Keep the ticket for a second day
Arrive within the corridor hours

Calculator

Tour cost for your group, before the park ticket

Add the park ticket for each person on top of these from-prices.

This site's day trip8 hoursfrom $69 National park tour8 hoursfrom $60 Short boat ride1 hourfrom $62

People 2

Total from$138

per guest from $69

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Glacier tour prices start from what GetYourGuide lists; for other currencies we apply the ECB reference rate, and checkout confirms the final sum.

Video

El Calafate Argentina | Patagonia - The Gateway of Perito Moreno Glacier

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The second-day discount

If you plan to return to the park, there is a useful rule. In every national park that charges entry, a second day of visit costs 50% of the fee, and the discount is valid for 72 hours from your first entry.³ The El Calafate tourism office describes the same rule: the ticket covers 2 consecutive days, with the full price on day one and a 50% discount on the second.⁴ It is easy to overlook, yet it can make a real difference to a longer stay.

This rule makes a longer plan at the glacier attractive. You could spend the first day on the walkways and come back the next day for a trek or a boat trip, paying the reduced fee the second time.³ It is also a good insurance policy against the weather: if fog hides the ice on your first visit, a cheaper return within the window gives you another chance to see the front in clear conditions.

To use the discount, keep your first ticket and present it when you come back. Check the exact procedure when you buy, since online and gate purchases can differ slightly in how the second day is recorded. If you book a guided tour for the second day, remember that the tour price still does not include the park, and you will need to show your discounted ticket at the gate. Ask at the gate if anything is unclear.

Visiting the Perito Moreno glacier in July

Visiting the Perito Moreno glacier in July is perfectly possible, but the park runs on winter hours then. From 1 May to 31 August the road corridor to the glacier is open for entry from 9 am to 4 pm, with visitors allowed to stay until 6 pm.¹⁰ That is a shorter day than in summer, when entry runs from 8 am to 6 pm between September and April.¹⁰ Plan an earlier start in winter to make the most of the light.

Winter in El Calafate is cold but often calm and clear. In July the average high is 5.8°C and the average low is -4.3°C, measured at the town's airfields.¹¹ Snow on the forest and the mountains makes the glacier look even more dramatic, and the walkways are usually much quieter than in January. Dress in proper winter layers, with insulated boots, gloves and a warm hat for the balconies.

The entrance fee itself is the same in winter as in summer: the daily pass rates do not change by season in the official table.¹ What changes is the number of services and tours running. Check which boat trips and treks operate in July before you travel, and confirm your transport the day before. A clear winter day at the glacier, with the ice glowing blue under a low sun, is one of the quiet highlights of Patagonia.

How and where to buy your ticket

The simplest way is to buy online in advance through the official national parks ticket portal, choosing the Los Glaciares option for the glacier sector. The listing for the tour sold on this site gives the same instruction to its guests, who must buy the park ticket themselves before the day. Save the ticket on your phone and, if possible, keep a printed copy or a screenshot in case the signal is weak at the gate.

Bring the right document. When you visit a national park with paid access, you show your passport or Argentine identity document to set your visitor category. If you claim a reduced rate, bring proof: a student card, a residence document or the papers that establish your category. Without proof the general rate applies, whatever category you selected online. Staff at the gate are used to visitors from every country and the process is quick.

Finally, keep your ticket until you leave the park. Rangers can check it on the walkways or at the boat docks, and you need it for the second-day discount if you return. Fees are collected at the gate on the road from El Calafate to the glacier, so having everything ready before you reach it keeps the line short for you and everyone behind you.⁹ With the ticket sorted, the rest of the day is about the ice.

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