Big Ice or Minitrekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier?
Big Ice or Minitrekking on the Perito Moreno glacier: time on the ice, ages 8 to 65 or 18 to 50, fitness, season, the length of the day and the price, with Minitrekking 2 between them.
Take the Mini-Trek unless you are between 18 and 50, fit, and want most of a day on and around the ice. Hielo y Aventura’s Minitrekking gives about an hour on the glacier for ages 8 to 65; its Big Ice gives about three hours, after two hours of moraine and forest, for ages 18 to 50 only. Howlanders’ Minitrekking 2 sits between them, with 2 hours on the glacier. The Mini-Trek is from US$346 a person for the 4.5-hour option from the port, and Big Ice from US$459 (checked November 2026).
The calendar is Hielo y Aventura’s Mini-Trek. On 20 January and 27 March 2027 it offered the 4.5-hour walk from the port at 10:00 AM and the 10-hour day with hotel pickup at 8:30 AM, which cost US$412; on 25 and 30 November 2026 only the 4.5-hour walk was on sale. You can cancel free up to 24 hours before.
The three walks side by side
| Mini-Trek | Minitrekking 2 | Big Ice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing | Mini-Trek (Hielo y Aventura S.A) | Minitrekking 2 (Howlanders) | Big Ice (Hielo y Aventura S.A) |
| On the ice | An approximately one-hour hike | 2 hours, in a 4-hour hike | About three hours |
| Before the ice | A walk along the lake shore and a glaciology talk | The lake shore and the glacier’s lateral moraine | About two hours through moraine and forest |
| Ages | Not for children under 8 or people over 65 | Not for people under 17 or over 55 | 18 to 50 |
| Fitness | Moderate | More challenging than the classic Minitrekking, less than Big Ice | High; a medical form after booking |
| The day | 4.5 hours from the port, or 10 with hotel pickup | 5 hours from the port, or 10 with transfers | 7.5 hours from the port, or 12 with transport |
| From, per person | US$346 | US$370 | US$459 |
| Hielo y Aventura’s season | All year | 15 August to 31 May, for its own Minitrekking2 | 15 September to 30 April |
Walk details and prices (GetYourGuide checked November 2026); seasons from Hielo y Aventura’s rates page for 2026/27, read November 2026.
The from-prices are not like for like. The Mini-Trek’s is the option without transport, and its 10-hour day with hotel pickup cost US$412 on the dates we read. Minitrekking 2’s is the tour without transfers, starting at 1:00 PM; with transfers it was US$445. Big Ice cost the same with or without transport on 27 March 2027. The park entrance is extra on all three.
How much ice you actually get
On the Mini-Trek the ice is the middle hour of a three-hour walk. You cross the water, walk the shore to the edge of the glacier, put on crampons and helmets, and spend about an hour on an uneven but firm surface with one guide for every 10 people, then walk back over the moraine and through the forest. Hielo y Aventura puts the whole walk at about 3.5 km.
Minitrekking 2 doubles the ice to 2 hours and adds a small meltwater waterfall. Its group is limited to 10 participants, and Hielo y Aventura gives about 5.5 km for its own Minitrekking2.
Big Ice is a different day. The approach alone, about two hours through moraine and forest, is longer than the Mini-Trek’s whole time on the ice, and then come about three hours on the glacier in crampons, helmets and harnesses, with a 30-minute stop for the lunch you carry. Hielo y Aventura takes groups of up to 10 with two mountain guides on Big Ice.
Which one for whom
Book whichever fits you:
Mini-Trek: Hike on the Perito Moreno Glacier with crampons
Hielo y Aventura's Mini-Trek: about an hour on the ice and about three hours of walking in all, ages 8 to 65, fitness moderate. The from-price is the 4.5-hour option from the port.
Check dates →Perito Moreno long glacier hike + Boat tour / Minitrekking 2
Howlanders' Minitrekking 2: 2 hours on the glacier in a group of up to 10. Not for people under 17 or over 55. From the port at 1:00 PM on the dates we read; US$445 with transfers.
See the walk →Big Ice: Explore the Heart of the Perito Moreno Glacier
Hielo y Aventura's Big Ice: about two hours of approach and about three on the ice, harness included, a medical form after booking. Bring lunch.
See the walk →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.
When the choice is made for you
The age limits decide it for many families. A child of 8 can do the Mini-Trek; nobody under 18 can do Big Ice, and Howlanders' Minitrekking 2 takes nobody under 17. Over 65, none of the walks on the ice sold here is open to you: Hielo y Aventura’s Safari Azul, a walk beside the glacier with no ice walking, takes ages 6 to 70.
The season decides it in winter. Hielo y Aventura runs Minitrekking all year, but Big Ice only from 15 September to 30 April and Minitrekking2 from 15 August to 31 May. Between May and mid-September the Mini-Trek is the walk on the ice that runs. When the walks run has the dates.
What reviewers of each say
We read every review of the Mini-Trek and of Big Ice on GetYourGuide on 8 November 2026. The Mini-Trek’s go back to 26 April 2026: 53 at five stars and 2 at two stars, one of them about a rushed day and a guide who did not answer questions. Big Ice’s go back to October 2025: 31 at five stars and one at one star, from a rainy, cold day of “A LOT of hiking before you even cross on the ice”. Minitrekking 2’s 11 reviews since August 2026 all give five stars.
Around El Calafate
More Tours from El Calafate with Open Dates
Glacier boats, the walkways and day trips from El Calafate with live availability. What each includes and its cancellation terms show before you book.
Start with the Mini-Trek
Hielo y Aventura's short walk: the boat across Brazo Rico, crampons and helmets, and about an hour on the ice, for ages 8 to 65. The park entrance is not included.
Check dates