Great Patagonia Self Drive
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Tour Itinerary
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Day 1: Start in Santiago
On arrival to Santiago you are met at the airport by your guide who will welcome you to Chile and take you by private transfer straight to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Meals Included: None today
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Ladera
Day 2: Private Tour of Santiago
Today enjoy a private tour of the city accompanied by one of our expert local guides. You will see all the main landmarks including Santa Lucia Hill, the Plaza de Armas, Bellavista and the San Cristobal Hill for beautiful views of the city.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Ladera
Day 3: Fly to Puerto Montt
Take a short flight to Puerto Montt then transfer to the picturesque lakeside town of Puerto Varas. Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure exploring the town.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Mero Gaucho
Day 4: Frutillar Bike and Beer!
A private tour of the pretty nearby towns of Frutillar and Llanquihue by bike combined with a visit to a local artisan micro brewery for beer tasting!
Meals Included: Breakfast & Snack
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Mero Gaucho
Day 5: Start the road trip and drive to Petrohue
Your 4X4 rental car will be delivered to your hotel in Puerto Varas. From here drive 56 miles around the lake to your lodge in Vicente Perez Rosales national park on the edge of the emerald green Todos Los Santos lake.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Petrohue Lodge
Day 6: Exploring the National Park
Today you could explore the many attractive hiking trails or go rafting or canoeing. A popular day trip is to take a catamaran from just outside your lodge across Todos Los Santos Lake to Peulla with stunning views of snow capped volcanoes and waterfalls.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Petrohue Lodge
Day 7: Petrohue to Hornopiren
Drive south on the Austral Highway along the Reloncaví Fjord, passing the beautiful rivers of Petrohué, Cochamó and Puelo. The total driving distance today is about 124 miles before reaching your next hotel in the town of Hornopiren.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hosteria Catalina
Day 8: Scenic Ferry Trip to Caleta Gonzalo
Take your car onto the ferry heading further south. This boat journey takes about 3 – 4 hours and along the way you can enjoy the impressive views of the Andes mountains and Patagonian Fjords. Disembark at a beautiful bay and take a short drive to Caleta Gonzalo.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Cabañas Caleta Gonzalo
Day 9: Exploring Pumalin National Park
Pumalín national park was created in 1992 by legendary conservationists Douglas and Kristine Tompkins. The park is 994,000 acres which makes it larger than Yosemite. Within the park you can find the endangered Alerce trees, which are some of the oldest living trees on the planet.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Cabañas Caleta Gonzalo
Day 10: Caleta Gonzalo to Puyuhuapi
Today’s drive will be about 152 miles in total, taking you further into the humid evergreen forests of Northern Patagonia. This is a stunning drive filled with impressive views of rivers, lakes, glaciers and mountains. Spend the night at a unique lodge perched on the shores of a fjord and reached only by boat!
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Puyuhuapi Lodge
Day 11: Queulat National Park
Today we highly recommend a visit to the Queulat national park where you can see the famous Ventisquero hanging glacier and spectacular natural scenery. The quaint and picturesque village of Puyuhuapi is also well worth a visit too.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Puyuhuapi Lodge
Day 12: Puyuhuapi to Coyhaique
Leave Puyuhuapi behind driving through some of the most spectacular valleys of the region. You’ll also pass through the Simpson National Reserve. The landscapes are ever changing as you approach Coyhaique, a small city and the capital of the Aysen region.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Belisario Jara
Day 13: Lake General Carrera & Marble Caves
Leave early this morning for a fairly long but beautiful and spectacular drive to the shores of the immense Lake General Carrera. This afternoon you will visit the extraordinary marble caves by boat. The different colours are mesmerising and it’s a great place for photos.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Mallin Colorado Eco Lodge
Day 14: Day at Leisure
Today is at leisure to explore this wonderful area of impressive scenery. We highly recommend a day trip to the Exploradores Glacier where you can hike through the ice caves. You could also visit the confluence of the Baker and Nef rivers, go rafting, trekking, horse riding or kayaking.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Mallin Colorado Eco Lodge
Day 15: A Winding Road To Argentina
Your drive today is a total of 132 miles on a winding road through the Chacabuco valley, a relatively unknown region with a fantastic diversity of landscapes. Be sure to stop off at Parque Patagonia, a new national park created by Doug and Kristine Tompkins where you can see flamingos, guanacos, condors, and other wildlife.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: La Posada del Posadas
Day 16: Drive on the iconic Route 40 to El Chalten
Set out for a long but rewarding drive along the classic Route 40, famously referred to as the “Patagonian Highway”, to El Chalten, a little village at the foot of the imposing Fitz Roy mountain.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hosteria Senderos
Day 17: Trekking to Laguna Torre
Experience one of the most beautiful guided hikes in Patagonia in a small group. Trek up to Cerro Torre where you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of the Egger, Standhard and Bifida peaks, as well as the Adelas cord with its stunning glaciers spilling into the lagoon.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hosteria Senderos
Day 18: El Chalten to El Calafate
Leave El Chalten behind this morning, driving around Viedma Lake and further south towards the small town of El Calafate located on the edge of Lake Argentino. The driving distance today is 132 miles and there are some places you may wish to stop en-route.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Kosten Aike
Day 19: Perito Moreno Ice Trekking
This is one of the best ways to experience Perito Moreno glacier – up close and personal! You will have a boat trip to the glacier wall, then get the opportunity to hike on the glacier itself, ending the tour at a viewpoint with wonderful views.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Kosten Aike
Day 20: El Calafate to Torres del Paine
Today you drive back across the border to Chile covering 217 miles before arriving to your lodge just outside the entrance to Torres del Paine National Park. Along the way you can admire the wide open spaces and vast Patagonian steppe, dotted with the odd guanaco!
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Pampa Lodge
Day 21: Torres del Paine National Park
This one of the most remarkable national parks in the world. There are lakes, glaciers, dramatic landscapes, mountains and rivers. There are many different hikes available for all abilities. Some of the most popular include the French Valley and Base of the Towers. You could also take a boat trip to visit glacier grey.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Pampa Lodge
Day 22: Final Leg to Punta Arenas
Embark on your final leg of your epic road trip through Patagonia to Punta Arenas. It is a 4 – 6 hour drive allowing for time to stop off at the Milodon Cave where scientists discovered the remains of a gigantic sloth. We also recommend having a look around Punta Arenas, a frontier city on the shores of the Magellan Strait.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel La Yegua Loca
Day 23: Punta Arenas to the Wine Valley
Drop your car off at Punta Arenas airport for your flight back to Santiago. On arrival you will be met and taken to your hotel in the Casablanca Valley. This afternoon you can relax, take a dip in the pool or hot tub, enjoy a lovely meal and reflect on your epic journey over the last three weeks!
Meals Included: Breakfast
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Boutique Casablanca
Day 24: Departure or stay a little longer!
End your trip here with a transfer to the airport for departure, or why not add on a few nights of relaxation and luxury at a vineyard? Speak to one of our experts who have been to Chile to start tailoring your very own trip.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Our Suggested Accommodation
We have recommended a selection of mid range and first class hotels for this itinerary. In some more remote areas the accommodation available is more basic. However, it is possible in many areas to upgrade the hotels to more luxurious options, if you wish.
We’ve personally visited hundreds of hotels across Chile, so just ask us for our specialist advice!
Tour Inclusions
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