2 1/2 weeks in Chile on my own from North to South

Hi Tilo,

We hired a decent-ish small car, a hyundai matrix was what we ended up with, and took that from santiago up to san pedro de atacama, and back again (in about the same timescales you are planning).

The car was brilliant and got us everywhere, even up to the el tatio geysers and various other places where the tour guides insist you need a 4x4.

Perhaps we got a little lucky that we got through the holiday with such a good car that didnt break down once. But I wouldnt say you need a 4x4 for the whole time. Probably cheaper to hire a small car for the 2 weeks, and hire a 4x4 for the day if you need it.

If its useful, we used the rental company Sixt. I can give you the email of a very helpful guy there that we dealt with (who also speaks about 6 languages!)

The long distance buses in chile are v good, but i personally much prefer to spend a little more and have the comfort of a car. Depends on your budget maybe. The train network isnt brilliant.

Hope helpful
Mike

Tilo,

Distances can be quite extreme in Chile, and unless you want to spend the whole day driving, you can rely on the bus grid to move through long distances. Check www.turbus.cl . You can even book a night bus and save accommodation.

Most of the places can be reached by normal cars, but of course 4WD or 4x4 are better.

Good luck

In Northern CHile travel by bus. Chile has a great bus system, some lines
even include meals. For northern Chile my favorite bus company is Libac;
they don't have blaring videos or TV on board.

In Southern Chile between Santiago and Puerto Montt, you can also travel
by train. Chile has a great train system.

Flying is expernsive in Chile.

Hi!

Thanks for offering the e-mail address for that rental company! Maybe you can forward me that e-mail address? Thanks!

From reading the replies to my thread, I am somewhat undecided whether to use a car and/or a bus. Has anybody tried both or does anybody recommend a combination?

My real challenge seems to be to find the best plan for a trip from north to south. Any experience reports well appreciated!

Cheers,

Tilo

No problem, Arnold is the guy at the Sixt car hire, aschmolke@sixt.cl is the email. He speaks good English. If you email him, say that Michael Head recommended him! He was very helpful to us.

Re travel experiences, if you have the time, feel free to browse through my chile travel diaries, pics and words are on the web at www.idrn.org/llama.php

We did the route slightly differently to what you will be doing, but it might give you an idea.

Whether bus/coach or car, it depends on:
Your budget – especially if you are on your own, buses are of course cheaper
How much freedom do you want? Cars are obviously much better for this. Do you want to stop off and see things, as and when you want to? Or do you just want to stop in pre-determined locations, where the buses will pick you up and drop you off?
Are you happy to drive long distances? And are you happy driving long distances in another country? You will need to cover long distances, although the main roads in Chile to get between towns are good and generally empty.

If I was on my own, I’d probably get a bus to most places. As there were two of us, then a car was preferable.
But it is up to you!