Renting a Car in Patagonia

My husband and I are flying into Punta Arenas at 21:45 and are planning to head straight to Puerto Natales. At that hour, I assume that the buses departing for Puerto Natales will no longer be running, (Just checked the bus schedules, and this is indeed the case.)

We would like to rent a car at at Punta Arenas airport and eventually drop it off in Puerto Natales 4 days later, but after checking the rates, we discovered that it would be cheaper to rent the car in Puerto Natales. If we don't rent a car in Punta Arenas, we'd like to know what our options are. How difficult will it be to procure a taxi to take us to Puerto Natales at that hour? (It's a long drive, and I'm sure that the fare won't be cheap.) We are also open to private transportation. I just checked the rates on Grayline.com -- they are asking for US$ 664! Another company, Todo Calafate, quoted my husband US$ 235 -- has anyone heard of this company? Could anyone recommend another company?

Thank you!

I think you would need to make sure there are cars actually available in Puerto Natales before you decide. As for Todo Calafate, all their reviews are for activities in El Calafate, Argentina. So I am not sure how they do transport between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales. Nothing about transfers on their web page. No physical address either. Doesn't mean they aren't legit. The reviews are good, just all about El Calafate. If the US$235 is the price per car and not per person, then it is the general ballpark. It is a three hour drive.

Hi Femby,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, there are cars available in Puerto Natales and yes, Todo Calafate's quote is the price per car. If US$ 235 is a fair rate, then I guess we'll go ahead and book it.

Cheers,
L

Hey freakolina,

Here are a couple of car rental agencies in Punta Arenas, and they are international companies, so perhaps check with them.
Some car rental agencies in Punta Arenas:
Avis +56-61-241182 https://www.avis.com/en/home
Europcar +56-61-2202720 http://www.europcar.cl/index.php/en/

For bus schedules check here:
Buses from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales – multiple departures, 3h 15m, $10-11 one way
Buses Pacheco +56-61-225527 www.busespacheco.com
Bus – Sur +56-61-227145 www.bussur.com/?lang=en (best website)

You can get more info in my Ultimate Planning Guide here:
http://www.nrvana.com/ultimate-guides/

Good luck !! Scott

Thanks, Scott! Very helpful!

Another company, Todo Calafate, quoted my husband US$ 235 -- has anyone heard of this company? Could anyone recommend another company?

I would highly recommend Todo Calafate for private transfers from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales. Our driver, Luis, was punctual and professional. (He drove slowly and carefully.) No complaints!

As for renting a car in Puerto Natales, here's a warning: We'd reserved our rental car online through the Avis website and had received a confirmation as well, but when we arrived in Puerto Natales, the guy at Avis said that he didn't have our reservation. ("Sometimes, the Avis website does things without our knowledge.") Anyway, luckily for us, they happened to have a rental car available. If you are planning on renting a car through Avis in Puerto Natales, I would advise double checking your reservation before arriving in town.

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