10 to 12 day Chile itinerary - looking for ideas

Hello everybody,

My partner and I have either 10 or 12 days in this coming February that we want to spend in southern Chile. We've been doing research on things but I was hoping someone here could speak to what is really feasible in that time table.

Some basic guidelines:
- we would probably come in via Santiago and rent a car to drive south
- we would probably need to get a return flight out of Santiago at the new of the trip
- it seems like we can easily drive at least as far as Puerto Montt
- at that point google maps seems to indicate route 7 continuing down for a significant distance, but with large water gaps.

Basically how far down can we realistically drive with a basic manual car rental, both in terms of time and terrain - and is the drive worthwhile?

I honestly don't think the drive is worthwhile and the expense of a one way drop off is very high. There are ferries further south which you would need to book if taking a car, or you have to go through Argentina and back. It will be high season and the month most Chileans take their holiday.

I suggest you take one of the better services on a night bus. You can get to Puerto Montt in 12 hours. Pucón is about the same as it is off the main route. Buses go to any place in the south. You can also take day buses which stop more. Good scenery will start around Chillan.

A lot depends on where you hope to eventually end up and how far south you want to go. Below Puerto Montt a flight is the best option. With 10-12 days I would avoid a self-drive, long road trip.

The road from Santiago to Puerto Montt is not very scenic. With your time limit I would suggest flying from Santiago to Puerto Montt and renting a car there. I wouldn't spend time in Puerto Montt but would drive the twenty minutes to Puerto Varas and stay there instead. There are a lot of day trips from there you could take including a drive to the Saltos de Petrohue and to the beach at Petrohue with great views of Volcan Osorno. You could also drive to Cochamo which is a beautiful valley similar in appearance to the rocks of Yosemite. If you want to take a longer road trip, you could drive 6 hours to Bariloche, Argentina for some absolutely stunning views. Bariloche was one of our favorite stops during our stay. If you want to head all the way down to Torres Del Paine you would just take a flight from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas but given your time frame you may want to pick one or the other (Lakes District or far south). :)

Beware that February is very high season in Chile.
With a small car you can tour the Lake District and Chiloe.

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