Punta Arenas to Puerto Varas Road Trip Ideas At Wicked Campers South America

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Punta Arenas to Puerto Varas

Wicked Campervan Trip Options: Pickup in Punta Arenas & Dropoff in Puerto Varas only

You’re about to start a trip that will take you to the most amazing landscapes of the Patagonia. The very heart of it, through Chile and Argentina. Prepare yourself to see endless fields of millenary ice, feel the furious wind of extreme south, listen to the eternal silence and watch breathless scenarios like the towers of ice and rock known as Torres del Paine. This is it. The ultimate trip. This is the real Wicked experience!

First stop is at Natales to make yourself a gift: Eat the irresistible “Cordero Magallánico” (Roasted Lamb) with wine, or make pictures of one of the southernmost towns in the world. You can navigate the Fiordo de Última Esperanza (Last Hope fjord) or visit the Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers, inside Bernardo O’Higgins National Park.

From Natales drive to Torres del Paine National Park. The Park is the home of the famous towers of rock and ice that have the same name, but it is also a place where to do lots of cool activities! There you can feel the vertigo of climbing to the eternal snowed summits, relax doing fly fishing, take a tour through the mountains on a horse, or practice some sports like kayaking, trekking, mountaineering and even hiking in the ice!

The park is known all around the world and there are reasons for it. Besides having one of the most colossal monuments on the planet, it offers the chance for you to be in contact with real nature and have unique moments either alone or with company. There you can even sleep on your Wicked campervan, away from the noise and pollution of the big cities and with nature all around. If you’re looking for big challenges, here’s a really big one. Go and try to climb the towers… if you can.

Either you did it or not, you have also seven circuits for excursion, where you’ll have to go through rivers, lagoons and almost eternal dark and grey clouds.

Once you’re finish enjoying the park, your next stop is on the other side of the border. Drive to Argentina and prepare yourself to see more nature as never seen it before.

You have to drive first south to Natales and from there go east to cross the border and drive through route 40 to visit the town called El Calafate. Besides its proximity to Los Glaciares National Park, the city offers different attractions, of course, all of them with reference to the glaciers. There you will find the Center for Glacier Interpretation, the Patagonian Ice Museum and the “Glacio Bar”, the only bar worldwide completely made of glacier’s ice!

Now you know near to El Calafate is Los Glaciares National Park, where you can visit different attractions like trekking routes that will take you to Lenga forests or the trails and balconies over the Perito Moreno Glacier, the biggest of the glaciers you’ll see, with 60 meters tall and up to five kilometers long on its front!

You can go of course with your campervan to most of the places inside the park (for those where you cannot drive you can always take a healthy walk) but if you want it, near the park there’s a small farm from where you can go riding to the Perito Moreno Glacier.

Once you leave the park (not without enjoying every corner of it!) drive north to Viedma Lake, where you can watch more amazing and millenary light blue colored glaciers and even make a short ice Trek!

Being in Viedma Lake means you are really near two nice destinies more to visit: El Chaltén and the Fitz Roy Mount.

El Chaltén is a small 30 year old town, located near the Fitz Roy Mount and known in Argentina for being the “Trekking Capital” of the country. There are trekking routes for everyone, with different levels of difficulty, going across fields of ice, the slopes of the range or directly to the almost unbelievable Fitz Roy Mount. It’s up to you where to go.

Now, we guess you didn’t come to the end of the world to look the Fitz Roy from far away so, let us first give you an advice: If you`re a smoker, stop smoking days (or weeks if possible) before going. The Fitz Roy Mount is famous because of its height, for its imposing summit and because of the challenge it means to every visitor. You’re about to step in front of a three thousand meters tall tower of rock and millenary ice. Not every day you can say that (right?).

After visiting this special corner of the Patagonia, drive north to visit the Buenos Aires Lake. It is the same lake we call General Carrera in Chile, just with a different name on the Argentinian side. The lake is the point where you can return to Chile and enter to Chile Chico and all the attractions the circuit around the General Carrera Lake has to offer. One of the most famous is the sailing circuit to see the Marble Chapels, real sculptures of marble made by the time and the hard work of the water.

Near Chile Chico you have also Jeinimeni Lake National Reserve, a perfect place where to admire nature of the Patagonia. There you can see native flora and fauna and practice hiking, as well as visit the Hand’s Cave (which has antique hands paintings made by ancient habitants of the area) and the amazing “Nailed Stone”, a 40 meters tall rock, embedded in the landscape and offering no answers to the questions you might have about it, it’s just incredible.

Even when you went to Chile to enjoy everything that the lake has to offer, it’s time to go back to Argentina to drive north in direction to the town of Esquel, where you can practice Rafting, Hiking, Horseback riding, climbing and fly fishing, before keep going further north, to visit the beautiful city of Bariloche.

This Argentinian city is considered one of the most important touristic spots of the country and is known worldwide because of its beauty, the great slopes to practice ski and its perfect, amazing, addicting, unbelievable chocolates. Don’t leave the city if you haven’t try at least one of every variety.

Be amazed by the landscapes you’ll see at Nahuel Huapi National Park, Victoria Island, Tronador Hill, Otto Hill or the Nahuel Huapi Lake.

To pass through the border to Chile from Bariloche, you need to drive north through route 40 until you arrive to Mamuil Malal border crossing. Once you’re back in Chile, visit Villarrica National Park, where you’ll find seven different trekking routes and several under protection species that you can photograph.

From the national park you’re gonna start the last part of the trip. If you have the time, we strongly recommend you to visit the Seven Lakes District, passing through some towns like Panguipulli, Futrono or Lago Ranco. Also, if you drive heading east to the range, you can visit the Huilo Huilo Reserve and further south the Puyehue National Park.

For the very last, give yourself the time to enjoy the typical Chilean and German food tradition in Frutillar, walk by the lake shore, practice sports at the Llanquihue Lake and drive to Llanquihue (the town) to keep tasting the best of our traditional food; ask for sausages there. It’s almost impossible to find another place as good as Llanquihue when it comes to traditional sausages recipes.

And if you still have time, before arriving to Puerto Varas, drive to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park to enjoy its nine trekking routes, and explore around to see the landscapes of El Callao Valley, the Green Lagoon, the Osorno Volcano and much more!

That was your last stop before arriving to Puerto Varas, where you can still do some stuff before giving your campervan back and say, proud of yourself, you’ve lived the Wicked experience!

Cheap Campervan Hire Trips

Here at Wicked Campers we’ve developed a range of Campervan Trip Ideas for roadtrips around Punta Arenas – check them out!

Punta Arenas to Puerto Varas

Punta Arenas to Coyhaique

Punta Arenas to Los Glaciares

Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine

You wanna’ jump out of a plane or sail the Cabo de Hornos? Just ask Us baby! We have friends all over the place!

We have a variety range of van from a 2, 3, 4 and 5-seater campervans, minicampers and 4WD that will accommodate your travel in Chile. Enjoy the country and save your pocket money for beers and tickets to atractions and activities, instead of putting it in expensive accommodation.
Check out our campervans and see which one is the perfect option for you: