Two ways to do the road, and what each one costs in days.
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The whole road
Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins is 1,240km, most of it gravel, with three ferries along the way. On gravel you cover 120–200km a day, so the full road is three to four days of pure driving before any stops. Doing it properly takes 10–14 days at the very least, and more if you want to hike.
Fly in and loop
The short version: fly Santiago–Balmaceda, pick up a car and drive a loop south from Coyhaique — Cerro Castillo, the Marble Caves at Puerto Río Tranquilo, Cochrane — and back. A week is enough, and returning the car where you picked it up means no drop fee. The trade-off is the rental price: cars from Balmaceda cost several times more than from Puerto Montt.
- Flights Santiago–Balmaceda: one-way fares from under €10 on low-cost promotions to about CLP 66,000 (≈ €60), bags extra — search this route on Kiwi.com
Without a car
Buses link the towns cheaply — Puerto Montt to Chaitén is about CLP 20,000 (≈ €18) — but slowly, and not every day. Fine for a hiking trip based in two or three towns; hard work for the whole road.
Crossing into Argentina
- Chile Chico–Los Antiguos: the main crossing on the southern loop, open to cars. From Los Antiguos, Ruta 40 runs south towards El Chaltén. You'll need the rental company's cross-border insurance (see the car rental page). Near Los Antiguos, Argentina's Parque Patagonia also has a puma tracking trip — at the top end of the price range.
- Villa O'Higgins–El Chaltén: no road. A boat across Lago O'Higgins, about 21km on foot or by bike, and another boat across Lago del Desierto. Hikers and cyclists only, so drivers leave the car behind.
Which one fits
- Two weeks or more, and you want the whole road: drive it one way and accept the drop fee, or drive down and back up.
- About a week: fly into Balmaceda and loop.
- Heading on to El Chaltén: cross at Chile Chico with a car, or finish on foot at Villa O'Higgins.
What to book where