Driving the Carretera Austral is an epic road trip experience. This road passes several national parks with glaciers, forests, rivers, and volcanoes. It’s a must for all nature lovers and hikers visiting Chile. We rented a car in Puerto Montt and drove around for two weeks visiting the main highlights along this road in Chilean Patagonia, following this Carretera Austral road trip itinerary.
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Table of Contents - The Ultimate Carretera Austral Road Trip Itinerary Guide
- What is the Carretera Austral
- When to visit the Carretera Austral
- Road tripping vs hitchhiking and public transport
- Where to start the Carretera Austral
- Renting a car for the Carretera Austral
- Ferries on the Carretera Austral
- How long do you need for the Carretera Austral
- Accommodation along the Carretera Austral
- Best things to do on the Carretera Austral
- A 2-week Carretera Austral road trip itinerary
- Day 1 – Pick up the car and drive to Chaitén
- Day 2 – Hiking in Pumalin National Park
- Day 3 – Ventisquero Amarillo
- Day 4 – Queulat National Park
- Day 5 – Drive to Puerto Rio Tranquilo
- Day 6 – Puerto Rio Tranquilo
- Day 7 – Drive to Villa Cerro Castillo
- Day 8 – Hiking in Cerro Castillo Park
- Day 9 – Drive to Futaleufú
- Day 10 – Rafting or hiking in Futaleufú
- Day 11 – Morning hike and drive to Ventisquero Yelcho
- Day 12 – Drive to Chaitén
- Day 13 – Back to Puerto Montt
- Day 14 – Spare day
What is the Carretera Austral
Carretera Austral translates to “Southern Highway”. It’s the road in Chilean Patagonia, which leads from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins. While it’s called a highway, it’s partially unsealed and includes two ferry crossings. It passes by beautiful nature, and there are many incredible viewpoints and hikes along the road, making it the perfect destination for an epic road trip.
When to visit the Carretera Austral
The best season for a Carretera Austral road trip is late spring until early autumn. So roughly from November to March. January and February are peak season, meaning it gets very busy and prices rise. We traveled at the beginning of March, which was a good time in my opinion. We did get a lot of rain during the second half of our road trip, but in the beginning we had great weather. Plus, even traveling in the height of summer (January and February) doesn’t guarantee good weather.
Road tripping vs hitch hiking and public transport
If you don’t want to drive, you can also travel by bus or hitchhike. But I think the best way to experience the Carretera Austral is by driving yourself. Buses don’t pass frequently and hiking trails don’t always start close to town. So you can take a bus to town, but you’ll still need transport to the hiking trails.
It also rains a lot in this part of the world so if you’re hitchhiking, you might need to wait for several hours in the rain. Especially if you’re traveling outside the peak season and there is less traffic on the road.
Where to start the Carretera Austral
Puerto Montt is the start of the Carretera Austral. It’s a big city with an airport and many car rental companies, making it a great place to start the Carretera Austral.
At the other end of the Carretera Austral, you’ll find Villa O’Higgins. This is a very small town and there are no car rental places here. So unless you have a car already, it’s not such a good place to start your Carretera Austral road trip.
If you’re coming from Argentina, and you have a car, you can also start in Futaleufú and drive down. Or begin in Villa O’Higgins, drive up until Pumalin National Park, and cross the border back to Argentina in Futaleufú.
Renting a car for the Carretera Austral
While it’s not necessary to rent a 4×4, a high car like an SUV is recommended. Especially if you want to drive all the way south to Villa O’Higgins. The road between Puerto Montt and Villa Cerro Castillo is pretty good, and if you drive slowly a standard city car is good enough.
We drove to Puerto Rio Tranquilo in a city car, and while doable, the stretch between Villa Cerro Castillo and Puerto Rio Tranquilo was quite uncomfortable. We had to drive super slow and it seemed to take forever! If you’re driving all the way to Villa O’Higgins, I would definitely rent a better-suited car.
There are many rental companies available in Puerto Montt. We decided to rent through Uno Rental, since they gave us the best price. They are also open until late, so we could drop our car off in the evening when we got back.
Note that while it is possible to drop your car off in another town or city, the fees are incredibly high and you’re much better off driving back and dropping your car off at the same location where you picked it up. An additional benefit is that if you have bad weather on your way down, you have a second chance to visit some sights on your way back.
Tip: Pick up the car in the evening before you start your Carretera Austral road trip. This way you can leave early the next day and be sure to catch the ferry.
Ferries on the Carretera Austral
If you start your Carretera Austral road tip in Puerto Montt, you’ll need to take two ferries. The first one at La Arena is very easy. The ferry goes 24/7 in the high season and leaves very frequently. It costs about 11.000 CLP per car including passengers. You can buy tickets on the spot and board the next available ferry.
The tricky one is the next ferry, which goes from Hornopirén to Caleta Gonzalo. This route technically requires two ferries, but they are on the same ticket. You just need to drive 10 km from Leptepu to Fiordo Largo.
There are only two ferries a day, also in high season, and only the one at 10 am is subsidized. The second ferry at 6 pm is not and is double the price, plus the driver needs to pay for a passenger ticket as well. Naturally, the morning one is much more popular and books out days if not weeks in advance, especially in the peak season (January and February). So make sure to book your ticket in advance here.
How long do you need for the Carretera Austral
With so many national parks along the way and so many incredible views and hikes, you could spend a month or more driving the Carretera Austral. We spent 2 weeks here. This was fine to drive from Puerto Montt to Puerto Rio Tranquilo and back, but if you want to drive to Villa O’Higgins, I would recommend 3 weeks. While 2 weeks would also be doable, it’s a bit rushed and doesn’t allow for much extra time in case of bad weather.
Accommodation along the Carretera Austral
There are many towns along the Carretera Austral where you can stay. Due to the remoteness of the villages and the short season, accommodation is quite expensive. There are also many campsites available, which are a lot cheaper. They vary from very basic to a bit more luxurious. The campsites in Pumalin National Park are very basic, and generally don’t offer more than a toilet and maybe a cold shower. Private campsites normally offer a hot shower and powerplugs.
Best things to do on the Carretera Austral
Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park
Pumalin Douglas Tompkins National Park is one of my favorite national parks in Chile. It’s huge, very diverse, well maintained and free! There are short trails available you do in an hour, and long trails which will take all day. You can opt for easier hikes in the forest or more challenging ones to viewpoints over volcanoes or glaciers. There are hikes here for everyone.
Queulat National Park
Queulat National Park is home to the iconic Ventisquero Colgante, which cannot be missed on any Carretera Austral road trip itinerary. This is the only park accessible for hikers in the National Park.
Futaleufú
Futaleufú is the best spot for kayaking or rafting along the Carretera Austral. If you’re not looking to go rafting or kayaking, you can still admire the beautiful blue Futaleufú river hiking or from the car. I found the other hikes we did during our road trip more impressive than the ones in Futaleufú, but if you don’t mind making the detour and you have the time, it’s still a nice place to visit.
Cerro Castillo Park
Hiking in Cerro Castillo Park was one of the highlights of the Carretera Austral for me. You can do a multiple-day hike or 1 or 2 day-hikes here. The snow-capped mountains with super blue lakes are just incredible. And the views over the landscape below and other mountains in the area are also amazing. A must-do if when doing a Carretera Austral road trip.
Puerto Rio Tranquilo
Puerto Rio Tranquilo is a small town built on the shores of the beautiful Lago General Carerra (also called Lago Buenos Aires). Here you can visit the Marbles Cathedrals, but also join a tour to Glaciar Exploradores where you can experience walking on a glacier, or join a tour to San Rafael National Park.
Villa O'Higgins
Villa O’Higgins is the end of the Carretera Austral. So if you want to experience the whole Carretera Austral, Villa O’Higgins is a must. We decided to skip it though, since it was a long drive from Puerto Rio Tranquilo, and we needed to head back to Puerto Montt to return the car. So we would have needed to rent a different kind of car, and for an extra week.
A 2-week Carretera Austral road trip itinerary
Day 1 - Pick up the car and drive to Chaitén.
If you have booked the 10 am ferry, you’ll need to leave early today: at 6.30 am at the latest. The drive from Puerto Montt to La Arena takes about 1 hour. The ferry goes 24/7 in high season and very frequently and the crossing takes about 30 minutes, but count some extra time in case you just miss the ferry or if there is a queue. From here it’s an hour’s drive to Hornopirén, where you need to take the next ferry.
You’ll need to check in at the ferry port about 30-60 minutes before the scheduled time and the complete crossing takes about 5 hours. There is food available on the ferry, but it’s expensive and more like snackfood. So I recommend bringing a packed lunch.
The drive to Chaitén takes about 1 -1.5 hours, depending on the car you have. If you’re camping I recommend staying in Camping El Volcan, close to the start of tomorrow’s trail.
If all goes smoothly and you feel like stretching your legs, you can do the Los Alerces hike (about 1 hour) or Las Cascadas Escondidas (about 1.5 – 2 hours) on the way to the campsite or Chaitén.
Staying in Hornopirén – If you don’t like the sound of leaving at 6.30 am, you can also split the drive and stay overnight in Hornopirén. There is not so much to do here, since the trails in the National Park are not very well maintained and not suited for a day trip. But you can visit the Rio Blanco waterfalls.
Day 2 - Hiking in Pumalin National Park
If the weather is clear in the morning, hike the Chaitén trail. It’s a short but steep trail, climbing about 600 meters in 2.5 km. But there is no need to rush. The views over the surroundings and the volcano are very beautiful. The hike took us about 4 hours return, taking it easy and enjoying a long break at the top enjoying the views.
We then drove to Chaitén for lunch and back up to Cascadas Escondidas for another hike, since the weather was great and we wanted to take advantage of it.
Then drive further south towards the Amarillo sector, so you can start your hike there early tomorrow. It’s possible to camp inside the park at Camping Ventisquero or Camping Grande (6.000 CLP at the time of writing). Note that if you want to camp in the NP you’ll need to arrive while the park is open (until 17.30, do confirm beforehand). We stayed at another campsite along the way (Arroyo Claro, 7.500 CLP), since it had hot water which the ones inside the national park don’t have.
Chaitén Volcano – The Chaitén hike only makes sense if the weather is clear. So if it’s cloudy, it’s better to opt for a forest walk and hope for better weather in the afternoon. Or save this hike for the way back.
Day 3 - Ventisquero Amarilllo
This is a long hike, and the trail is not always open. It depends on the weather conditions. So make sure to double-check in advance. The hike itself is not very challenging, it’s mainly flat. But it’s long: 20 km there and back from the Ventisquero campsite.
When we went, the road to the campsite was in bad condition and we could only drive as far as Camping Grande. This added another 3 km and 200 m of elevation to the route. It turned out this was the most challenging part of the whole hike!
The hike is 100% worth it though. During most of the walk there, you’ll see the glacier and when you get to the viewpoint, the glacier is right in front of you. It’s an amazing sight being so close!
Note that you need to start the hike early. Normally they let you start until 10 am, but since the road between the Grande and Ventisquero campsites was closed, they had changed the cut-off point to 9 am. We arrived at 9.30 am, so we were technically not allowed to do the hike anymore, but knowing we walked a little faster than the average time given on the hikes here, we decided to give it a go and see how far we would get in 3.5 hours since we needed to be outside of the park by 5.30 pm. And we managed to do the whole hike in 6h40, and be out by 5 pm. But we had to walk very fast, and would have normally taken more time to enjoy the hike.
Day 4 - Queulat National Park
While Queulat is quite a big national park, only a small part is accessible and the only hike you can do is to the Ventisquero Colgante (the hanging glacier).
This hike is much shorter than the ventisquero hike in Pumalin (3.3 km one way), but mainly uphill. The viewpoint is not as close to the glacier either, but this glacier has a beautiful waterfall coming down from it and moves more than the Ventisquero Amarillo as well. I heard it calf 3 times, twice while I was in the forest hiking, so unfortunately I had no view of the glacier. But the third time I did have a view of the glacier and I could see a giant block of ice fall into the water.
Besides hiking to the viewpoint, you can also hike to the lake (600 m one way) from where you can take a boat across the lake for 15.000 CLP. Or you can just sit down here and enjoy the views over the glacier from another angle. After this hike, we drove to Coyhaique, where we enjoyed an evening in an Airbnb since accommodation is a lot cheaper here.
Day 5 - Drive to Puerto Rio Tranquilo
We had a very rainy day, so we decided to use this day for a long drive and save the hike at Villa Cerro Castillo for the way back. It was also quite nice to have a break from hiking and just enjoy the drive. Luckily it did clear up for a bit when we drove past Villa Cerro Castillo so we stopped at the viewpoint. The landscape was beautiful with snow-capped mountain peaks after the rain.
Puerto Rio Tranquilo is quite an expensive town, but there are campsites as well. We camped at Tata Camping, which was great value for money: 6.000 per person and it included a hot shower, power plugs (in the toilets), and a roof with a few chairs and tables. There are limited tent spots below the roof as well, but naturally, they will fill up first. El Negrito Feliz offers tasty budget meals if you don’t want to cook.
Day 6 - Puerto Rio Tranquilo
The main attractions here are the Glacier Exploradores, Laguna San Rafael, and the Marble Cathedrals. Unfortunately we were very unlucky with the weather, and we didn’t get to do any of them. 😢
Laguna San Rafael is a very expensive tour, and not worth the money for me. But I would have loved to do the Glacier Exploradores tour and experience walking on a glacier. So if the weather had allowed it, this is the tour I would have picked for today.
Day 7 - Drive to Villa Cerro Castillo
In the morning you’ll have time to do the Marble Cathedrals tour. You can visit by boat or kayak and as long as there are people and the weather allows it, the tours will leave throughout the day. The best time to visit is in the morning though, because it tends to get windy later in the day and the harbor closes when the winds get too strong.
After lunch, drive to Villa Cerro Castillo so you can start your hike here early tomorrow morning.
Day 8 - Hiking in Cerro Castillo Park
Mirador Laguna Cerro Castillo is the best day hike you can do here. Some people do Laguna Duff in a day as well. But it’s longer and tougher than Mirador Laguna Cerro Castillo. This is also quite a tough hike, but very beautiful and definitely doable as a day hike.
After the rainy days in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, we had a clear day today. So we were very happy we could do a hike again.
It’s best to start your hike here early in the morning so you’re not rushed for time and have the best chances for clear weather. The mountains behind the lake are often cloudy, and by the time we made it up, the peaks were also covered in clouds despite being completely clear when we left in the morning. But that’s normal with high mountains and the view of the lake with the glacier behind it and the surrounding mountains, even without the peaks visible, was incredible.
In total, we took almost 7 hours to complete the hike, from the car and back. We had to park the car a little more than a kilometer before the park entrance, as the last bit is only accessible for 4×4 cars. The total time included paying the fee and the briefing and some time enjoying the views at the top.
You can spend the night in Villa Cerro Castillo, or drive to Coyhaique. We decided to drive to Coyhaique since accommodation there is much cheaper so we got an AirBnB for the night.
Day 9 - Drive to Futaleufú
The road to Futaleufú is largely unpaved, but in much better condition than the road between Villa Cerro Castillo and Puerto Rio Tranquilo. Enjoy the views of the river on the way and if you arrive early, you can do a short hike to a viewpoint, like Mirador del Diablo.
Day 10 - Rafting or hiking in Futaleufú
Futaleufú is famous for its rafting and kayaking. Most places are quite tough and for experienced kayakers and rafters. But there are easier sections as well. If you don’t want to go on the river, but still would like to see Futaleufú, you can go for a hike as well. There are some short hikes to viewpoints, or you can do a longer hike in the Las Escaladas or La Dificultad area.
Day 11 - Morning hike and drive to Ventisquero Yelcho
In the morning you can go for another short hike to a viewpoint, like Piedra del Aguila, and start driving back to the Carretera Austral in the afternoon.
If the weather is good when passing by Ventisquero Yelcho, take advantage of it and do the hike to the viewpoint (3 km one way). If it’s cloudy, you can look for a camp spot nearby and try again in the morning. For a ho(s)tel, Chaitén is your best bet since it’s the biggest town in the area. It’s about an hour’s drive north of the glacier.
Day 12 - Drive to Chaitén
If you didn’t do the hike to the Ventisquero Yelcho viewpoint yesterday afternoon, you can go today, provided that the weather is good. Then you can drive to Chaitén for lunch and rest or go for one of the many short hikes in Pumalin National Park.
Sleep in Chaitén, or a campsite between Chaitén and Caleta Gonzalo so you won’t have to drive too far to catch the ferry tomorrow morning.
Day 13 - Back to Puerto Montt
If you get up early or are staying at Caleta Gonzalo, you can do the short hike which starts at the pier. Since it’s only partially open, it’s not the most impressive hike, but it’s a great walk if you have some time to spare.
Day 14 - Spare day
You’ll want to have at least one spare day in case of bad weather or just to rest, as this itinerary is quite intense with lots of hiking and driving. If all goes well on your trip, you can spend this day at Rafael National Park in Puerto Rio Tranquilo for example. You could also hike to Laguna Duff in Cerro Castillo Park.
You can also choose to split up the drive between Puerto Montt and Chaiten on the way down, or back up and spend a day in Hornopirén.
This was The Ultimate Carretera Austral Road Trip Itinerary Guide
