Andes Lake Crossing - Bariloche to Puerto Varas

The option for doing it in one day exists in the summer only. At other times the crossing has to be done in two days. It depends on your dates whether or not you can do it in one day.
The trip is a combination of buses and boats and you will end with a bus. These are lake crossings connected by buses. Puerto Varas is 20 minutes by taxi from Puerto Montt so you can get on/off at either.

We will be doing the trip on March 28th which according to their new website (just found out they changed the name to Cruce Andino) they will be doing the one day crossing until April 10th. So if I understand you correctly, you have the option of getting off at either Puerto Varas or Puerto Montt. Which do you think is better? Do you have any hotel recommendations?

Puerto Varas is smaller and on a lake. Puerto Montt is much larger and a port. So PV would be nicer. As I say, it is very close to Pueto Montt.

Many passengers take the two day option since it is a very long day if done all in one. ( our hotel pick up in Bariloche was 6:30am, our arrival at our hotel in Puerto Varas, 8:45pm.)We loved staying at Hotel Natura in Peulla where you stay overnight in doing the trip in two days.
Everyone gets off the last boat in Puyehue and on to assigned buses with the passengers'various destinations on them. All the buses go to the Puyehue falls and then to whatever hotel you have booked.Its very well organized.
We were going to Puerto Varas and I don't remember if other passengers were taken to Puerto Montt or not. Look at Trip Advisor for hotels in Puerto Varas and spend a couple of days there exploring the lovely town and surrounding area. We did not like Hotel Cabanas del Lago; it was dated, and filled with large tour groups, terrible breakfast.We drove to the Puerto Montt airport a few days later. You can get a taxi to take you there.

Thanks for all the info. That really has helped me. I was considering Cabanas del Lago but after reading your review, think I will try for somewhere else.

I have a question about the crossing. Since I'll be staying in Puerto Varas for a few days, I'll have my luggage with me. Do they check it right through, or do I have to lug it with me?
If they do check it, I sure hope it makes all the connections!

Your luggage goes with you on the buses and boats and is loaded and unloaded for you.

Huentetu, thank you. I'm very much looking forward to my Andes crossing next Feb.

Do you think it's worth the money to stop in Peulla for the night? I would think that the additional tours offered there are also very expensive, as is the hotel .

We enjoyed Peulla and stayed at the Hotel Natura. The Hotel Peulla next door is less expensive. We did not do any of the excursions, walked around the tiny town and then went hiking in the beautiful valley.

I am now also considering this trip as a way to spend a couple days. Is it nice in and of itself, or is it just really a way to get to Chile? If we do it, we will do it in two days, but will immediately be flying to Punta Arenas from Puerto Montt the following day to get down to see penguins and then do TdP.

We would go to Bariloche (area) for 4 full days and then take this lake crossing....

Is it exhausting or relaxing? Thanks much

Once you are in Chile I believe some pax are taken to Puerto Varas or toPUerto Mont which ever you prefer. They took us to the door of our hotel in Puerto Varas.
We took the one day trip. The key to success is to check the weather and to travel on a day with good visibility.

We liked Puerto Varas more than Bariloche, although Bariloche is nice. We were picked up at our hotle at 6:30 am and stayed overnight in peulla. If you go straight through you'll get to your hotel in Puerto Varas 8-9 pm.

I did this back in November 2002 from Puerto Varas to Bariloche and I strongly advise not going if the weather is iffy the day of your journey. The roads were washed out and we had to ride a bulldozer across at one point and wait for a new bus to get us. It was a miserable day of switching from bus to boat, repeating this cycle endlessly. Could not see a thing. Once I arrived in Bariloche, it was a nice place to be, but too quiet in the off-season when the ski resorts are closed. Do yourself a favor and only cross on a beautiful, sunny day with minimal luggage.

Yes, clear weather is very important. WHen we arrived in Puella it began to rain and we were glad we weren't going on. The next day was beautiufl.

Tak e the trip one way and come back by bus. Excellent bus service for a few dollars. Modern, ac , numbered seats, very good.

Hi all. My husband and I will be in Argentina/Chile in February and March and are considering adding the Lakes Crossing to our itinerary. We will have our 1 year old daughter with us and would do the 2 day crossing offered by Australis to break it up a bit. I am wondering, though, whether there are too many boat/bus transfers to try to attempt this with a baby. Can anyone offer insight on this? Thanks.

Boat are big, big catamarans, indor seats and no problem there. It might be a little tiresome to get in and out of buses and catamarans>? Probably the baby will sleep at times...
you can go their website and they have a very nice little "video" showing the changes of buses and catamarans and how many are they. The stay at the hotel should be very quiet and nice for all the family.
As I mentioned before you can choose to come back by bus to Argentina if that is what you wish. I do not recall how many hours but a few, buses are as any nice Greyhound to give and idea. NO food can be brought through customs, that is what I believe at least...

After I wrote about the website, I googled and it seems that it is no longer there. Apparently there is more than one company now doing the crossing...or at least it seems to be a different one, but there is map and you could figure it out how many times you have to change boat and bus.
AS I recall it might be 4 or 5 times....Good luck. PS It makes a hell of a difference that the weather is good, without a clear day most likely you are not going to see the fantastic volcanos and mountains...so be sure it is a good day. Good luck again.

It is the same company. They changed their name slightly and the website:
http://www.cruceandino.com/web_cruceandino_ingles/index.html
The bus normally takes about 5-6 hours Puerto Varas to Argentina but delays at customs in summer (Feb is high season) can take much longer.
Fresh food is not allowed into Chile or Argentina. You will be given a form to sign. In my opinion, if you have any food at all, it is best to tick YES and let them sort what you have. Fines are very big going into Chile. No fruit, nuts or seeds. But some things you wouldn't think of are forbidden. Always best to tell them what you have and ask. A banana you forgot you had in your pocket can cost you US$100 in fines.

We will not be returning to Argentina so the bus return isn't an issue. We are staying on in Chile and like the idea of getting there by boat/bus rather than return flight to BA and then a flight to Santiago, followed by a flight south. How long are each of the bus rides between the lakes? I was able to look at the map on the cruceandino website but didn't see anything about how long each boat and bus ride is.

I think boat rides ranged from 20 minutes to an hour and a half. Buses were short at first, one was five minutes, but the last one when leaving Argentina and after you leave the last boat in Chile were longer, but not over an hour.You spend four hours in Peulla.
Write Cruce Andino and ask them or ask your hotel in Bariloche for specifics.If you do it in one day, its long(6:30 am to 8:45 pm). It takes quite a while to go through passport control both leaving Argentina and then entering Chile. We don't like long bus rides and it wasn't a problem. We were glad we stayed overnight in Puella at Hotel Natura.

Are there different boat companies that do the crossing? If so, what's the best company?

There is only one company, a Chilean/Argentine consortium, Cruce Andino. There is a very detailed description recently posted on the Tripadvisor Argentina forum: A few comments on the lakes crossing to Puerto MOntt.