lizbreese

Turbus has online reservation but does not accept US credit cards. We need to book travel from Santiago to Puerta Varas on Dec. 20, 2009 and want Premium seats. How can I get a reservation? Help!

Huentetu

You cannot book Chilean bus tickets online without a Chilean issued credit card. The only way would be to get a local travel agent to buy them for you, but they would probably only do this if you were booking other things with them.

lizbreese

We still need to book hotel in Puerta Varas or Frutillar. Can someone recommend a local travel agent for this? Then perhaps they would purchase the bus tickets for us. Also any hotel recommendation for Puerta Varas or Frutillar.

Huentetu

Try Andina del Sud. They are a large, reputable agency with an office in Puerto Varas. I can't find an English version of their website but you can write to them in English.
http://www.andinadelsud.com/index.php?opc=contacto

mlgb

Not about your specific issue, but I had a hard time with bus reservations from abroad. Will you be staying at a hotel in Santiago? I would ask if they can do this for you. Most hotels seem to have a travel agent function. Even then although I was able to get reservations through an agent, I still had to appear in person to collect seat assignments and tickets.

lizbreese

I am booking the Lake crossing and overnight hotel in Peulla with Andina del Sud. I asked whether they could help me with the ticket but they said they can not.

I am staying at the Santiago Marriott for one night. I had thought that perhaps they could assist. I'll give it a try.

Any other ideas are welcome. I'd really like to be able to reserve the Premium seats for a 12 hour bus trip.

Huentetu

If you will be in Santiago before the 20th you could get the tickets then. Even a couple of days ahead. It is just before seats get booked up for the Christmas stampede.
BTW, if you are staying at the Marriott, Turbus has a stop beside the Vitacura municipality for its cama/premium buses to the south. That is a lot closer to the Marriott than going downtown. The 20:30 Turbus on the 20th Dec to Puerto Varas shows a departure from there. The bus will depart from the off street parking beside the municipality.
http://www.turbus.cl/oficinas/oficinas.html
You will have to get a taxi to there as there is no nearby public transportation.
If you look at this map it shows the route from the hotel to the bus station.
http://tinyurl.com/yaflmcr

lizbreese

Thank you for the Turbus information closer to our Marriott hotel. We arrive on the 19th of Dec. and will go directly to Turbus and get tickets. I still would like to do this in advance but it seems impossible. The rest of the trip has been pretty easy to arrange with only a few language issues that got sorted out quickly.

Huentetu

Do check times and departures when you get your tickets as these things can change! But we always get the bus south from there as it is nearer home and hassle free.

jelangman

Hello, there are plenty of other reputable, good bus lines if it does not work out with Turbus. Look into Buses Jac, Cruz del Sur, or TaosChaopa, for example.