My husband and I are planning a trip Chile-Argentina this dec/jan. I almost have things going on but there are still little details that still have me a bit confused.
We are planing on staying in Santiago for 3 nights since its our starting point and then fly to Pucon and stay there for 2 nights (enough?) Rent a car in Pucon to drive around and then continue driving all the way to Puerto Varas. I was thinking in maybe stopping in between for the night, but can't find a place that is really worth it. Staying on night in Puerto Varas and then doing the lake crossing all the way to Bariloche, stay there 3 nights (to much?) at Llao Llao and then fly to El Calafate. Staying 2 or 3 nights, not sure yet, and then fly to Buenos Aires.
I think I have it almost done but would love some recomendations:
Is it worth to stay overnight between Pucon and Puerto Varas, is it a nice ride?
How long to stay in each destination?
Where to stay in Pucon, Puerto Varas, El Calafate, and B.A's?
We still have a few days to spare we were thinking of side trips form Santiago (Vina del Mar) or B.A's (Punta del Este or Caramelo) we don't want to end is a touristy place.

I would defenitly appreciate any advice and ideas. Would love recomendations on magical places to stay.

Frutillar on Lago Llanquihue is really worth a visit. A picture book German style village with a major music festival - end of January.

btt

Last year my wife and I were on a tour which included Santiago, Puerto Varas, Bariloche, and Buenos Aires. It may help you plan your own trip to have a look at the descriptions and photos in the "Chile-Argentina-Brazil" section of Our Travel Journals: www.evcal.org .

We also stayed at the B&B de la Colina - had a great time - here are some pics on our blog

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...ile/index.html

(You have to scroll down - starts in Santiago)