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drive from Pucon to San Martin de los Andes and beyond

drive from Pucon to San Martin de los Andes and beyond

Old Mar 5th, 2018, 01:41 PM
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drive from Pucon to San Martin de los Andes and beyond

Thinking of renting a car in Tecumo -2 days in Pucon then driving to San Martin via the ferry on Lake Pirihueico.( I see that the ferry can be reserved ahead of time.)
1 night in San Martin and then driving south on the paved route (not the 7 lakes route) to Bariloche for 1 night then driving back into Chile to Pto Varas.
Is anyone familiar with these routes? Any tips? For car rental is it just a matter of some extra paperwork at car pickup? Are the roads good?
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Old Mar 6th, 2018, 12:48 PM
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Both very scenic routes. If you want the ferry route that is Hua Hum and a different road than direct from Pucon. The one from Pucon, Mamuil Malal, to San Martin has a forest of monkey puzzle trees in between Chilean and Argentine customs. Then it gets very bare to Junin de los Andes. Quite a change from the wetter and more pastoral Chilean side. If you can, spend another night in San Martin. It is a nice town, walkable and right on Lake Lacar. If you take the Panguipulli ferry route, the road to San Martin is dramatic with a lot of rock formations. There is a small museum about the first settlers to the area just after you arrive in Argentina. Either route is fine.

From Bariloche you go through Villa la Angostura and through the Cardenal Samore pass. This is a much more travelled road with more traffic and likely to be much busier in summer. But it is national park on both sides of the border. Scenery always changes dramatically between Chile and Argentina at this latitude.
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Old Mar 6th, 2018, 11:11 PM
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We went from Pucon to San Martin by bus ( never seen so many Monkey Puzzle trees!) we did look at renting a car from Chile to Argentina and VV but decided against it as it all got too complicated and expensive. It seemed like the paperwork was going to take forever and the one way fees were horrendous. That was ten years ago so things may well have changed.

In the end we rented a car in San Martin, drove the seven lakes route to Bariloche. Then it was mostly a gravel road but not too bad, even in the snow and rain we experienced. The one way fee wasn’t to bad as we met up with an Italian couple in the rental office and travelled with them for a while and shared the costs.

Agree with Huentutu’s comment re spending and extrA day in San Martin. A lovely little town. packed with Great Spit Roasted lamb restaurants and chocolate shops as I recall. Beautiful settinng on the lake.
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Old Mar 7th, 2018, 05:01 AM
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7 lakes road is now paved but not a fast road. You want to stop and look at the views anyway - after all, it is the 7 lakes road! Your car hire should be fine as you are returning to Chile though there will be a fee for dropping off in another location. I have done the different routes so many times that I have lost count. I have done it in my car and on buses. If you can manage the cost of the car then I would go for that. You really do want to stop and gaze. I prefer the road from Pucon direct through Junin de los Andes to San Martin de los Andes as I find it much more scenic than the ferry route and the contrast of scenery between the two countries more pronounced. If you stop and picnic in the auracaria forest I mentioned you can consume any fresh food before Argentine customs, although the Argentine controls are not as strict as Chile anyway.
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Old Mar 7th, 2018, 05:17 AM
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I did this in reverse, but not by car. I took a two day bus and boat tour from Puerto Varas to Bariloche and loved it (can be done in one day) . Then I took a minibus tour to San Martin, skipping the return to Bariloche. I took a bus to Pucon.

I highly recommend the bus and boat tour, which can be done in either direction: https://www.cruceandino.com/cruce/EN/home/inicio#
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Old Mar 7th, 2018, 12:10 PM
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Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply -- the info is really appreciated.
Leaning to do the route from Pucon to San Martin via Mamil Malal -then 2 nights in San Martin, then - since it sounds like the road is paved and quite good - do the 7 lakes route (thus avoiding backtracking to Junin de los Andes)

Our several trip adjustments (total 20 day trip) mean we will have only 2 nights in Pto Varas -and Chiloe is left out this trip---- but I think we will enjoy the Argentine leg more.
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