trolldoll

Hi does anyone know the quickest way to get from santiago international airport chile to Castro, Chiloe.. I cannot find any airline that flys there... or is it best to fly to puerto montt and then catch a bus or ferry to castro? any ideas / names of companies appreciated but the quickest way is definately the way i want to go.. im coming from australia to santiago to castro. thank you for looking and for your help in advance!

Huentetu

Fly to Puerto Montt and take a bus to Chiloe via the ferry. That would be the quickest.

Leave enough time for your connection at the airport in Santiago as, connecting from an international to a domestic flight, you will have to go through passport control and customs. If you are traveling on an Australian passport you will need to pay the reciprocity fee before going through passport control.

trolldoll

thank you but as flying from australia you land in chile when you land.. there isnt a choice of arrival times in the day.. and i know about visa requirements.

these are my questions which i hope you can help with.

1. is the domestic flight to puerto mott in the same airport as the interntaional airport in santiago? ie. that connects with Lan Chile from australia or do i have to go to a different airport for the puerto mott fliht?

2. when ariving at Puerot mott airport.. where do i go to get a ferry /bus ride? where do i catch a taxi to?

3. how do i book a "ferry/boat" ride? who with and how long does it take to get to castro this way? do you catch a bus which then goes on a ferry?????

thanks for your help in advance

trolldoll

oh and also can i book the "bus/ferry" on the internet or can you just turn up on the day? is the "bus/ferry" a regular timetable?
thank you!!

Huentetu

It is the same airport, opposite ends for national and international. You arrive on level 1 and check in and depart on level 3. Since you are connecting from an international to a domestic flight I have no idea if they will handle your luggage after you go through customs or if you have to go check in. The airline could answer this for you.

El Tepual airport is 14 kms from PM. You need to go to the bus station which is 5 mins from the center of town. The bus station is called the "Rodoviario". That is where you get the taxi to.

You buy the bus ticket, which includes the short ferry ride, at the station. The bus goes on the ferry. There are plenty of buses. You cannot book from abroad and you are not stopping in Santiago where you might buy a ticket in advance, so you are going to have to buy it there. You should be able to find a seat on a bus to Castro. February might be slightly more complicated as it is high season and the favourite holiday month locally. These are the Cruz del Sur ferry times. You are going from Pargua to Chacao on the ferry.
http://www.pullmansur.cl/transbordos-a-chiloe.html

trolldoll

thank you what a great response!!!

i wish there was an option to fly to castro....

trolldoll

oh and finaly . would i be able to bring two suitcases on the bus from puerto montt to castro? or would that be a problem with security? is your stuf safe or is everything in the actual bus with you like a regular bus .. or is this a coach with the bags underneath? sorry if it seems like a ridiculous question!

Huentetu

It is a coach with the bags underneath and you are given a receipt. I don't think you will have a problem with two bags, although I never take more than one. You usually just take them over to the side of the bus and the assistant loads them in. He doesn't really know how many people your luggage represents. Unless they are huge you probably won't have a problem with your bags.

trolldoll

im coming from australia for 5 months and we can bring two suitcases to south america.. so i will be bringing to big suitcases! i cant imagine how im going to manage with only two !

Huentetu

Well, you should be alright getting to Puerto Montt if you go with LAN - is that how you are coming to Chile? As long as you are connecting within 24 hrs they usually respect the 2 suitcase rule. Normally domestic flights are one case and a max of 15/20 kgs. LAN is more expensive than SKY, but I would book LAN for this reason.

No guarantees on the bus, but you will probably be alright. Worst case scenario they charge you something. It might also be worth your while just asking in the airport how much a transfer to Chiloe would cost from there.

When you finish your time on Chiloe, you probably won't get the same grace on weight flying back to Santiago. You could send some stuff on ahead as an 'encomienda', personal cargo by bus, pick it up within the given time and then catch your flight back to Australia where you have bigger luggage allowance.