Thinking about renting a car in Patagonia? Well, we just completed an incredible road trip in our Patagonia rental car, and have these 13 must-know tips to share with you!
Traveling the remote region of Patagonia means you need to organize transport. Many locations are hard to get to and while buses are available, they may only operate on select days on select routes.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel around Patagonia twice. The first time I traveled by bus and hitchhiking, and the second time, we rented a car!
I have to say, after having both experiences I much preferred renting a car in Patagonia! So in this blog, I’m going to tell you 13 things you need to know about car rental in Patagonia so you can decide if this is the right method of transport for you!
(P.S. Don’t skip #5 and end up with a disaster as we did!)
1. It isn’t as expensive as you might think
Rental cars in Patagonia are really not that expensive. In fact, they were much cheaper than I expected! We paid less than $450 USD for a rental car for 10 days. Which between the four of us actually worked out cheaper than taking busses! (Price in 2019).
We even saved money on particular tours (like the Perito Moreno glacier trekking) because the tour company gave us a $150 USD discount to drive ourselves (4 of us) to the tour starting point instead of requiring hotel pick-up! That’s a massive win if you ask me!
If you are worried about your budget, be sure to book your car in advance, get a 2wd, and make sure the pick-up and drop-off locations are the same.
You can use a rental car search engine to find the best deals between all of the companies. We always use either Discover Cars or Airport Rentals as we find these websites to have the biggest selection with the best prices! Plus, their customer service is great – and they speak English which is super helpful!
We have a full review on why Discover Cars is legit and our experience with them if you want more info. We’ve used them all over the world and been super impressed with the deals and customer service when we needed it.
If you want a campervan or motorhome, you can rent them in Patagonia too! There are tons of different styles and price ranges. You can use Motorhome Republic to find one that’s right for you!
Tip: When I was researching Patagonia rental car prices, I found that it was the cheapest to rent a car from Punta Arenas airport over other locations. This might be something worth looking into if you are on a tight budget!
Want to save on insurance? Check out #10 on this list for info on saving money on your Patagonia rental car insurance!
2. There is next to no traffic
If you’re like me, the idea of driving in a foreign South American country is scary. All I could think about was bumper-to-bumper traffic, horns honking, people yelling, and pedestrians everywhere. This was enough to deter me from renting a car in Patagonia.
But it’s not like that in Patagonia. Not at all.
In fact, even in cities like Punta Arenas or the busy tourist streets in Puerto Natales, everything is very calm. No traffic, no chaos, and great organization. People follow traffic lights and there are road signs everywhere.
My only word of caution would be to watch out for people running stop signs. Particularly on an intersection where you have the right away and they don’t, just keep an eye out!
3. Don’t rely solely on Google Maps for directions
Google Maps disappointed us a couple of times during our Patagonia road trip. We did use Google Maps every time we got in the car and while it was fine in towns and cities, it often took us on less desirable routes when we were out in the middle of nowhere.
What do I mean?
Okay, so one day we were going from Puerto Natales to El Calafate. Google Maps takes you on the shortest route, but it doesn’t account for gravel roads. So, we ended up driving for 1.5 hours on a gravel road “shortcut” instead of staying on the paved highway which although longer, was at least 40 minutes quicker.
Lesson learned.
If you are going on a long drive between destinations, I recommend looking at Google Maps in advance and asking someone at your hotel/hostel if this is the best way. Also, use the “Google street view” option to look at the road conditions. If they are gravel, I would avoid them for long distances.
Also, just use logic. If you are driving along and Google Maps tells you to turn off a nice paved highway onto a dirt track, just don’t do it.
There are also signs everywhere to help you make sure you aren’t getting lost. In fact, between most destinations, you could rely solely on the signs and not even need Google Maps at all!
4. A 4WD drive isn’t totally necessary
We rented a Hyundai Accent, a normal sedan car. We went with this style of vehicle simply because it was the cheapest. 4WDs cost much more money.
I wasn’t sure if having a simple 2WD drive was going to limit us in any way or not, but as I found out, it actually didn’t at all. Some places we went required driving on a rough gravel road, but as long as we took it slow and watched out for potholes it was totally fine.
I honestly don’t think a 4WD is necessary in Patagonia for most people’s trips. All of the roads we went on seemed like they were maintained enough for buses and motorhomes.
Related Read: When visiting this beautiful country make sure you don’t miss any of the highlights by reading our guide on the best things to do in Argentina!
5. You need a special permit to cross the border
This one is HUGE! We made this mistake after renting a car in Argentina, so I hope you can learn from us and not make the same one!
In order to take your rental car across the border between Chile and Argentina, you need a special permit.
These permits need to be arranged and applied for by your rental company several days in advance. You must reach out to your rental company directly immediately after booking and tell them your intentions to cross the border. Tell them you need to organize a permit for you to pick up with the car.
Without this permit, you will not be able to leave the country.
For us, the permit costs 79,000 CLP (about $105 USD) to take our Chilean car to Argentina for 20 days. Although, for longer trips, this could be more. I am under the impression the price is similar when renting in Argentina and crossing into Chile but I do think the rental company has some determining factor over this.
I have also read horror stories about people trying to take their rental car across borders between the likes of Mendoza and Santiago, and places in the north. But to be honest, for those renting a car in Patagonia, I never met anybody who had any problems.
As long as you have the permit, your passport, driver’s license, and insurance, everything should be just fine.
Tip: I recommend emailing your rental car company as soon as possible about getting this border crossing permit. Some companies can take a while to organize this, and it is in your best interest to sort it out in advance so you don’t end up like us, scrambling at the last minute to try and get to Argentina!
6. They drive on the right side of the road (and left side of the car)
So, for those of you from Australia, New Zealand, parts of Asia, and the UK, driving in Patagonia might require a bit more focus.
If this makes you nervous, don’t worry. It honestly isn’t too hard to get used to and within a day or two, it’ll be second nature. Plus, with the little traffic and plenty of road signs you should be just fine!
7. You should book your car as far in advance as possible
If you’re planning to rent a car in Patagonia during the peak summer months of November to February I highly suggest booking your car rental a few months in advance.
Why?
The cars do sell out. And, if they aren’t sold out, generally the only options left are the most expensive.
I also noticed that prices went up closer to my travel dates. We got our rental car in Patagonia for the first two weeks of December. I booked the car in July. I kept checking rental car prices periodically after I booked (to make sure I got the best deal) and the prices increased substantially.
In fact, by September, the exact same car that I had booked for the same dates, was double the price!
So if you can, book early!
Tip: Discover Cars or Airport Rentals are the best rental car search engines. Here, you can easily compare all of the options and prices right on one website. Based on personal experience, their customer service is much better too! If you rent directly from one of the rental agencies the language barrier can be an issue.
8. Most cars are manual (standard)
If you’ve already started searching for your Patagonia rental car, you’ll have noticed that most of the cars have a manual gearbox (or are a standard.)
This is important to notice because if you cannot drive a manual, you need to be sure you book an automatic. And since there are fewer of them around, booking as soon as you can is highly advised!
Use Discover Cars to search for an automatic vehicle available for rent.
Related Read: Having spent quite a bit of time in Chile we’ve compiled the best things to do in Chile and the top places to visit so you can start planning your dream trip!
9. You need to watch out for wildlife
You’re going to see wildlife on your Patagonia road trip! It is amazing actually. While driving in our rental car, we saw hundreds of guanacos (similar to llamas), sheep, flamingos, foxes, horses, condors, and even an armadillo!
Seeing wildlife and being able to pull over to watch them is all part of what makes having a rental car in Patagonia so amazing. But with that said, you do share the road with them so drive carefully! We, unfortunately, saw the aftermath of a few guanacos who had collisions with vehicles and didn’t make it.
10. Buy Travel Insurance that includes Rental Car Excess Insurance
Your Patagonia rental car will likely come with a basic insurance cover. When I was researching renting a car in Patagonia I found that all of them did.
But what it won’t come with, and what it will ask you to “upgrade” and pay for, is the better insurance with a reduced excess (also known as a deductible.)
For our rental car, the excess was 999.600 CLP (around $1,500 USD) for both damage and theft. This meant that if something happened to the car we would be responsible for paying this large amount. For that reason, the rental car company actually froze half this amount on our credit card before we left with the car as a “deposit”
For an extra $170 USD we could’ve significantly reduced this number and opted for an insurance policy with a smaller excess.
But we didn’t do that.
Why?
Our travel insurance covers rental car excess! This means that we had to provide the deposit upfront and if something happened, yes we would immediately lose that money. But then we could claim with our travel insurance and get that exact amount paid back to us!
Many comprehensive travel insurance plans include car rental excess insurance. If you plan ahead and get a travel insurance policy with this cover, it will save you on the Patagonia rental car insurance cost!
Related Read: The hotels in Torres del Paine National Park are so beautiful that it will be hard to choose which one to stay in!
11. Potholes are a problem
The only issue we had with driving on the roads in Patagonia was the potholes on the highways. Sometimes, we would be going very fast, and then out of nowhere, a massive pothole would come up!
Luckily, this never caused any problems for us or our car, but I’m sure it could have if we hit the right pothole hard enough.
They did have signs posted in areas where there were lots of potholes, but it was easy to forget.
Just be aware and pay attention. It also helped to be right behind another car as we would see them slow down or hit a pothole hard and know where they were.
12. Don’t get stuck with an empty tank
Patagonia is remote, and when you’re driving around in your rental car, the last thing you want to do is end up with an empty gas tank!
The truth is, there are plenty of fuel/gas stations around in Patagonia. But, there aren’t so many that you don’t need to do a bit of planning about it.
We generally just fueled up whenever we saw a fuel station. Even if we still had half a tank left, it was better to be safe than sorry! We never knew when the next fuel station would be and if they would even be open.
We also noticed that some fuel stations (in El Chalten in particular) only accepted cash. Now, this was strange because in El Chalten none of the ATM’s worked. So if I were you, I’d stash a bit of emergency cash in the car in case you ever have a situation where you need fuel and only cash is accepted.
How much is fuel? In Chile, it was about 1,332 CLP (around $1.37 USD) per liter, and in Argentina, it was about 146 ARS (around $1 USD) per litre (prices as of September 2022.) In Argentina, it was much cheaper, so we fueled up there before crossing the border back to Chile.
13. The freedom is unmeasurable!
Honestly, you can’t beat the freedom that comes with renting a car in Patagonia. Being able to pull over whenever we wanted and take in views and watch wildlife was amazing.
We even drove ourselves from El Calafate to Perito Moreno Glacier before any tour buses got there in the morning and enjoyed this normally busy attraction all alone – thanks to the freedom of our rental car!
We saved so much time as well. No booking buses in advance, no waiting at bus stations, and no slow buses.
We could visit any attractions without having to worry about a taxi, we could stay at remote hotels and relax without thinking about how we would get there, we could essentially do whatever the heck we wanted.
And it was fantastic.
If you want even more freedom, consider a little campervan or small motorhome instead! There are plenty available in Patagonia.
Check out motorhome availability and prices here!
Related Read: Let us help you plan your trip and check out our 2-week Patagonia itinerary for our top travel tips, recommendations, and favorite activities!
How to rent a car in Patagonia
If you’ve decided that renting a car is the way to go, first off, good choice! You won’t regret it.
The best way to rent car anywhere in Patagonia is in advance online. The two different companies we use the most are Discover Cars or Airport Rentals!
Once on either website, they are both pretty easy to use. Just enter your pick-up city and what specifics you are looking for in a car, and then the search engine will bring up all the available options along with a price quote.
It cannot be any easier than that!
Book your car through Discover Cars here or check out Airport Rentals here!
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Thanks for reading!
Do you have any questions about renting a car in Patagonia? Feel free to leave a comment below and we will get back to you!
Be sure to also check out some of our other Patagonia blogs! Some of our personal favorites include:
Guide to the Torres del Paine W-Trek
How to get to the Marble Caves
18 Things you NEED to Know Before Visiting Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
Cerro Tronador: A Guide to Bariloche’s BEST Hike
This is great advice and looking forward to our trip. I have been using the links you suggested to rent a car in Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas and then drop El Calafate. Everything shows up NA, but when I do same city drop off it shows available. Did you all drop back off in the same location? I have done research and it says you can drop off in a different location I just cannot find any options to do so 🙂
Hey Ellen,
We did drop off in the same location, however, I believe your problem is you are renting in Chile and dropping off in Argentina. Chile has very strict rules with cars being taken out of the country so I am not sure if this is possible. My advice is to contact Mita Rentals or another car company and ask directly.
To be honest though, I don’t think you can rent in Chile and drop off in Argentina. Another option would be to rent in Chile and use the car before taking a bus from Puerto Natales to El Calafate and renting a car again.
This will save you on the fees to take the car out if of Chile but will obviously not be convenient!
Hope this helps! If you have any more questions just ask!
Thanks
Daniel
Thanks for this, the advice is valuable. We’re planning a trip now and are hoping to rent a vehicle from Buenos Aires before taking it into Montevideo and eventually Paraguay, back into Argentina and then Chile. Our main issue is the cross-border permits but it sounds like you didn’t have any problems with the rental agency.
Hey!
Yes, the rental companies deal with this all the time so my advice is to just reach out to them in advance and they’ll be able to sort it all out for you!
You may have to pay for the permits but at least they can do it all for you. I bet there are some great deals on rentals right now too!
Thanks
Daniel
Hey Bailey,
Awesome tips! Completely agree with them! I guess we lucked out with our rental agency – the owner has containers for extra fuel in the cars. Extremely useful!
Your article reminded me of how the strong winds were pushing our car from side to side 😀 And the guanacos on the sides of the roads… Ah, I miss travelling!
Thank for the great advice (and inspiring photos!) I am planning to travel alone. Did you find this area to be safe for someone driving alone?
It looks like you had an amazing trip!
Hey Lori,
Yes, Patagonia is one of the safest areas of South America. It is a great place to try traveling alone.
Hope you enjoy your trip!
Thanks
Daniel
@Lori Carney, Hi Lori,
I am also planning on travelling alone in Feb 22, when are you looking at going?
@Lori Carney, hi Lori, did you end up doing the trip? I,m looking at a chile solo trip right now. Any issues or recommendations?
This is very helpful, thank you very much for sharing your experience!
Hey Ashoka!
Glad you found the blog helpful!
Enjoy
Daniel
Thanks for the great information! Did you feel like you needed a rental car to explore el calafate or el chalten when there?
Hey Lauren,
In El Calafate, the car was really helpful for visiting Perito Moreno Glacier and a few other attractions. However, in El Chalten, you really don’t need a car.
Hope this helps
Daniel
Hi, your blog is great 👍. Where did you collect/drop off your rental car please? (Fly in and out of)?
Thanks,
Jane
Hey Jane,
We picked our car up in Puerto Natales and dropped it off at the same location.
You can opt to drop off at other locations too but they usually charge a little extra for that service.
Thanks
Daniel
Hi,
Great tips. Very helpful.
I am planning to visit Patagonia in late March for about 6 weeks. I will start at Ushuaia and slowly head north.
My plan is to do mostly trekking but also visit some attractions.
I am travelling alone with a 65L backpack. Some treks will last for several days, sleeping in the outdoor, with my tent.
Do you think it’s worth it to rent a car at all given the above? Or maybe rent only during a part of my trip? The only setback I see to rent a car is that I am not flexible with the start and finish points of a trek, and so I always have to plan ahead to return back to the place I parked my vehicle. Also, it seems silly to pay for rent days that I don’t really use my car and even located near it.
Thanks in advance
Hey Hagai,
If you are planning to be without your car on hikes for long periods of time it may not be worth it. I would hire the car for the parts of your trip when you are not hiking lots for multiple days.
Thanks
Daniel
Hello 🙂
Thank you for the detailed blog!
I’ve been trying to rent a car for Oct, just called Avis but it seems like they are not familiar with the permit situation, which car rental company did you go with? I was reading some of the comments you mentioned Mita Rentals, but when I googled it, I don’t believe its a Car rental agency/
Thank you, any information would help!
Carmen
Hey Carmen,
Yes, Mitta is the company we used. We booked through Discover Cars. They sorted it all out for us we just had to let them know we needed it!
Hope this helps
Daniel
Wow, thankyou so much for the blog, I always wanted to travel to Patagonia, this was very helpful. If I may ask, how much did the total trip cost including hotels and food (is there any blog) and how many days was your trip? Thankyou!
Hey Manu,
I do not have a breakdown of all costs, but on average, we spent $100 AUD a day per person. Our trip was 3 weeks long. We stayed in budget hotels and hostels, often sharing rooms with our group of 4 people. We also ate at budget restaurants and cooked some of our own meals.
Hope this helps
Daniel
Thanks for the awesome tips! They are very informative. Did you have any problem at all with parking, especially around the big cities? And do the gas stations typically accept payment with a foreign credit card (aside from the ones that are cash only as you already mentioned in the article)? Thank you!
Hey Marilyn,
So glad you like the blog.
No, we didn’t have any issues with parking. Yes, gas stations accept payment with foreign cards. I would just make sure you have at least one Visa or Master Card. American Express can be a little harder to use in these parts.
As mentioned, always carry cash because of the cash-only gas stations.
Thanks
Daniel
Hi, thank you so much for this value information. Did you guys rent a hotels in advance? If we rent a van camp do you think we can find safe place to camp?
Do you recommend to buy camping gear in Argentina?
Hey Silvana,
We did book our hotels in advance and if you plan to travel in December, Jan, or Feb you should consider it as this is the busy season. There are lots of safe places to camp in a van, be sure to look for some Facebook groups or apps. I have not done this but I know it is very popular in the area. Also, look for holiday parks where you can park a campervan.
I hope this helps
Daniel
Thank you for this useful information. We are debating renting a car. We have a lot to cover in 14 days. But planning to rent a car in Coyhaique and drop it off in Punta Arenas or EL Calafate.
Anyway, my question is about that travel insurance that covers your car insurance. Does SafetyWing travel insurance have that option? And that means you don’t have to purchase an extra insurance with car rental?
Hey!
If you plan on renting a car, book it in advance. We are starting to hear of shortages.
You can get insurance through the rental company as Saftey Wing is medical only. You can use World Nomads, or if you have a credit card most of them have coverage!
Hope this helps
Bailey
HI ! Thank you very much good information.
Can you tell me the picture under NO13, how to get there ?
Hey Kokie,
That is the only road into El Chalten on Argentina’s side of Patagonia. You cannot miss it as you must drive on this road to reach the town.
Thanks
Daniel
Thank you for the advice. At any point in time (between El Chalten and Torres Del Paine did you feel that you needed to carry an extra Gas Container or two?
Understanding that Cash is King! Did you get Pesos from both countries?
Hey Mike,
No we did not. But yes, carry Pesos and try to travel during regular hours of the day. Some of the gas stations are small and likely not open 24/7.
Hope this helps
Bailey
The rental car permit to cross the border from Chile to Argentina….can I get access to this online? I can’t seem to find it? The car rental company tells me I don’t need a permit, just proof of insurance. I am concerned we will not be able to cross the border with our car rental (going to El Chatlen from Patagonia). I so appreciate your help! Laurie
Hey Laurie,
That’s so strange the rental company is saying you do not need it. Maybe this has changed?
What rental car company are you using?
My advice would be to email another rental company, such as Magallanes Rent A Car. Just enquire as if you want to rent a car (don’t tell them you already have one) and see what you can find out. I am also going to email them so I can make sure the info is still however, as far as I can tell, you still need the permit.
Thanks
Daniel
Thanks for all your info. It will be a grat help when we go to Patagonia. Kind regards, Ania
Thank you SO much for this helpful article. I’m planning a trip to Patagonia for November 2023.
Below is the draft itinerary.
Is it too much to land at noon in El Calafate and still drive to Puerto Natalas?
Thanks again this is one of the more helpful articles I have found
Nov 4 – 7 Ushuaia
Nov 7 – Plane to El Calafate/ Rental Car to Puerto Natalas (long travel day, I know)
Nov 7 – Nov 10 – Puerto Natalas day tours of TdP
Nov 10 – Travel to El Calafate (see Perito Moreno Glacier)
Nov 10 – Nov 11 Night in El Calafate
Nov 11 – Nov 14 El Chaten
Nov 14 – Flight to Buenos Aires
Nov 14 – No 17 Buenos Aires
Hey Michele,
Gald you like the blog.
It’s not too long, but please check when the border closes. This will depend on when your flight lands. Does it land in the morning?
Thanks
Bailey
This was fantastic information, thank you for taking the time to provide it. We are heading there in a couple of weeks. I have booked my car with Budget Rental via RentalCars.com but will go and check the ones you have suggested for comparison.
Hey Sohrab,
That’s fantastic enjoy your trip!
Bailey
Thank you so much for this blog, it’s super helpful! Would you mind telling me the location of some of the photos? Specifically the very first one, and the ones under sections 8 and 13?
Hey Helen,
So glad to hear you like the blog.
The first photo is taken as you drive into El Chalten. Literally can’t miss it if you’re visiting, just keep and eye out once you turn onto highway 23 from highway 40. Number 8 was taken on a side road off of highway 23. It’s not marked on the map but it was a left turn. Number 13 was in the same area as the first photo but on a straight stretch of highway. Once again, it’s hard to miss but to get the effect you see, you need to use your zoom! Without it, the view will look more like number 11.
I hope this helps
Daniel
Hello Daniel – Is there any car rental company that would allow drop-off at different location? We plan to pick up the car in El Calafate airport, cross the border and drop it off at Puerto Natales airport 3 days later. I checked both Discover Cars and Airport Rental websites but got no results. Does this mean the one-way (or different drop-off location) is not available? I understand we will need to have a border crossing permit to take the rental car across the border. Thanks in advance for your help!
Yvonne
Hey Yvonne,
Unfortunately, the companies do not offer drop-offs in different countries. Each car is registered to its particular country and can’t be rented in the other.
Instead, you could rent your car in El Calafate and use it while there and then take the bus to Puerto Natales.
I hope this helps
Daniel
Hi! On #10 it’s a little confusing. You are saying to get the excess coverage with a travel insurance policy and not through the car rental company but the car rental company still held a hefty deposit on your credit card, right? Was there any issue with them releasing the amount on your card? Was the $170 extra on a travel insurance policy or through the rental car company?
Hey Aimee,
Sorry about the confusion.
Let me explain:
We gave the deposit to the rental company in full because we had travel insurance (through a credit card) which would have covered the excess if we had lost it due to an accident. There are no issues getting the money back they do this all the time. It is just a freeze on your credit card.
The rental company (not the travel insurance) offers a reduced excess but it costs the $170. For that, they won’t take any excess. However, because my travel insurance company already covered the excess I opted out of that.
Does this make sense?
Most travel insurance policies cover rental car excess so please check yours. If you don’t have it, it’s best t pay to reduce the deposit amount. Or, you can get extra coverage through Discover Cars if you rent with them. They cover up to a $3,000 USD excess for a few dollars a day on top of your rental car price.
Thanks
Daniel
Hi. Thanks so much for this fantastic information. I am worried though that I can’t rent a car for the trip that I want, which is one-way: from El Calafate (Argentina) to Punta Arenas (Chile). Is that 100% impossible?? :(((( If so, what can you suggest??
Hey Mira,
Unfortunately, it is very hard to get a rental car in one country and drop it off in the other.That’s the reason we picked up our car in Puerto Natales and did our road trip up to El Calafate and El Chalten and then drove all the way back to Puerto Natales on our last day. The good news is, you can do it in a day if you leave early.
I hope this helps.
Thanks
Daniel
I am looking to rent a car from Puerto Natales Airport and return to the same location. I found an option on Airportrentals.com however when I research the actual car company (Koyer) at that airport, it says closed permanently, so I’m a bit hesitant. Do you know what major car rental agencies are at the airport at Puerto Natales? Staying at Rio Serrano Resort for 6 days and feel like we NEED a rental car to explore a bit, outside the resort. Thoughts?
Hey,
Mitta Rental Cars is a great option.
Thanks
Daniel
Thanks for all the great advice! We are traveling to Patagonia in December. Currently, we just have flights booked into Santiago, Chili, and out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Do you have any recommendations about what area of Patagonia to fly into from Santiago, where to rent a car, where to drop off the car (if different), and what area of Patagonia to fly out to go to Buenos Aires? We will be in Patagonia for about 5 days. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Thanks,
Rob
Hey Robert,
thanks for reaching out.
First of, if you plan to rent a car you will need to drop it back off in the country you rented it from. So if you rent in Chile, it must be returned to Chile and not Argentina. So, I recommend flying into Punta Arenas and travelling from there. You can then travel north to see Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine National Park and you should have time to drive to El Calafate to see the Pertio Moreno Glacier. Two must visit places. You could even try fit in a tour to Tierra del Fuego from Punta Arenas to see the King Penguins.
If you think this is too much, fly into El Calafate and do El Calafate and El Chalten.
Hope this helps
Thanks
@destinationlesstravel, thanks so much for this. Given your comments, I’m considering trying to reroute my flights to go in and out of Buenos Aires and skipping Santiago altogether. Do you feel that seeing Santiago is worth the extra travel headaches?
Thanks,
Rob
Hey Rob,
That actually makes sense. Santiago is ok but you don’t have a ton of time so I would personally skip it. Buenos Aires is a fantastic city I have have tons of content about the city – we lived there for a short period of time.
Thanks
Daniel
Hi,
I hope you guys can help us. We rented our car at mitta through discover cars. But mitta is now saying they can not give the permit to rentals made through a ‘virtual channel’. It is only possible through there website or reservation office. How did you guys managed to get the permit in the end? Do you guys got the permit at the counter. We don’t need it directly. But it needs to be possible to get it somehow, if not we will cancel our booking and get another one in Argentina
Hey Tom,
That’s so strange. We booked through Discover Cars and they organized it for us for a fee. If I were you, I would just follow their advice and book direct. You really need to get the permit. I will contact the company directly and find some info out but that could take a while.
My gut tells me they are trying to get you to cancel your booking and book direct and it’s likely the person you are speaking to is the one who will make the commission. Unfortunately, it seems you have no choice.
Thanks
Daniel
@destinationlesstravel, That is the reply from Mitta: Thanking your contact and responding to your request, we would like to indicate that it is not posssible to manage permits to Argentina for rentals that have been made through virtual channels, in your case a reservation under an internal matter number is issued via Rentalcars/Booking and the alliance with These channels do not establish the issuance of the permit on our part.
Management is only possible with reservations generated directly through our direct channels such as the MITTA website or through our reservation channels.
We will be flighing next week so that really sucks. But you managed to get the permit over discover cars or mitta directly?
Hey Tom,
It seems they have changed the way they do it then as we got it through MITTA but did not book direct.
Ask MITTA if they have availability to get another car and contact Discover Cars for a refund. I am sure they will understand and if not, I can speak with them (Discover Cars.)
Thanks
Daniel
Thanks for the tips! We are looking forward to going to Patagonia in the new year. The only thing that’s giving us trouble is the permit to drive our rental car from Chile to Argentina. The rental car site (Europcar) says we have to email our credit card info to them to purchase a permit, which sounds pretty sketchy, and not something we are willing to do. We are at a loss as to what to do!
Hey Mary,
It’s likely the only way. You could however ask them how long the permit takes? For us it took 3 days and for the first 5 days of our trip, we were in Torres del Paine and Punta Arenas so we just made an extra trip to pick the permit up when we headed to Argentina. remember, you only need the permit once you leave one country so while you explore the other, it’s not required. Ask them this question and see what they say.
Thanks
Daniel
What do you do if the car breaks down in a remote area? My understanding is that large areas of Patagonia beyond towns have no mobile phone coverage. So even if you have insurance or breakdown cover, you can’t ring for help. You mentioned the potholes. What would you have done if the car had broken down with something worse than a puncture?
Hey Brendan,
There i always risk of a breakdown. However, although the area is remote, there are lots of other tourists driving around the area. You could always get help from someone or a lift into a town.
Thanks
Daniel
Hello,
Very useful information.
The question is, is it possible to leave the car in a different location than the one picked up? Within the same country, either Chile or Argentina?
Thank you,
Stef
Hey Stef,
yes you can in the same country. This needs to be organized in advance when you book.
Thanks
Daniel
Hello, Really kind of you taking the time to answer the questions. Do you know how many times we can cross the border (Chile-Argentina) with a rental vehicle permit? The rental company tells me about 5 border crossings. I plan to cross the border 6 times (3 round trips) and I’m wondering if I’m ok. Thanks in advance
Hey Jean,
I had no idea there was a limit on the amount of times you can cross the border. I assumed the permit was for the length of the rental. It’s odd the rental company did not give you an exact number and said around 5. I am sure its fin because they will 100% let you re enter with the car.
Thanks
Daniel
Hi Dan & Bailey,
Excellent information and well thought out and written. Thank you for sharing your experience, knowledge and recommendations.
I wish you continued success in your worldly exploration.
Be safe and healthy, Paul & Rachael
Hey Paul,
Thank you so much! Enjoy your trip!
Thanks
Daniel
Hi my husband and I are going on a 3 month trip and Patagonia is on it. We will be there from mid October to end of November. We can’t decide on a very expensive motorhome or a car. The car is only 25 usd per day (we have our own insurance) but the motorhome is 225 per day plus lots of extra costs. We love the idea of staying where we want without worrying about crappy overpriced and maybe full hotels. The other thing with the motorhome is that we can do less travelling going backwards and forwards on the same roads to hikes. My main question is, Can I justify the price difference ? My main worry is, how easy is it to find decent not over priced hotels on route? We will start Puerto Monty, ferry chaiten and do everything on the drive down going as far as the marble caves coming back on ourselves to Patagonia NP and cross the border at paso Roballos (I think I’ve spelt that wrong) heading down the Argentina’s side then to puerto natales, Ushuaia then drive back up Ruta 40 stopping at Bariloche on the drive back so lots of hotels. We are really open for suggestions. Car or RV ? Thanks Angela
Hey Angela,
Sounds like an amazing trip!
It’s hard to make this suggestion because everyone wants to get different things out of their trip. However, I will give you my preference.
Personally, I would rent the car. Patagonia that time of year can be cold so staying in a motorhome would not be that comfortable. But the cold isn’t the main reason I would rent a car and stay in hotels its the wind. If it is windy in Patagonia you can expect constant (and soul destroying at times lol) wind – to the point it gives you a headache. Of course you could get amazing weather but Patagonia is a harsh place.
Second, I loved staying in the small hotels – sometimes the cheaper the better. The people and locals you meet is really a cool part of Patagonia. They are friendly, welcoming and so cute to stay in. I never found it too overpriced because there are always budget options – especially in Argentina.
Also, Patagonia is home to windy and sometimes gravel roads and driving a large motorhome might not be ideal. You also have to be careful because some of the rentals do not allow you to drive on gravel roads – limiting your adventure.
With that said, and motorhome could be the adventure of a life time and I know all to well the struggles can feel horrible at the time but they truly make for a real adventure.
I hope this helps you make your decision! Regardless, you are going to have the best time in Patagonia
Thanks
Daniel
Hi,
Were there lots of carparks in Torres del Paine near viewpoints and near starting points of W trek i.e – Las Torres refugio, near italiano campsite to do the French Valley (Mirador Frances & Britanico). I suppose we dont want to spend money on renting car and then have issues driving and parking between hiking starting points etc.
Kind regards,
Karen
Hey Karen,
There is limited parking. You can park at the Torres del Paine Welcome Center which you can use to hike to the Torres Del Paine (the actual viewpoint which is a day or overnight hike. You cannot park near Italiano as it is in the park only accessible by foot. What you are referring too above is the actual hike which has limitations for vehicles. With that said, you could go a visit Mirador Cóndor, Salto Grande Lookout and Mirador Cuernos, Mirador Lago Grey all with a car. These are still must see places, especially if you are not hiking the W or O.
Another must do is the hike I mentioned above to Torres Del Paine (Mirador Torres). You can do this by parking at the visitor center and hiking in and out in a day. It’s a long day so if you want to break it up, spend a night at Refugio Chileno.
You could also stay in the park at a hotel. I love Hosteria Pehoe but I have an entire blog about where to stay in the park.
I hope this helps
Thanks
Daniel
is it practical to rent a car in bariloche and drive to Santiago and turn it in at the airport?
Hey Bryant,
You wont be able to do this because Bariloche is in Argentina and Santiago is in Chile and you cannot pick up in one country and drop off in another.
Thanks
Daniel
Great and super helpful article! However, one important detail is missing that I just found out: DiscoverCars does not allow the use of a rented car on a ferry in Chile and Argentina. So keep this in mind if you’re planning a trip to Ushuaia or the Carretera Austral, where taking a ferry is necessary.
For example Europcar doesn’t have any restrictions for the use of ferry services.
This is great info, thank you for sharing!
A friend and I are considering renting a car just to get from El Calafate to El Chalten and back, just to save the headache of bussing. Is the area safe, would there be much worry for 2 young women traveling in these areas alone? I understand the drive is only a few hours and there will be a lot of tourists in January when we are going.
Hey Amanda,
The area is very safe. Patagonia is arguable the safest area of South America with small local communities of friendly people who rely a lot on tourism.
I hope you have a fantastic trip and a rental car is the best way to go! v
Thanks
Bailey