Puerto Varas Travel Guide: What to Do, Where to Stay, and Travel Tips

5/16/20246 min read

Puerto Varas is a small town in the Los Lagos region of Chile. It’s a picturesque town, with German influences – the town was settled by Germans in the mid-19th century. Aside from the German architecture, it is also a naturally beautiful town, being home to the second largest lake in Chile – Lake Llanquihue. The lakefront offers views of Orsono Volcano and Calbuco Volcano, making it a popular tourist spot.

I went to Puerto Varas twice – the first time for a few days by myself in March before meeting Tim in Southern Patagonia, and then the second time with Tim in May before making our way back up to Santiago.

My visit in March had only one day of nice weather – despite it only being mid-March and the beginning of Autumn, it was still very cold and wet! I didn’t do too much in this trip, but it was a nice relaxing stay in a cozy homely hostel (more on this below). The second time we had much better weather in mid-May, however it was still really cold and a lot of snow on the hikes!

Puerto Varas is a good spot to base yourself for exploring the many surrounding national parks, and in winter you can go skiing on the nearby Orsono Volcano or at the Antillanca Ski Resort 98km away.

Where I stayed:

MaPatagonia Hostel

Cost per night: AUD$25.90/USD$17.55

Room type: 6-bed dorm, shared bathroom

Website: https://mapatagonia.cl/

This hostel won the “Best Hostel in Chile” title by Lonely Planet, and it isn’t a surprise why! The hostel is a historic home built in 1932, and is complete with cozy lounges, two well stocked kitchens (one just for vegetarian cooking, and two fireplaces perfect for rainy, cold days. When I stayed there in March, I spent a lot of time in front of those fireplaces curled up with a book, and it was heavenly!

Hostal Climb House

Cost per night: AUD$44/USD$30

Room type: Private double, shared bathroom

Website: https://www.booking.com/hotel/cl/hostal-climb-house-puerto-varas.en-gb.html

We loved this quirky little hostel! It is a renovated old barn that also is home to a climbing gym (hence the name). The lakefront location is just a short 20 minute walk from the village and a large supermarket where you can stock up for making dinner in their kitchen.

Back to Chile

Where I ate:

Because I had two great hostels with kitchens, I cooked all my meals whilst I was there!

What I Did:

Orsono Volcano

Cost: Free!

The ski resort at Orsono Volcano had opened for a weekend in mid-May, a few weeks before usual, as there had been so much snow recently. Unfortunately with our hire car we couldn’t make it all the way up there without snow chains, so we just drove up to the halfway point and joined in with dozens of families and tourists to play in the snow and take in the beautiful views over Lake Llanquihue and surrounds.

Top Tips:

When to go:

Summer is the best time to go (Dec – Feb) but all year around can be hit or miss, and it is generally a very rainy place. We were lucky to get a few days of sun in May, but the weather can be unpredictable!

Getting there/around:

The first time I came to Puerto Varas, I arrived via bus from Bariloche. The bus dropped me off at a gas station on the side of the highway about a 15 minute drive from Puerto Varas – not ideal, especially as I didn’t have my Chilen SIM card yet! Luckily, another girl had got off at the same stop so she booked us an Uber into the town centre.

The second time I visited, I also caught the bus from Bariloche, but the first attempt we made to come across the border we got turned around 3 hours into the trip due to the border crossing closing – there was too much snow, unusual for mid-Autumn! 3 days later the border reopened, and this time we caught the bus into Puerto Montt and spent a couple of days there first before hiring a car and driving to Puerto Varas. You can also catch a public bus or Uber/Taxi from Puerto Montt – it’s only a 20-minute drive.

Once in Puerto Varas, everything within the main town is easily walkable. However most of the sightseeing is outside of town in the national park, so your best options are either to hire a car or to join on tours. We hired our car from Puerto Montt Airport, which worked out to be significantly cheaper than hiring elsewhere – we paid AUD$214/USD$142 for 5 days.

Shopping:

Shopping when I am travelling long term isn’t normally something I seek out, but I do love a thrift shop – and Puerto Varas had several! Given Chile is a relatively expensive country compared to the rest of South America, I was very excited to pick up some bargains!

If you do need to do some serious shopping, Puerto Montt has a large mall with a lot more stores than you can find in Puerto Varas, including a lot of outdoors stores, department stores such as Ripleys and Falabella, H&M, and a lot of local Chilean shops.

National Parks:

As of June 2024, it is no longer possible to buy National Park tickets on the same day or to obtain them directly at entrances. Prepurchase your tickets at https://www.pasesparques.cl/

Prices were what I paid at the time in 2024, please check updated prices when travel planning!

MaPatagonia - Vegetarian Kitchen

MaPatagonia - Kitchen

Hostal Climb House

Day trip to Sol Hot Springs & Cochamó

Cost: AUD$97.50/USD$66 (low season cost)

Tour Company: Contentour

The hot springs is a perfect activity for a colder day, and these were some of the nicest ones I’ve been to – and by far the nicest I’ve been to in South America!

The hot springs are located in the middle of the evergreen Valvdivian rainforest. The tour I went on reached there via the Caleta la Arena where we boarded a ferry, sailing for about 30 minutes until we reached Caleta Puelche and drove the final distance to the hot springs. The journey there was so magnificent, I enjoyed it maybe even more than the actual hot springs!

Hike Paso Desolación

Cost: Free!

Paso Desolación is a must-do hike for anyone visiting Puerto Varas – it was one of my highlights of my time there, and one of my favourite day hikes in Chilean Patagonia!