Punta Arenas Transportation

Comfortable, simple and very punctual, Bus Fernandez takes from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales and of return, it has seven schedules per day, the trip lasts 3 hours approximately, and you will be able to enjoy a very pretty landscape is worth the trouble to be awake. The price it is 3000 pesos Chileans one way (5,50 US$).

Cómodo, sencillo y muy puntuales, Buses Fernández te lleva desde Punta Natales a puerto Arenas y de vuelta, tiene siete horarios de salida por día, el viaje dura 3 horas aproximadamente, y podrás disfrutar unos paisaje muy lindos vale la pena estar despierto. El precio es de 3000 pesos chilenos viaje de ida (5,50 US$).

Colectivos are a cheap way to get around Punta Arenas and costs 350 CLP per person. The bus is slightly cheaper - I think it cost around 250 CLP.

For those who had never seen colectivos before, basically they looked like taxis but each of them has a sign on top that shows the route number and the stops it makes. You need to flag down a collectivo at the designated stops. (It has the word Parada and a picture of a taxi on it.) You can find the stops along Magellanes, but probably the earlier stop the better. We were attempting to get to the Tres Puentes pier and could not find a single colectivo that had room for 2 people.

The main stops on the bus routes are also listed on the windshield of the bus. The stops look similar to the colectivo stop but replace the picture of a taxi with a bus.

If you are flying from Santiago or Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas, try to get a seat on the left hand side of the plane. On a nice day, you'll be able to get a full view of the Torres del Paine. For me, it was the only time I actually got to see the peaks.

When you get to the airport, you can take the official taxis to town for 7,000 CLP. If you are going to Puerto Natales, try to arrange to get on the bus from the airport instead of downtown Punta Arenas. The process is a bit involved (at least when we were there) - see my transportation tip under the Puerto Natales page for more details.

A lot of travellers (from abroad) will arrive/leave by plane in Punta Arenas on Pres. Ibanez International Airport. A small modern airport with all facilities like car rentals, café, book store and an ATM. LAN Chile has connections with Santiago, Puerto Montt, Balmaceda, but also with Ushuaia in Argentina.
(I know there is another airline in Chile: Sky Airline. You can take a look at their website too: www.skyairline.cl)

LAN offers the South America Airpass to travellers reaching South America with LAN or another OneWorld airline. Check the conditions, because you may save a lot of money for domestic flights: http://www.lan.com/en_ue/promociones/data/europa/todo_europa/saairpass.html

(There is also a One World South American Air Pass, sometimes with better deals than LAN:
http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-travel-options/single-continent-fares/visit-south-america )

We used another option travelling within Chile, using our RTW tickets (OneWorld), which allowed us to travel from Punta Arenas to Santiago (and to and from Easter Island).

Arriving in or leaving from Punta Arenas by plane a lot of tourists do have to travel by bus to/from Puerto Natales.

We made our reservation at the office of Buses Fernández two days in advance and got reserved seats.
The departure at the local office was just like one on an airport and we had to check in and drop off our luggage. The bus ride takes 3 hours through a rather pleasant scenery. And our bus even had a TV with a movie.

Buses Fernández operates 7 services from 7.15 am till 8.00 pm; we paid 4.000 Chilean pesos for an one way ticket. There is also a stop at the airport of Punta Arenas before reaching the city office/station.

Buses Fernandez, Armando Sanhueza #745, Punta Arenas

You can arrive to Torres del Paine National Park by boat from Puerto Natales, and previously Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales by coach.
Here's how:

If you are arriving at Punta Arenas airport, you don't need to go downtown Punta Arenas. You can catch the bus to Puerto Natales in the airport.

http://www.busesfernandez.com/en/

Buses Fernandez make a first stop at Punta Arenas airport about 15 minutes later than departure time, and then they go on toward Puerto Natales.
You can buy the ticket at the information desk in the airport.

Travel time from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales is 3 hours.

From Puerto Natales, you can go to Torres del Paine National Park:
a) by bus
b) rent a car
c) sailing through the fiord " Seno Ultima Esperanza" - that's the most expensive (about 130$ as 11/2008) but if you cann afford it, it's worth the while.
The only company that operates that cruise is "Turismo 21 de mayo", their offices
are on a side street from Puerto Natales main square 'Plaza de Armas'.
http://www.chileaustral.com/21demayo/index1.htm

Don't worry because of your luggage in the sailing: the first boat is a big one, and while you travel in the Zodiac your luggage will be transferred by van to your destination point.
Or if you are returning to the same hotel in Puerto Natales, you could leave
part of your not needed lugagge at the hotel's locked baggage room.

Puerto Natales lives from tourism, so any hotel or travel agency will be glad to help you in designing your route and making your bookings in Torres del Paine.

Here you can find lots of info about the park, how to get there, acommodation, etc
http://www.torresdelpaine.com/ingles/index.asp

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A great way to explore the area around of Punta Arenas is by small cruise-ships like "M/N Mare Australis" and "M/N Via Austrralis", 2 small cruise-ships that will take you quite close to the glaciers and into narrow fjords, where the giant cruise-ships will never be able to get to. They have zodiaks onboard, beeing able to land even in small bays without a fixed landing-stage.
While cruising on the Celebrity Infinity around the south-tip of South America, we twice passed by this ship, that offers various short cruises between 5 and 6 days, leaving from Puerto Montt or from Punta Arenas.
read more about the details of the itinerary of these small ships on my link below !

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When you come by cruiseship to Punta Arenas it will be easy to walk into town on your own, the walking-distance to the Plaza is less than 10 minutes and there are a few nice houses also to see on the way to the centre of the town. All of the places that you see on this page can be done on your own within 3-4 hours, depending on your walking-speed. The people are friendly, no scams in the street, no pickpockets, nobody forceing you to do or buy this or that, and friendly policemen, tipping you on the shoulder and pointing their finger to the zebra-crossing, when-ever you try to cross the street at another place. And they don't shout at you, they do it with a nice smile, I really could get rid of some stereotypes about corrupt police in South America !
At the port-building you will find a small cafe, an internet-cafe and some souvenir-shops and places, where to buy clothings made of fur and leather.
Choose the size of your ship carefully:
Giant ships will have to anchor off the port and take you ashore by tenderboat and that way you are loosing more than 2 hours of your precious time ashore. Smaller ships up to 25.000GRT will be able to dock in port !