Pucón
is 789 km south of Santiago and 112 km from Temuco (IX Region or Araucania);
from the south, the nearest city is Valdivia (810 km from Santiago; XIV
Region or de los Rios). Arrivals can be made by air (2 airlines) and/or
by land (car rental at the airport or downtown large cities, or by intercity-buses.
Santiago is the only city with a Metro system (
www.metrosantiago.cl) and
there are connections to the airport (metro and bus) and to the bus terminals.
By air
Santiago - Temuco, daily frequency (LAN Chile: www.lanchile.cl or lanchile.com;
Sky Airlines: www.skyairline.cl); only during the summer these airlines
flight directly to Pucon. In Temuco, go to the bus terminal or rent
a car.
By land
Car rental or intercity buses. Santiago - Temuco - Pucon, or directly
Santiago - Pucon, daily frequency (many alternatives, including simple
to bed-buses).
Many bus services might do the trip to Pucon in the summer but not neccesarily
in March; the bus frequencies might also vary according to the season
but can be every 15 min in some cases; most bus companies are located
in a General Bus terminal (two of these in Santiago:
www.terminaldebusessantiago.cl;
www.terminalsanborja.cl).
Some of the bus companies are:
JAC (www.jac.cl)
LINEA AZUL (www.buseslineaazul.cl)
INTERSUR (www.busesinter.cl)
PULLMAN BUS (www.pullmanbus.com)
TUR-BUS (www.turbus.cl)
An alternative for those flying into Temuco (ZCO) is to take a taxi
to the local bus station and then catch a bus to Pucon. The price of
the bus is between 2,200 and 2,500 (about USD 5) and the JAC bus line
offers transfers quite regularly between the two cities (departures
every 15 mins or so until 22:23). This would be an alternative for people
as the minibus requires a minimum of 6 people at about 3.5x the price.
http://www.ihatetaxis.com/airport/ZCO-Maquehue-Airport/bus
----------------------------------------------------
Information on how to get to and from Santiago international
airport:
http://www.aeropuertosantiago.cl/english
see TO and FROM the airport and attached
pdf map
•by taxi: (only take official taxis - better directly from the
airport - and ask for the price beforehand)
•by "Transfer" (Chilean name for "minibus")
•by bus: TUR BUS airport and/or PuertoMetro
From Santiago to Temuco or Pucon: BUS (a trip to Pucon may have to
be done in one or two stages (change bus or bus company in Temuco, depending
on the bus company). Daily frequencies, Santiago-Temuco: 9 hours, plus
1 more to Pucon. Most buses with confortable seats (bed and semi-bed)
travel during the night.
Bus terminals to the south:
• Terminal Alameda: Av. Bernardo O'Higgins 3570, metro Universidad
de Santiago. Teléfono: (2) 7762424 (see attached map)
• Terminal Santiago (ex Terminal Sur): Alameda y Nicasio Retamales,
at 150 m from T. Alameda. Teléfono: (2) 3761750
• Terminal San Borja (ex Terminal Norte): San Borja y Alameda,
closet o the train station. Estación Central. Teléfono:
(2) 7760645. NOT SO EASY IF COMING FROM THE AIRPORT
Other terminals depending on the specific bus company
From Temuco to Pucón and Villarrica, Bus terminal Temuco (Balmaceda
with Aldunate streets).
BUS COMPANIES:
EMPRESA TUR-BUS (most likely to have a direct connection to Pucon)
EMPRESA JAC (most likely to have a direct connection to Pucon)
And many other
