TIPS FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE: TRAVEL TIMES IN AYSEN
Surely more than once you have thought about how long it takes to travel from Balmaceda to Puerto Río Tranquilo, or from Coyhaique to Puyuhuapi. Will it make sense to take the first flight in the morning to make the most of the day? A good tip to estimate the travel times in Aysen is to double the time it can take to reach a destination based on the distance in kilometres. For example, if the distance you have to drive is 200 km, estimate 4 hours to get there. Thus, with stops and everything, the time to get to Puyuhuapi from the Balmaceda airport is approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes. To the trip from Coyhaique we must add the hour of travel from the airport.
In this sense, if you plan this route during day 1 of your trip, it is strongly recommended that you arrive in Aysén at 10 in the morning on the first flight, not on a flight that arrives in the afternoon, as it will mean arriving late at night to the destination, this being uncomfortable and tiring in case it is raining and parts of the road are probably under repair.
Another classic route (and in terrible conditions) is the X-728 that joins Puerto Río Tranquilo and Bahía Exploradores, which is the place where the boat is boarded to travel to Laguna San Rafael: It is 90 kilometers, which means driving close to 2 and a half hours. Further north, another road that you will do frequently is the one that connects Coyhaique with Puerto Aysén, with an estimated one hour trip on a paved road but quite curved in the Simpson River sector.
MAIN TRAVEL TIMES IN CARRETERA AUSTRAL TO CONSIDER
But the travel times will not always be so exact, since it will depend on the road conditions and the stops you can make along the way. Here are some estimated times to drive between 2 main destinations on Carretera Austral:
Balmaceda to Puerto Río Tranquilo, 3 h 30 min
Coyhaique to Puyuhuapi, 4 h 30 min
Puerto Río Tranquilo to Cochrane, 2 h 30 min
Cochrane to Caleta Tortel, 2 h 30 min
Puerto Montt to Hornopirén, 3 hours
Caleta Tortel to Villa O´Higgins 4 h
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