Just Go Exploring

I still think about the Carretera Austral most days. I’ve done a lot of road trips. This was the best.

I flew into Balmaceda, picked up a 4×4, and spent just under a week driving the southern section down to Caleta Tortel and back. It was rough and hard going in places, but oh so worth it.

The best bits weren’t always the famous stops. Sometimes it was pul...

Tierra del Fuego was one of the places I kept circling on the map while planning the far south of Chile.

It sounds irresistible at first. A huge island and scattered archipelago at the end of South America, split between Chile and Argentina, with ferries, penguins, glaciers and long empty roads.

But the Chilean side isn’t one single destination. And it’s ...

Puerto Natales is where most trips to Torres del Paine start and finish. I stayed here before and after time in the park, and enjoyed it.

The city itself is fairly small, so this isn’t a complicated neighbourhood decision. For most people, the best area to stay in Puerto Natales is the centre.

That puts you close to restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, gear ...

Puerto Natales isn’t the reason most people travel to this corner of Patagonia. Torres del Paine is.

But almost every trip to the park runs through Puerto Natales at some point. I stayed here before and after the W Trek, and also used it as a base for day trips into the park with friends who weren’t trekking.

Puerto Natales gives you somewhere easy to sort...

I’d read plenty of mixed reviews before taking the Navimag ferry from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales. Some made it sound uncomfortable, others like a budget cruise through Patagonia. In reality, it was neither.

I travelled on the Esperanza in December with my partner, and I enjoyed it far more than I expected. It’s still a ferry. The cabins are compact, the routine ...