Getting There:
Getting to Chile these days is relatively simple and a painless.

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In the mid-60’s, it took pioneer fly fishers, like Joe Brooks 22 hours to fly from Miami to Santiago and another twenty hours in the air with numerous stops along way to reach the trout infested waters in and around Puerto Montt – now that’s dedication!

Getting there is easy with a wide choice of convenient, daily flights from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, and New York. Most flights are direct, departing the States in the afternoon or early evening and arriving early the next morning in Santiago, the Capitol of Chile. Airlines that service Chile include LAN, Delta, United and American.

Arriving Chile is simple, hassle free and safe. The flight are almost always on time, the new ulta-modern airport is clean, and the entire experience from clearing immigrations, customs to connection with domestic flights is very smooth. Airfares from the U.S. to Santiago vary widely with tickets from New York, Miami and Los Angeles ranging from $900 to $1,200 round trip. Usually the best fares can be had by flying LAN, the national airline of Chile. LAN is one of the largest air carriers servicing South America. Their modern, new air fleet has a superb record for reliability, safety and on time departures and arrivals.

Immigration Requirements for entry into Chile: U. S. Citizens:

When traveling to Chile, a valid passport is required with an expiration date occurring at least 6 months later than the day of arrival.

Chilean Tourist Card: A Chilean Tourist Card Application will be handed out by your carrier during your flight to Chile. Please fill out the application and present it and your passport to Chilean Immigrations upon arrival into Santiago. Immigrations will take one copy of the Tourist Card and leave you with another which you must keep with your passport and present to Immigrations when you leave Chile. Loss of your tourist card may result in a penalty upon departure.

Airport Entry and Departure Taxes: Good for the life of the passport, a fee of $131 USD (paid in cash or with a credit card) will be charged to all U.S. Citizens entering the country by plane for the first time. This is the same amount charged to Chileans applying for a visa to the U.S.

A domestic airport tax of $8.00 is charged when flying within the country. A departure tax of $26.00 is due upon leaving Chile for another country. Departure Tax is usually included in the ticket price.

Inoculations and Health Concerns:
There are no formal requirements, or recommendations, for immunizations and very little risk of infectious disease in Chile. The risk would be about equivalent to what it would be for a trip to Colorado. You should check with your personal physician if you are concerned. We recommend that anglers be up-to-date on their Tetanus, Hepatitis-A and Hepatitis-B vaccinations.

Political Situation:
Chile is a safe, pro-American country and has been a democracy since 1989. On March 11th, 2006 the new president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, took office. Michelle Bachelet is Chile’s first woman president. Chileans are overall a very friendly people & welcome foreign tourists. The hospitality of the campesinos (country people) in rural Chile (where all the fishing takes place) is renowned.

Specific flight details for La Posada de los Farios
Your end airport destination when fishing with La Posada de los Farios is a small regional airport south of the city of Coyhaique called Balmaceda (airport code BBC). We ask that you arrive Balmaceda in the early afternoon. On departing Balmaceda, please book a flight back to Santiago in the afternoon to allow plenty of time for auto transfer from the lodge.

Day of Arrival:
After a comfortable night in Santiago (optional), guests arrive Balmaceda Airport in the early afternoon, where they are met by Rex Bryngelson or one of his staff and taken to the lodge. Often, you will have a delicious lunch at the Bryngelson’s home in Coyhaique before starting the drive to the lodge. This is a great opportunity to pick-up any sundries you might have forgotten or check your email.

The drive to the remote lodge on the Rio Cisnes is about three and a half hours and is highlighted by beautiful roadside scenery and stunning mountain vistas of the Southern Andes.
Anglers and their companions are met upon arrival and introduced to the lodge and staff. The comfortable riverside ranch house backs up against the Andes and a large hanging glacier, all visible from the front porch. Each of the guest rooms is well appointed, has a private bath, and the amenities are in stark contrast to the remote Patagonian location.

After a brief orientation, you will have a chance to purchase your fishing license, organize tackle and to get settled in and get a shower, that way you can enjoy a nice dinner, relax and get to bed early enough to be fresh for a full day of fishing the next morning.

The Angling Week:
These are full fishing days, and the exact schedule will depend on the guest's wishes. Breakfast and dinner will be served in the lodge and fine mid-day meals are served in the field, streamside.

La Posada de los Farios angling is exclusively for Brown Trout in the Cisnes River, and a combination of rainbow, brown trout, steelhead, and Silver Salmon on the coastal streams and estuaries. The fjord lands are a wonderful angling option accented by spectacular scenery and occasionally superb fly fishing.

The fishing on the Cisnes is done either on foot from a variety of access points along the river, or any of a series of day-long float trips. An optional overnight float trip is a terrific introduction to water that is seldom seen in the region, and Rex and his guide staff have several superb lakes within easy striking distance of the lodge.

The after-angling cocktail reception always includes Pisco Sour, the Chilean version of a Margarita, a variety of domestic beers and some of Chile’s finest varietals.

Dinners, like all meals at the lodge, are informal, superb, and accompanied by delicious Chilean wines.

The Day of Departure from the Lodge:
Anglers will be transported to the Balmaceda Airport and begin their journey home with the flight to Santiago or the continuation of their South American angling or travel holiday.

Make it easy on yourself.
Alicia Regueiro and her expert staff at Holdy Tours (800) 446- 1111 or alicia@holdytours.com are a full service travel agency. They’ve been our first choice for ticketing for years because Holdy professionals are intimately familiar with the intricacies of travel to Chile, Argentina and all South America.

Holdy gets rave reviews from us for arranging reasonably priced flights as well as city tours, hotels, transfers, and optional add-on travel packages to our fly fishing trips. They know the best routes and connections for even the most complicated Patagonia angling destinations and they’ve teamed up with LA to offer the best airfares and service to South America. Make it easy on yourself and contact Holdy Tours for your flight accommodations to, from and within Chile.