Getting to Patagonia Drifters

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

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 and 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 Patagonia Drifters

When making your airline accommodations for Patagonia Drifters 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.

After a comfortable night in Santiago, guests arrive Balmaceda mid-day, where they are met by Monte Becker and driven to Granite Canyon Lodge, Monte’s riverside lodge overlooking the Manihuales River. The trip to the lodge from the modern, regional airport is about one and a half hours. After storing your gear, you'll have the chance to fish the evening hatch on the local river.

Very little of the water that Monte guides is heavily fished. Sportfishing is not part of Chilean national tradition and trout were not introduced in these waters until after the turn of the century. There are few roads in the region and only a couple of drift boats in all of Chile. The water, tea-colored or clear, is occasionally choked with fish.

The after-angling cocktail reception includes Pisco Sours, the Chilean version of a Margarita, appetizers, full bar and fine domestic wines. Dinner is served late in the evening to allow for a full day of fishing.

Dinners, like all meals at the lodge are informal, superb, and accompanied by the finest Chilean wines.
Fishing Days: These are very full fishing days, with the exact schedule depending on the guests' wishes and prevailing conditions. Breakfast and dinner will be served in the lodge and fine mid-day meals are prepared and served in the field.

Patagonia Drifters is unique among destinations in Chile, in that it offers a number of other options and trips for less than a full week that are ideal for anglers interested in adding some angling to the Chilean holiday. Patagonia Drifters is also a great opportunity for fishermen who have spent a full week at another destination to add another dimension to their experience, without having to dedicate a full week.

In addition, there are many still water fisheries close by with monster Rainbow and Brown Trout. This is all very good water and most of it within an hour of Coyhaique.

Anglers will be transported to Balmaceda to connect with their flight to Santiago (with other Chilean destinations) or to begin their journey homeward. Flights bound for the United States usually depart Santiago late in the evening for an easy and comfortable connection.

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.