What to do in Puerto Montt, Chile for the day??

[Kiwi_cruiser]

We have never been to Puerto Montt, Chile before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

and if you have been to Puerto Montt before, what did you do there for the day??

 

Does the cruise ships dock near the town/city? or do we dock a long way from it?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome

[Kala89]

We visited here in 2013. We had organized a tour with Jaime Liebrecht of Patagonia Shorex. We had an excellent guide and a nice, air-conditioned van. The tour consisted of a drive through the countryside to see the German influence on the architecture. We then drove to the Osorno Volcano and took the chairlift to the top. It was not at all busy there and the views were wonderful. We could see Lake Llanquihue. Following this, we went to the Petrohue Falls where we were able to walk around a bit on well-groomed paths. Volcano viewing was excellent on the day that we were there. On the way back to the ship, we drove through Puerto Varas (the city of roses). It was a wonderful day and everything went smoothly. We will be going back to South America next year and have several more tours booked with Jaime.

[babysteps]

My parents did a lake/volcano/waterfall tour and had a great time. The spouse and I simply turned to our left from the tender terminal, shopped the craft stalls and had an amazing lunch at one of the tiny family-run restaurants at the fish port. 

 

Tender terminal is pretty close to town iirc. Longish walk and possibly a up a bluff for true centet, but not super far (check an online map--much more accurate than my memory).

[relaxatsea]

We took a cab to Puerto Varas and stayed there for a while walking by Lake Llanquihue and admiring the German architecture.  The taxi driver returned to pick us up at a prearranged spot and we came back to the tender terminal and walked a few blocks to the crafts market where we saw a sea lion.  It was a great day.  I think the round trip cab ride was around USD 25.00.

[4774Papa]

On 9/30/2018 at 2:34 PM, Kala89 said:

We visited here in 2013. We had organized a tour with Jaime Liebrecht of Patagonia Shorex. We had an excellent guide and a nice, air-conditioned van. The tour consisted of a drive through the countryside to see the German influence on the architecture. We then drove to the Osorno Volcano and took the chairlift to the top. It was not at all busy there and the views were wonderful. We could see Lake Llanquihue. Following this, we went to the Petrohue Falls where we were able to walk around a bit on well-groomed paths. Volcano viewing was excellent on the day that we were there. On the way back to the ship, we drove through Puerto Varas (the city of roses). It was a wonderful day and everything went smoothly. We will be going back to South America next year and have several more tours booked with Jaime.

We did a similar tour to Petrohue Falls, the quaint German towns and enjoyed the wonderful scenery of the area.  Our tour was with SouthExcursions.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We picked up a tour right at the dock that visited the quaint towns, the lake, falls, wonderful views of the volcano, etc.  It was a great day.

[School bus driver]

Hello, was reading your post and wondered if you pre-booked or just walked off the ship..Approximately how long was your excursion and how was payment made..Was it a group tour that you shared witj others?.We are going to be there in January and what you did sounds great..

thanks for any help

 

[Kala89]

I arranged our tour with Jaime many months before our cruise and posted it on our Roll Call.  Anyone who wanted to join had to contact Jaime directly and ask to join the tour.  I asked for the group to be kept small so there were only 10 of us. Payment was made on-line through Jaime so I did not have to collect money from anyone.  The tour took most of the day (about 8 hours, I recall).  It was a wonderful day with great views of the volcano.  I suggest you contact Jaime at Patagonia Shorex to see if he has any tours available on the day you are in port.  He is very good at responding quickly to emails.

[School bus driver]

Thank you for such quick reply...We are going on 14 day South America cruise with NCL leaving Buenos Aires January 5, 2019.

for some reason the Roll Call doesn't work any longer which makes it difficult to see what others are doing.. We have reserved space on a Falkland Island stop with others and I am actively working on other ports.

 

[Budget Queen]

 

Frutillar is simple and cheap to just get to via public bus.   Superior for allowing you to stay as long as you like.    This is a German area-  with several attractions.   around $10  round trip.  Goes through  Vargas,   so you can stop there if you choose.    Or can transfer to another bus that goes to Petrohue Falls,   

 

This is a tender port  that is very near the center.     Details about the bus-  I'll post if any interest.

 

There will be a gauntlet of taxi/tour operators you'll be walking through leaving the port. :)    Turning left you'll go to the fish market,  which is worthwhile if of interest.   To the right is the city  with a Mall all the way down at the bend.  Watch your step-   like a lot of Chile, a lot of stray dogs- and droppings.   

[sidebyside]

I would like the bus details if not too difficult.

[Budget Queen]

1 hour ago, sidebyside said:

I would like the bus details if not too difficult.

 

Coming out of the port building to the street   (loaded  with vendors)   turn right.   walk along  that street,  5 +++ minutes.   There will be city buses parked on the street.    These are NOT  the buses.   You will see the bus station  ramp,   on the right .  there is a large bus parking lot and bus station.   Your bus will be a mini bus size-   blue bus.  Loads in front of the building.   The destination will be posted out front-   You pay the driver in pesos.    

[sidebyside]

Thank you

[Traveling Library]

We took a tour with https://www.gvtours.com/ We were in a minibus. Tour guide was a lovely women who was leading tours to raise money to go to flight school. Tour included stops in Frutillar, Puerto Varas, Petrohue Falls and lunch. We ended in Puerto Montt. If you want to buy a sweater (and I wish I had bought more than 1) buy it from the vendors at Petrohue Falls. Mine has some alpaca wool which makes it toasty.  Note when you get to Chile you will be told over and over to not take food off the ship.  Our tour started late (and we had to cut short our time in Puerto Montt) because someone on the cruise (not in our tour) decided the rules didn't apply to them.  The entire disembarkation process was stopped until the Chilean agricultural team could bring in more inspectors and food sniffing dogs.  

[Nebr.cruiser]

We picked up a tour right at the port; it was in a mini-bus and included all the main sights.  Lovely drive to the lake, waterfalls, volcanoes and villages, with lots of stops and plenty of time to see everything.  

 

What a beautiful area!

[iancal]

Our ship docked in town. We walked out the port, turned right and walked ten minutes to the bus station.  Then we got on a local minibus to Puerto Varas.  That was about a $2 fare and a fifteen minute ride.  Spent time there, came back, and then walked around Puerto Montt.

 

We have seen lots of snow capped mountains and volcanoes.   We spoke to the enrichment speaker on our ship and this is what he suggested.  It worked out well.  We were amazed at the number of tour buses in Puerto Varas...all parked by the casino.

[Budget Queen]

22 hours ago, iancal said:

Our ship docked in town. We walked out the port, turned right and walked ten minutes to the bus station.  Then we got on a local minibus to Puerto Varas.  That was about a $2 fare and a fifteen minute ride.  Spent time there, came back, and then walked around Puerto Montt.

 

We have seen lots of snow capped mountains and volcanoes.   We spoke to the enrichment speaker on our ship and this is what he suggested.  It worked out well.  We were amazed at the number of tour buses in Puerto Varas...all parked by the casino.

 

This is a tender port for cruise ships.      Most buses go through Puerto Varas so ,  very simple to get there.   Also consider Frutillar  which offers a lot more.  I'd suggest adding Puerto Varas  on the  way back.     Can easily do both in a port day.   

[iancal]

You are correct.  It was a tender.  Why do I remember.  We were on Princess.  They made a complete mess of it. We were lined up an hour just to get back on a tender.   Lots of PO'd customers coming and going.

 

BUT...as I recall the Celebrity Infinity was also in port and it did not have to tender.  Something about draft.

[Budget Queen]

6 hours ago, iancal said:

You are correct.  It was a tender.  Why do I remember.  We were on Princess.  They made a complete mess of it. We were lined up an hour just to get back on a tender.   Lots of PO'd customers coming and going.

 

BUT...as I recall the Celebrity Infinity was also in port and it did not have to tender.  Something about draft.

There  are no  cruise ship docks in  Puerto Montt.     Puerto  Arenas,   is the only port that has both.    And it is definately better to be tendering there as well.    The dock is way out of town,  requiring  the use of cabs  to get back and froth to the downtown area.    The  area is just a working industrial area.    

[Northern Aurora]

On 12/3/2018 at 1:29 PM, iancal said:

You are correct.  It was a tender.  Why do I remember.  We were on Princess.  They made a complete mess of it. We were lined up an hour just to get back on a tender.   Lots of PO'd customers coming and going.

 

BUT...as I recall the Celebrity Infinity was also in port and it did not have to tender.  Something about draft.

 

 

Actually, we have been to Puerto Montt on the Celebrity Infinity.  It was a tender port for the Infinity.

[Malemew]

On 11/1/2018 at 2:52 AM, Nebr.cruiser said:

We picked up a tour right at the dock that visited the quaint towns, the lake, falls, wonderful views of the volcano, etc.  It was a great day.

 

Hey ..... can you remember how much you paid on the day? We prefer not to make plans and just see how we feel at each port so this I do would be nice to know ;)

[Nebr.cruiser]

I wish I could remember, but I am thinking about $59pp--it may have been more.  We had quite a few stops and plenty of time everywhere.  They were loading small tour buses--about 25 people per bus--right as we walked off.

Edited January 4, 2019 by Nebr.cruiser

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Thank You everyone for there replays and information 

 

We have booked a tour with Jaime!

[scubacruiserx2]

On 9/30/2018 at 11:34 AM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

We have never been to Puerto Montt, Chile before.

 

I was wondering would you recommend doing here for the day??

 

and if you have been to Puerto Montt before, what did you do there for the day??

 

Does the cruise ships dock near the town/city? or do we dock a long way from it?

 

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome

 

 

We went up the volcano

 

 

But the ski lift wasn't working

 

 

Then down to a waterfall

 

 

And had a huge lunch

 

 

We then went to the supermarket and 2 bottles of good wine and 2 Pisco sours . Total price $ 20 .

 

 

You can read about it and see more photos here: