Chiloé to Santiago | How to Plan a Chile Road Trip on a Budget

To get a sense of a country like Chile – long and narrow with countless climates and landscapes – you have to see a lot of it. The bus network is great but we’re partial to a road trip so that you don’t just experience point A and B but every hidden wonder in between. It can be expensive to set out on four wheels. So, we’ve compiled an overview of everything you need for an epic road trip in Chile on a budget, including top tips and our itinerary from Chiloé Island to Santiago.

Rent with Chile Wheels

First thing’s first: finding your wheels. We looked into various options from renting a car and tents all the way to RVs. The sweet spot for us was a family run company called Chile Wheels. From the moment we emailed with our inquiry they were incredibly pleasant and eager to help us out.

The cost was reasonable compared to other rental companies and their campervan was fully equipped with cooking supplies and linens which meant no additional rentals.

They’re based in Santiago so you’ll get the best rate if you start and end your trip there. We started in Puerto Varas, where they brought our van, and we returned her in Santiago. After two weeks on the road we can’t recommend Chile Wheels enough. Give them a shout if you want to take a Chile road trip on a budget.

Go Wild Camping

The biggest benefit to having a camper van is the rental cost is also your accommodation cost. You can camp virtually anywhere in Chile so long as it isn’t private property – it’s called wild camping. As the sun set each day we’d pull up to a beautiful beach, a clearing by a lake, or even the top of a volcano and settle in for the night. We often saw dolphins or seals swimming past at dusk or dawn. One night we were even surprised by a farmer leading a pack of sheep right past us on the beach. 

Get the iOverlander App

How do you find these marvellous wild camps you ask? It’s all thanks to the wonderful iOverlander App. If you’re planning a road trip, get it now. Regardless of whether you’re wild camping in Chile, driving South Africa’s garden route or just camping at home, this app is a lifesaver. It allows users to find campsites (wild or paid), water sources, free wifi, restaurants, gas stations, bathrooms, warnings and more. And it works offline. Be sure to check-in if you use a listed spot or add hidden gems so others can enjoy them too.

Tips for a Chile Road Trip on a Budget

• Tolls – Highways in Chile run on tolls so have some buffer in your budget and change in your car. We support the fee for usage model that tolls are based on but it also encouraged us to get off the highway and check out some less popular rural routes along the way.
• Lunch – In most of South America you’ll find signs outside restaurants with a ‘Menu del Dia’ (Menu of the day). These are a great cost-friendly lunch alternative to cooking out of your van. Typically they include salad, bread, a main and dessert. Yum!
• Safety – Chile is safe for road trips and wild camping as long as you use common sense and verify your campsites with an app like iOverlander. Like anywhere in the world, if you leave your smartphone, bluetooth speaker, fancy camera or other indication of wealth in clear sight you’re making yourself a target for robbery. We kept our bags below our mattress and our essentials in the glove box so they were handy but hidden. More diligence is needed further North towards Santiago. In more populated areas consider spending to stay at an official campsite for extra security.
• Border Crossings – Near the Southern tip of South America, Chile and Argentina become such close neighbours it’s natural to want to split your time between the two. However, if you’re trying to keep to a budget for your road trip we’d recommend sticking to the Chilean side. Insurance rules in Argentina differ and the result is a steep price to cross the border. 
• Carry Cash – Take out some money before heading out. Many smaller villages don’t have ATMs and some shops only accept cash.

Our Chile Road Trip Route

Chiloé Island

Since we were coming from Bariloche, our road trip kicked off in Puerto Varas. We quickly hit the highway South to Chiloé Island. Four of our days were spent exploring this quirky subculture within Chile, having picnic lunches by the sea and watching the dolphins swim from our beachside campsites as the sunset. Check out this post to read all about the highlights of our time on Chiloé Island.

Lake District

When we arrived back in Lake District we continued to explore the lush countryside surrounding the numerous lakes that identify the region and the ominous volcanoes rising over the East. If you’re heading to Chile’s Lake District (and you should), check out this post to read about our top tips from Puerto Varas to Pucón, including the location of one of our favourite spots in the world: camping on top of a secluded volcano.

Coastal Route

It was time to start getting Rhonda (our aptly named campervan) back to her home in Santiago. The fastest route would have been straight up Highway 5 but we opted for longer days of driving along the coast to provide better sightseeing and a more local experience.

We crossed over to join the coastal route at Concepción and continued North with the Pacific Ocean as our guide. Just past the town of Tomé, the rocky seaside became our home for the night and provided a secluded place for a morning hike. We travelled on through desolate seaside towns with closed-up shops and locked bathrooms making it apparent we were quite out of season. Though it was warmer than the frigid evenings in the South, we were entering Autumn in Chile and the beaches were abandoned. Nonetheless the drive continued to deliver beautiful seaside panoramas. If you’re taking the same route we’d highly recommend stopping in a town just South of Constitución for traditional empanadas by the sea.

Wine Route

After one more night falling asleep to crashing waves and waking to gulls, we said goodbye to the Ocean. We turned inland to meet up with the Wine Route. There are a ton of wine regions South of Santiago, but we opted to head to Santa Cruz. With limited time and no reservations (which are recommended) we hit up two wineries. First was Laura Hartwig, a boutique family run winery where we discovered a new love for Petit Verdot. Then, ready for lunch, we headed to Viu Manent. They let us park in their staff lot overnight so after we indulged in an incredible vineyard side lunch, a horse-drawn wine tour and a tasting we settled in for the night with a bottle of Chile’s iconic Carmenere and the winery to ourselves. 

Although there were countless more wineries to explore between us and Santiago we decided to savour our morning tea and coffee at Viu Manent and hit the road.

Our final stop before returning Rhonda was the serene Bahá’í temple overlooking the city. The pollution in Santiago makes a clear view increasingly rare but if you happen to be in town the day after a rain it’s something else. Even if you can’t see the city, the surrounding gardens and silent tranquility inside are worth the visit. And the perfect way to reflect on an incredible 12 days on the road.

Chile Road Trip Budget

A road trip in Chile isn’t the most affordable way to travel, but it doesn’t have to be astronomical. The cost will vary greatly depending on your itinerary and how you spend your time on the road. Mainly activities, meals and accommodation. We planned our route with budget in mind opting to skip the pricey Southern ferry from Chiloé to the Carretera Austral and often taking the slower scenic route vs. toll-based highways. We wild camped for free on all but one rainy night. And cooked breakfast and dinner out of the van electing to enjoy picnics or affordable Menu del Dia’s for lunch. Mapping out a meal plan in advance meant even with limited storage and almost non-existent refrigeration we only had to shop once to restock. And while we didn’t spend a cent on pricey excursions we did splurge a bit in wine region.

Still, the daily cost of our trip was significantly higher than the rest of our time in South America. We’d recommend budgeting $150-200 USD per day for a couple in a campervan. If that’s too steep consider starting and ending in Santiago to save some money upfront. And cover less ground each day to save on gas and tolls. On the flip side, if you plan to go whale watching, trek up volcanos or go winery hopping you may want to set a little more aside.

What’s your dream Chile road trip route? Do you have tips for sticking to a budget on the road?