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thanks for the helpful info.

In my opinion you are much better off with the bus system. It is very good, is going to be much cheaper than a rental car, and you don't have the hassle of figuring out the rental permits to take the car to Argentina.

I've done it by bus twice, including one time where we did bus to Cochamo, bus back to Puerto Montt and then from there bus to Bariloche. Round trip Santiago to Santiago this cost about $100.

To add: either way you would want to take 215 out of Osorno, which google isn't showing correctly as connected to the highway on the Argentinian side. I think it is somewhere around 5 hours from Osorno to Bariloche, including the stop at the border (via bus).

^^ this. The bus system is by far and away the superior way to go. An overnight bus from Santiago to Puerto Montt (more or less) in a super comfy seat (think first or business class on most airlines) will run you about US$50. Driving into Cochamo Valley isn't practical / possible, so you'll need to leave the car for days on end at the trail head. not that this isn't safe to do (Chile is VERY safe), but you'll be paying per day for it to sit there.

The bus from Osorno to Bariloche is about 6 hours without a difficult border crossing. It can be more than that if immigration officials don't want to play nice. It's not that expensive either, and once in Argentina you have a fair amount of transportation options there, too.

In short, ditch the car in Chile. Maybe think about it in Argentina.

kirkadirka wrote:
Thanks for sharing your feelings about the local bus system. Still looking for an answer to my question though!

Not sure if being an asshole or not... sounds asshole-ish but who knows?

1. Crossing the border with a rental car is dead easy. East out of Osorno is how you'll go. Five or six hours drive to downtown Bariloche.

2. Took both private and rental cars across, but the rental company I used was in Puerto Varas because why rent one out of Santiago?

3. Yes, lots, mostly around Bariloche. Ask at the Club Andino in town. Incredible sport especially, but nothing that comes close to the mind-bending quality of Frey imho. But I like trad. Of course if you travel a half day south of Bariloche, there's a venue that gets some faint praise once in a while...

FWIW, I traveled the hell out of Chile and Argentina over several years of living there and agree with the above posters. Taking a car from Santiago would be dumb unless you are planning to take your sweet, sweet time exploring and checking out the region between Santiago and Osorno. Even then it might be dumb because while that region is beautiful, it is nowhere near as breathtaking as the stuff that awaits further south.

Climbed Chile/Argentina without a car using public buses without a problem, may be a purer way to go.

Why would you delete your post title and content? This information may prove helpful to another person in the future doing a search.