Puerto Varas: Full-Day Chiloe Island Tour - Explore Ancud, Castro & Dalcahue
3.5
22 Ratings
Immerse yourself in a comprehensive day trip exploring the crucial towns in the enchanting and legendary island of Chiloe.
Duration:
12 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Canal De Chacao - We will begin our Tour from your hotel in Puerto Varas from 08:00. A.M. taking Route 5 to the south for about 80 km until you reach the town of Pargua, where we will take a ferry that will allow us to cross the Chacao Channel and reach the Isla Grande de Chiloé.
- Iglesia San Antonio de Chacao - There we will go to the town of Chacao, one of the oldest settlements on the island, founded in 1567. It has a typical Plaza de Armas, where its curious and colorful buildings stand out. We will visit the Church, which adds to the of 150 churches that exist in Chiloé, many of them National Monuments.
- Plaza de Armas de Ancud - We will continue our tour to the city of Ancud, visit its Plaza de Armas, the Church, the Handicraft Market, the Museum and Fort San Antonio, historic site located in the upper part of the city, built at the end of the XVIII century, all it in the middle of histories of the customs and myths of one of the biggest islands of South America. Tickets to the Ancud Museum not included in the Tour.
- Museo de Las Iglesias de Chiloe - The churches of Chiloé are wooden temples built in the Chiloé archipelago, in the southern zone of Chile, according to a traditional scheme that is considered an important part of an architecture school. The oldest buildings still standing date from the middle of the 18th century and the most recent, from the first third of the 20th century. Of these, a set of sixteen years is considered a National Historic Landmark of Chile and, since 2000, a World Heritage Site by Unesco
- Catedral de Ancud - built in the eighteenth century.
- Fuerte San Antonio - Fort San Antonio, also known as Batería de San Antonio, is a military fortification located in the city of Ancud, Los Lagos Region of Chile, which dates back to the times of the Spanish colony, and is still one of the main tourist attractions. from the city.
- Museo Municipal de Castro - Later we will go to Castro, capital of the Isla Grande de Chiloé, visit its Plaza de Armas, the Local Church Patrimony of Humanity, the Handicraft Market and the Gamboa Neighborhood Viewpoint to appreciate the famous Palafitos; Typical constructions made on wooden pillars on water.
- Iglesia Nuestra Senora de Gracia de Nercon - The Church Our Lady of Grace of Nercón, or simply Church of Nercón, is a catholic temple located in the locality of Nercón, in the commune chilota of Castro in the Region of The Lakes, South Zone of Chile.
- Feria Artesanal Dalcahue - We will end our tour visiting Dalcahue, a city famous for its Sunday Handicraft Fair where the locals bring from the most remote islands of the archipelago the most varied artisanal products for its commercialization, we will know its Municipal Market and beautiful Church declared National Monument.
During the Tour we can have lunch at a typical restaurant on the Isla Grande de Chiloé. Food Service not included in the Tour.
We will return to your hotel at approximately 18:00
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Guide during the whole tour
- Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
What's Not Included
- Tickets
- Food and Drink
- Optional Gratuities for driver and guide
Additional Information
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
- Due to the nature of this tour and the safety of all guests, the tour operator reserves the right to refuse service to passengers who are intoxicated or show signs of intoxication. If, as a result, your tour is canceled, you will not be entitled to a refund
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.5
(22 Ratings)
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889elissah
Mar 18, 2024
Relaxing long weekend after touring the whole country! What an absolutely Beautiful Country too! - Great small area with beautiful scenery to relax and view the volcano & huge lake! This is a pretty area and the small town is built on a hill, if you go and are looking for a place to stay you might want to know how much of a "hike" it is from the lake to the accommodations.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Suzanne_l
Oct 7, 2023
Excellent tour experience - Great guide, lunch was delicious and a great value, enjoyed variability of locations visited, easy traveling
Review provided by Viator
Pch2012
Nov 3, 2023
Great day to Chiloé - A long but interesting day to Chiloé. Great to see the island and hear about its history and industry. Lunch in Rudi’s house was a highlight - good simple food well cooked. Lovely short boat trip at Castro.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richard
Mar 29, 2024
A long day on an uncomfortable bus.. - On a positive note, Anna, our tour guide was awesome! There were only five English speakers on the bus, but she made sure that all of us understood her commentary completely.
The negatives were as follows ;
1. It’s advertised as a 10 hour trip but it took over 12 hours.
2. Most of the trip is spent on the bus that does not have a toilet, has a very uncomfortable seats with very little leg room, and has difficulty managing the temperature control.
3. The towns that we visited were just not that pretty or interesting.
4. We felt pressured to eat lunch with the entire bus at a private house. The food was not terrible, although the menu choices were limited.
We cannot recommend the excursion.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruthie_c
Feb 17, 2024
take note that its a very... - take note that its a very long day. we spent most of the time in the bus travelling from one place to another. i think chiloe is beat enjoyed at a much slower pace - spread out into 3 days instead of one day. there were nice coastal areas we passed by that would have been nice to explore. theres also a mandatory lunch stop in somebodys house which i think was unnecessary. it would have been better if they left us in dalcahue to find a restaurant on our own. to summarize, if you are short of time and really want to see chiloe, this is for you but be forewarned that it will be a very long day spent mostly in the bus.
Review provided by Viator
Juliana_m
Aug 13, 2023
Extra costs, didn’t follow the itinerary. Consider doing a self driving tour instead if you want to see anything - The reason I’m giving this two stars instead of one is because I do think it would be more fun in summer when penguins are out.
We went in winter and the guide did not follow the itinerary. Ancud is in the tour’s title, but we did not go there. We also did not go to the Museo de Las Iglesias. We only went to three churches — barely. We couldn’t even go in one and another just happened to open right before we left.
We were dropped off at a couple of places where the guide was just like “meet back in 20” with no info about what we could see except that we could shop. The shops were cool but this overall felt like a glorified bus. I personally would prefer to see churches and museums than shop and wished we’d driven ourselves and planned our own itinerary. I’d recommend just self driving this. There was very minimal “guiding” or cultural education even though we were on the bus driving for so many hours. The guide told two stories and seemed to think that would do it. It may also not be worth visiting Chiloe if you’re in Puerto Varas because it’s simply quite far. Especially in winter. Staying on the island would likely be better!
Additionally, the guide told us Chiloe has no tourist culture and as such their food is only “gourmet” (whatever that means) so we should go to a lunch at someone’s “house” which would be more culturally relevant. Definitely just a house of someone paid by the tour? I bet the company gets a cut of the money. It felt like no was not an option and I definitely wished it had been listed in the itinerary. We almost packed lunch. It felt like a sales pitch to go there. The veggie option was just a pile of veggies. My husband got the pollo and it was really just a chicken thigh with some potatoes. They did ply us with unlimited wine though… and it was fun chatting with the other people on the tour… but this was supposed to be a tour where you actually see things not just chat. We were at the lunch place for two hours. And it cost 15000clp on top of what we were paying for the tour. We saw empanadas in the nearby town for only 1.5 clp! Plus plenty of other restaurants that looked great.
Overall I’d consider self driving if you want to see stuff. Although the penguin tour may be worthwhile. It is just overpriced … and expect them to do things with extra costs. The guide also mentioned potentially doing a sailing tour for an additional cost (also not in the agenda) but it ended up being too windy. The main thing I was concerned about with self driving was getting on the ferry but it seemed super easy. It was 14.000 clp both ways but at least that was included in the tour price.
Review provided by Viator
David
Feb 22, 2024
A total waste of time, a long and tiring trip to participate in the local culture, it's not worth it, don't waste time. - Long, tiring walk with little interesting to see. Castro is friendly but uninteresting. I spent more than 8 hours in a tourist car.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Getaway54626851125
Feb 7, 2024
Misery - This was the worst tour we have ever been on and the worst day of our entire trip. We were gone almost 12 hours and spent at least 9 on the bus . There really is nothing worth seeing on the entire island and should be removed from any tour. People spent most of the day looking at their phones or sleeping.
The one hour for lunch was good but not worth 12 hours. The day was a complete waste.
You said the tour was in English but the guide spent at least 90% of the time speaking ,
I highly recommend avoiding this tour unless you like bus rides and looking at dilapidated houses,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christine_g
Jan 18, 2024
Chiloe wonderful island...poor trip with Viator - I signed up for this trip and I was not informed by Viator what we would be traveling on a huge bus with a mob of people. I do not enjoy traveling this way. Viator is booking platform with no individual attention. After delayed email answers...I would never book an adventure through them again.
Our guide Nelly was good she spoke several languages and despite the fact that she was 1 guide and 38 people she did the best job possible. The bus driver was decent.
Review provided by Viator
Antonion302
Nov 10, 2023
Bad company - Fatal they canceled it at the last minute when I was at the agency ready to board! Why, according to them, trip advisor oversold tickets and only assign them to them.
The worst thing is that I confirmed days before the time and meeting point, and everything was in order I left them my number to contact us.
Even so, they left everything to the last minute.
No seriousness with this company.
I'm still waiting for my refund
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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