Santiago de Chile
Chile's international airport is in the capital, Santiago de Chile. Flight times are about 13 hours from Europe and 11 hours from the United States. To get to Patagonia from Santiago, take a domestic flight to Punta Arenas (three to four hours). As most international flights arrive in Santiago in the morning it is possible to continue with a domestic flight the same day but a stopover in this remarkable city is worthwhile. It has beautiful parks, historic buildings, museums, great shopping, markets and world-class hotels and restaurants. For more information on Santiago, visit Lan Chile's excellent website (to get the English version select English from the list in the top-right corner of the screen and click "IR").

Clients Arriving in Patagonia
Clients joining the scheduled riding and multi-activity trips have accommodation in Punta Arenas included for the night immediately before and immediately following their trip. On the Estancia Ride the first night is at an authentic estancia situated 40 minutes outside Punta Arenas.

We suggest clients on custom or scheduled hiking trips arrive in Punta Arenas the day before the BlueGreen collection day. This provides some relaxation time after the flight. For those with limited time, it is normally possible to fly out of Punta Arenas on the final day of the trip itinerary (please check times with us first). Some clients prefer to extend their stay with a final hotel night and meal out in Punta Arenas.

Arriving clients should take a taxi from the airport to their hotel. The journey takes around 15 minutes and should cost no more than $15. Most taxi drivers will accept US dollars. Alternatively, BlueGreen can arrange an airport transfer at $35 per person. This should be prebooked.

We can recommend hotels in Punta Arenas and are happy to make reservations on a client's behalf. Hotels vary to suit every budget from the comfortable and centrally located Hostal Calafate priced at around US$30 for a private room to the sumptuous and elegant Jose Nogeuira at over US$200 a night. We are also happy to book hotels in Santiago, Argentine Patagonia or extra nights in Puerto Natales.

For some hotels, we will need a credit card number to secure the booking.

Lost luggage
Despite what you might be told on check-in at your departure airport, it is better to check your own luggage off the international flight and onto your domestic flight. This will take a few extra minutes during transit but it will minimize the risk of luggage going astray.

Missed connections
Please ensure you have a minimum of two to two and a half hours in Santiago to transfer to your domestic flight. Although the international and domestic terminals are next to each other there may be immigration queues and check-in delays, which can cause a missed connection. It seems that with some e-tickets, airlines are allowing bookings with connecting times of much less than this, which has resulted in clients’ delays.

Please note that BlueGreen cannot be held responsible for clients who do not arrive at the meeting point in time to start their trip. If Bluegreen has to arrange expensive emergency transfers and extra accommodation, the client will have to pay for these on arrival. While we will of course do our best to ensure anyone arriving late is able to continue their itinerary as soon as possible we cannot give refunds for missed hotel nights or activities.

LanChile
Schedules and online bookings are available at LanChile (to get the English version select English from the list in the top-right corner of the screen and click "IR").