There are three main routes towards Pucón
- From the North - from Santiago or Concepción passing Temuco, Freire and Villarrica
- From the South - from Puerto Montt or Valdivia passing Loncoche and Villarrica
- From the East (Argentina) - from San Martín de los Andes crossing the Mamuil-Malal-Pass (also called Tromen-Pass)
The first two roads are entirely paved and in good condition, the Panamerican has highway standard. Total distance Santiago – Pucón is 789 kilometres, it is about a nine-hours-driv
The international connection is a gravel road for about 100 kilometres. There is no problem in summer for any vehicle, but in winter you may need a 4WD.
By bus
There is at least one bus per day on every mentioned route (except from Argentina: no bus on Sunday). From Valdivia 4 buses a day. From Temuco there is transport every half an hour by Buses JAC. From Santiago, there are about 10 overnight and 2 diurnal buses leaving for Pucón. Two companies, Tur Bus and Buses JAC, also offer the more comfortable Ejecutivo and Salón Cama-services with more space for your legs and sleeper seats. They are recommended for a more relaxing, comfortable trip.
Picture: Busterminal Buses JAC
Picture: Busterminal TurBus
Picture: Busterminal Pullman
By air
Pucón has built its own airport, but only during summer season (January / February) and on some holiday week-ends there are flights. They are far more expensive than the regular flights to Temuco-Maquehue airport, where LanChile and Sky Airlines have several flights a day to and from Santiago and Puerto Montt.
From Temuco airport you can take a taxi or van to the Buses JAC Terminal in the city. There are buses every half an hour to Pucón until 9 PM. A taxi ride from the airport directly to Pucón costs about US$ 50 – 60. If there are at least 4 passengers, you can take a van directly from Temuco Airport to Pucón for about 8000 pesos pp.
Picture: Pucón Airport