One Night Stay in Punta Arenas, Chile

Way of Life

• Length of Stay: One night, August 2016
• Season: Peak of Winter. The night we arrived was the last night of the Carnaval del Invierno.
• Reason: Night after Torres del Paine trip

Local Transportation

Rented a car at PUQ to head to Puerto Natales and back. You will have to pay for street parking during the week in cash.

Money

No issues paying with credit card here.

Accommodation

Booked a night at Hotel Chalet Chapital on Booking.com for 3 at $63 USD. Staff was very friendly and the room was just what we needed after two days of hiking.

Internet & Mobile

Cell service is available and WiFi can be found at most restaurants and cafés.

Food

• Had the roast lamb at Los Ganadores for dinner. The meat came in three parts/courses. Different and tasty experience. Big wine selection.
• Café Tapiz is no specialty coffee shop, but we stopped in for something warm and ordered a pita sandwich that was big enough for three people to eat!
• Café Tostato makes espresso drinks the right way. I’d recommend a stop in for a cappuccino.
• La Casa de Doña Maria was a last minute lunch pick that was open at the time before we headed off to the airport. Home-style Chilean cooking at reasonable prices.

Activities

• Costanera de Punta Arenas is a nice stroll along the coast. There are several exercise stations where you can goof off on monkey bars along the way.
• Once you walk along the Costanera long enough, you’ll reach Cervecería Hernando de Magallanes. The brewery itself is tiny and there are no tastings or tours, but the staff was very informative and you can buy a few bottles of beer to take home on your flight.
• Museo de Magallanes can be visited in less than an hour and free. The information covers a lot of the colonization of Chile and South America. The plaques on each exhibit are in Spanish.