Cruising between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales, the Navimag ferry is perhaps the most scenic public transport journey you’ll ever take on water. What it most definitely isn’t is a cruise. Here’s all you need to know about this service.
The route
The Navimag ferry travels around 1500km between Puerto Montt on the edge of the Chilean Lake District, to Puerto Natales in the south. Travelling north to south takes 4 days and 3 nights, from south to north takes 3 days and 4 nights.
Traversing the Gulf of Penas and Corcovado Gulf (just beyond Chiloé Island) the ferry is briefly in open sea, otherwise the various channels provide smooth waters.
Why take this ferry
For at least three days you’ll see next to no signs of humanity. There’s Puerto Edén, a shipwreck and the occasional freighter. And that’s pretty much it. As for the natural wonders, there are fjords, forests and far-away mountains and volcanoes which edge the immense Southern Patagonian Ice Sheet.
At some points the waterways narrow to such an extent that you can almost touch the cliffs on either the side of the ferry, which is carefully steered by the skilful captain. If you’re lucky you’ll spot dolphins or maybe even whales. There are plenty of birds to keep ornithologists happy.
Your days will be spent watching the varied scenery go by, no doubt marvelling at the rugged magnificence of it all. There are also some activities to enjoy on board too, which I’ll detail below:
The ship
I took this ferry in 2019, since then a new ship has been introduced. The “Esperanza” was launched in 2021 and it looks similar to the ship I sailed on. The cabins are small, functional and comfortable. There are three categories of cabin, plus one for reduced mobility:
- Premium Suite. Queen-size bed, window, en-suite bathroom
- AA Cabin. 4 beds (2 bunks), window, en-suite bathroom
- A Cabin. 4, 6 or 8 beds (2, 3 or 4 bunks), no window, en-suite bathroom
- Reduced mobility. 2 beds, window, en-suite bathroom
Prices range from USD$2,650 for single use of the Premium cabin, to USD$590pp for use of the shared A Cabins. For this price you get breakfast lunch and dinner plus, between November and March, bilingual guides will provide talks, plus entertainment such as karaoke.
The ship has capacity for 244 passengers. As well as fellow travellers like yourself there’ll be lorry drivers and perhaps a few residents of Puerto Edén on their way to/from home. In addition to the dining room there’s a café and loads of space on the outdoor decks.
Although this video is of the old ferry it still gives you a good idea of the onboard experience:
Booking
Considering this service departs only once/week I recommend booking ahead, especially if travelling during high season. Click on the button below to book online (I don’t earn money from these bookings, if this information has been useful you can buy me a coffee here, thanks!):
You can pay in USD$ via PayPal, or in Chilean Pesos with major cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express.
Hint: when inputting your Cell Phone number you’ll need to put country code in ‘Country’ (eg 44 for UK), the first part of your number in ‘City’ (e.g. 07801) and the rest of your number in ‘Number’ (e.g. 123456).
The journey
I put together this video showcasing the views to be enjoyed on the ferry route between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt:
Transport and accommodation
This extraordinary ferry route is included in the 17-day Southern Chile itinerary.
Both Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales have flight connections to Santiago. LATAM is the least polluting airline in the region, but the other two airlines flyig to these airports (JetSmart and Sky Airline) are close behind.
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In Puerto Montt I stayed in the ibis hotel, which was in a very convenient location for the onward bus into the Chilean Lake District as well as the port. There are only a few hostel options in the city.
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In Puerto Natales I stayed at the friendly Hostel Last Hope. It has a decent size kitchen and dining area, plus a cosy sitting area. There’s a huge choice of hostels here, as well as a large range of hotels (I also stayed in Hotel Halleff, which is a good 3* option).
A Plan To Go 