Chile Forum

I'm with these guys. Pucon is so over built now, that even in the summer high season there are people walking the streets begging gringos to rent their crappy cabins. And they are crappy. Go, and check on the place. They might be fine during the summer, but the wind and rain will go right through them in the winter. Don't hand over one peso until you see the place.

Also, chances are if it is on the internet, it is someone from Santiago renting their summer home. You can do better renting from people that are acutely from Pucon. My recommendation is to find a nice old lady to rent from with empty nest syndrome. The level of service and care will blow away most 5 star hotels in the World.

As for furniture. Pucon and Villarrica is a furniture production area. Lots of cheap crappy pine furniture. So, I would say book one week in a furnished place. One month in a semi furnished place, and after that you will be able to figure everything else out on your own.

With the money you save, you can buy everything new when you get here.

One word of warning however. Unfurnished in Chile, means nothing. That means, no stove, fridge, or even light fixtures. That said, even if they provided them, they likely would not amount to much more than a couple of hundred dollars. They would be the cheapest of the cheap. So, furnished really is not worth the money beyond a few days of emergency.

This might help. For a furnished basic cabin in the Pucon area expect to pay about 75,000 to 80,000 pesos a month or less in the off season. The longer you stay, the more you can negotiate down.

You might add a gringo tax to that and double that estimate for planning purposes, but we typically rent cabins the south for around 80,000 -100,000 a month (1-2 bedrooms furnished). We rented about a year and half ago a cabin in central Pucon for 2 months, fully furnished, for 80,000 pesos a month in the off season. Below is the contact info. It has a great view of the exploding volcano. Tell her Charles and Zandra from allsouthernchile.com sent you.

Now be aware that this place is very very basic, and kind of cold in the winter, but the lady that runs the place is very nice. Might be good for getting you going, until you have a chance to shop around. At the very least it gives you an idea of where prices start; so, don't buy in to the wild internet pricing by owners from Santiago who think their summer home they have is in Beverly Hills and worth $400 US a day in the off season.

Hostal Alicia
Address: Pasaje Estadio 145
Phone/Fax: 56-45-443298