Check-Ins

Writing on here because it’s been 4 years since the last post. We actually arrived on a Sunday night over a long holiday weekend and it was heaving. There was hardly a parking space in sight, but nevertheless, locals were super friendly and did their best to squeeze us in. It sure is a fun town. There was an exhibition of the film
Encanto in the main plaza which our little one loved and yes still lots of delicious feijoa treats to sample. Although it was a fiesta all through the night, we were safe and sound, and no one stole the bag of goodies we left hanging outside whilst sleeping. Glad we stopped by.

Huge area, soft sand tracks along the river banks with some shade. The access road is not on Google maps, but you can see it on satellite view.

Very quiet and peaceful area.

Our favorite campground in the national park. A lot of nature, a lot of space and clean toilets. Please keep it clean!

They offer oil changes, windshields, sell lubricants and more. There is a very sweet, young mechanic inside that speaks great English and was extremely kind.
However, they made an appointment for us to come back the next day for diff and trans fluid change. We wasted a night in a parking lot because when we came back they said they couldn’t do the work. One person said it was too complicated, another said they had no time, another said it was because we couldn’t fit inside. Whatever it is- grrrr.
Anyway- confirm everything before you consider these guys.

What a beautiful facility. Playgrounds. Grass bathrooms. Courts. All fenced. Very clean. No dogs allowed. Plenty of parking for any sized rig. Overlooking the river walk area.

Arrived at 2:30 on a Saturday. Line was down the street. Standing in the cold wind. We parked the camper in the parking lot. (Many cars were just parked in the road and n the sides) Then we took a chair, coffeeand book to the line. Alternating the wait. Wandering around revealed the same conditions going the other way.

After four hours we touched the building. Then an agent asked how many persons in party (2), looked at both passports, gave a slip of paper and sent other back to wait at vehicle. One person entered and waited to have passport checked, slip of paper stamped (no passport stamp) and then move to line to turn in TIP. The paper TIP was stamped and held. The. The slip of paper was stamped again.
Done. Never checked vehicle or
Dogs. Return to vehicle in parking lot and advance to the Chile entry point. (Ioverlander pin is in wrong location)
See my comment for entering Chile on other pin.

Argentina to Chile with casa rodante and dogs-
After exiting Argentina (see info on other pin) advance to this building. Find parking close to building and go inside.
First get passport stamped AND that little slip of paper from Argentina exit AND show vehicle document. Get back slip of paper and two new little papers. (Save those papers) Then go to next room. Everyone must fill out a declaration form. Walk to window with car documents and little slip from Argentina. Get TIP. Return to car and drive under canopy for inspection. Give them everyone’s declaration form. Then wait- they did a complete check of the camper. They took lemons and honey. Okay with cheese and salami and yogurt. Then went inside building to look at dog papers and waved us up to park. Kept one copy of Senasa papers, stamped all others and returned to me.
Return to parked vehicle and depart.

Very overpriced. But there are only two options in town. Besides the price, it did the job and was a good place to do laundry.

1500 per person, plus 500 for a car. can put your tent in small shelters to protect it from the wind. showers and toilets are basic but sufficient.

Welcome all visitors 9am to 6pm. Services are offered at different times. Dress code enforced.

I don't even know where to start. I bought a 1993 Itasca motorhome close by and took it to the guys at Chuck's. Dennis Sr, Dennis Jr, Bucky and the whole crew were just absolutely amazing. Had to stay around for three days for the service and communication was great and honest, always giving me choices. They advised me on a lot of things, we changed filters, front brakes, racks, batteries, and my rig was absolutely perfect after it. Im doing a road trip all over country and def coming back here before I drive to Canada. When you live on the road it's always about the people, not places. Thank you so much for everything, guys!

Free dump station and free potable water. 11 Hour Max stay.

Had to wait 20 minutes for power (station runs off their own big generator) so idk why it was humming away the whole time. Anyway it wasn't a big deal, 20 minutes is not long. No other stations for long ways so you better get fuel if you need it. Like others said regular and diesel only (never premium, no hose for it anyway).

We were told cash only so be prepared for that (always in MX have extra cash). Takes pesos or dollars, but their conversion rate is worse than average, so have Pesos if possible.

The place was trashed and it was really busy with people who where just hanging around the lot. We didn’t stay the night.

Spent a Friday night here after striking out on other overnight spots. It was great because I was getting worried I wasn’t going to locate one. It is very gracious of Cracker Barrel allowing travelers to stay here.

camped next door and heard police cleared everyone out in the middle of the night

Nice place but pricey at 300 per person. Jose, the bilingual owner, agreed to let us park in the lot for 150 each. We couldn't find the camper bathroom, so took showers in our swimsuits at the pool (nice pool) and used the toilet in the parking lot. Quiet at night. Restaurant closes at 5 on weekends. You can walk from here to the pier.

good spot
lots of dassies!
no other animals but traces.
the tracks in the park are very, very rough: lots and lots of rocks

You can come here and buy gas at a cheaper price than any other place in Belize (about 1 by dollar less)

Correct name is: Casa Monge. The bridge to access the property is bases on tree trunks and can probably carry up to 10 tons (just my estimate), the height limit is around 3.2 to 3.4 meters depending on the width (the bridge has a gable roof). Stayed here 2 nights. Paid 4000 pppn. The place at the river is close to the bathroom building where you have water and electricity. The quetzals can be seen flying around at sun rise and sun set, but you can find them in their trees also during daytime. The owners can show you the favorite trees of these birds. January to March is a good time to come here as the males have the long feathers at this time of the year.

we pass the night. Quiet , nothing more.

Hidden gem. Agree with the previous comments. The staff here are doing a great job. Remote and beautiful campsite. Clean toilet and water available. Wind protection for tents and vehicles. It’s no more than 30 minutes from Ruta 40. Ruta 41, connecting with Chilean X83 and the border crossing at Paso Roballos should also not be missed. This is one of the most scenic roads in South America. Vastly different on each side of the border. If your vehicle can handle the bottom half of Carretera Austral and the gravel parts of Ruta 40, this road is no worse (better conditions we think).

Super friendly staff in this remote border crossing. Takes a little longer because the whole process is done “hard copy” (computer links). Same restriction as for other Chile/Argentina crossings. But best of all is the route you will take to get here - Argentina 41 / Chile X83. In our opinion one of the best drives in Patagonia. Road conditions were better than the southern Carretera Austral when we drove it in Jan 23.

Same as our comments for the Argentina side of the border - super friendly staff in this remote border crossing. Takes a little longer because the whole process is done “hard copy” (no computer links). Same restriction as for other Chile/Argentina crossings. But best of all is the route you will take to get here - Argentina 41 / Chile X83. In our opinion one of the best drives in Patagonia. Road conditions were better than the southern Carretera Austral when we drove it in Jan 23. And, yes, it does “officially” close at 2000.

A lot of flat places to park the car by the gravel road that leads here and has no traffic. Multiple spots with build windshelter for tents.
Great view of the climbing spots and mountains around!
When we were here it was windy during the day, but it stops when the sun goes down. The river is very close, but it was dry - probably is whole summer. No traffic noise from the main road.
The other added campground (camping of the valle de los condores climbing spot) is not accessible by car, only used for tents. It says its forbidden to go there with a car in the climbing guide and rocks are placed in the middle of the road to prevent access by car. We spend our first night at the parking close to the road, as the road further down looked bad in the night, but it gets ok after the first descent from the upper parking. You need high clearance, 4x4 would be needed after rain.

Agree with some of the previous comments. Ruta41 is a great route. It’s a stunning drive, which you can take all the way up to Los Antiguos, or cross the border at Paso Roballos and connect with Chile X83. The R41/X83 drive is one of the best we’ve done in Patagonia, and vastly different on each side of the border. Road conditions were better than the southern Carretera Austral when we drove it in Jan 23. Also, the location of this marker is accurate, but the base map for iOverlander indicates a more significant road - the 103 - closer to Baja Caracoles, which, if coming from the south, looks like a more obvious choice. We believe this road has been closed. We couldn’t find it.

Cheapest is now 8000 for a private room with shared bathroom. if not 10k rooms are available and small increments upwards. good pizza for change from local cuisine.

4000Ars for 2 people and a big rigs per night.
Camping very conveniant because it is very close to the main street.
Wifi only close to sanitary block or administration, but good telephone cover.
Best sanitary block, I have seen in South America, hot water, heated sanitary and clean.
The owner is friendly.

El lugar es atendido por Edvaldo, es una persona muy amable. El lugar cuenta con ducha caliente, agua potable, corriente eléctrica, barbacoa. Es posible ir caminando hasta la playa y ver el atardecer incluso desde el campamento. El precio por persona son 30 Es y por vehículo 15 Rs por noche. Nosotros fuimos en motorhome. Recomendamos 100%
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The place is run by Edvaldo, he is a very kind person. The place has a hot shower, drinking water, electricity, barbecue. It is possible to walk to the beach and watch the sunset even from the camp. The price per person is 30 Es and per vehicle 15 Rs per night. We went in a motorhome. We recommend 100%

Gas station that works 24hrs. There’s water tap in the back of Oxxo supermarket and lot’s of restaurants around including a Häagen-Dazs at another side of the road.
The workers friendly requested us to park to sleep in front of the gas station, precisely in front of oxxo market.
Free. Felt safe and not as noisy as we were expecting (during the day the road is very busy)