Shore Excursion: Petrohue Waterfalls, Frutillar & Puerto Varas

A really worthwhile, interesting and scenic trip - in a small group of only 8 and a comfortable bus. Our guide provide lots of information along the route and the timing was perfect. We saw all the intended sights in a relaxed manner, with plenty of opportunities for photos and also doing you own thing, at your own pace when we were at the sights. It was a very enjoyable day and fortunately we were not caught up with the much larger groups on the trips organised by the cruise line, which covered the same points at a much higher price. Definitely recommend this trip with GV Tours!

really efficient booking process and kept us up to date with meeting at port etc. Only real feedback was would have like much more time at Varas, 30 mins is not long enough..

The falls were great, also the visit to the German museum. All in all a good day...dodging the rain. Ignacio was very knowledgeable and passionate about sharing his knowledge of his country's history and sights. Cristian, the driver, was very careful. A small, intimate group....very enjoyable.

Lets start with Eric and our driver Roberto. If I was scoring on them alone it would be 5 stars all the way. They did an excellent job from keeping us informed of Chilean culture and the area we were in to serving us Empanadas and wine. Bravo to both of you. The itinerary was great to. The waterfalls were spectacular as were the vantage points along the way for photographs. The highlight though was Frutillar. What a lovely peaceful and calming place. The german influence in the architecture was clear to see. So what let it down. Well it was the pink bus that was not up to the job. The air con was lacking which meant the windows got steamed up so we could not see what Eric was telling us about. In the end we had to open the windows and suffer the cold. The bus barely coped on hills and shook and rattled at low speed. First world problems perhaps but when you are on a tour at the very least you expect to see in comfort. Thanks Eric and Roberto and as tourist season closes I wish you the very best in finding those ‘fill in Jobs’ till it all starts again in 8 months time.

Good tour, great guides and yummy food , the driver brought Empanadas and several wines and drinks 🍾🍾

We just had an excellent day with GV Tours out of Puerto Montt. Ignacio led us to Petrohue Falls, Puerto Veras and Frutillar. He was most informative throughout our day, not just what we were seeing but also local insights. His skills at communicating are terrific. We had a great day.

Very good tour would highly recommend, ticked all the boxes of what we wanted to see, our guide gave us enough time and was very informative. Had a fantastic time.

This was such a great tour!! We had a terrific day. Both the tour guide and driver were informative and entertaining!! Highly recommend.

Emily our guide and George our driver were excellent Emily’s English and her knowledge of the area and country in general was fantastic. Would recommend this trip

Our tour guide Ignacio and driver Patricia were excellent. Their personalities added so much to our enjoyment of the tour. The visit to the National Park waterfall was a highlight. Highly recommend this tour and tour company, GV tours.

Emily polite and speaks English well. Unfortunately you could not hear here at all in back half of loud van, spent more than an hour talking about our homes rather than talking about her home, culture, etc Van back later than promised. Made cruise tender fortunately Van needs microphone.

We had a delayed start to our tour, waiting for a guest who never showed. Waiting over 30 mins past pickup time was too long. The small bus was comfortable and the driver, Patty, did a good job negotiating some heavy traffic due to a vehicle accident on our route. Ignacio was our guide for the day and he was very knowledgeable and his command of the English language was very good. The tour was very enjoyable despite experiencing some reduced visibility and rain. A nice touch was the snack stop at a lookout where they provided empanadas and wine for the group. Later on the tour they gave us a sweet treat and a taste of pico sour which is a local drink. The destinations were worthwhile Highly recommended.

We had an excellent 6.5 hour tour of some of the best spots near Puerto Montt. Probably the best part of the tour, however, was our tour guide Ignacio. He is a very distinctive young man, who more or less taught himself English and whose fluency and naturalness in English was excellent. He spoke extremely clearly and knowledgeably about what we were seeing but also about historical and contemporary Chile. He gave us a real insight into life for Chileans. Although the day was overcast and a bit rainy we still enjoyed our sigh-seeing tour and got some good pictures of the waterfall and lake and mountains. I would really like to have spent more time in the fashionable Spanish-German city of Frutillar where we visited what was the house and gardens of a wealthy German family. Bt there was much more to see in this resort town. The extra items of an empanada, a glass of red wine, a cake and some of the local Pisco sour were great add on's. We travelled in a minibus (there were 12 of us). Paty did a good job of driving us, especially in the rainy periods. But that is how it has to be if you want to get out of the main town of Puerto Montt which is pretty big. A plus point of course is that the same tour offered via the ship was more than double the price of the trip with VG Tours.

This was a small group tour that we thought was very well organized. The tour guide and driver were very friendly and knowledgeable(unfortunately I don't remember their names). The included lunch was also excellent. I would recommend this tour without reservation

The tour and information provided by our guide Eric was fantastic. We learned a lot about the Petrohue Waterfalls, National Park, Puerto Varas, & the quaint and beautiful town of Frutillar. What was unexpected was the USA Political discussion about ICE and the protests with one couple from Washington DC area and Eric the guide basically bashing the USA. Regardless of one’s political views, we did not want to have to hear such a one sided conversation while captured on a bus ride from one town to the next on a tour in Chile. We spoke to Eric after the tour concluded regarding our disappointment in the conversation and the one sidedness of the conversation. We suggested if he was going down the road of having a political discussion about the USA, he should involve both sides, not just one sided from the left. He said he would think about that going forward. Our suggestion before booking the four, is to ask who your guide will be on the tour.

This tour was really good and well worth the cost. Emily, our guide, was friendly, entertaining, and knowledgeable. She had good command of the English language too. And the sights were all amazing. I can’t recommend this tour enough.

Emily was an excellent Tour Guide. She had a good command of English and attempted to make sure everyone was included and saw all the sites were outlined in the tour. She explained the history and made sure we had great views of the volcanoes and the lovely lake near Frutillar. I would highly recommend this tour. The bus driver was also very good.

Great itinerary. Loved each stop, especially the waterfall. Emily, the tour guide was fantastic. Would do again

This tour was exceptional. Our guide and driver offered excellent history about the area. Our guide was enthusiastic and responsive to each of us. The driver made empanadas for us and offered some wine and Pisco Sours at a stop. We frequently ran into massive groups from our boat but felt fortunate to be just a group of 10! The tour was designed for cruise ship passengers and the pick up was clear and simple. This incredible tour cost a fraction of the similar tour offered by the boat. By all means take this tour!!

we had such a great day with George and Emily. Everything ran very smoothly, They went out of there way to make us comfortable. Lunch was great, loved the stop at the bakery. Would highly recommend this tour with George and Emily!

We were met at the cruise terminal by our wonderful guide Emily and are equally wonderful driver Jorge. Emily was lovely and charming and treated us all like family. She provided so much wonderful information about the area and spent time really getting to know all the passengers in the van. We were watched after with great care by her and Jorge. They both went above and beyond to make sure we had a wonderful day. We highly recommend this tour. This is a beautiful area of the country and you could easily spend much more time here. We only had one day and our great team from GV tours helped us take advantage of every minute.

Personalised itinerary by the wonderful Emily and George who took good care when my husband got car sick. Emily gave us wonderful examples of life in Puerto Montt and ensured we got the best photos. This tour was wonderful recommend. !

This was a great tour, our bus driver Jorge and guide Chris made sure to give us enough time at each stop but made sure we were able to see everything and get back to the ship in a timely fashion. The views were incredible, the towns were quaint and the empanada snack with wine and pisco sour was delicious!

We were met as the cruise terminal which was very convenient They were no worries as they are sure to get us back to ship with plenty of time

Chris, the tour guide and George, the driver did an amazing job navigating us around so that we could get the most out of this beautiful area. Chris has lived in Puerto Montt all of his life, so he knew all about the areas that we visited. The tour ended an an amazing German bakery.

Excellent guide team (Ignacio & Roberto). Very fortunate to have clear and sunny skies with views of both volcanos. Appreciated learning about the history of Chile and local area. Snacks and wine from the region were delicious. Highly recommend this small family owned tour company.

The trip highlights the more unique areas of cruise ship stops in Puerto Montt: Petrohué Falls in the National Park; Puerto Varas, a lovely resort town on Lake Llanquihue, and Frutillar, a town also on Lake Llanquihue that is known for musical events. Both towns have a German influence, Each of the 3 stops were approximately 45-50 minutes. Our tour guide Hemily (Emily) was very friendly, informative and gave information in an engaging manner. Her English was exceptional. She took time to speak with each traveler in her group. Eligio, our driver was helpful,(I was using a cane and needed help at times in getting off the bus). He was a very good driver. The rest stop snack of wine and a large empenada was very tasty. I recommend this tour.

Petrohue falls was certainly the highlight of this trip. Wished we had more time here but there were two other places to visit. Ignacio is an excellent guide. Speaks very well. Very accommodating. We learnt a lot and enjoyed the excursion. Alejio is an excellent driver. Cautious and caring to the guests. We were fed well. Local yummy lunch, drinks and dessert spaced throughout the excursion was a great bonus. Wonderful trip.

Beautiful scenery, cascade/rapids, two or three volcanoes visible. Lush pastures for grazing. Great place to be a cow. Driver Eligio was great! Guide Ignacio was very well-informed helpful and patient. One of my best excursions ever!

Wonderful tour guide, he has great knowledge to help us understand the history of Chile. Also we had chance to taste chileans food with wine. Many Thank

My husband and I did this tour as a cruise shore excursion. Our tour guide, Ignacio and driver Eligio were some of the best I’ve ever had. They were informative and so courteous. The tour itinerary was slightly different than the description when I booked, but I was not disappointed. My only request would be to extend time at the falls as they really were the highlight

Great tour of Petrohue Waterfalls, Puerto Varas and Frutillar. Our tour guide Emily was very knowledgeable and our driver Pattie was fantastic. Both of them went above and beyond to make sure everyone was comfortable and having a good time.

Great way to see some great sights on your port day in Puerto Montt. This tour was same as ship tour for almost half the cost. Our tour was 20 people whereas the cruise ships was a big busload. Our guide Ignacio was fantastic. He gave us tons of information, and was always available. Our bus driver on 2/20/26 (his name began with an I or E?) was very good. He was always in the best and closest spots to get off and on the bus, on time, and always offering a hand of support and a smile. Both guys were genuinely good people. The visit to the park and falls was very pretty. They were able to get us there early and avoid the big crowds. Highly recommend the cappuccino and kuchen at coffee shop by falls!!

Excellent tour! Ignacio made the day fun and interesting. Eligio did a great job driving and being kind and courteous. Recommend!

We had a wonderful day at the Orsono Volcano, Puerto Varas and Frutiller! Our tour guide Emily and driver George kept us ahead of the crowds at each stop and provided empanadas and a glass of wine while overlooking the volcano. Fantastic exoerience!

First of all, Emily and George were exceptional. The weather turned out to be picture postcard perfect. Views of the volcanos and the lake were amazing. Emily was the tour guide. She knowledgeable and so personable. George the driver was also the maker of one of the best empanadas I ever had. All in all, totally recommended.

A great day out starting at the Petrohue falls a chilly start to the day. We then stopped for delicious Empanadas and wine/ Pisco sour with a view of the lake and volcanos. On to Puerto Varas for a look around then to Frutillar which was a very pretty seaside resort with unusual buildings.

Maria was an excellent tour guide and George navigated us throughout the beautiful scenery in Puerto Montt and beyond. This is an excellent tour for cruise ship passengers with a small group, and we were ahead of all the tour buses for viewing Petrohue Falls. We covered many stops including a very scenic lookout to enjoy the lovely picnic snack of Chilean wine, Pisco, delicious empanadas and a tasty pastry for dessert.

It is with a very small group of people and our guide Emily was extremely fluent in English and very informative. The driver Patty was very good and cautious. Both made our excursion worthwhile. Emily is very proud of her country and gave it a personal touch to speak to everyone in the comfortable van. She went out of her way to accommodate everyone. We would recommend Emily as a guide and Patty for this wonderful excursion.

Ignacio was a terrific guide, knowledgeable, friendly! The tour was excellent with the stops being the perfect amount of time, not rushed and plenty of bathroom stops. Our lunch stop with wine and empanadas was so fun and delicious. His humor and enthusiasm about learning new words was delightful. Had a great day. Driver was also terrific, but I can’t remember his name.

National Park quite good. Don’t make me have to write 100 characters of nonsense! This is ridiculous and people won’t do it.

We enjoyed our tour today with Ignacio and Javier as our driver. Ignacio has very good English and shared good information about the sites that we visited. The roadside lunch with wine was very tasty. Highly recommend as alternative to ship options.

This was a delightful alternative to our cruise excursion. Ignacio was our guide and he was delightful. He was very knowledgeable and made the experience very special!

Very picturesque. Home made snack and beverages eaten picnic style were delicious and an unexpected treat.

Erik, our tour guide was fantastic, friendly, and full of information. Picturesque tour of the countryside. It was great to have Chilean empanadas and wine as our snack.

Both the guide Emily and the driver Marisol were fabulous. All the stops were as described and Emily made sure we didn't get lost in the market area. The food was a real treat, a picnic at the roadside with the view of the volcano. Emily was very knowledgeable, caring and shared information in a very engaging manner. Both of them clearly enjoyed their jobs. Excellent, careful driving from Marisol Thoroughly recommend

Our guide Erik was awesome! Extremely knowledgeable as he grew up here and was very friendly and pleasant to work with answered all of our questions. These three stops are very different were all lovely. Thanks!

The views are amazing and not to be missed. The waterfalls with the volcano in the background are beautiful! The towns are so quaint and a delight to experience. Connie and Chris were wonderful.

Excellent planned tour of great sites. The timing was great, the guide Emily was excellent, knowledgeable, and very friendly. Enough time was planned at each site with information and guidance. Food and drinks were examples of local cuisine. Our driver Marisol was actively involved in assisting in our care. The sites were spectacular, the towns visited were great.