Editor's note: the traffic hours for Route G-21 correspond to the 2026 snow season, between June 1 and September 30, and this article is written from August 2026, that is, under the weekend restriction schedule. Prices and rates can change within the same season, so it is worth checking that they are still valid before planning your day.
A day trip to the snow costs between $29,990 and $206,000 CLP per person. Same mountain. Same day. Almost seven times the difference.
It is not that some people get better snow than others. The gap is in how you get there and in how much of the logistics you hand over to someone else: transport, lift ticket, equipment, clothing, lesson. Every layer you add has a price, and some of them you pay for twice without noticing.
Here are the four real ways to get up there, what they cost today and who each one is for. But first we have to talk about the road, because the road is in charge.
The road to Farellones has fixed hours, and that decides for you
This is the piece of information that ruins the most snow days and the one fewest people check before leaving.
Route G-21 — the mountain road to Farellones, El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado, known locally as the Camino a Farellones — runs with regulated one-way traffic between June 1 and September 30, 2026, under Exempt Resolution No. 2902 of the regional transport authority (Seremi de Transportes), as reported by Nevasport. It is not a recommendation. It is a checkpoint staffed by Carabineros, the Chilean police, at the entrance.
In the restricted windows, the scheme is this:
- Uphill only: 8:00 to 13:00
- Road closed for clearing: 13:00 to 15:00
- Downhill only: 15:00 to 20:00
- Both directions: 20:00 to 8:00
From June 1 to 18 that schedule applied on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, leaving weekdays open in both directions. Between June 19 and July 6 it applied every day. And from July 7 until September 30 it went back to the weekend schedule, according to the uphill and downhill hours announced by the Ministry of Transport.
Translated into August: if you go up on a Saturday or Sunday, you have to be crossing the checkpoint before 13:00 or you do not go up. And you cannot come down before 15:00 even if your child is bored by 12:30. Between 13:00 and 15:00 the road is closed in both directions.
That reorganizes the whole day. Leaving at 9:30 in the morning from Providencia, a central Santiago neighborhood, with a stop to buy something to eat, can leave you outside the window. And if you rent clothing or equipment the same morning, the clock turns against you before you even see snow.
Two more restrictions worth knowing: buses with 18 or more seats are banned between La Ermita and route G-251, and Valle Nevado does not allow buses or minibuses longer than 10 meters. If you are traveling with a large group, that decides the type of vehicle before the price does.
Option 1 — Panoramic snow tour: $29,990 CLP, to see snow without skiing
The cheapest way into the mountains, and the most misunderstood.
A panoramic tour in a regular group costs $29,990 CLP per adult (US$35) and $22,000 CLP per child (US$26). It includes transport and a guide. It does not include lunch, a lift ticket, equipment or a lesson. It leaves at 6:00 in the morning and gets back to Santiago at around 17:00, with room for 33 passengers and pick-up in Las Condes, Providencia and Santiago Centro.
Who it is for: families with small children who want to see snow, go sledding, take photos and come back. Tourists with a single free day who are not here to ski. Anyone who wants to see the Andes without eating into the travel budget.
Who it is not for: if your plan is to ski, this tour does not take you anywhere near that. You will be standing in the snow watching other people ski.
One practical note: leaving at 6:00 in the morning means getting up at 5:00. With children, that weighs more than the $29,990 CLP. There is also a guided panoramic outing for $42,000 CLP, with more civilized hours.
Option 2 — Round-trip transfer: $39,900 CLP, for people who already know what they want
A transfer is a shared shuttle van and nothing more: it takes you up and brings you down, with no guide, no tour and no lift ticket.
From La Casa del Ski, at Vitacura 9016, it costs $39,900 CLP round trip. It leaves between 07:00 and 07:45, reaches the mountain at around 10:30, starts the return at 16:45 and drops you off in Santiago at about 18:30.
Look closely at those times: they are designed exactly around the G-21 restriction. They go up before 13:00 and come down after 15:00. That is the invisible advantage of letting someone else drive: the operator has already solved the problem that would cost you two searches and a phone call.
Who it is for: people who already have their equipment or rented it down in Santiago, people who are going to ski and want the full day on the mountain, groups who would rather not drive snowy hairpin bends.
Who it is not for: if your plan was to leave at 14:00 because the weather turned bad. The transfer comes down at 16:45, and that is that.
Option 3 — Your own car: the most flexible one and the one with the most fine print
It is the option with the most freedom and the one most people underestimate. Three things, in order of importance.
Snow chains are mandatory. Even on a 4x4
Carrying snow chains is mandatory for every type of vehicle between June 1 and September 30, 2026. Without chains you do not get past the La Ermita / Corral Quemado checkpoint, at kilometer 11. Fines run from 1 to 1.5 UTM, the inflation-indexed unit Chile uses to set penalties.
There is a distinction almost nobody makes and it matters: carrying chains means always having them in the car; fitting them is mandatory only when the road signs or the Carabineros say so, as explained in this guide on when snow chains are mandatory in Chile. Valle Nevado specifies that carrying them becomes enforceable when SENAPRED, Chile's emergency agency, declares a Preventive Early Alert. With the chains fitted, the maximum speed drops to 30–50 km/h.
Where to get the chains
Renting chains costs between $15,000 and $30,000 CLP per day, depending on the wheel size of the vehicle and the number of days. The usual spots are next to the Petrobras service station at the start of the road to Farellones, in the shops opposite that same station, and just past kilometer 4.
Those same places offer a fitting service, and if you have never put chains on a car it is worth every peso: doing it for the first time, kneeling on the shoulder of the road with wet hands and a line of cars behind you, is an experience I would not recommend to anyone.
You do not need a 4x4
Nevasport's road status report is blunt: “with fuel, chains and common sense you can do it in any car”, and it even says “you can go up in a kia morning”, a small city hatchback. On all-wheel drive they add something important: “if you go in a 4x4 you will probably never need to fit the chains, but you must always carry them”. Traction helps you keep moving. It does not save you from the fine or from the checkpoint.
What is genuinely essential: check the state of the road on the same day, because it changes with every snowfall and with whatever the Carabineros decide that morning. Valle Nevado's mountain report is a good place to start.
Option 4 — Full package with a lesson: from $125,000 to $206,000 CLP
Here you pay not to think about anything.
The Beginner Ski Day at Valle Nevado costs $206,000 CLP per adult and $179,000 CLP per child aged 6 to 11. It lasts 11 and a half hours, and includes pick-up at your accommodation, shared transport, a beginner lift ticket, two hours of lessons and the equipment. A cheaper alternative is Parque Farellones, from $125,000 CLP, with a lift ticket, group lessons and equipment.
Who it is for: someone who has never skied and is going to try it once in their life. The two-hour lesson is the difference between having a good time and spending the day falling over. If it is your first time and you only have one day, paying for the lesson is the best decision on this list.
Watch out for what is not included: snow clothing — boots, pants, jacket, gloves — and the helmet are usually left out even in these packages. It is the item that breaks the most budgets, because it only shows up once you are already up there.
The “all-inclusive” package is almost never the cheapest
This is the point no operator is going to point out to you.
The packages with transport published for 2026 by operators such as La Picá del Ski and Ski Ahorro run from $69,900 CLP for the basic one to $84,900 CLP for the full one. The ones that add transport, equipment and clothing come in between $89,900 and $104,900 CLP. And there is a clothing + boots package on its own for $34,900 CLP.
Now build the same day piece by piece: a round-trip transfer at $39,900 CLP plus a clothing kit rented in Santiago from $25,000 CLP add up to $64,900 CLP. That is less than the basic package with transport, and about $20,000 CLP below the full package, with the clothing included in both cases.
The logic of the bundle is convenience, not price. You pay to solve it in one click, and sometimes it is worth it. But if you are going with four people, that $20,000 CLP difference per head is $80,000 CLP in a single day.
The real exception is the package with a lesson. There you are not paying a margin: you are paying for two hours of an instructor and a lift ticket that you cannot buy separately at a better price.
Which one suits you, in one table
| Your case | Option | Approx. cost per person |
|---|---|---|
| See snow, without skiing, tight budget | Panoramic tour | $29,990 CLP |
| See snow with more comfortable hours | Guided panoramic outing | $42,000 CLP |
| You are going to ski and already have equipment | Transfer + clothing rented down in the city | $64,900 CLP |
| Group of 4+, you want flexibility | Your own car + chains | $15,000–$30,000 CLP per car |
| First time skiing, only one day | Package with a lesson | $125,000–$206,000 CLP |
What is worth sorting out the night before
Almost everything that goes wrong on a snow day was decided before eight in the morning.
If you go up on a weekend, you have to be crossing the checkpoint before 13:00. If you drive, the chains go in the trunk even if the sky is clear and even if the car is a 4x4. And if you still do not have the clothing, that is the one errand that cannot be left for the morning itself: every minute you spend trying on a parka at 8:30 is a minute taken off your window to drive up.
At Andes Premier Rental we put together the complete kit in Las Condes, on the way to the mountain, with sizes for the whole family. Write to us the day before and we will set it aside, ready for you to pick up.
And if you are still deciding where to go, take a look first at our comparison of ski resorts near Santiago: distances, 2026 prices and which one suits each type of traveler.
Main sources
- Santiago Tours — panoramic snow tour
- Tuki — snow trips from Santiago, 2026 prices
- Nómades — Beginner Ski Day at Valle Nevado
- Nevasport — everything about the road to Farellones (Exempt Res. No. 2902)
- Nevasport — road status to the ski resorts
- 24 Horas — uphill and downhill hours to Farellones
- Valle Nevado — mountain report
- Socadin — when snow chains are mandatory
- Visitar Chile — chain rental and fitting
- La Picá del Ski — packages with transport
- Ski Ahorro — packages with transport
- Tur.com — Parque Farellones with lift ticket and lessons