The Laguna San Rafael is a small bay at the farsouth end of the Moraleda channel. It is connected to the sea through the Témpano Channel. Its main attraction is the San Rafael Glacier, a wall of ancient ice over 40 kilometres long, coming down the 4.000 metres high Mount San Valentín, which is part of the Northern Icefield. This is the most distant glacier from the Poles that gets to the sea.
From its 1 km wide and 30 to 50 metres high frontline, icebergs frequently break with an outburst and then remain floating in the lagoon, some of them the size of a building. The excursion with small boats through thousands of icebergs in all imaginable shades of blue is just an unforgettable experience. In order to properly celebrate the occasion, the captain will pick up one of these icebergs, that originated at the top of the glacier and took centuries to arrive to the sea, and then will make a toast with whiskey on the "millenary rocks".

The starting points to this excursion are Puerto Montt and Puerto Chacabuco. Puerto Montt is easy to reach by land or flight. The small Puerto Chacabuco is 800 kilometres to the south. To get there you must take a ferry, travel by land through Argentina or take a flight to Balmaceda, Coyhaique's airport, which is two hours away by bus.
If you are on a tight schedule, taking a flight from Santiago or Puerto Montt to Balmaceda and then make the day trip with Catamaranes del Sur to the Laguna San Rafael may also be a good idea and save you time (this way you cover the whole journey in only three days).

With the construction of the road there is now a new route from Exploradores Bay which offers a more adventurous trip. It is a good option, specially for tourists driving their own vehicle along the Carretera Austral.

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Navimag does not offer its popular trip with a ferry anymore. For a long time, this was the most economic option to visit Laguna San Rafael. At the moment, no other provider arrived to fill this space.
There are no departures either scheduled with the cruiser Mare Australis, that used to make this trip the last seasons 2010/2011 and 2011/2012.
Since season 2012/2013, Patagonia Connection does not offer programs that include the visit by catamaran to Laguna San Rafael anymore.

Also there are several vessels and motorboats which offer charter trips through the labyrinth of channels, including the Laguna San Rafael. They have room for 6 to 10 passengers and the navigation takes from 3 to 7 days. It is the most exclusive way to know the region, and a good option if you are travelling with a group. However, if you are an independent traveler, it could be hard to find an "opening".