Enchanting Chile

Detailed Itinerary

Day One – Start of your Holidays to Chile

Your holidays to Chile will begin this morning as you touch down in Santiago de Chile, and we will be there to meet you and take you straight to your hotel in the upmarket Providencia area of the city. You will then have the rest of the day free to relax and enjoy one of South America’s most sophisticated capital cities.

Day Two - Free Day in Santiago

We’ve left you with a free day in Santiago to explore old colonial centre and some of the newer neighbourhoods so you can get a feel for the contrast between old and new which typifies the city. We recommend starting off with a look at the grandest of Santiago’s colonial buildings, including the imposing Presidential Palace and Mint Building, and the neo-classical Cathedral. You could then travel through some of Santiago’s most modern districts on your way to San Cristobal hill. Here a funicular railway takes you right to the top for a fantastic view over the city. (Breakfast included)

Day Three - Valparaiso and Viña del Mar

The port city of Valparaiso was once one of the most famous in South America, and before the opening of the Panama Canal it was a regular stop for all shipping as they circumnavigated South America. Today you can see its superb historic architecture and the brightly-painted hillside houses, reached by Victorian funicular railways. From Valparaiso we'll travel on to the beachside town of Viña del Mar to enjoy its lovely promenade, parks and gardens, before returning to Santiago this evening. (B)

Day Four - Into the Atacama Desert

We will head back to Santiago airport this morning for your flight up to the north of the country to the Atacama Desert. You will arrive in Calama this afternoon where we’ll meet you and driver out of the city towards the small town of San Pedro de Atacama, in the arid, high Atacama Desert. Along the way we will be able to enjoy some stunning views of the Cordillera de la Sal, and a beautiful panoramic view of the Gran Salar, lying at the foot of the enormous Licancabur volcano. This evening we will adventure out to the mystifying Death & Moon valleys, boasting incredible stone and sand formations. At sunset we will have the opportunity to view the beautiful fading light over the vast landscapes. (B)

Day Five – Salar de Atacama & Toconao

We will pick you up after breakfast for a short tour of San Pedro de Atacama, and a visit to the Father le Paige Archaeological museum. From here we will make the short drive to reach the 3000 year old pre-Columbian village of Tulor. The archaeological remains that can be viewed here constitute the oldest evidence of human settlement of the valley. Your tour will continue on to the Pukara de Quitor a fortress, which has seen many battles. In the afternoon you will visit Toconao: a village where white volcanic stone sculptures are made by locals. Afterwards you will continue on to the Atacama Salt Lake; an inland sea formed millions of year ago and an impressive sight dominated by rock formations and crystalized salt. (B/L)

Day Six - Tatio Geysers & Machuca

We will leave the hotel before dawn this morning so that we can appreciate one of Atacama’s most amazing spectacles as we drive out to the magnificent Tatio Geysers. These enormous columns of steam shoot out from the otherworldly landscape, and the sensation of being on another planet is compounded by the sulphurous smell and tremendous noise as the geysers blow. Once the sun rises, the geysers lose their force so we will head back to San Pedro, stopping at the village of Machuca on the way to see the llama caravans of the ancient Inca highway. You will have some free time this afternoon to relax in San Pedro. (B)

Day Seven - On to the Lake District

Move over, Cumbria: this is the real Lake District! We’ll pick you up this morning and take you to the airport for a short flight back to Santiago where you’ll connect with another short flight to the city of Puerto Montt. Here we’ll pick you up and take you inland to the shores of Lake Llanquihue, Chile’s largest lake, and the small town of Puerto Varas. Here you can enjoy a stroll along the lakeshore and a beautiful view across the lake to the twin volcanoes of Osorno and Calbuco before heading out for a bite of traditional Patagonian cuisine. (B)

Day Eight - Petrohue Falls & Peulla

Today gives you the chance to enjoy some of Chile’s most beautiful scenery as we visit the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, which is famous for its lakes and waterfalls. Driving east from Puerto Varas along the shores of Lake Llanquihue, we will stop at the famous emerald-coloured Petrohue Falls before heading over a ridge and down to the village of Petrohue itself, which lies by the side of the gorgeous Lake Todos los Santos. Here we’ll board a special catamaran which takes across the lake to the village of Peulla, giving us some truly spectacular views along the way. On arrival in Peulla you will have some free time for lunch, and to enjoy some walks on the marked trails, before we take you back across the lake and home to Puerto Varas. (B)

Day Nine - Chiloe Island

This morning we will pick you up and take you to the harbour in Pargua to catch the ferry over to the island of Chiloe, which is one of the strongest bastions of indigenous culture in Chile, and a real highlight of any visit to the Lake District. After crossing the Chacao Strait, we will visit the small town of Dalcahue to see the 18th-century Jesuit Mission Church which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site, and which features original paintings which mix Christian and indigenous iconography. Here we will also visit the island’s Ethnographic Museum, which tells the stories of the indigenous Chilote and Huilliche peoples. After this we will head on through Chiloe’s beautiful scenery of forests and rolling hills to the town of Castro, where we can see the traditional brightly-painted wooden stilt houses, and the huge wooden church of San Francisco de Castro. After this we will head back to the ferry, and back over the Chaco Strait to the mainland, where we’ll take you back to your hotel. (B)

Day Ten - Free Day in Puerto Varas

Most people absolutely love this part of Chile, so we’ve given you a free day to spend as you wish. Of course we offer a whole range of different tours here, so just let us know if you’d prefer something more active for today! (B)

Day Eleven - Into Patagonia

After breakfast today we will pick you up and take you back to the airport for a flight further south along Chile’s long Pacific coast and down into the heart of Patagonia. This icy landscape is a total contrast to what we have seen before and really shows you the differences between these two sides of Chile. We will land this afternoon in Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the country, and then we will have a short tour of the city centre with a local guide. Later today we’ll drive north to the small town of Puerto Natales, the jumping-off point for visits to the beautiful Torres del Paine National Park. (B/L)

Day Twelve - Torres del Paine National Park

We will spend the whole of today exploring the stunning area of Torres del Paine, with its towering snow-capped peaks, emerald lakes and swift-running streams and waterfalls. We will have a morning excursion to the Mylodon Caves, before spending the afternoon on a short hike out into the National Park to allow us to get some fantastic views of the Cuernos del Paine peaks! (B/L)

Day Thirteen - Torres del Paine

Today you are free to explore the National Park at your own pace. This is a great place to observe some of Chile’s native wildlife such as guanacos, ñandues and condors. You are welcome to spend the day hiking or simply exploring the lake outside your hotel, you may even see some of the icebergs which have fallen off the Grey Glacier, evidence of the last Ice Age here in Patagonia. (B)

Day Fourteen - Back to Puerto Natales

After a final free morning for you to enjoy relaxing or walking in the beautiful scenery, we will pick you up this afternoon and take you back to your hotel in Puerto Natales, where you will enjoy your final night here in Chilean Patagonia. (B)

Day Fifteen - Back to Santiago

You will have some free time this morning to pick up some last minute souvenirs, before we pick you up and take you back to the airport in Punta Arenas for your flight back to Santiago. Here, we’ll take you back to your hotel for one final night in Chile. (B)

Day Sixteen - Last Day of your Chile Adventure

Unfortunately, today marks the last day of your holiday in Chile. Depending on the time of your international flight you may have a final free day to make sure you haven’t missed an inch of Santiago. We will make sure your trip ends perfectly by getting you to the airport in plenty of time for your international flight home. (B)

What's Included?

Our standard price for these holidays to Chile is £3595 per person, which is based on two sharing a double or twin room in our standard hotels.

That price includes all your accommodation, internal transport, transfers, tours, guides and entrance fees. It also includes lunches on your full-day tours, and breakfast every day.

We don't have any "local payments" or sneaky charges: everything you have read about on this itinerary is included in that price. And because everything we do is tailor-made, we don't have fixed departure dates or minimum numbers for our trips. Outside of national holidays or other special events, this price is valid for the whole of 2020.

International flights

So with the exception of a few meals, everything on your holiday is included. What we don't include as standard is your international flights, because with these you have a huge range of options depending on the date you want to travel, the route you want to fly, and your preferred departure airport in the UK.

We aren't tied to any particular airline, and we will be delighted to discuss all options with you, or you can even book the flights yourself if you prefer: it's totally up to you.