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Hi folks,
So we need a Zika free holiday next year, which likely takes Malaysia off the list, and shifts us towards Chile instead. Read some of the threads on here (thank you) that cover South America, but we’re specifically limited to Chile it seems.
Before I book flights, I’d be interested in peoples thoughts and opinions? – is it too far to go to restrict ourselves to the one country? (we will hopefully end up going back one day for Peru where it appears Lima is fine, but we would want to go to Machu which is touch and go).
Other than that, we’re planning two weeks consisting of:
– a day or so in Santiago
– Atacama dessert
– Torres del Paine National Park
– Punta ArenasAny recommended order for doing things in?
Anything key that we’re missing? (Have read that Valparaiso is quite dangerous now post-Covid)@AndyGWP – I’m not sure about zika, but dengue fever is an issue in South America currently. Chile has so far had relatively far fewer cases than Argentina or Brazil, but there are a growing number which they hope will decline as they move into winter. In respect of safety, you mention Valparaiso but many seem to say that Santiago itself has become rather dangerous. Our son was there last month and the Santiago based LATAM crew warned him to be very careful, as did the taxi driver from the airport and the hotel.
The other areas you might consider are the Patagonia National Park or Lake District.
Not at all. You could easily spend 6 months in Chile and scratch the surface.
If you’re into culture and meeting locals at all you’ll want at least a week spanning two weekends in Santiago. Amazing theatre and live music scene and fantastic high end dining.
O circuit in TdP takes most people a week plus travel and logistics either side.
Patagonia National Park also deserves a week or two if you’re into hiking.
Valparaiso is completely fine and a must see.
The lake district? Lauca? Pisco? A couple of weeks driving the Carretera Austral? Tierra del Fuego? etc…
You forgot the wineries @cin3! Several wine regions within easy driving distance of Santiago. Must better experience than the wineries in Mendoza who have now become very expensive as in a lot of cases you have to book their tasting menus!
Valparaiso is supposedly crime laden but we didn’t experience any 5 years ago when we were there. We didn’t go this time due to the forest fires near Vina del Mar.
If you want the beach I suggest Zapallar but not at the weekend when it becomes busy with all the well heeled Santiago residents.
In Santiago Lastarrio is lovely neighbourhood to stay in with various boutique hotels and airbnbs. Lots of cool restaurants there too.
In the south the island of Chiloe is a throwback to a less frenetic lifestyle.
Thanks all.
How did you find self driving over there?
hadn’t considered the wine – any specific suggestions?
I was there from boxing day until Jan 14 this year. Used 2-4-1 from Madrid.
We spent 1 week in Vina Del Mar which is lovely and no sign of any trouble. Lots of restaurants,
nothing too fancy and nice beaches. From There we visited valparaíso for a day trip. I defo recommend Dunas de Cocon. worth a visit as it’s pretty unique, especially at sunset.
The second week we spent in Pucon which is stunning and so much to do of you like the outdoors.Volcano hike, water sports and mountain biking. Its known as the queenstown of south american. My regret is not spending more time there and less in Santiago.4 days in Santiago is 3 days too many. I never felt unsafe, but we were warned by several taxi drivers too. Its OK, just not that appealing to someone who isn’t bothered with large cities.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised as we only visited to use the 2-4-1 voucher(and to compete in an Ironman)
Speaking Spanish really helps, but in Pucon the dialect was a bit different.
Latam flights are cheap and easy and can be booked with a avios if you are lucky enough to get a ba agent who knows what they are doing.
Oh and one of the highlights was the Latam lounge at Santiago international Airport.
If you visit try the local Pisco Sour. They taste soooooo good.
Easter Island. Contrary to popular belief, flights can be picked up for a reasonable price – often around £300 return on a 6-hour Dreamliner flight. Prices are obviously more expensive than the mainland but it can be done on a budget. Such a magical place, possibly my all-time favourite destination.
Thanks all.
How did you find self driving over there?
hadn’t considered the wine – any specific suggestions?
Driving is very easy and the roads are great.
For wine the Colchagua valley has lots of wineries to visit and has wine houses whose name you will recognise such as Mont Gras and Montes. The Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann has a lovely restaurant Fuegos de Apalta in the grounds of the Montes vineyard. The other restaurant I recommend there is Rayuela at Viu Manent winery. These are both great lunch spots looking out over the vines.
The other wine area we stayed in is the Casablanca valley – there I can recommend Tanino at the Casablanca del Bosque for lunch.
Both areas have various accommodation types
Easter Island. Contrary to popular belief, flights can be picked up for a reasonable price – often around £300 return on a 6-hour Dreamliner flight. Prices are obviously more expensive than the mainland but it can be done on a budget. Such a magical place, possibly my all-time favourite destination.
Sounds fair to me. We booked ours last year for the coming August and they were £215 return. I tried the Chilean website incognito and VPNed but the price was the same as the international site.
@Karl: don’t suppose you scuba dived there? I’m still chewing on whether it’s worth it.I wouldn’t say the diving there is mind-blowing but probably worth doing a two tank dive while there.
Easter Island. Contrary to popular belief, flights can be picked up for a reasonable price – often around £300 return on a 6-hour Dreamliner flight. Prices are obviously more expensive than the mainland but it can be done on a budget. Such a magical place, possibly my all-time favourite destination.
Sounds fair to me. We booked ours last year for the coming August and they were £215 return. I tried the Chilean website incognito and VPNed but the price was the same as the international site.
@Karl: don’t suppose you scuba dived there? I’m still chewing on whether it’s worth it.No, I don’t remember the sea/beaches being particularly brilliant, at least not in comapriosn to other parts of Polynesia.
While obviously it’s a touristy place, there’s no feeling of it being overrun with visitors – the one flight/day ensures that. More often than not you’ll have amazing archaoligical sites to youreslf. I’m not sure if that’s possible anywhere else in the world (war zones aside perhaps).
Easter Island. Contrary to popular belief, flights can be picked up for a reasonable price – often around £300 return on a 6-hour Dreamliner flight. Prices are obviously more expensive than the mainland but it can be done on a budget. Such a magical place, possibly my all-time favourite destination.
Sounds fair to me. We booked ours last year for the coming August and they were £215 return. I tried the Chilean website incognito and VPNed but the price was the same as the international site.
@Karl: don’t suppose you scuba dived there? I’m still chewing on whether it’s worth it.More often than not you’ll have amazing archaoligical sites to youreslf. I’m not sure if that’s possible anywhere else in the world (war zones aside perhaps).
Lol, are you serious? That’s possible in dozens of countries on pretty much every continent.
Colombia, Turkey, Syria, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Perú, to name a few just outside of Europe.
Easter Island. Contrary to popular belief, flights can be picked up for a reasonable price – often around £300 return on a 6-hour Dreamliner flight. Prices are obviously more expensive than the mainland but it can be done on a budget. Such a magical place, possibly my all-time favourite destination.
Sounds fair to me. We booked ours last year for the coming August and they were £215 return. I tried the Chilean website incognito and VPNed but the price was the same as the international site.
@Karl: don’t suppose you scuba dived there? I’m still chewing on whether it’s worth it.More often than not you’ll have amazing archaoligical sites to youreslf. I’m not sure if that’s possible anywhere else in the world (war zones aside perhaps).
Actually, that’s possible in dozens of countries on pretty much every continent.
Colombia, Turkey, Syria, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Perú, to name a few just outside of Europe.
Thanks again folks…
Hard to find updated information, but I’ve found this thread which is useful (although slightly outdated already) – https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/easter-island/
Are Avios options still a no go for Easter Island?
Easter Island. Contrary to popular belief, flights can be picked up for a reasonable price – often around £300 return on a 6-hour Dreamliner flight. Prices are obviously more expensive than the mainland but it can be done on a budget. Such a magical place, possibly my all-time favourite destination.
Sounds fair to me. We booked ours last year for the coming August and they were £215 return. I tried the Chilean website incognito and VPNed but the price was the same as the international site.
@Karl: don’t suppose you scuba dived there? I’m still chewing on whether it’s worth it.More often than not you’ll have amazing archaoligical sites to youreslf. I’m not sure if that’s possible anywhere else in the world (war zones aside perhaps).
Lol, are you serious? That’s possible in dozens of countries on pretty much every continent.
Colombia, Turkey, Syria, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Perú, to name a few just outside of Europe.
Yes completely serious Cin3.
Colombia is full of tourists visiting Tatacoa, Tayrona, San Agustín, etc. The mainstream bits of Turkey are as well (obviously less so in the areas where caution is advised). Syria is in in the aforementioned warzone category at the moment. Panama/Guatemala are fairly touristy. Honduras less so, but I don’t think there’s anything there that is on par with Rapa Nui. The main sites in Peru are overrun with visitors.
While there are lots of amazing sites in Iraq, Libya, Iran and Myanmar, much of these regions are currently inaccessible.
I’d be interested to know which world-class archaeological sites in Europe have a few hundred visitors each day.
IMO Easter Island should be one of the wonders of the world and the fact that hardly anyone goes there makes the place even more special.
I’d be interested to know the world-class archaeological sites in Europe that have a few hundered visitors each day.
Thanks again folks…
Hard to find updated information, but I’ve found this thread which is useful (although slightly outdated already) – https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/easter-island/
Are Avios options still a no go for Easter Island?
Even when LATAM was a full Oneworld member, Avios availability was tricky to find. I managed to do it by flying in on a connecting flight from Quito and returning to Lima (albeit skipping the last leg). Direct Avios availability from Santiago was almost non-existent.
There may be some creative ways of doing it nowadays that people on here on Flyertalk may be able to share but it’s unlikely to be straightforward.
Thanks again folks…
Hard to find updated information, but I’ve found this thread which is useful (although slightly outdated already) – https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/easter-island/
Are Avios options still a no go for Easter Island?
Find availability on Alaskan and book on BA. Looking at my dates in August, there is business availability at:
155000 Avios + £ 62.00
139600 Avios + £ 402.00
127200 Avios + £ 662.00
111600 Avios + £ 962.00
96200 Avios + £ 1,222.00
80600 Avios + £ 1,462.00But I plan to stick with economy as those options look sucky to me. Still, if you are Avios rich, there is a way.
Thanks all.
How did you find self driving over there?
hadn’t considered the wine – any specific suggestions?
Based on our trip there in December 2018, driving was absolutely fine in the various bits of the country we got a car in (didn’t drive in Santiago though).
I’d say a couple of days in Santiago is plenty, although there are plenty of other places to go in Chile, so I wouldn’t be too upset to miss Santiago completely.
Would definitely recommend Chile as a destination.
Always confused why people want to skip Santiago. It’s probably in the top five cities in the whole continent for theatre, food and live music.
Personally one of the things I travel for is to understand contemporary life, politics and culture and meet local people not just history and beaches. Santiago is one of the places to meet and learn from local people.
Always confused why people want to skip Santiago. It’s probably in the top five cities in the whole continent for theatre, food and live music.
Personally one of the things I travel for is to understand contemporary life, politics and culture and meet local people not just history and beaches. Santiago is one of the places to meet and learn from local people.
I think people skip Santiago because compared to other South American capitals it’s quite an ugly, nondescript modern commercial city more akin to a secondary US city and it is quite poorly provided for with good hotels. It’s now also become rather dangerous.
The three cultural elements you mention are all light years ahead in Buenos Aires which is also a very beautiful city planned and largely built in its heyday 100-150 years ago vs the mess of Santiago and the smaller nearby capitals of Montevideo and even Asunción are much smaller than Santiago but hold more interest.
Santiago is not dangerous. Never felt unsafe there and walked everywhere really. I felt most safe there in all of South America even when walking at night. People say all sorts of rubbish. If you behave normally, then you won’t have any trouble.
I agree though, the hotels are not good and it’s a bit soulless in many parts.
Yeah the amount of nonsense people chat about “danger” in Latin America is ridiculous. If you can handle yourself at 11pm in London, Paris or Rome you’ll be fine in 90% Santiago.
And of course Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima and Rio are better than Santiago. But it’s still top 5 on the continent, has several unique benefits over somewhere like BsAs, and is a country mile ahead of the rest of the pack.
Yeah the amount of nonsense people chat about “danger” in Latin America is ridiculous. If you can handle yourself at 11pm in London, Paris or Rome you’ll be fine in 90% Santiago.
And of course Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima and Rio are better than Santiago. But it’s still top 5 on the continent, has several unique benefits over somewhere like BsAs, and is a country mile ahead of the rest of the pack.
@cin3 the security situation in Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar has deteriorated very markedly in the last 12 months so I think you should be a little careful in pooh-poohing what anyone on the ground will tell you and has been reflected in changes to government advice by countries including the US, UK and very strong new advice from France in the last fortnight relating not only to Santiago but also places like San Pedro de Atacama and Calama, even in airports and bus stations. Taxi scams sound like the old days in Mexico City.There is a considerable degree of violence and serious scams being directed at tourists (and their cars) even in broad daylight in busy places. The perceptions of danger even in the Centro Histórico are seriously damaging the tourist industry.
We had no idea how bad things had become, so I was very grateful that my son who was there last month was warned by the LATAM crew, his taxi driver from the airport and the hotel receptionists – all unprompted to be extremely careful and definitely not walk in certain central areas at night. Further information he received while there and that we heard from tourists we met in Argentina last month tell some pretty bad tales.
Yeah the amount of nonsense people chat about “danger” in Latin America is ridiculous. If you can handle yourself at 11pm in London, Paris or Rome you’ll be fine in 90% Santiago.
And of course Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima and Rio are better than Santiago. But it’s still top 5 on the continent, has several unique benefits over somewhere like BsAs, and is a country mile ahead of the rest of the pack.
@cin3 the security situation in Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar has deteriorated very markedly in the last 12 months so I think you should be a little careful in pooh-poohing what anyone on the ground will tell you and has been reflected in changes to government advice by countries including the US, UK and very strong new advice from France in the last fortnight relating not only to Santiago but also places like San Pedro de Atacama and Calama, even in airports and bus stations. Taxi scams sound like the old days in Mexico City.There is a considerable degree of violence and serious scams being directed at tourists (and their cars) even in broad daylight in busy places. The perceptions of danger even in the Centro Histórico are seriously damaging the tourist industry.
We had no idea how bad things had become, so I was very grateful that my son who was there last month was warned by the LATAM crew, his taxi driver from the airport and the hotel receptionists – all unprompted to be extremely careful and definitely not walk in certain central areas at night. Further information he received while there and that we heard from tourists we met in Argentina last month tell some pretty bad tales. It’s not “nonsense” or “ridiculous” as you suggest.
I’m sure you’re right. But in my experience some of the safest places I’ve been have been preceeded by the most dire warnings from locals.
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