The Santiago Region:
From the Andes to the Coast: Culture & History

Day by day itinerary: 4 d/ 3n
 

Price per person: 2 travelers: US$324 3 travelers: US$279 (based on triple room) 4 travelers: US$274 Trip Dates Year Round- Upon Request min. 2, no maximum

INCLUDES: All transport (including airport transfers) for 4 days, 3 nights lodging in comfortable colonial hotel in the center (Hotel Vegas) or modern equivalent (Hotel NH), bilingually guided private tours, entrances to vineyards
NOT INCLUDED: meals (except breakfasts), tips, entrance to Isla Negra

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONING: Low- this is for all levels
 

A transport will be awaiting your arrival at the Santiago airport to bring you to your hotel (Vegas) in the center of the city.  You'll have the day free to rest & relax or visit some of the city's museums.  In the evening, a bilingual guide will meet you at your hotel to chat about tomorrow's excursion.  He will accompany you to Barrio Bellavista, an area full of an array of restaurants, bars, art galleries and music.  He'll leave you at a restaurant of your liking, explaining how to request a taxi back to the hotel when you are ready.
 

DAY 2        Santiago City, History & Nearby Nature

      Your guide will meet you in the morning for a full day excursion.  First, you'll visit the original Concha y Toro vineyard in the Pirque region of the city (what was once a small village outside the city).  A guided tour of the vineyard will teach you about Chile's famous wines and the country's largest exporter (Concha y Toro has many other vineyards in operations today, however this was the original dating back more than 2 centuries).  Afterwards you will continue into the massive walled Maipo Canyon for a drive into the big central Andes.  Peaks soaring to 5600 meters (17,000 ft) loom above the valley.  You'll stop for lunch in the town of San Jose del Maipo, nestled in the canyon (lunch not included).  In the afternoon, you'll head back to the city of Santiago (approx. 35 Kms away) for a city tour that includes La Moneda (the presidential palace), the Plaza de Armas with its cathedral, and the San Cristobal hill, with panoramic views over the city.  Finally, you'll visit the old monastery Los Dominicos which is now a crafts center.  Night at same hotel. (Breakfast)
 

We'll have an early departure at 08:30  to make the most of our day to the coast.  Our first destination will be the eclectic oceanside home of Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda called Isla Negra.  We'll spend 90 minutes walking about the grounds and learning about Neruda's fascinating life and work.  Continuing up the coast to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Valparaiso, we'll visit another Neruda home and museum, the National Congress and take a ride on the unique "elevators" that line the steep hills of the city. Expansive views over the port and the city's eclectic architecture make Valparaiso unique in all of South America.  To finish off the day we'll visit nearby Viña del Mar, the modern beachfront city that was once the beach getaway of the wealthy from Valparaiso.  We'll arrive back in Santiago at your hotel at approx. 19:00.  (breakfast)
 

Day 4- Goodbye Santiago
 

You'll have the day free until your transport to take you to the airport for your flight to other regions.  Options for memorable excursions throughout the country abound!