Chile

Admire the stunning massifs, estuaries, and rivers of the Andes Mountains on a full-day trip to the Cajon del Maipo on this van tour. Enjoy a delicious picnic in a stunning natural setting along the way. See sights like the Tinoco Tunnel and pass by charming, traditional towns.  Depart Santiago and journey to San Jose de Maipo in a spacious and air-conditioned van. Listen as your guide tells you about the folklore of the area. Head towards the volcano and see small towns like Las Vertientes, El Canelo, El Manzano, El Melocoton and San Alfonso.  Learn the history of the Tinoco Tunnel as you make your way along a dirt road to the large lake of Embalse del Yeso. Stop at the reservoir to enjoy a picnic-style snack with cheese, olives, salami, juice, wine, and more.  Start back towards Santiago at around 3:00 PM and be dropped off at your hotel or in the city center at approximately 6:00 PM.

Head down Route 68 from Santiago, passing through the Curacavi Valley on this full-day tour. Stop in Casablanca for a courtesy wine and olive oil tasting. Continue to Valparaiso on the Pacific coast. UNESCO declared the city’s historic center a Cultural Patrimony of Humanity. Admire its colorful houses, including La Sebastiana, one of the homes of poet and Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda. Next is a visit to the popular seaside resort of Vina del Mar, where you can choose to have lunch at a restaurant. The town is known as the Garden City for its numerous parks and beautiful flowers. Enjoy all the coast until Reñaca the most popular beach area of the region. On the return drive, you’ll visit Via Las Palmas, a unique place with palm trees on its hills.

Discover the magnificent Andes Mountains on a guided day trip from Santiago. Pass by the Tinoco Tunnel, admire the picturesque Cajón del Maipo gorge, and enjoy a picnic lunch overlooking the El Yeso Dam. Start your tour early in the morning with a convenient pickup directly from your accommodation. Hop into the air-conditioned van and set out towards the Maipo Canyon. As you travel, admire the wonderful views of this natural landscape full of high mountain passes, lakes, and forests. Hear about the area's traditions and listen to folktales told by your guide. Along the way, you'll pass the Tinoco Tunnel, a dark disused train tunnel that runs along the Camino Al Volcán, a remnant from the region's railway days. Listen as your guide tells you about the history of this unusual attraction and the tragic story behind the shrines located at the tunnel's entrance and exit. Not far from here, you'll reach the El Yeso Dam. This large reservoir was created in 1964 by damming the Yeso River and now serves as one of the major sources of water for Santiago. Stop here to enjoy a picnic-style lunch served with a glass of wine and some juice. Then, sit back and relax as you set out on your return journey to Santiago, where your driver will drop you off directly at your accommodation.

Meet your group at the meeting point and travel to Valle de la Luna, located 13 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama. Explore the lunar-like landscape which will mesmerize you with its colorful geology. Discover interesting rock formations composed of natural minerals, including Las Tres Marías created by wind erosion over many decades. See other sights such as the Grand Dunes, the Salt Cave, the Amphitheater, and the Coyote Stone. At the end of the day, admire the sunset from an exceptional lookout point overlooking the valley. Enjoy a panoramic view of the rugged beauty of the Atacama desert, and see the beautiful colors of the sky as the sun gradually sets.

Start the tour with pick up from your accommodation and set off for the Torres del Paine National Park. After arriving access the park through Portería Laguna Amarga, where you will be able to get an excellent view of the Paine Towers. As you venture through the park, observe a wide variety of native fauna and flora. Make several stops at the main viewpoints to appreciate the uniqueness of the landscape and the magnitude of the Paine Massif from different perspectives. At Midday, stop for lunch before continuing the itinerary toward Grey Lake. Here, enjoy a 1-hour hike through an ancient Lenga forest and along Grey Lake Beach. From this side of the park, it is possible to enjoy the view of the West face of the Paine Massif and the intense blue hues of Grey’s glacial ice. Once your adventure in the park is over, drive back to Puerto Natales. On the way, stop by the Mylodon Cave Natural Monument, of the Pleistocene era. Return to the city by about 7 PM.

Discover the third largest geothermal field in the world and the largest in the southern hemisphere in the Atacama Desert. At 4,200 meters (13,780 feet) above sea level, the Tatio Geysers are a natural marvel that will take your breath away, in more ways than one. Leave early in the morning, before sunrise, after pickup from your hotel. Arrive at the geysers early to have the opportunity to observe the contrast between the sunrise and the steam from the heat of the magma-affected waters. After sunrise, savor a complete breakfast with bread, cheese, ham, scrambled eggs, coffee, chocolate, milk, and jam. Once you've eaten, spend some more time exploring the 80 geysers around the national park. From there, ride through the Putana Valley. See endemic flora and fauna and stop at a lagoon to see flamingos before returning to your hotel.

Enjoy two different views of the night sky during your tour. The first will be the Western vision, which studies the universe, the brightness of the stars, and their planets. You can observe, with a telescope, objects in the solar system, deep space, and constellations. Learn about the cosmos and its formation.  Then, go on an ethnic astronomical journey to understand how the ancient inhabitants of the Andes interpreted the universe, the milky way, and the night sky. Many centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards, in the indigenous settlements of America, many wise observers of the universe interpreted the objects of the night sky. In all the black spaces, they observed figures that gave them information about their daily life including animals, water, rivers, schedules, and life after death.  Next, learn to observe with a telescope and observe objects such as planets, stars, binary stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, depending on the time of year. At the end of the tour you take a photo with the stars as a souvenir of the night. Remember to check the lunar calendar before booking. If you book on moonlit nights, the sky may vary.

Your tour will begin as you are collected from your accommodation, from where you will board a coach destined for the coastal towns of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. Once in Valparaiso, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you will embark on a panoramic tour of the port and Plaza Sotomayor (Sotomayor Square). Following your tour, you will ascend to the summit of the Concepción and Alegre Hills using traditional elevators. You will then take a break for lunch, during which time you can enjoy some Chilean cuisine at your own expense. Your next stop will be to Viña del Mar, which is known as the "Garden City" for its plethora of greenery. Towards the end of your tour, you will visit a coastal area to observe some sea lions, before traveling to your final stop, the Casablanca Valley. There, you can sample wines at the Indomita Vineyard, before returning to Santiago in the early evening.

After check-in at the meeting point, transfer to Laredo Bay port to board speedboats for a 45-minute trip to Magdalena Island. Once there, enjoy 1 hour with a guide to discover the habitat of the Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island, the second largest Magellanic penguin colony in South America that receives more than 120,000 penguins every year. Next, if the weather conditions are good, continue your journey to Marta Island, which hosts a colony of more than 1000 Patagonian sea lions, as well as copious bird life. Keep an eye out for cormorants, skuas, austral seagulls, Antarctic pigeons, and the occasional elephant seal. If you're lucky, see southern dolphins, piebald dolphins, and sei whales during your trip. The tour includes with return to Laredo Bay port and transfer back to the original meeting point.

Head out from Santiago to some of the most emblematic destinations within Chile, like Valparíso and Viña del Mar, as well as stopping by one of the best wine markets in Casablanca on your way and a visit to the famous Reñaca beach. Marvel at the towering Andean mountains that flank the road to your full-day tour outside of Santiago. You will stop at Río Tinto in the town of Casablanca, a wine market in the middle of Chilean wine country, for a complimentary glass of wine and an olive oil tasting. Afterward, visit Valparaíso and its city center which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Your next stop is Viña del Mar, famed for its music scene and its numerous parks and gardens, which have earned it the nickname of the Garden City. Head along the coastline northwards to visit Reñaca, the most popular beach area in the region.